CN116263868A

CN116263868A - Communication system, communication method and communication device

Info

Publication number: CN116263868A
Application number: CN202111523280.0A
Authority: CN
Inventors: 安振霖; 杨雪媛; 杨磊; 李源; 刘洪�; 贾嘉; 孙仁辉
Original assignee: Huawei Technologies Co Ltd
Current assignee: Huawei Technologies Co Ltd
Priority date: 2021-12-13
Filing date: 2021-12-13
Publication date: 2023-06-16
Also published as: WO2023109553A1

Abstract

The embodiment of the application discloses a communication system, a communication method and a communication device, which relate to the technical field of communication, and can realize cooperative control among a plurality of reading modules or a plurality of relays through centralized decision of a control module so as to improve inventory efficiency. The specific scheme is as follows: the communication system includes: a control module, at least one reading module, at least one repeater, and at least one tag; the control module is used for sending a first message to the reading module, wherein the first message comprises configuration parameters, an identifier of the reading module and a repeater identifier, the configuration parameters are used for configuring at least one of a wave beam and a first command, the wave beam is used for sending the first command, and the first command is used for inquiring or controlling the tag; the reading module is used for sending a second message to the repeater according to the repeater identification, wherein the second message comprises a first parameter in configuration parameters, and the first parameter is used for configuring a wave beam; and the repeater is used for configuring the beam according to the first parameter.

Description

Communication system, communication method and communication device

Technical Field

The embodiment of the application relates to the field of Internet of things, in particular to a communication system, a communication method and a communication device.

Background

Radio frequency identification (radio-frequency identification, RFID) technology is a non-contact automatic identification technology, and identification and data exchange of a target identity can be realized through a wireless two-way communication mode. RFID tags include active RFID tags, passive RFID tags, and semi-active RFID tags. Wherein, the passive RFID tag does not contain a battery, and is powered by collecting wireless energy (the ultra-high frequency (ultra high frequency, UHF) frequency band is generally about 860-960 MHz). At present, the passive RFID tag is widely applied to scenes such as storage, logistics, store and the like due to the characteristics of small size, low cost, long service life and the like, and is used for asset inventory, identification and tracking.

Fig. 1 is a schematic diagram of an RFID system, as shown in fig. 1, in which a reader may transmit a Continuous Wave (CW) signal to an RFID tag, the CW signal may power the RFID tag, and the RFID tag modulates information by reflecting the carrier signal provided by the reader. The reader requests the data stored in the tag by transmitting a wireless signal, and after the tag receives the signal, the data stored in the tag chip is transmitted to the reader by backscattering the wireless signal of the reader, so that the inquiry, the checking and the positioning of the tag are realized.

In an RFID system, due to severe multipath effects (multipath effects refer to that after electromagnetic waves propagate through different paths, components of each path reach a receiving end for different time and are superimposed according to respective phases to generate interference), a certain energy cavity exists in a space of a radio frequency signal of a reader. At present, when checking the tag, each reading module can adjust the phase through the phase parameters of fixed combination so as to change the energy distribution in the space. But because the reading modules in the prior art are independently phase-adjusted, the adjustment capability is limited. Moreover, the combination of phase parameters in the prior art is fixed, so that the combination cannot adapt to the change of the environment, which causes that more RFID tags still exist in the RFID system and cannot be read by a reader, and the inventory efficiency is low.

Disclosure of Invention

The embodiment of the application provides a communication system, a communication method and a communication device, wherein centralized decision of a control module can realize cooperative control among a plurality of reading modules or a plurality of relays, and inventory efficiency is improved.

In a first aspect of embodiments of the present application, there is provided a communication system including: a control module, at least one repeater, at least one reading module, and at least one tag. The control module is used for sending a first message to the reading module, the first message comprises configuration parameters and an identification of the reading module, the configuration parameters are used for configuring at least one of a wave beam or a first command, the wave beam is used for sending the first command, and the first command is used for inquiring or controlling the tag. And the reading module is used for sending a second message to the repeater according to the repeater identification, wherein the second message comprises a first parameter in the configuration parameters, and the first parameter is used for configuring the wave beam. And the repeater is used for configuring the beam according to the first parameter.

