CN113645647A

CN113645647A - Method and communication device for accessing communication system

Info

Publication number: CN113645647A
Application number: CN202010342448.7A
Authority: CN
Inventors: 侯晓乐; 吴涛; 贾嘉
Original assignee: Huawei Technologies Co Ltd
Current assignee: Huawei Technologies Co Ltd
Priority date: 2020-04-27
Filing date: 2020-04-27
Publication date: 2021-11-12

Abstract

The application provides a method for accessing a communication system and a communication device. The method can comprise the following steps: the network equipment determines to execute M times of polling processes, wherein the M times of polling processes are used for completing the access of a plurality of labels in the coverage area of the network equipment; the network device completes the access of the plurality of tags through the M polling processes, and at least two tags in the plurality of tags access the communication system through different polling processes; wherein, each polling process comprises: the network equipment sends a query command; the network device transmits an excitation signal; the network device receiving an inquiry response message from at least one tag, the inquiry response message being sent by the at least one tag by reflecting the excitation signal based on the inquiry command; the network device sends inquiry response messages to the at least one label respectively. Based on the method and the device, the label far away from the network equipment in the coverage area of the network equipment can be successfully accessed into the communication system.

Description

Method and communication device for accessing communication system

Technical Field

The present application relates to the field of communications, and more particularly, to a method and a communication apparatus for accessing a communication system.

Background

Currently, in conventional backscatter communication systems (e.g., Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) systems), the coverage of network devices is limited, typically within 20 meters. In the conventional backscattering communication system, the network device sends an inquiry command once, and tags in the coverage area can receive the inquiry command, so that the communication system can be successfully accessed.

However, as technology advances, the coverage of network devices expands, for example, from 20 meters transmission distance to 100 meters or more. In this case, there may be tags within the network device's coverage that are closer to the network device and farther from the network device. After the network device sends the query command, the tag far away from the network device may not have enough energy to perform at least one communication process, and thus cannot receive the query command sent by the network device. In the absence of receiving the query command, tags that are further away from the network device cannot access the communication system.

Disclosure of Invention

The application provides a method for accessing a communication system, which can enable a label far away from a network device to be successfully accessed into the communication system within the coverage range of the network device.

In a first aspect, the present application provides a method for accessing a communication system, the method comprising: the network equipment determines to execute M polling processes, wherein the M polling processes are used for completing the access of a plurality of labels in the coverage area of the network equipment, and M is a positive integer greater than 1; the network device completes the access of the plurality of tags through the M polling processes, and at least two tags in the plurality of tags access the communication system through different polling processes; wherein, each polling process comprises: the network equipment sends a query command; the network device transmits an excitation signal; the network device receiving an inquiry response message from at least one tag, the inquiry response message being sent by the at least one tag by reflecting the excitation signal based on the inquiry command; the network device sends inquiry response messages to the at least one label respectively.

Based on the existing tag polling procedure, the network device sends a charging signal each time before sending a polling command. Therefore, based on the technical scheme of the application, the tags far away from each other can receive a plurality of charging signals in the process of multiple polling by means of executing the multiple polling processes by the network equipment, so that the tags far away from each other can convert enough charging signals into energy to carry out at least one communication process. In case that the tag far away from the network device has enough energy, the query command sent by the network device can be received, and further, the tag far away can successfully access the communication system.

In addition, in the case that the tag has the capability of judging the strength of the received excitation signal, the uplink rate of the feedback query response message may be determined according to the strength of the received excitation signal. In this case, the strength of the excitation signal received by the tag closer to the network device is higher, and therefore, the determined uplink rate is also higher; the strength of the excitation signal received by the tag farther from the network device is smaller, and therefore the uplink rate is determined to be smaller. Therefore, based on the technical scheme of the application, the tags with different distances from the network device can feed back the query response message at different uplink rates, so that the communication efficiency of the communication system can be improved.

With reference to the first aspect, in some implementations of the first aspect, the query command sent in the mth polling procedure of the M polling procedures carries a value M to indicate the mth polling procedure; wherein M is more than or equal to 1 and less than or equal to M, and M is an integer.

Based on the technical scheme of the application, the network device carries the value m in the transmitted query command, and further, if the tag successfully accesses the communication system in the mth query process, the value m can be stored in the memory. In the subsequent polling process, even if the tag can receive the inquiry command sent by the network device, the tag can determine that the communication system is accessed according to the stored value m, so that the tag does not respond to the received inquiry command. Therefore, the burden on the network device can be reduced.

With reference to the first aspect, in some implementations of the first aspect, the query command sent in an mth polling procedure of the M polling procedures is further used to indicate an uplink rate at which the at least one tag feeds back the query response message in the mth polling procedure, and the uplink rate indicated by the query command sent in the mth polling procedure is greater than the uplink rate indicated by the query command sent in an M +1 th polling procedure.

Based on the technical scheme of the application, under the condition that the label does not have the capability of judging the strength of the received excitation signal, the label can determine the uplink rate according to the query command. In addition, in the process of multiple polling, the uplink rates indicated by the query command are different, so that, based on the technical scheme of the application, tags with different distances from the network device can feed back query response messages at different uplink rates, and thus the communication efficiency of the communication system can be improved.

With reference to the first aspect, in certain implementations of the first aspect, the method further includes: after the network equipment completes the access of at least K labels in the mth polling process, the network equipment executes the (m + 1) th polling process, wherein K is a positive integer.

With reference to the first aspect, in certain implementations of the first aspect, K is a predefined value.

With reference to the first aspect, in certain implementations of the first aspect, before performing the first polling procedure, the method further includes: the network device sends a reset command.

The reset command is used to instruct the start of the execution of M polling procedures. If the polling procedure is performed before, i.e. some tags have access to the communication system, the tag re-executes the procedure of accessing the communication system after receiving the reset command. It is to be understood that once the network device sends the reset command, it is assumed that all tags within the coverage area of the network device have not accessed the communication system.

With reference to the first aspect, in certain implementations of the first aspect, after the M polling procedures are performed, the method further includes: the network device transmits a plurality of charging signals; the network device sends a query command.

The tag whose network covers the edge may still not have enough energy to perform at least one communication process after undergoing M polling processes. Therefore, according to the technical scheme of the application, after the polling process is executed for M times, the tag covering the edge can convert the sufficient charging signal into energy by means of sending the plurality of charging signals by the network device, so that the tag can receive the query command sent by the network device and access the communication system under the condition of sufficient energy.

With reference to the first aspect, in certain implementations of the first aspect, during each polling, the method further includes: the network device determining one or more sub-channels for sending the query command; the network device determines a waveform to use for transmitting the query command based on the one or more sub-channels.

Based on the technical scheme of the application, by dividing the channel for sending the query command into a plurality of sub-channels, the network device can send the query command by using a part of sub-channels or all sub-channels in each polling process, namely the network device can send the query command by using different bandwidths, thereby saving part of overhead. Further, the network device may determine the waveform of the query command according to the bandwidth used so that the waveform matches the bandwidth. Due to the different channel conditions between the network device and the tags within the coverage area, and the different optimal signal waveforms matching the different channels. Therefore, based on the technical scheme of the application, the waveform of the query command can be flexibly configured.

With reference to the first aspect, in certain implementations of the first aspect, the waveform of the query command includes: sinusoidal waveforms, multi-frequency sinusoidal waveforms, chirped waveforms, or multi-frequency chirped waveforms.

In a second aspect, a method for accessing a communication system is provided, the method comprising: the method comprises the steps that a tag receives a query command from network equipment, wherein the query command carries a value m, and the value m is used for indicating an m-th query process; the tag receiving an excitation signal from the network device; the tag determines an uplink rate according to the strength of the received excitation signal; the label feeds back an inquiry response message to the network equipment by reflecting the excitation signal based on the uplink rate and the inquiry command; the tag receives a query response message from the network device; the tag stores the value m.

Based on the technical scheme of the application, under the condition that the tag has the capability of judging the strength of the received excitation signal, the uplink rate of the feedback inquiry response message can be determined according to the strength of the received excitation signal. In this case, the strength of the excitation signal received by the tag closer to the network device is higher, and therefore, the determined uplink rate is also higher; the strength of the excitation signal received by the tag farther from the network device is smaller, and therefore the uplink rate is determined to be smaller. Therefore, based on the technical scheme of the application, the tags with different distances from the network device can feed back the query response message at different uplink rates, so that the communication efficiency of the communication system can be improved.

And the network equipment carries the value m in the transmitted query command, and further, if the tag successfully accesses the communication system in the mth polling process, the value m can be stored in the memory. In the subsequent polling process, even if the tag can receive the inquiry command sent by the network device, the tag can determine that the communication system is accessed according to the stored value m, so that the tag does not respond to the received inquiry command. Therefore, the burden on the network device can be reduced.

With reference to the second aspect, in some implementations of the second aspect, the query command is further used to indicate the uplink rate.

With reference to the second aspect, in certain implementations of the second aspect, the method further includes: the tag receives a reset command from the network device; the tag deletes the saved value m.

With reference to the second aspect, in certain implementations of the second aspect, the method further includes: the tag receives a plurality of charging signals from the network device; the tag receives a query command from a network device.

With reference to the second aspect, in certain implementations of the second aspect, the method further includes: the tag determines a waveform used for feeding back the query response message according to one or more sub-channels receiving the query command.