The control module may be a software module or a hardware module. The control module may be disposed in a different device than the at least one reading module, or may be disposed in the same device as one of the at least one reading module. The reading module is configured to perform the function of a reader, and when the control module and a reading module are integrated in a device, the device may be a reader, i.e. the reader may include both the reading module and the control module. When the control module and the reading module are deployed in different devices, the reading module can be a reader, and the control module can be deployed in a server or cloud end and other devices.

The configuration parameters may be used to configure the beam, may be used to configure the first command, and may be used to configure the beam and the first command. The beam may be a beam formed after modulating a signal on a carrier. Configuring the beam includes configuring the carrier and/or configuring a signal modulated on the carrier.

Based on the scheme, the control module is arranged in the system, can make a centralized decision, and issues configuration parameters to each reading module in the system, and the plurality of repeaters can configure beams according to a first parameter in the configuration parameters, so that cooperative control among the plurality of repeaters can be realized. When the communication system comprises a plurality of repeaters, the centralized control of the control module can adapt to complex environmental changes, and the probability of occurrence of energy holes in the same time is reduced by changing the energy distribution in the space, so that the blind area is reduced, the effective coverage of the reader can be improved, and the inventory efficiency is improved.

With reference to the first aspect, in a possible implementation manner, the reading module is further configured to send, through the repeater, a first command to the tag based on a second parameter in the configuration parameters, where the second parameter is used to configure the first command. And the repeater is also used for receiving the first command, generating a beam and transmitting the beam to the tag. And the tag is used for responding to the first command and sending a response signal to the reading module.

Alternatively, the reading module may send the first command and the second message separately, or may send the first command to the repeater with the first command carried in the second message. In some examples, the reading module may send a second message including the first parameter to the repeater once and inventory multiple times based on the first message (i.e., one configuration, multiple inventory). In other examples, the reading module may also send a second message to the repeater that includes the first parameter once, and perform an inventory (i.e., a configuration, an inventory) based on the first message. In still other examples, the reading module may also send a second message to the repeater including the first parameter and the first command.

With reference to the first aspect, in a further possible implementation manner, the first parameter includes at least one of phase information, a frequency point, or a switch control identifier.

Based on the scheme, the reading module sends the first parameter in the configuration parameters to the repeater, the repeater controls the phase of the configuration wave beam according to the phase information, the frequency point or the switch in the configuration parameters, and the energy distribution in the space can be changed, so that the position where the energy cavity appears in the space is changed, the probability of the occurrence of the energy cavity in the same time is reduced, the blind area is reduced, and the effective coverage of the reader can be improved.

With reference to the first aspect, in a further possible implementation manner, the second parameter includes at least one of a time slot value, an inventory duration, or a state of a switch tag.

Optionally, the configuring, by the reading module, the first command based on the second parameter of the configuration parameters includes: the reading module configures the content of the first command based on the time slot value in the second parameter and the state of the switch tag, and the reading module sends the first command to the tag based on the inventory duration in the second parameter.

Based on the scheme, the reading module configures the first command according to the time slot value, the inventory duration or the state of the switched label in the configuration parameters, so that the inventory efficiency of the label can be further improved. According to the scheme, under the scene of large-scale deployment of the multiple relays, the cooperative control of the multiple relays can be realized through centralized decision of the control module, and the inventory efficiency of the multiple relays is improved. It will be appreciated that, unlike the previous solutions, when the communication system does not include a repeater, the beam is configured by the reader according to a first one of the configuration parameters, and the first command is configured by the reader according to a second one of the configuration parameters. When the communication system includes a repeater, the first command is configured by the reader according to a second one of the configuration parameters, and the beam is configured by the repeater according to the first one of the configuration parameters.

In a second aspect of embodiments of the present application, there is provided a communication system including: the system comprises a control module, at least one reading module and at least one tag; the control module is used for sending a first message to the reading module, the first message comprises configuration parameters and an identification of the reading module, the configuration parameters are used for configuring at least one of a wave beam or a first command, the wave beam is used for sending the first command, and the first command is used for inquiring or controlling the tag. And the reading module is used for configuring the beam based on the first message and transmitting the beam to the tag. And the tag is used for responding to the first command and sending a response signal to the reading module.