Based on the technical scheme of the application, by dividing the channel for sending the query command into a plurality of sub-channels, the network device can send the query command by using a part of sub-channels or all sub-channels in each polling process, namely the network device can send the query command by using different bandwidths, thereby saving part of overhead. Further, the network device may determine the waveform of the query command according to the bandwidth used so that the waveform matches the bandwidth. Further, the tag may determine a waveform of the feedback query response message according to a channel on which the query command is received. Due to the different channel conditions between the network device and the tags within the coverage area, and the different optimal signal waveforms matching the different channels. Therefore, based on the technical scheme of the application, the waveforms of the query command and the query response message can be flexibly configured.

With reference to the second aspect, in some implementations of the second aspect, the waveform of the query response message includes: sinusoidal waveforms, multi-frequency sinusoidal waveforms, chirped waveforms, or multi-frequency chirped waveforms.

In a third aspect, the present application provides a method for accessing communication, including: after performing a polling procedure, the network device transmits a plurality of charging signals; the network equipment sends a query command; the network device transmitting an excitation signal, the network device receiving an inquiry response message from at least one tag, the inquiry response message being transmitted by the at least one tag by reflecting the excitation signal based on the inquiry command; the network device sends inquiry response messages to the at least one label respectively.

Based on the technical scheme of the application, by means of the mode that the network equipment sends the plurality of charging signals after a polling process, the label which covers the edge of the network equipment and does not receive the query command in the previous polling process can convert enough charging signals into energy, so that the query command sent by the network equipment after a plurality of charges can be received, and the communication system is successfully accessed.

In a fourth aspect, the present application provides a method for accessing a communication system, the method comprising: the tag receives a plurality of charging signals from the network device; the tag receives a query command from the network device; the tag receives an excitation signal from a network device; the label feeds back an inquiry response message to the network equipment by reflecting the excitation signal based on the inquiry command; the tag receives a query response message from the network device.

In a fifth aspect, the present application provides a communication device having the functionality to implement the method of the first aspect or any one of its possible implementations. The functions can be realized by hardware, and the functions can also be realized by executing corresponding software by hardware. The hardware or software includes one or more units corresponding to the above functions.

In a sixth aspect, the present application provides a communication device having the functionality to implement the method of the second aspect or any one of its possible implementations. The functions can be realized by hardware, and the functions can also be realized by executing corresponding software by hardware. The hardware or software includes one or more units corresponding to the above functions.

In a seventh aspect, the present application provides a communication apparatus, comprising a transmitting unit and a receiving unit, wherein the transmitting unit is configured to transmit a plurality of charging signals after performing a polling procedure; the sending unit is also used for sending a query command; the transmitting unit is also used for transmitting an excitation signal; the receiving unit is further configured to receive an inquiry response message from at least one tag, the inquiry response message being sent by reflecting the excitation signal based on the at least one inquiry command; the sending unit is further configured to send query response messages to the at least one tag, respectively.

In an eighth aspect, the present application provides a communication apparatus, comprising a transmitting unit and a receiving unit, wherein the receiving unit is configured to receive a plurality of charging signals from a network device; the receiving unit is further used for receiving a query command from the network equipment; the receiving unit is also used for receiving an excitation signal from the network equipment; the sending unit is used for feeding back an inquiry response message to the network equipment by reflecting the excitation signal based on the inquiry command; the receiving unit is further configured to receive a query response message from the network device.

In a ninth aspect, the present application provides a communications apparatus comprising one or more processors and one or more memories. The one or more memories are configured to store computer programs, and the one or more processors are configured to invoke and execute the computer programs stored in the one or more memories, so that the communication apparatus executes the method in any one of the possible implementation manners of the first aspect to the fourth aspect, and the first aspect to the fourth aspect.

In a tenth aspect, the present application provides a chip comprising one or more processors. The one or more processors are configured to read and execute the computer programs stored in the one or more memories to perform the methods of any one of the possible implementations of the first to fourth aspects and the first to fourth aspects. The one or more memories are independently disposed off the chip.

Optionally, the chip further comprises one or more memories, and the one or more memories and the one or more processors are connected with the one or more memories through circuits or wires.

Further optionally, the chip further comprises a communication interface.

The chip mentioned in the above tenth aspect may be a system on chip (SoC), a baseband chip, or the like.

In an eleventh aspect, the present application further provides a computer program product, which includes computer program code to, when run on a computer, cause the computer to perform the method in any one of the above-mentioned first to fourth aspects and possible implementations of the first to fourth aspects.

In a twelfth aspect, the present application further provides a computer-readable storage medium, in which computer instructions are stored, and when the computer instructions are executed on a computer, the method in any one of the possible implementation manners of the first aspect to the fourth aspect, and the first aspect to the fourth aspect is implemented.

In a thirteenth aspect, the present application provides a backscatter communication system comprising one or more of the communication apparatus of the fifth aspect, the communication apparatus of the sixth aspect; or comprise one or more of a communication device according to the seventh aspect, a communication device according to the eighth aspect.

Drawings

Fig. 1 is a schematic diagram of the principle of a backscatter device transmitting a reflected signal.

Fig. 2 and 3 are schematic diagrams of communication systems suitable for use in the present application.

Fig. 4 is a schematic diagram of a network device sending downstream information to a tag.

Fig. 5 is a schematic diagram of a tag sending a reflected signal to a network device.

Fig. 6 is a schematic diagram of a method for accessing a backscatter communication system based on a collision avoidance protocol.

Fig. 7 is a schematic diagram of signal waveforms at different bandwidths in backscatter communications.

Fig. 8 is a schematic diagram of a communication system suitable for use in the present application.

Fig. 9 is a schematic flow chart of a method for accessing a communication system according to an embodiment of the present application.

Fig. 10 is a schematic diagram of a method for accessing a communication system according to an embodiment of the present application.

Fig. 11 is a schematic flow chart of a method for accessing a communication system according to an embodiment of the present application.

Fig. 12 is a schematic diagram of a method for accessing a communication system according to an embodiment of the present application.

Fig. 13 is a schematic flow chart of a method for accessing a communication system according to an embodiment of the present application.

Fig. 14 is a schematic diagram of a method for accessing a communication system according to an embodiment of the present application.

Fig. 15 is a schematic block diagram of a communication device provided in an embodiment of the present application.

Fig. 16 is a schematic structural diagram of a tag provided in an embodiment of the present application.

Fig. 17 is a schematic structural diagram of a network device according to an embodiment of the present application.

Detailed Description

The technical solution in the present application will be described below with reference to the accompanying drawings.

For the convenience of understanding the technical solution of the present application, first, a brief description is made of the related concept of modulated backscatter communication.

Modulated backscattering is a technique suitable for use in low cost (low cost) and low power (low power) systems. Unlike conventional communication techniques, a reflector in a modulated backscatter communication system does not itself generate and transmit a Radio Frequency (RF) signal, but rather transmits information by modulating an RF signal in the environment. RF signals in the environment include wireless television signals, broadcast signals, signals transmitted by mobile communication stations, signals transmitted by wireless fidelity (WiFi) Access Points (APs), signals transmitted by professional readers, and the like.

The backscatter devices in the modulated backscatter communications system are generally not powered by batteries, or the backscatter devices are not powered by batteries during the process of transmitting and receiving signals using radio frequency, so as to achieve the function of low power consumption.

A backscatter device in a modulated backscatter communication system collects RF signals in the environment for charging (similar to wireless charging). When an RF signal exists in the environment, the backscattering equipment stores the energy sensed by the antenna into an energy storage device such as a capacitor, and when the stored energy reaches a certain threshold, the operation can be started. Due to this mode of operation, backscatter devices can typically only drive sensors on the order of microwatts.

The principle of the backscatter device sending a reflected signal is shown in figure 1. The backscatter devices transmit signals in a manner that controls the impedance of the transmitting antenna. Taking binary on-off keying (OOK) as an example, assuming that the incident RF signal received by the backscatter device is x and the modulated reflected signal is y, the relationship between the two can be expressed as: y ═ Γ x.

Where Γ is a reflection coefficient, which may be expressed as:

wherein Z is_aIs the impedance of the antenna or antennas,typically 50 ohms. Z_iThe impedance of the antenna in the i-th state, Z as shown in FIG. 1₁And Z₂Suppose that

Based on the above assumption, the "0" and "1" signals can be transmitted in the following manner.

Send "0" signal:

channel coding and modulation block control switch S select Z₁In this case, the reflection coefficient Γ is 0. I.e. energy representing the incident RF signal is absorbed by the backscatter device, which does not send a signal, representing an off state.

Sending a "1" signal:

channel coding and modulation block control switch S select Z₂Then, in this case, the reflection coefficient Γ ≠ 0. I.e. indicates that the incident RF signal is reflected by the backscatter device, at which time the backscatter device sends a signal, representing an on state.

Typical backscatter communications systems are constructed as shown in fig. 2 and 3.

In the configuration shown in fig. 2, backscatter communication system 100 includes a network device and a tag. The network device may send a downstream transmission signal to the tag. The network device may also send a downlink excitation signal to the tag, and further, the tag carries a signal sent to the network device on the received downlink excitation signal and reflects the signal to the network device.