Based on the scheme, the control module is arranged in the system, can make a centralized decision, and issues configuration parameters to each reading module in the system, so that cooperative control among a plurality of reading modules can be realized. When the communication system comprises a plurality of reading modules, the centralized control of the control module can adapt to complex environmental changes, and the probability of occurrence of energy holes in the same time is reduced by changing the energy distribution in the space, so that the blind area is reduced, the effective coverage of the reader can be improved, and the inventory efficiency of the reader is improved.

With reference to the second aspect, in one possible implementation manner, the configuration parameter includes at least one of phase information, a switch control identifier, a time slot value, a frequency point, an inventory duration, or a state of a switch tag.

Based on the scheme, the reading module can configure the first command (for example, send the first command to the tag) according to the time slot value, the inventory duration or the state of the switching tag in the configuration parameter, and configure the wave beam according to the phase information, the frequency point and the switch control identifier in the configuration parameter, namely, the reading module can adjust the phase of the wave beam according to the phase information and the switch control identifier issued by the control module, so that the energy distribution in the space can be changed, the position where the energy cavity appears in the space is changed, the probability of the occurrence of the energy cavity in the same time is reduced, and the blind area is reduced.

With reference to the first aspect and the second aspect, in a further possible implementation manner, the control module is further configured to determine a configuration parameter according to a control policy.

Based on the scheme, the control module can determine the configuration parameters according to the control strategy, so that all labels can be completely checked in a short time by the determined configuration parameters, and the checking efficiency is improved. Obviously, unlike the prior art, the configuration parameters in the present application are not fixed, but the control module is determined according to the control strategy, so that when the control module makes a centralized decision and issues the configuration parameters to each reading module, the cooperative control among a plurality of reading modules or relays can be realized, and the inventory efficiency is improved.

With reference to the first aspect and the second aspect, in a further possible implementation manner, the control policy determines the configuration parameters through a parameter configuration model.

Based on the scheme, the control module can determine the configuration parameters according to the parameter configuration model, so that all labels can be completely checked in a short time by the determined configuration parameters, and the checking efficiency is improved.

With reference to the first aspect and the second aspect, in a further possible implementation manner, the control module is further configured to receive a third message from the reading module, where the third message includes information of a tag and an identifier of the reading module, and the information of the tag includes a product electronic code EPC of the tag.

Based on the scheme, the control module can determine the configuration parameters according to the information of the labels and the parameter configuration model, so that the determined configuration parameters can finish the inventory of all the labels in a short time, and the inventory efficiency is improved.

Alternatively, the control module may input information of the tag into the parameter configuration model to obtain the configuration parameters. The parameter configuration model includes, but is not limited to, a reinforcement learning model, a neural network model, and the like.

With reference to the first aspect and the second aspect, in a further possible implementation manner, the information of the tag further includes at least one of a phase or a signal strength of a response signal received by each receiving channel of the reading module.

Based on the scheme, the control module deduces the propagation condition of electromagnetic waves in space according to the phase of the response signals received by each receiving channel of the reading module, the signal strength and the EPC of the tag, and the configuration parameters are output through reinforcement learning algorithm calculation.

In combination with the first aspect and the second aspect, the control module and at least one reading module are disposed in different devices, or the control module and one reading module of the at least one reading module are disposed in the same device.

Based on the scheme, the control module and a reading module can be integrated in one device (such as a reader), the control module and the reading module can be respectively deployed in different devices, for example, the control module can be deployed in a server, and the reading module is the reader.

With reference to the first aspect and the second aspect, in a further possible implementation manner, the communication system further includes a communication device, where the communication device is configured to generate a beam, and the communication device includes a first phase shift module and a second phase shift module, where an output end of the first phase shift module is coupled to an input end of the second phase shift module, and an output end of the second phase shift module is configured to be coupled to the antenna module. The first phase shifting module is used for generating a wave beam, the wave beam is used for sending a first command, and the first command is used for inquiring or controlling the tag. And the second phase shifting module is used for adjusting the phase of the wave beam output by the first phase shifting module and transmitting the adjusted wave beam through one or more antenna units in the antenna module.