In the configuration shown in fig. 3, the backscatter communication system 200 includes a network device, a relay node (relay), and a tag. The relay node may also be referred to as Helper. The network device may send downlink information to the relay node, and then the relay node sends a downlink transmission signal to the tag according to the indication of the network device. The relay node may also send a downlink excitation signal to the tag, and further, the tag carries a signal sent to the network device on the received downlink excitation signal and reflects the signal to the network device.

It should be understood that fig. 2 and 3 are only exemplary, and the present application is not limited thereto. For example, the embodiments of the present application may also be applied to any communication scenario in which backscatter communication is possible.

It should be further understood that the network device mentioned in the embodiments of the present application may be an interrogator (interrogator), a reader, a tag node, and the like, and the network device is taken as an example in the following embodiments for description. The Tag (Tag) mentioned in the embodiments of the present application may be defined by other names, such as a backscattering device, a transmitting device (backscatter device), a passive device (battery-less device), a passive device (passive device), a semi-active device (semi-active device), a scattering signal device (active signal device), and the like, and the Tag is exemplified in the embodiments below.

Fig. 4 is a schematic diagram illustrating a network device sending downstream information to a tag. As shown in fig. 4, the network device sends a downlink carrier signal, and the downlink carrier signal carries information sent to the tag. The downlink carrier signal sent by the network device is denoted as c (t), the downlink information sent to the tag is denoted as s (t), and the sent downlink signal is x (t) ═ c (t) × s (t). Taking OOK modulation as an example, a downlink carrier signal sent by the network device is a sine wave, the downlink information carried and sent is [ 101 ], and a downlink signal finally sent by the network device is as shown in fig. 4.

Fig. 5 shows a schematic diagram of a tag sending upstream information to a network device. The tag does not contain a radio frequency link, cannot actively send information, and can only send downlink excitation signals through network equipment, and the tag further sends '1' or '0' information by changing the impedance matching state of the antenna. As shown in fig. 5, a downlink excitation signal sent by the network device is denoted as c (t), uplink information sent by the tag is denoted as s (t), the tag sends s (t) by changing the matching state of the antenna impedance (the on state indicates "1", that is, the antenna is in the reflection state, the off state indicates "0", that is, the antenna is in the absorption state), and finally, the uplink reflection signal sent by the tag is x (t) ═ c (t) × s (t).

It should be understood that fig. 4 and fig. 5 are only examples, and illustrate a manner in which the network device directly sends the downstream information and the downstream excitation signal to the tag, which should not limit the embodiments of the present application. As shown in fig. 3, the network device may also send downlink information to the tag through the relay node, and the downlink excitation signal may be sent to the tag by the relay node.

Fig. 6 shows a schematic diagram of a method for a tag to access a backscatter communication system based on a collision avoidance protocol. As shown in fig. 6, assuming that there are 3 tags (tag #1 to tag #3) in the coverage area of the network device, the process of accessing the backscatter communication system by the tag includes the following steps:

step one, the network device sends a Query command, where the Query command indicates that the tag reports an Identifier (ID) of the tag or other information. Accordingly, the label in the coverage area of the network device can receive the Query command sent by the network device.

And step two, the 3 tags simultaneously feed back query response (QueryRsp) information to the network equipment by reflecting the downlink excitation signals. In this case, a collision occurs and 3 tags fail to access the communication system.

And step three, the network equipment sends the Query command again, and 3 tags find that the access to the communication system fails last time, and then generate random numbers respectively. If the random number is generated to be 1, continuing to execute the access process, and feeding back a QueryRsp message to the network equipment; and if the random number is generated to be 0, abandoning the access process and not sending the QueryRsp message.

And step four, assuming that the random number generated by the tag #2 is '0' and the random numbers generated by the tags #1 and #3 are '1', the tags #1 and #3 continue to transmit the QueryRsp message to the network device by reflecting the downlink excitation signal. In this case, collision still occurs, and access to the communication system by the tag #1 and the tag #3 fails.

And step five, the network equipment sends a Query command for the third time.

And step six, assuming that the tag #1 generates a random number "0" and the tag #3 generates a random number "1", the tag #3 sends a QueryRsp message to the network device by reflecting the downlink excitation signal. Tag #3 successfully accesses the communication system.

Step seven, the network device sends a query response (QueryAck) message to the tag #3, wherein the query ack message contains the ID of the tag # 3.

Fig. 7 shows a schematic diagram of signal waveforms at different bandwidths in backscatter communications.

Sinusoidal (SINE) waveform:

the SINE waveform is typically expressed as sin (2 π ft), where f is the carrier frequency. The SINE waveform has the characteristics of constant envelope, small occupied bandwidth in a frequency domain, shock response and suitability for long-distance transmission. The disadvantage is that once deep fading occurs in the communication channel, such as large fading on the frequency point corresponding to the SINE wave, the signal cannot be normally transmitted.

(ii) Multi-frequency sinusoidal (Multi-SINE) waveform:

a general expression for a Multi-SINE waveform is

Wherein N is the number of sub-channels, N is more than or equal to 1 and less than or equal to N, and N and N are positive integers. The Multi-SINE waveform is characterized by a broadband signal, can effectively overcome channel deep attenuation and large peak value, and can improve the performance of a receiver. The defects are that the occupied bandwidth is large, the peak value is large, and the requirement on a transmitter device is high.

(iii) Linear Frequency Modulation (LFM) waveform:

the general expression for LFM waveforms is sin (2 π ft)²). The LFM waveform is characterized by a broadband signal and can effectively overcome channel deep attenuation. The disadvantage is that the occupied bandwidth is large.

(four) Multi-frequency LFM (Multi-LFM) waveforms:

a general expression for a Multi-LFM waveform is

The Multi-LFM waveform is characterized by a broadband signal, can effectively overcome channel deep attenuation, has a large peak value and can improve the performance of a receiver. The defects are that the occupied bandwidth is large, in addition, the peak value is large, and the requirement on a transmitter device is high. Compared with the Multi-SINE waveform, the Multi-LFM waveform is more uniformly distributed on a frequency spectrum, and the problem of deep attenuation in a channel can be effectively solved.

According to the characteristics of the waveforms, in the backscattering communication process, the downlink carrier waves and the downlink excitation signals with different waveforms can be selected under different scenes.

For example, the SINE waveform may be preferred for channels that are long range, without deep fade, between the network device and the tag. As another example, for a scenario where there is a deep fading channel between the network device and the tag and the transmitter performance is limited, the LFM waveform may be preferentially selected. As another example, for a scenario where there is a deep fading channel between the network device and the tag and the transmitter performance is not limited, a Multi-SINE waveform or a Multi-LFM waveform may be preferred.

In addition, the selection of waveforms is limited by the bandwidth used, and in the case of limited bandwidth, only waveforms occupying less bandwidth can be used.

Currently, in conventional backscatter communication systems (e.g., RFID systems), the coverage area of network devices is limited, typically to within 20 meters. Therefore, in the conventional backscatter communication system, the uplink and downlink rates are fixed for the tags under the coverage of the same network device. The network equipment sends a query command once, and the tags in the coverage area can receive the query command, so that the network equipment can be successfully accessed into the communication system

However, as technology advances, the coverage of network devices expands, for example, from 20 meters transmission distance to 100 meters or more. In this case, as shown in the communication system 300 of fig. 8, there may be tags within the coverage of the network device that are closer to the network device and farther from the network device. A tag (e.g., tag #1 shown in fig. 8) closer to the network device may support sending the uplink reflection signal at a higher rate; while tags farther away from the network device (e.g., tag #2 shown in fig. 8) support lower rates for transmitting the upstream reflection signal.

In a scenario where the coverage area of the network device is enlarged, if the network device and the tags in the coverage area all use the same uplink and downlink rate for communication, the communication efficiency may be low or a part of the tags may not work. For example, if the network device and the tags in the coverage area both transmit at the lowest rate (i.e., the rate supported by the tag farthest from the network device), the communication efficiency of the communication system may be low. For another example, if the network device and all tags within the coverage area transmit at the highest rate (i.e., the rate supported by the tag closest to the network device), then the tags farther from the network device may be unable to operate.

Furthermore, the operating time and charging time of the batteryless tag may change as the coverage of the network device increases.

The energy coverage range of the traditional batteryless tag is within 20 meters, and near real-time communication can be basically ensured: the network equipment sends a charging signal to charge the non-battery tag, and the energy obtained by charging the non-battery tag can be subjected to at least one communication process; further, the network equipment sends a downlink signal to the battery-free tag; still further, the batteryless tag feeds back an uplink signal to the network device by reflecting the downlink excitation signal. That is, within a 20 meter range, a single charge of a batteryless tag may have sufficient energy to communicate once.

However, as network coverage expands, the distance of the batteryless tag from the network device increases, and thus the charging time of the batteryless tag also increases. For example, if the battery-less tag is 100 meters away from the network device, the battery-less tag can communicate 15.7 milliseconds only after charging for 3.9 seconds.

When there are non-battery tags distributed at different distances in the coverage area of the network device, if the charging time is configured according to the longest time (i.e., the charging time required by the non-battery tag farthest from the network device), the communication efficiency of the communication system is low. In addition, in some extreme cases, the energy obtained by charging a batteryless tag far away from the network device at one time can only be guaranteed to transmit an uplink signal at one time, and therefore, the backscattering communication system cannot be accessed based on the existing protocol and the downlink indication of the network device.

In view of this, embodiments of the present application provide a method for accessing a tag to a communication system, which can avoid the problem that the communication efficiency of a backscatter communication system is low or a part of tags cannot normally access the communication system.

The embodiments provided in the present application will be described in detail below with reference to the accompanying drawings.

Note that the tag mentioned in the following embodiments is a battery-less tag, or a tag that transmits and receives signals using a wireless device.

It should be further noted that the following embodiments refer to terms such as inquiry command, excitation signal, inquiry response message, uplink rate, sine waveform, multi-frequency sine waveform, chirp waveform, multi-frequency chirp waveform, etc., which are not detailed herein for brevity.

Fig. 9 is a schematic flow chart of a method for accessing a communication system according to an embodiment of the present application. The method 400 illustrated in fig. 9 may be applied to the communication system 300 illustrated in fig. 8. The method 400 shown in fig. 9 may include S410 to S420. The steps in method 400 are described in detail below.

S410, the network device determines to perform M polling procedures.

Wherein, M is a positive integer larger than 1, and M polling processes form a complete polling process. The embodiment of the present application does not limit the manner in which the network device determines the value of M.

In one implementation, the network device may determine the value of M based on the coverage. For example, the network device coverage is 20M, and the value of M may be determined to be 1; as another example, the network device coverage is 50M, and the value of M may be determined to be 3.

In another implementation, the network device may determine the value of M according to the number of polling procedures performed in the last complete polling procedure. For example, if the number of polling procedures in the last complete polling procedure is 3, the network device may determine that M has a value of 3; alternatively, it may be determined that the value of M is 4; still alternatively, it may be determined that the value of M is 2.

Optionally, the network device may further determine that access of at least K tags is completed in each polling process, where K is a positive integer. That is, in the m-th polling procedure, the network device performs the m + 1-th polling procedure after at least K tags successfully access the communication system.

Where K may be a predefined value. In particular, K may be a value predefined by the network device or a value predefined by the protocol.

Optionally, the network device may determine that at least the number of tags completing access is different in each polling process. For example, the network device determines that access to at least 10 tags is completed during the first polling and at least 5 tags is completed during the second polling.

The network device and the tags within the coverage area perform M polling procedures S420.

It should be appreciated that after the network device and the tags within the coverage area perform M polling procedures, all or most of the tags within the coverage area of the network device can successfully access the communication system. And at least two of all tags within the coverage area of the network device access the communication system through different polling processes. That is, a portion of all tags within the coverage area of the network device may successfully access the communication system in each of the M polling procedures.

Wherein each polling procedure of the M polling procedures may include S4201 to S4206. The specific processes of S4201 to S4206 are described in detail below by taking the M-th polling process among the M polling processes as an example.

S4201, the network device sends a query command. The query command is used for indicating the tag to report the identification information or other information of the tag.

It will be appreciated that the network device sends the query command in a broadcast manner. Accordingly, all tags within the coverage area of the network device may receive the query command sent by the network device. It can be understood that, after a tag far away from the network device in the coverage area of the network device receives a charging signal from the network device, there is still insufficient energy to perform at least one communication, and thus the query command sent by the network device cannot be received. That is, only tags within the coverage area of the network device that have sufficient energy to communicate at least once may receive the query command sent by the network device.

Optionally, the query command carries a value M, where the value M is used to indicate the M-th polling procedure, that is, to indicate that the polling procedure is the M-th polling procedure in the M polling procedures. For example, in the first polling procedure, the query command carries a value 1, where the value 1 indicates the first polling procedure, i.e., indicates that the current polling procedure is the first polling procedure in M polling procedures.

In some implementations, the network device sends the query command in the mth polling procedure to further indicate an uplink rate at which the tag feeds back the query response message in the mth polling procedure, and the uplink rate indicated by the query command sent by the network device in the mth polling procedure is greater than the uplink rate indicated by the query command sent by the network device in the m +1 th polling procedure.

Specifically, the uplink rate indicated by the query command sent by the network device during each polling process may be predefined. Table 1 shows an example of predefined uplink rates.

TABLE 1

As shown in table 1, in each polling process, 3 bits (bit) may be added to the query command sent by the network device to indicate the uplink rate of the tag. For example, if the increased 3 bits in the query command are 000, the uplink rate indicated by the query command is 64Kbps, and the corresponding charging signal time, downlink signaling time, and uplink reflection time are all 0.1 ms. For another example, if the increased 3 bits in the query command are 101, the uplink rate indicated by the query command is 2Kbps, the corresponding charging signal time, downlink signaling time, and uplink reflection time are all 3.2ms, the corresponding spreading code length is 16, and the corresponding coding rate is 1/2.

According to table 1, in the first polling process, the uplink rate indicated by the query command sent by the network device is 64 Kbps; in the second polling process, the uplink rate indicated by the query command sent by the network equipment is 32 Kbps; … …, respectively; in the seventh polling process, the uplink rate indicated by the polling command sent by the network device is 1 Kbps.

The channels between the network device and the tags within the coverage area may not all have multipath deep fading, and therefore, the network device does not have to transmit the query command with the maximum bandwidth each time.

Thus, in some implementations, the method 400 may further include, at each polling procedure: the network device determines one or more sub-channels for sending the query command. That is, before the network device sends the query command, the available channels are divided into a plurality of sub-channels; further, the network device may send the query command using one or more of the plurality of sub-channels.

For example, the network device may divide the available channels into N sub-channels, and during each polling, may send a query command using one or more of the N sub-channels, where N is a positive integer. For example, during a first polling, N subchannels may be used to send the query command; in the mth polling procedure, a query command may be transmitted using one of the N sub-channels.

Further, the network device may determine the waveform used to transmit the query command based on the one or more sub-channels used to transmit the query command.

For example, the network device transmits the query command using N subchannels, and in this case, the bandwidth used by the network device to transmit the query command is large, and thus the waveform of the query command may be determined as a Multi-SINE waveform, a Multi-LFM waveform, or an LFM waveform. For another example, the network device uses one of the sub-channels to transmit the query command, in which case, the bandwidth used by the network device to transmit the query command is small, and thus the waveform of the query command may be determined as the SINE waveform.

Specifically, the network device may determine the waveform of the query command according to the channel status with different tags. For example, the SINE waveform may be preferred for channels that are long range, without deep fade, between the network device and the tag. As another example, for a scenario where there is a deep fading channel between the network device and the tag and the network device is limited in performance, the LFM waveform may be preferentially selected. As another example, for a scenario where there is a deep fade between the network device and the tag and the performance of the network device is not limited, a Multi-SINE waveform or a Multi-LFM waveform may be preferred.

S4202, the network device transmits the excitation signal.

It can be understood that, since the tag itself does not include the rf link, the tag cannot actively transmit the uplink information, and only transmits the downlink excitation signal through the network device, and the tag further transmits the uplink information to the network device by reflecting the excitation signal.

Therefore, the tag receiving the query command cannot actively feed back the query response message to the network device, and only feeds back the query response message to the network device by feeding back the downlink excitation signal.

S4203, the tag determines an uplink rate of the feedback query response message.

If the tag has the capability of determining the strength of the received excitation signal, the tag may determine the uplink rate according to the strength of the received excitation signal. The tag may determine the strength of the received excitation signal by, for example, detecting the voltage at which the receiver receives the excitation signal.

If the tag does not have the capability of determining the power of the received excitation signal, the tag may determine the uplink rate indicated by the query command as the uplink rate for feeding back the query response message.

S4204, the tag feeds back a query response message based on the determined uplink rate.

The query response message is a response of the tag to the query command, and the query response message may include identification information of the tag.

It is understood that although the tags within the coverage of the network device may receive the query command sent by the network device, some tags that are far away from the network device do not have the energy to perform at least one communication and do not receive the query command.

Therefore, in S4204, the tag that receives the query command transmitted by the network device feeds back a query response message to the network device.

The tag may feed back an inquiry response message to the network device by reflecting the excitation signal based on the uplink rate determined in S4203.

For example, if the uplink rate determined by the tag according to the strength of the received excitation signal is 64Kbps, the tag feeds back the query response message at a rate of 64 Kbps.

For another example, if the uplink rate indicated by the query command is 64Kbps, the tag feeds back the query response message at the rate of 64 Kbps.

And when the polling process does not receive the label of the query command sent by the network equipment, continuing to wait for the next polling process until the label has enough energy and receives the query command, and feeding back a query response message to the network equipment by the label.

As described above, before the network device sends the downlink signal (e.g., the query command), a charging signal is sent to charge the tag. Tags that are closer to the network device may receive a charging signal and may have sufficient energy to feed back an upstream signal (e.g., a query response message). Tags that are further away from the network device may receive two, three, or more charging signals before sufficient energy is available to feed back an upstream signal (e.g., an inquiry response message). That is, a tag that is farther away from the network device may have sufficient energy to perform at least one communication during the mth polling procedure, and thus a tag that is farther away from the network device may receive a query command from the network device during the mth polling procedure.