Based on the scheme, the difference between the communication device and other communication devices is adjusted through the first phase shifting module, so that the phase output by the first phase shifting module is a preset phase. The difference between the plurality of antenna ports inside the communication device is adjusted by a second phase shifting module. That is, the scheme adjusts the phase of the wave beam through two-stage phase shifting, can change the position of the energy cavity in the space, reduces the probability of the occurrence of the energy cavity in the same time, reduces the dead zone and can improve the effective coverage range. It can be appreciated that the first phase shifting module in the present application can adjust the phase of each antenna subarray to generate a beam with a fixed waveform. The second phase shifting module can adjust the energy distribution of the antenna subarrays and adjust the wave form of wave beams so as to change the energy distribution in space.

In a further possible implementation manner of the communication device according to the first and second aspects, the communication device further includes a first signal generating module, and an output terminal of the first signal generating module is coupled to an input terminal of the first phase shifting module. The first signal generating module is used for generating a signal and a carrier corresponding to the first command, adjusting the phase of the carrier, and modulating the signal corresponding to the first command onto the adjusted carrier.

Based on the scheme, the difference between the communication device and other communication devices is adjusted through the first phase shifting module, so that the phase of the wave beam output by the first phase shifting module is a preset phase, and the difference among a plurality of antenna ports inside the communication device is adjusted through the second phase shifting module. That is, the scheme adjusts the phase of the wave beam through two-stage phase shifting, can change the position of the energy cavity in the space, reduces the probability of the occurrence of the energy cavity in the same time, reduces the dead zone and can improve the effective coverage range.

With reference to the first aspect and the second aspect, in a further possible implementation manner, the communication apparatus further includes a second signal generating module, where the first phase shifting module includes P first phase shifting units and P modulation units, output ends of the P first phase shifting units in the first phase shifting module are respectively coupled to first input ends of the P modulation units, and output ends of the second signal generating module are respectively coupled to second input ends of the P modulation units. And the second signal generation module is used for generating a signal corresponding to the first command. And the first phase shifting unit is used for generating a carrier wave. And the modulating unit is used for modulating the signal generated by the second signal generating module onto the carrier wave generated by the first phase shifting unit so as to generate a wave beam.

Based on the scheme, the signal generated by the second signal generating module is modulated onto the carrier wave generated by the first phase shifting unit through the modulating unit in the first phase shifting module to generate a wave beam, the phase of the wave beam output by the first phase shifting module is regulated through the second phase shifting module, and the regulated wave beam is sent through the antenna unit. The difference between the communication device and other communication devices can be regulated, and the difference between a plurality of antenna ports inside the communication device can be regulated, so that the position of an energy cavity in a space can be changed, the probability of the occurrence of the energy cavity in the same time is reduced, the dead zone is reduced, and the effective coverage area can be improved.

With reference to the first aspect and the second aspect, in still another possible implementation manner, the second phase shift module includes M second phase shift units, where M is an integer greater than or equal to 2, the second phase shift units include a first switch and a second switch, the first switch and the second switch are both an L-selecting switch, the first switch is coupled to the second switch through L connecting lines, the lengths of the L connecting lines are different, and L is an integer greater than or equal to 2.

Based on this scheme, every second phase shift unit can be through connecting the connecting wire of different length between two one-choice L switches and realize shifting phase, because the length of connecting wire is different, when the transmission delay of signal is different, so the connecting wire of different length can realize shifting phase by multi-gear, can reduce the complexity and the cost of circuit.

Optionally, the structures of the first phase shifting unit and the second phase shifting unit may be the same or different. For example, the first phase shifting unit and the second phase shifting unit may be different in structure, and the first phase shifting unit may perform fine granularity phase shifting on the transmission signal. The second phase shifting unit can perform fine granularity phase shifting on the signal output by the first phase shifting unit. For another example, the first phase shifting unit and the second phase shifting unit may have the same structure, and the phase shifting may be implemented by connecting lines with different lengths.

With reference to the second aspect, in a further possible implementation manner, the communication device is disposed on a reading module.

Based on the scheme, when the structure of the communication system does not comprise a repeater, the two-stage phase-shifting communication device can be deployed on the reading module, and the two-stage phase-shifting module in the reading module can adjust the phase of the wave beam according to the configuration parameters, so that the position of an energy cavity in the space is changed, the probability of the occurrence of the energy cavity in the same time is reduced, the dead zone is reduced, and the effective coverage area can be improved.