As shown in fig. 10, assuming that there are tags #1 to #4 in the coverage area of the network device, during the first polling, the tags #1 and #2 are closer to the network device, and there is enough energy to perform one communication after receiving a charging signal. Therefore, only tag #1 and tag #2 receive the polling command sent by the network device during the first polling. Further, the tag #1 and the tag #2 feed back the inquiry response message to the network device by feeding back the excitation signal. Further, the tag #1 and the tag #2 access the communication system based on the collision avoidance protocol.

In the first polling process, the tags #3 and #4 do not have enough energy to communicate, and the tags #3 and #4 wait for the second polling process. During the second polling, after the two charging signals are received by the tags #3 and #4, there is enough energy to perform one communication. Therefore, during the second polling, tag #3 and tag #4 may receive the inquiry command sent by the network device. Further, the tag #3 and the tag #4 feed back the inquiry response message to the network device by feeding back the excitation signal. Further, tag #3 and tag #4 access the communication system based on the collision avoidance protocol.

As previously described, the network device may divide the available channels into a plurality of sub-channels and transmit the query command using one or more of the plurality of sub-channels during each polling, in which case the tag may determine the waveform used to transmit the query response message based on the one or more sub-channels on which the query command was received.

For example, the network device may divide the available channels into N sub-channels, and during the first polling, may send the query command using the N sub-channels; correspondingly, the label receives the query command on the N sub-channels; further, it is determined that the query response message may be fed back using a larger bandwidth according to the N subchannels used to receive the query command, and thus, the waveform of the query response message may be determined to be a Multi-SINE waveform, a Multi-LFM waveform, or an LFM waveform.

Specifically, different tags may determine the waveform of the query response message according to the channel state with the network device. For example, the SINE waveform may be preferred for channels that are long range, without deep fade, between the network device and the tag. As another example, for a scenario where there is a deep fading channel between the network device and the tag performance is limited, the LFM waveform may be preferentially selected. As another example, for a scenario where there is a deep fade between the network device and the tag and tag performance is not limited, a Multi-SINE waveform or a Multi-LFM waveform may be preferred.

Alternatively, the tag may feed back the waveform of the query response message using the same waveform as that of the received query command. For example, if the waveform of the query command received by the tag is a SINE waveform, the SINE waveform is used to feed back the query response message.

S4205, the network device sends a query response message to the tag.

If the network device only receives the inquiry response message fed back by one label in the polling process, the label is successfully accessed to the communication system, and the network device sends the inquiry response message to the label.

If the network device receives the inquiry response messages fed back by the multiple tags in the polling process, collision occurs, and the multiple tags fail to access the communication system. The plurality of tags may then access the communication system based on the collision avoidance protocol. The network device then begins the next polling process.

As shown in fig. 10, in the first polling process, the network device receives the query response messages from tag #1 and tag #2, and a collision occurs, and tag #1 and tag #2 access the communication system based on the anti-collision protocol. In the case where the access of the tag #1 and the tag #2 to the communication system is successful, the network device transmits inquiry response messages to the tag #1 and the tag #2, respectively.

In the second polling process, the network device receives the query response messages from the tag #3 and the tag #4, and then collision occurs, and the tag #3 and the tag #4 access the communication system based on the anti-collision protocol. In the case where the access of the tag #3 and the tag #4 to the communication system is successful, the network device transmits inquiry response messages to the tag #3 and the tag #4, respectively.

S4206, the tag saves the value m carried in the query command.

After receiving the query response message from the network device, the tag stores the value m carried by the query command in the memory. In the subsequent polling process, after the tag receives the query command from the network device, the access to the communication system is determined based on the stored value m, and in this case, the tag does not feed back the query response message to the network device.

As shown in fig. 10, during the first polling, tag #1 and tag #2 access the communication system, and tag #1 and tag #2 may hold the value 1. In the second polling process, after the tags #1 and #2 receive the query command sent by the network device again, the access to the communication system is determined according to the stored value 1, and in the second polling process, the tags #1 and #2 do not feed back the query response message any more.

Optionally, before performing the first polling procedure, the method 400 further comprises: the network device sends a reset command.

And if the tag stores the value m, deleting the stored value m after receiving a reset command from the network equipment.

In the embodiment of the application, by means of executing the polling process for multiple times by the network device, the tags with different distances from the network device can feed back the query response message at different uplink rates in the polling processes of different times, so that the communication efficiency of the whole communication system is improved. In addition, by means of the mode that the network equipment executes a plurality of polling processes, the tag far away can receive a charging signal in each polling process, so that the tag far away can convert enough charging signals into energy for communication, and the tag far away can be ensured to normally access the communication system.

Fig. 11 is a schematic flow chart of a method for accessing a communication system according to another embodiment of the present application. The method 500 shown in fig. 11 may be applied to the communication system 300 shown in fig. 8. The method 500 shown in fig. 11 may include S510 to S520. The steps in method 500 are described in detail below.

S510, the network device determines to perform M polling procedures.

Wherein, M is a positive integer, and M polling processes form a complete polling process. The embodiment of the present application does not limit the manner in which the network device determines the value of M.

S520, the network device and the tags in the coverage area execute M polling processes.

Wherein, each polling procedure of the M polling procedures may include S5201 to S5206. The following describes in detail the specific processes of S5201 to S5206 by taking the M-th polling procedure of the M polling procedures as an example.

S5201, the network device determines one or more sub-channels for transmitting the query command and a waveform of the query command.

The network device may divide the available channels into a plurality of sub-channels and further transmit the query command using one or more of the plurality of sub-channels.

Alternatively, the network device may determine the number of sub-channels according to the number of polling procedures, for example, if the number of polling procedures is M, the network device may divide the channel for sending the query command into M sub-channels.

For example, as shown in fig. 12, the network device divides the available channels into sub-channel #1 and sub-channel #2, transmits the inquiry command using sub-channel #1 during the first polling, and transmits the inquiry command using sub-channel #1 and sub-channel #2 during the second polling.

Further, the network device may determine the waveform used to transmit the query command based on the sub-channel used to transmit the query command. For example, the network device transmits the query command using M subchannels, and in this case, the bandwidth used by the network device to transmit the query command is large, and thus the waveform of the query command may be determined as a Multi-SINE waveform, a Multi-LFM waveform, or an LFM waveform. For another example, the network device uses one of the sub-channels to transmit the query command, in which case, the bandwidth used by the network device to transmit the query command is small, and thus the waveform of the query command may be determined as the SINE waveform.

S5202, the network device sends the query command.

It will be appreciated that the network device sends the query command in a broadcast manner.

The query command carries a value M, and the value M is used for indicating the M-th polling process, namely indicating that the polling process is the M-th polling process in the M polling processes. For example, in the first polling procedure, the query command carries a value 1, where the value 1 indicates the first polling procedure, i.e., indicates that the current polling procedure is the first polling procedure in M polling procedures.

S5203, the network device transmits the excitation signal.

S5204, the tag feeds back the query response message to the network device.

Therefore, in S5204, the tag that received the query command sent by the network device feeds back a query response message to the network device.

For example, the network device may divide the available channels into N sub-channels, and during the first polling, may send the query command using the N sub-channels; correspondingly, the label receives the query command on the N sub-channels; further, it is determined that the query response message may be fed back using a larger bandwidth according to the N subchannels used to receive the query command, and thus, the waveform of the query response message may be determined as a Multi-SINE waveform, a Multi-LFM waveform, or an LFM waveform.

As shown in fig. 12, assuming that there are tags #1 to #4 in the coverage area of the network device, during the first polling, the tags #1 and #2 are closer to the network device, and there is enough energy to perform one communication after receiving a charging signal. Therefore, only tag #1 and tag #2 receive the polling command sent by the network device during the first polling. Further, the tag #1 and the tag #2 may determine to feed back the inquiry response message using a smaller bandwidth according to the subchannel #1 used to receive the inquiry command before feeding back the inquiry response message. Thus, tag #1 and tag #2 can determine the waveform of the inquiry response message as the SINE waveform.

In the first polling process, the tags #3 and #4 do not have enough energy to communicate, and the tags #3 and #4 wait for the second polling process. During the second polling, the two charging signals received by tag #3 and tag #4 may have enough energy to perform one communication. Therefore, during the second polling, tag #3 and tag #4 may receive the inquiry command sent by the network device. Further, tag #3 and tag #4 may determine to feed back the inquiry response message using a larger bandwidth according to the subchannel #1 and subchannel #2 used to receive the inquiry command before feeding back the inquiry response message. Thus, tag #3 and tag #4 may determine the waveform of the inquiry response message as a Multi-SINE waveform, a Multi-LFM waveform, or an LFM waveform.

S5205, the network device sends a query response message to the tag.

As shown in fig. 12, in the first polling process, the network device receives the query response messages from tag #1 and tag #2, and a collision occurs, and tag #1 and tag #2 access the communication system based on the anti-collision protocol. In the case where the access of the tag #1 and the tag #2 to the communication system is successful, the network device transmits inquiry response messages to the tag #1 and the tag #2, respectively.

S5206, the tag saves the value m carried in the query command.

As shown in fig. 12, during the first polling, tag #1 and tag #2 access the communication system, and tag #1 and tag #2 may hold the value 1. In the second polling process, after the tags #1 and #2 receive the query command sent by the network device again, the access to the communication system is determined according to the stored value 1, and in the second polling process, the tags #1 and #2 do not feed back the query response message any more.