With reference to the first aspect, in a further possible implementation manner, the communication device is disposed on a repeater.

Based on the scheme, when the structure of the communication system comprises the repeater, the two-stage phase-shifting communication device can be deployed on the repeater, and the two-stage phase-shifting module in the repeater can adjust the phase of the wave beam according to the configuration parameters, so that the position of an energy cavity in the space is changed, the probability of the occurrence of the energy cavity in the same time is reduced, the dead zone is reduced, and the effective coverage area can be improved.

In a third aspect of embodiments of the present application, a communication method is provided, including: first, information of a tag is acquired, the information of the tag including a product electronic code EPC of the tag. Then, a configuration parameter is obtained according to the information of the tag, the configuration parameter is used for configuring at least one of a wave beam or a first command, the wave beam is used for sending the first command, and the first command is used for inquiring or controlling the tag. And finally, sending a first message to the reading module, wherein the first message comprises the configuration parameters and the identification of the reading module.

With reference to the third aspect, in one possible implementation manner, the information of the tag further includes at least one of a phase or a signal strength of a response signal received by each receiving channel of the reader.

With reference to the third aspect, in still another possible implementation manner, the configuration parameter includes at least one of phase information, a switch control identifier, a time slot value, a frequency point, an inventory duration, or a state of a switch tag.

With reference to the third aspect, in another possible implementation manner, the obtaining the configuration parameter according to the information of the tag includes: inputting the information of the tag into a parameter configuration model to obtain configuration parameters.

The effect descriptions of the third aspect may refer to the corresponding effect descriptions of the first aspect or the second aspect, and are not described herein.

In a fourth aspect of embodiments of the present application, a communication device is provided for generating a beam, the communication device including a first phase shift module and a second phase shift module, an output of the first phase shift module coupled to an input of the second phase shift module, an output of the second phase shift module for coupling with an antenna module. The first phase shifting module is used for generating a beam, the beam is used for sending a first command, and the first command is used for inquiring or controlling the tag. And the second phase shifting module is used for adjusting the phase of the wave beam output by the first phase shifting module and transmitting the adjusted wave beam through one or more antenna units in the antenna module.

Based on the scheme, the phase of the wave beam is adjusted through two-stage phase shifting, wherein the first phase shifting module can adjust the difference between the communication device and other communication devices, so that the phase output by the first phase shifting module is a preset phase, and the second phase shifting module can adjust the difference among a plurality of antenna ports inside the communication device. That is, the scheme adjusts the phase of the wave beam through two-stage phase shifting, can change the position of the energy cavity in the space, reduces the probability of the occurrence of the energy cavity in the same time, reduces the dead zone and can improve the effective coverage range.

With reference to the fourth aspect, in a possible implementation manner, the communication apparatus further includes a first signal generating module, and an output terminal of the first signal generating module is coupled to an input terminal of the first phase shifting module. The first signal generating module is used for generating a signal and a carrier corresponding to the first command, adjusting the phase of the carrier, and modulating the signal corresponding to the first command onto the adjusted carrier.

With reference to the fourth aspect, in another possible implementation manner, the communication device further includes a second signal generating module, where the first phase shifting module includes P first phase shifting units and P modulation units, output ends of the P first phase shifting units in the first phase shifting module are respectively coupled to first input ends of the P modulation units, and output ends of the second signal generating module are respectively coupled to second input ends of the P modulation units. And the second signal generation module is used for generating a signal corresponding to the first command. A first phase shifting unit for generating a carrier wave; and the modulating unit is used for modulating the signal generated by the second signal generating module onto the carrier wave generated by the first phase shifting unit so as to generate a wave beam.

With reference to the fourth aspect, in still another possible implementation manner, the second phase shift module includes M second phase shift units, where M is an integer greater than or equal to 2, the second phase shift units include a first switch and a second switch, the first switch and the second switch are each an L-selecting switch, the first switch is coupled to the second switch through L connection lines, the lengths of the L connection lines are different, and L is an integer greater than or equal to 2.

With reference to the fourth aspect, in a further possible implementation manner, the communication apparatus further includes a receiving circuit, where the receiving circuit is configured to receive a configuration parameter, where the configuration parameter includes phase information, and the configuration parameter is used to configure at least one of a beam or a first command; the second phase shifting module is specifically configured to adjust the phase of the beam output by the first phase shifting module according to the phase information.

Based on the scheme, the second phase shifting module in the communication device can adjust the phase of the wave beam output by the first phase shifting module according to the configuration parameters received by the receiving circuit, so that the energy distribution in the space can be changed, the position where the energy cavity appears in the space is changed, the probability of the occurrence of the energy cavity in the same time is reduced, the blind area is reduced, and the effective coverage of the reader can be improved.

With reference to the fourth aspect, in a further possible implementation manner, the second phase shifting module includes M second phase shifting units, the antenna module includes M antenna units, and the communication device further includes M third switches, where each second phase shifting unit is coupled to one antenna unit through one third switch. The configuration parameters further comprise a switch control identifier, and the communication device further comprises a processor, wherein the processor is used for controlling the on and off of the third switch according to the switch control identifier.

Based on the scheme, the second phase shifting unit in the communication device can be coupled with one antenna unit through one third switch, the processor can control the on and off of the third switches according to the switch control identification, and the energy distribution when all the M third switches are conducted is different from the energy distribution when part of the third switches are conducted, so that the energy distribution in the space can be changed by controlling the on and off of the third switches, and the position where the energy cavity appears in the space is changed.

With reference to the fourth aspect, in still another possible implementation manner, the first phase shifting module includes P first phase shifting units, the second phase shifting module includes M second phase shifting units, the communication device further includes P power splitters, the first phase shifting units are respectively coupled to K second phase shifting units through the power splitters, K is an integer greater than or equal to 2, and M is equal to P multiplied by K. And the power divider is used for dividing the wave beam output by the first phase shifting unit into K paths.

Based on the scheme, beam power output by the first phase shifting unit is divided into K paths through the power divider, and phase shifting is performed through the second phase shifting unit, so that the two-stage phase shifting can change the position of an energy cavity in space, improve the effective coverage range and reduce the complexity and cost of a circuit.

With reference to the fourth aspect, in still another possible implementation manner, the first phase shift module includes P first phase shift units, the second phase shift module includes M second phase shift units, the communication device further includes P multiplexers, the first phase shift units are respectively coupled to K second phase shift units through the multiplexers, K is an integer greater than or equal to 2, and M is equal to P multiplied by K. And the multiplexer is used for outputting the wave beam output by the first phase shifting unit to the corresponding second phase shifting unit.

Based on the scheme, the beam output by the first phase shifting unit is output to the corresponding second phase shifting unit through the multipath selector, and phase shifting is carried out through the second phase shifting unit, so that the two-stage phase shifting can change the position of an energy cavity in space, improve the effective coverage range and reduce the complexity and cost of a circuit.

With reference to the fourth aspect, in a further possible implementation manner, the communication device further includes a clock synchronization module, where the clock synchronization module is configured to synchronize a clock of the communication device with a clock of an external clock source.

According to the scheme, when the communication system comprises a plurality of communication devices, clock synchronization of multiple devices can be realized through the clock synchronization module in each communication device, so that phase modulation can be combined among the multiple devices, and the multiple devices can jointly transmit radio frequency signals to form distributed beam forming.

In a fifth aspect of the embodiments of the present application, a communication device is provided, where the communication device is configured to generate a beam, and the communication device includes a power divider and M phase shift units, an input end of the power divider is configured to receive the beam, output ends of the power divider are respectively coupled to the M phase shift units, output ends of the M phase shift units are respectively configured to be coupled to the M antenna units, and M is an integer greater than or equal to 2; the phase shifting unit comprises a first switch and a second switch, wherein the first switch and the second switch are L-selecting switches, the first switch is respectively coupled with the second switch through L connecting wires, the lengths of the L connecting wires are different, and L is an integer greater than or equal to 2. And the power divider is used for dividing the wave beam into M paths. And the phase shifting unit is used for adjusting the phase of the wave beam output by the power divider.

Based on this scheme, every phase shift unit can be through connecting the connecting wire of different length between two one-choice L switches and realize shifting phase, because the length of connecting wire is different, when the transmission delay of signal is different, so the connecting wire of different length can realize shifting phase by multi-gear, can reduce the complexity and the cost of circuit.