Optionally, before performing the first polling procedure, the method 500 further includes: the network device sends a reset command.

In the embodiment of the application, by means of executing a plurality of polling processes by the network device, the tag far away from the network device can receive a charging signal in each polling process, so that the tag far away from the network device can convert a sufficient charging signal into energy for communication, and the tag far away from the network device can normally access the communication system. And a mode of dividing a channel for sending the query command into a plurality of sub-channels is adopted, so that the network equipment can send the query command by using different bandwidths in each polling process, and different waveforms can be selected according to the bandwidths to send the query command.

Fig. 13 is a diagram illustrating a method for accessing a communication system according to another embodiment of the present application. As shown in fig. 13, the method 600 includes S610 to S680, each of which is described in detail below.

S610, the network device transmits a query command # 1.

It is understood that the network device transmits the query command #1 in a broadcast manner.

S620, the network device sends the excitation signal.

S630, the tag # a feeds back the query response message.

S640, the network device sends a query response message to tag # a.

The embodiment of the present application assumes that tag # a has enough energy to feed back the query response message after receiving the query command # 1.

Assuming that there may be tags # B within the network coverage area that may not receive the query command #1 and cannot obtain enough energy for communication based on one charging signal from the network device, the method 600 may perform S650 to S680.

S650, the network device transmits the inquiry command # 2.

It will be appreciated that the tag may draw energy from other communication sources or energy sources in the environment in addition to converting the charging signal sent by the network device into energy, and thus, the tag may obtain sufficient energy for at least one communication after a period of time even if the network device does not send a charging signal to the tag.

The network device may therefore send query command #2 after a certain time interval after a poll.

The embodiments of the present application define tags that have undergone one or more polling procedures and will not respond to query command #2 even if the communication system is not successfully accessed. That is, the tag of the inquiry command #1 from the network device is received during the previous polling process or processes, and the inquiry response message is not fed back after the inquiry command #2 is received.

Assuming that the tag # B does not receive the query command #1 from the network device in the previous polling process or processes, the tag # B feeds back a query response message to the network device in response to the query command #2 when receiving the query command # 2.

Optionally, the network device transmits a plurality of charging signals before transmitting inquiry command # 2.

The network may cover the edge of the tag, and may still not have enough energy to communicate at least once after undergoing one or more polling procedures, in which case the network device may continue to transmit multiple charging signals so that the edge-covered tag may convert enough charging signals into energy to communicate.

Alternatively, the network device may repeatedly transmit the query command #2 a plurality of times.

It will be appreciated that based on the existing polling process, the network device will send a charging signal before each query command is sent. Therefore, after repeatedly sending query command #2 multiple times, the tag covering the edge can also convert enough charging signal into energy for communication.

And S660, the network equipment sends the excitation signal.

S670, the tag # B feeds back the query response message to the network device.

S680, the network device sends a query response message to tag # B.

As shown in fig. 14, in the process of one normal polling, the tags #1 to #3 receive the query command #1 sent by the network device, and the tags #1 to #3 feed back the query response message and access the communication system based on the anti-collision protocol.

Subsequently, the network device sends query command #2, tag #4 has enough energy to communicate at least once, and tag #4 can receive query command # 2. Subsequently, the tag #4 feeds back an inquiry response message to the network device in response to the inquiry command # 2.

The method for accessing a communication system according to the embodiment of the present application is described in detail above, and a communication apparatus according to the present application is described below. It should be understood that the description of the apparatus embodiments corresponds to the description of the method embodiments, and therefore, for brevity, details are not repeated here, since the details that are not described in detail may be referred to the above method embodiments.

Referring to fig. 15, fig. 15 is a schematic block diagram of a communication device 1000 provided herein. As shown in fig. 15, the communication apparatus 1000 includes a transceiver unit 1010 and a processing unit 1020.

In one possible design, the communication apparatus 1000 may correspond to the network device in the above method embodiment.

It is to be understood that the communications apparatus 1000 may include means for performing the methods performed by the network device in the method 400 in fig. 9, the method 500 in fig. 11, and the method 600 in fig. 13. Also, the units in the communication apparatus 1000 and the other operations and/or functions described above are respectively for implementing the corresponding flows executed by the network device in the method 400 in fig. 9, the method 500 in fig. 11, and the method 600 in fig. 13. It should be understood that the specific processes of the units for executing the corresponding steps are already described in detail in the above method embodiments, and therefore, for brevity, detailed descriptions thereof are omitted.

It should also be understood that when the communication apparatus 1000 is a network device, the transceiving unit 1010 in the communication apparatus 1000 may be implemented by a transceiver, for example, may correspond to the transceiver 3200 in the network device 3000 shown in fig. 17, and the processing unit 1020 in the communication apparatus 1000 may be implemented by at least one processor, for example, may correspond to the processor 3100 in the network device 3000 shown in fig. 17.

It should also be understood that when the communication apparatus 1000 is a chip configured in a network device, the transceiver 1010 in the communication apparatus 1000 may be implemented by an input/output interface, and the processing unit 1020 in the communication apparatus 1000 may be implemented by a processor, a microprocessor, an integrated circuit, or the like integrated on the chip or a system of chips.

In another possible design, the communication device 1000 may correspond to the tag of the above method embodiment.

It is to be understood that the communication device 1000 may include means for performing the methods of the tag execution in the method 400 in fig. 9, the method 500 in fig. 11, and the method 600 in fig. 13. Also, the units in the communication device 1000 and the other operations and/or functions described above are respectively for implementing the corresponding flows executed by the tags in the method 400 in fig. 9, the method 500 in fig. 11, and the method 600 in fig. 13. It should be understood that the specific processes of the units for executing the corresponding steps are already described in detail in the above method embodiments, and therefore, for brevity, detailed descriptions thereof are omitted.

Referring to fig. 16, fig. 16 is a schematic block diagram of a tag 2000 provided herein. As shown in fig. 16, the tag includes a data receiving and demodulating unit, an energy collecting and managing unit, a signal modulating and reflecting unit, a logic control unit, and the like. Alternatively, the logic control unit may be a processor. Further, the tag may further include a storage unit and a channel coding module.

When the tag 2000 is used to execute the method 400 in fig. 9, the data receiving and demodulating unit may be configured to execute S4201, S4202 and S4205 in the method 400, the signal modulating and reflecting unit and the channel encoding unit may be configured to execute S4204 in the method 400, the logic controlling unit may be configured to execute S4203 in the method 400, the storage unit may be configured to execute S4206 in the method 400, and the energy collecting and managing unit may be configured to receive the charging signal transmitted by the network device and to collect energy in the environment.

When the tag 2000 is used to execute the method 500 in fig. 11, the data receiving demodulation unit may be used to execute S5202, S5203 and S5205 in the method 500, the signal modulating reflection unit and the channel coding unit may be used to execute S5204 in the method 500, the logic control unit may be used to execute S5201 in the method 5400, the storage unit may be used to execute S5206 in the method 500, and the energy collection and management unit may be used to receive the network device sending charging signals and to collect energy in the environment.

When the tag 2000 is used to perform the method 600 in fig. 13, the data receiving and demodulating unit may be used to perform S610, S620, S640, S650, S660, and S680 in the method 600, the signal modulating and reflecting unit and the channel encoding unit may be used to perform S630 and S670 in the method 600, and the energy collecting and managing unit may be used to receive the charging signal transmitted by the network device and to collect energy in the environment.

The tag can also be connected with the sensor or a data unit of the sensor, so that the tag can transmit data collected by the sensor. The data reflected by the tag can be RFID, and can also be other data, such as temperature, humidity and the like collected by a sensor. In the case of receiving energy, the processing circuitry inside the tag communicates with the energy harvesting and management unit. In the case of a reflected signal, the processing circuitry inside the watch communicates with the signal modulating reflecting unit. The channel coding unit, the logic control unit or the processing period described above may each be part of the functionality of the processing circuit.

In addition, in fig. 16, the storage unit may be one or more and integrated with the processing circuit, and the present application is not limited to this manner. For example, in other implementations, the memory cells may be located external to the processing circuitry, with the two being physically separate structures.

It will be appreciated that the logic control unit or processor is primarily used for processing of received data as well as reflected data.

Alternatively, in other implementations, the sensor may be integrated within the tag, which is not limited herein. For example, the data unit or the output interface of the sensor may be connected to the processing circuit of the tag, so that the processing circuit of the tag may receive and transmit the data collected by the sensor.

Fig. 17 is a schematic structural diagram of a network device provided in the embodiment of the present application, which may be a schematic structural diagram of a base station, for example. The base station 3000 can be applied to a system as shown in fig. 8, and performs the functions of the network device in the above method embodiment. As shown, the base station 3000 may include one or more radio frequency units, such as a Remote Radio Unit (RRU) 3100 and one or more baseband units (BBUs) (which may also be referred to as Distributed Units (DUs)) 3200. The RRU 3100 may be referred to as a transceiver unit, and corresponds to the transceiver unit 1010 in fig. 15. Alternatively, the transceiving unit 3100 may also be referred to as a transceiver, transceiving circuit, or transceiver, etc., which may comprise at least one antenna 3101 and a radio frequency unit 3102. Alternatively, the transceiving unit 3100 may include a receiving unit and a transmitting unit, the receiving unit may correspond to a receiver (or receiver, receiving circuit), and the transmitting unit may correspond to a transmitter (or transmitter, transmitting circuit). The RRU 3100 part is mainly used for transceiving and converting radio frequency signals to baseband signals, for example, for sending indication information to a terminal device. The BBU 3200 section is mainly used for performing baseband processing, controlling a base station, and the like. The RRU 3100 and the BBU 3200 may be physically disposed together or may be physically disposed separately, i.e. distributed base stations.

The BBU 3200 is a control center of the base station, and may also be referred to as a processing unit, and may correspond to the processing unit 1020 in fig. 15, and is mainly used for completing baseband processing functions, such as channel coding, multiplexing, modulating, spreading, and the like. For example, the BBU (processing unit) may be configured to control the base station to perform an operation procedure related to the network device in the foregoing method embodiment, for example, to generate the foregoing indication information.

In an example, the BBU 3200 may be formed by one or more boards, and the boards may collectively support a radio access network of a single access system (e.g., an LTE network), or may respectively support radio access networks of different access systems (e.g., an LTE network, a 5G network, or other networks). The BBU 3200 also includes a memory 3201 and a processor 3202. The memory 3201 is used to store necessary instructions and data. The processor 3202 is used for controlling the base station to perform necessary actions, for example, for controlling the base station to execute the operation flow related to the network device in the above method embodiment. The memory 3201 and processor 3202 may serve one or more boards. That is, the memory and processor may be provided separately on each board. Multiple boards may share the same memory and processor. In addition, each single board can be provided with necessary circuits.

It should be understood that the base station 3000 shown in fig. 17 can implement the various processes involving network devices in the method embodiments shown in fig. 9, 11, and 13. The operations and/or functions of the respective modules in the base station 3000 are respectively for implementing the corresponding flows in the above-described method embodiments. Reference may be made specifically to the description of the above method embodiments, and a detailed description is appropriately omitted herein to avoid redundancy.

BBU 3200 as described above can be used to perform actions described in previous method embodiments as being implemented internally by a network device, while RRU 3100 can be used to perform actions described in previous method embodiments as being sent by or received from a terminal device by a network device. Please refer to the description of the previous embodiment of the method, which is not repeated herein.

It should be understood that the base station 3000 shown in fig. 17 is only one possible form of network device, and should not limit the present application in any way. The method provided by the application can be applied to network equipment in other forms. For example, including AAUs, and may also include CUs and/or DUs, or including BBUs and Adaptive Radio Units (ARUs), or BBUs; the network device may also be a Customer Premise Equipment (CPE) or other forms, and the present application is not limited to a specific form of the network device.

Wherein the CU and/or DU may be configured to perform the actions described in the previous method embodiments that are implemented internally by the network device, and the AAU may be configured to perform the actions described in the previous method embodiments that the network device transmits to or receives from the terminal device. Please refer to the description of the previous embodiment of the method, which is not repeated herein.

The embodiment of the application also provides a processing device, which comprises a processor and an interface; the processor is configured to perform the method of any of the above method embodiments.

It is to be understood that the processing means described above may be one or more chips. For example, the processing device may be a Field Programmable Gate Array (FPGA), an Application Specific Integrated Circuit (ASIC), a system on chip (SoC), a Central Processing Unit (CPU), a Network Processor (NP), a digital signal processing circuit (DSP), a Microcontroller (MCU), a Programmable Logic Device (PLD), or other integrated chips.

In implementation, the steps of the above method may be performed by integrated logic circuits of hardware in a processor or instructions in the form of software. The steps of a method disclosed in connection with the embodiments of the present application may be directly implemented by a hardware processor, or may be implemented by a combination of hardware and software modules in a processor. The software module may be located in ram, flash memory, rom, prom, or eprom, registers, etc. storage media as is well known in the art. The storage medium is located in a memory, and a processor reads information in the memory and completes the steps of the method in combination with hardware of the processor. To avoid repetition, it is not described in detail here.

It should be noted that the processor in the embodiments of the present application may be an integrated circuit chip having signal processing capability. In implementation, the steps of the above method embodiments may be performed by integrated logic circuits of hardware in a processor or instructions in the form of software. The processor described above may be a general purpose processor, a Digital Signal Processor (DSP), an Application Specific Integrated Circuit (ASIC), a Field Programmable Gate Array (FPGA) or other programmable logic device, discrete gate or transistor logic, discrete hardware components. The various methods, steps, and logic blocks disclosed in the embodiments of the present application may be implemented or performed. A general purpose processor may be a microprocessor or the processor may be any conventional processor or the like. The steps of the method disclosed in connection with the embodiments of the present application may be directly implemented by a hardware decoding processor, or implemented by a combination of hardware and software modules in the decoding processor. The software module may be located in ram, flash memory, rom, prom, or eprom, registers, etc. storage media as is well known in the art. The storage medium is located in a memory, and a processor reads information in the memory and completes the steps of the method in combination with hardware of the processor.

It will be appreciated that the memory in the embodiments of the subject application can be either volatile memory or nonvolatile memory, or can include both volatile and nonvolatile memory. The non-volatile memory may be a read-only memory (ROM), a Programmable ROM (PROM), an Erasable PROM (EPROM), an electrically Erasable EPROM (EEPROM), or a flash memory. Volatile memory can be Random Access Memory (RAM), which acts as external cache memory. By way of example, but not limitation, many forms of RAM are available, such as Static Random Access Memory (SRAM), Dynamic Random Access Memory (DRAM), Synchronous Dynamic Random Access Memory (SDRAM), double data rate SDRAM, enhanced SDRAM, SLDRAM, Synchronous Link DRAM (SLDRAM), and direct rambus RAM (DR RAM). It should be noted that the memory of the systems and methods described herein is intended to comprise, without being limited to, these and any other suitable types of memory.

Furthermore, the present application also provides a computer-readable storage medium, in which computer instructions are stored, and when the computer instructions are executed on a computer, the computer is caused to execute the operations and/or processes performed by the network device in the method for accessing a communication system provided by the present application.

The present application also provides a computer-readable storage medium having stored therein computer instructions, which, when run on a computer, cause the computer to perform the operations and/or processes performed by a tag in the method of accessing a communication system provided by the present application.

The present application also provides a computer program product comprising computer program code which, when run on a computer, causes the computer to perform the operations and/or processes performed by the network device in the method of accessing a communication system provided by the present application.

The present application also provides a computer program product comprising computer program code which, when run on a computer, causes the computer to perform the operations and/or processes performed by the tag in the method of accessing a communication system as provided herein.

The present application also provides a communication apparatus comprising a processor and an interface circuit, the interface circuit being configured to receive computer code or instructions and transmit the computer code or instructions to the processor, and the processor being configured to execute the computer code or instructions to perform the operations and/or processes performed by the network device in the method of accessing a communication system provided by the present application.

The present application also provides a communication device comprising a processor and an interface circuit for receiving computer code or instructions and transmitting the same to the processor, the processor being configured to execute the computer code or instructions to perform the operations and/or processes performed by the tag in the method of accessing a communication system provided herein.

The present application also provides a chip that includes one or more processors. The one or more processors are configured to execute the computer program stored in the memory to perform the operations and/or processes performed by the network device in any of the method embodiments. Wherein the memory for storing the computer program is provided independently of the chip.

Further, the chip may also include one or more communication interfaces. The one or more communication interfaces may be input/output interfaces, input/output circuits, etc. Further, the chip may further include one or more of the memories.

The present application also provides a chip that includes one or more processors. The one or more processors are configured to execute computer programs stored in the memory to perform the operations and/or processes performed by the tag in any of the method embodiments. Wherein the memory for storing the computer program is provided independently of the chip.

In addition, the application also provides a backscattering communication system which comprises the network equipment and/or the label in the embodiment of the application.

The processors mentioned in the above embodiments have the capability of processing signals. In implementation, the steps of the above method embodiments may be performed by integrated logic circuits of hardware in a processor or instructions in the form of software. The processor may be a general purpose processor, a Digital Signal Processor (DSP), an Application Specific Integrated Circuit (ASIC), a Field Programmable Gate Array (FPGA) or other programmable logic device, discrete gate or transistor logic, or discrete hardware components. A general purpose processor may be a microprocessor or the processor may be any conventional processor or the like. The steps of the method disclosed in the embodiments of the present application may be directly implemented by a hardware encoding processor, or implemented by a combination of hardware and software modules in the encoding processor. The software module may be located in ram, flash memory, rom, prom, or eprom, registers, etc. storage media as is well known in the art. The storage medium is located in a memory, and a processor reads information in the memory and completes the steps of the method in combination with hardware of the processor.

The memory referred to in the above embodiments may be volatile memory or non-volatile memory, or may include both volatile and non-volatile memory. The non-volatile memory may be a read-only memory (ROM), a Programmable ROM (PROM), an Erasable PROM (EPROM), an electrically Erasable EPROM (EEPROM), or a flash memory. Volatile memory can be Random Access Memory (RAM), which acts as external cache memory. By way of example, but not limitation, many forms of RAM are available, such as Static Random Access Memory (SRAM), Dynamic Random Access Memory (DRAM), Synchronous Dynamic Random Access Memory (SDRAM), double data rate SDRAM, enhanced SDRAM, SLDRAM, Synchronous Link DRAM (SLDRAM), and Direct Rambus RAM (DRRAM). It should be noted that the memory of the systems and methods described herein is intended to comprise, without being limited to, these and any other suitable types of memory.