With reference to the fifth aspect, in a possible implementation manner, the communication apparatus further includes M third switches, and each phase shifting unit is coupled to one antenna unit through one third switch.

According to the scheme, the energy distribution when all the M third switches are conducted is different from the energy distribution when part of the third switches are conducted, so that the energy distribution in the space can be changed by controlling the on and off of the third switches through arranging the third switches between the phase shifting unit and the antenna unit, and the position where the energy cavity appears in the space is changed.

In a sixth aspect of embodiments of the present application, there is provided a computer readable storage medium having computer program code embodied therein, which when run on a processor causes the processor to perform the method as described in the third aspect above.

In a seventh aspect of embodiments of the present application, there is provided a computer program product comprising program instructions which, when executed, implement a method as described in the third aspect above.

Drawings

Fig. 1 is a schematic structural diagram of an RFID system according to an embodiment of the present application;

fig. 2 is a schematic diagram of signal intensity distribution of an RFID reader according to an embodiment of the present application;

fig. 3 is a schematic diagram of a multi-channel RFID reader based on an antenna array according to an embodiment of the present application;

Fig. 4 is a schematic structural diagram of a communication system according to an embodiment of the present application;

fig. 5 is a schematic diagram of a signaling format of a first message according to an embodiment of the present application;

fig. 6 is a schematic diagram of a signaling format of a third message according to an embodiment of the present application;

fig. 7 is a schematic diagram of a signaling format of a second message according to an embodiment of the present application;

FIG. 8 is a schematic diagram of clock synchronization of a plurality of repeaters according to an embodiment of the present application;

fig. 9 is a schematic structural diagram of a reader in a communication system according to an embodiment of the present application;

fig. 10 is a schematic structural diagram of a repeater in a communication system according to an embodiment of the present application;

fig. 11 is a schematic flow chart of signaling in a communication system according to an embodiment of the present application;

fig. 12 is a schematic structural diagram of another communication system according to an embodiment of the present application;

fig. 13 is a schematic diagram of an inventory process according to an embodiment of the present application;

FIG. 14 is a schematic diagram of another inventory process according to an embodiment of the present application;

fig. 15 is a schematic diagram of signaling interaction in an inventory process according to an embodiment of the present application;

fig. 16 is a schematic structural diagram of still another communication system according to an embodiment of the present application;

FIG. 17 is a schematic diagram of clock synchronization of a plurality of readers according to an embodiment of the present application;

fig. 18 is a schematic flow chart of signaling in another communication system according to an embodiment of the present application;

fig. 19 is a schematic structural diagram of a communication device according to an embodiment of the present application;

fig. 20 is a schematic structural diagram of another communication device according to an embodiment of the present application;

fig. 21 is a schematic structural diagram of a second phase shift unit according to an embodiment of the present disclosure;

fig. 22 is a schematic layout diagram of a plurality of antenna units according to an embodiment of the present application;

fig. 23 is a schematic structural diagram of another communication device according to an embodiment of the present application;

fig. 24 is a schematic structural diagram of another communication device according to an embodiment of the present application;

fig. 25 is a schematic structural diagram of another communication device according to an embodiment of the present application;

fig. 26 is a flow chart of a communication method according to an embodiment of the present application.

Detailed Description

The technical solutions in the embodiments of the present application will be described below with reference to the drawings in the embodiments of the present application. In this application, "at least one" means one or more, and "a plurality" means two or more. "and/or", describes an association relationship of an association object, and indicates that there may be three relationships, for example, a and/or B, and may indicate: a alone, a and B together, and B alone, wherein a, B may be singular or plural. The character "/" generally indicates that the context-dependent object is an "or" relationship. "at least one of" or the like means any combination of these items, including any combination of single item(s) or plural items(s). For example, at least one (one) of a, b or c may represent: a, b, c, a and b, a and c, b and c, or a and b and c, wherein a, b and c may be single or plural. In addition, in order to clearly describe the technical solutions of the embodiments of the present application, in the embodiments of the present application, the terms "first", "second", and the like are used to distinguish the same item or similar items having substantially the same function and effect, and those skilled in the art will understand that the terms "first", "second", and the like do not limit the number and execution order. For example, "first" of the first phase shift units and "second" of the second phase shift units in the embodiments of the present application are used only to distinguish between different phase shift units. The first, second, etc. descriptions in the embodiments of the present application are only used for illustrating and distinguishing the description objects, and no order division is used, nor does it indicate that the number of the devices in the embodiments of the present application is particularly limited, and no limitation on the embodiments of the present application should be construed.

In this application, the terms "exemplary" or "such as" are used to mean serving as an example, instance, or illustration. Any embodiment or design described herein as "exemplary" or "for example" should not be construed as preferred or advantageous over other embodiments or designs. Rather, the use of words such as "exemplary" or "such as" is intended to present related concepts in a concrete fashion.

The reader or reading module in this application may be referred to as Receiver, and the repeater may be referred to as Helper.

Currently, RFID tags can be classified into active RFID tags, passive RFID tags, and semi-active RFID tags. Wherein, the passive RFID tag does not contain a battery, and is powered by collecting wireless energy (the ultra-high frequency (ultra high frequency, UHF) frequency band is generally about 860 MHz-960 MHz). For example, the antenna element of the passive RFID tag may convert received electromagnetic wave energy into electrical energy, activate a chip in the passive RFID tag, and transmit data in the passive RFID tag chip. The reader is in wireless communication with the passive RFID tag through the antenna unit, so that the reading or writing operation of the tag identification code and the memory data of the passive RFID tag can be realized. The passive RFID tag is widely applied to scenes such as storage, logistics, shops and the like due to the characteristics of small volume, low cost, long service life and the like, and is used for asset inventory, identification and positioning.

Fig. 1 is a schematic diagram of an RFID system, as shown in fig. 1, in which a reader may transmit a CW signal to an RFID tag to power the RFID tag, the RFID tag modulating information by reflecting a carrier signal provided by the reader. However, in the current RFID system, the rf front end of the reader generally adopts a single channel design. Since there is only one transmitting antenna in the single channel design, the signal strength received by the RFID tag may not exceed the sensitivity thereof, and the RFID tag may not be activated. Moreover, because of the serious multipath effect in the indoor scene, a certain energy cavity exists in the space of the radio frequency signal of the single-channel reader (particularly, the intensity of the radio frequency signal at a certain position in the space is lower than the sensitivity of the tag), so that the RFID tag has a plurality of reading blind areas even in the coverage area of the reader, and the effective coverage area of the reader is smaller.

For example, as shown in a schematic signal strength distribution diagram of an RFID reader in fig. 2, the signal strength of a region of the coverage area of the RFID reader, which is further from the RFID reader, is weaker. Within the coverage area of the RFID reader there is a black oval energy cavity where the signal strength is lower than the sensitivity of the tag activation, so the reader cannot read the tag when it is in the black oval position. The existence of the energy cavity causes a plurality of reading blind areas of the reader, so that the effective coverage area of the reader is smaller, and the efficiency of checking the tag is lower.

In order to improve the effective coverage of the reader and the inventory efficiency, one scheme is that each reading module can adjust the phase through the phase parameters of fixed combination so as to change the energy distribution in the space. However, since each reading module in the prior art is independently phase-adjusted, the adjustment capability is limited. In addition, the combination of the phase parameters in the prior art is fixed and cannot adapt to the change of the environment, which causes that more RFID tags still exist in the RFID system and cannot be read by a reader, so that the inventory efficiency is low.

In order to improve the effective coverage of the reader and improve the inventory efficiency, another solution is to provide an antenna array with high spatial gain, such as a multi-channel RFID reader based on an antenna array as shown in fig. 3, where the reader may simultaneously transmit radio frequency signals using multiple antennas (e.g., antennas E1 to E5 shown in fig. 3) to form a beam forming effect. By adjusting the phase difference and gain between the antennas, the scanning of the wave beam in space is realized, and the transmitting and receiving gain of the reader in a specific direction is improved, so that the coverage range of the reader is improved, and the energy cavity is eliminated.

However, when the antenna array is used to transmit the radio frequency signal, in order to form the beam forming effect, the hardware circuit needs a plurality of digital transmission channels, so that the circuit is complex and has high cost. And