Herein, "and/or" describes an association relationship of associated objects, meaning that there may be three relationships, e.g., a and/or B, which may mean: a is present alone, A and B are present simultaneously, and B is present alone. A, B may be singular or plural. The character "/" generally indicates that the former and latter associated objects are in an "or" relationship.

Those of ordinary skill in the art will appreciate that the various illustrative elements and algorithm steps described in connection with the embodiments disclosed herein may be implemented as electronic hardware or combinations of computer software and electronic hardware. Whether such functionality is implemented as hardware or software depends upon the particular application and design constraints imposed on the implementation. Skilled artisans may implement the described functionality in varying ways for each particular application, but such implementation decisions should not be interpreted as causing a departure from the scope of the present application.

In the several embodiments provided in the present application, it should be understood that the disclosed system, apparatus and method may be implemented in other ways. For example, the above-described apparatus embodiments are merely illustrative, and for example, the division of the units is only one logical division, and other divisions may be realized in practice, for example, a plurality of units or components may be combined or integrated into another system, or some features may be omitted, or not executed. In addition, the shown or discussed mutual coupling or direct coupling or communication connection may be an indirect coupling or communication connection through some interfaces, devices or units, and may be in an electrical, mechanical or other form.

The units described as separate parts may or may not be physically separate, and parts displayed as units may or may not be physical units, may be located in one place, or may be distributed on a plurality of network units. Some or all of the units can be selected according to actual needs to achieve the purpose of the solution of the embodiment.

In addition, functional units in the embodiments of the present application may be integrated into one processing unit, or each unit may exist alone physically, or two or more units are integrated into one unit.

The functions, if implemented in the form of software functional units and sold or used as a stand-alone product, may be stored in a computer readable storage medium. Based on such understanding, the technical solution of the present application or portions thereof that substantially contribute to the prior art may be embodied in the form of a software product stored in a storage medium and including instructions for causing a computer device (which may be a personal computer, a server, or a network device) to execute all or part of the steps of the method according to the embodiments of the present application. And the aforementioned storage medium includes: u disk, removable hard disk, read only memory, random access memory, magnetic or optical disk, etc. for storing program codes.

The above description is only for the specific embodiments of the present application, but the scope of the present application is not limited thereto, and any person skilled in the art can easily conceive of the changes or substitutions within the technical scope of the present application, and shall be covered by the scope of the present application. Therefore, the protection scope of the present application shall be subject to the protection scope of the claims.

Claims

1. A method for accessing a communication system, comprising:

the network equipment determines to execute M polling processes, wherein the M polling processes are used for completing the access of a plurality of labels in the coverage area of the network equipment, and M is a positive integer greater than 1;

the network equipment completes the access of the plurality of labels through the M polling processes, and at least two labels in the plurality of labels are accessed to a communication system through different polling processes;

wherein, each polling process comprises:

the network equipment sends a query command;

the network equipment sends an excitation signal;

the network device receiving an inquiry response message from at least one tag, the inquiry response message being sent by the at least one tag by reflecting the excitation signal based on the inquiry command;

and the network equipment respectively sends inquiry response messages to the at least one label.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein the query command sent in the mth one of the M polling procedures carries a value M to indicate the mth polling procedure; wherein M is more than or equal to 1 and less than or equal to M, and M is an integer.

3. The method of claim 2, wherein the query command sent in the mth polling procedure of the M polling procedures is further used for indicating an uplink rate at which the at least one tag feeds back the query response message in the mth polling procedure, and the uplink rate indicated by the query command sent in the mth polling procedure is greater than the uplink rate indicated by the query command sent in the M +1 polling procedure.

4. A method according to claim 2 or 3, characterized in that the method further comprises:

and after the network equipment completes the access of at least K labels in the mth polling process, executing the (m + 1) th polling process, wherein K is a positive integer.

5. The method of claim 4, wherein K is a predefined value.

6. The method according to any of claims 1 to 5, wherein prior to performing the first polling procedure, the method further comprises:

the network device sends a reset command.

7. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 6, wherein after performing the M polling procedures, the method further comprises:

the network equipment transmits a plurality of charging signals;

the network device sends a query command.

8. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 7, wherein during each polling, the method further comprises:

the network device determining one or more sub-channels for sending a query command;

the network device determines a waveform used for transmitting the query command according to the one or more sub-channels.

9. The method of claim 8, wherein the waveform of the query command comprises:

sinusoidal waveforms, multi-frequency sinusoidal waveforms, chirped waveforms, or multi-frequency chirped waveforms.

10. A method for accessing a communication system, comprising:

the method comprises the steps that a tag receives a query command from network equipment, wherein the query command carries a value m, and the value m is used for indicating an m-th query process;

the tag receives an excitation signal from the network device;

the tag determines an uplink rate according to the strength of the received excitation signal;

the label feeds back a query response message to the network equipment by reflecting the excitation signal based on the uplink rate and the query command;

the tag receives a query response message from the network device;

the tag saves the value m.

11. The method of claim 10, wherein the query command is further used to indicate the uplink rate.

12. The method according to claim 10 or 11, characterized in that the method further comprises:

the tag receiving a reset command from the network device;

and deleting the stored numerical value m by the label.

13. The method according to any one of claims 10 to 12, further comprising:

the tag receiving a plurality of charging signals from the network device;

the tag receives a query command from the network device.

14. The method according to any one of claims 10 to 13, further comprising:

the tag determines a waveform used for feeding back the query response message according to one or more sub-channels receiving the query command.

15. The method of claim 14, wherein the waveform of the query response message comprises:

16. A communications apparatus, comprising: a transceiving unit and a processing unit, wherein,

the processing unit is used for determining to execute M polling processes, wherein the M polling processes are used for completing the access of a plurality of tags in the coverage area of the communication device, and M is a positive integer greater than 1;

the processing unit is further used for completing the access of the plurality of tags through the M polling processes, and at least two tags in the plurality of tags are accessed to a communication system through different polling processes;

wherein, in each polling process:

the receiving and sending unit is used for sending a query command;

the receiving and transmitting unit is also used for transmitting an excitation signal;

the transceiver unit is further configured to receive an inquiry response message from at least one tag, where the inquiry response message is sent by the at least one tag by reflecting the excitation signal based on the inquiry command;

the transceiver unit is further configured to send a query response message to the at least one tag, respectively.

17. The communications apparatus according to claim 16, wherein the query command sent in an mth polling procedure of the M polling procedures carries a value M to indicate the mth polling procedure; wherein M is more than or equal to 1 and less than or equal to M, and M is an integer.

18. The communications apparatus of claim 17, wherein the query command sent in an mth polling procedure of the mth polling procedures is further used to indicate an uplink rate at which the at least one tag feeds back the query response message in the mth polling procedure, and the uplink rate indicated by the query command sent in the mth polling procedure is greater than the uplink rate indicated by the query command sent in an M +1 th polling procedure.

19. The communication apparatus according to claim 17 or 18, wherein the processing unit is further configured to perform an m +1 polling procedure after completing access of at least K tags in an m-th polling procedure, where K is a positive integer.

20. The apparatus of claim 19, wherein K is a predefined value.

21. A communication apparatus according to any of claims 16-20, wherein the transceiving unit is further configured to send a reset command.

22. The communication device according to any of claims 16 to 21, wherein the transceiver unit is further configured to transmit a plurality of charging signals;

the transceiving unit is further configured to send a query command.

23. A communication apparatus according to any of claims 16 to 22, wherein during each polling:

the processing unit is further configured to determine one or more sub-channels for sending the query command;

the processing unit is further configured to determine a waveform used to transmit the query command according to the one or more sub-channels.

24. The communications apparatus of claim 23, wherein the waveform of the query command comprises

25. A communication device is characterized by comprising a transceiving unit and a processing unit,

the receiving and sending unit is used for receiving an inquiry command from network equipment, wherein the inquiry command carries a value m, and the value m is used for indicating an m-th inquiry process;

the transceiver unit is further used for receiving an excitation signal from the network equipment;

the processing unit is used for determining an uplink rate according to the strength of the received excitation signal;

the transceiver unit is further configured to feedback an inquiry response message to the network device by reflecting the excitation signal based on the uplink rate and the inquiry command;

the receiving and sending unit is further used for receiving a query response message from the network equipment;

the processing unit is further configured to save the value m.

26. The communications apparatus of claim 25, wherein the query command is further configured to indicate the uplink rate.

27. The communication apparatus according to claim 25 or 26, wherein the transceiver unit is further configured to receive a reset command from the network device;

the processing unit is further configured to delete the saved value m.

28. The apparatus according to any one of claims 25 to 27, wherein the transceiver unit is further configured to receive a plurality of charging signals from the network device;

the transceiver unit is further configured to receive a query command from the network device.

29. The communications apparatus as claimed in any of claims 25 to 28, wherein the processing unit is further configured to determine a waveform used for feeding back the query response message according to one or more sub-channels receiving the query command.

30. The communications apparatus of claim 29, wherein the waveform of the query response message comprises: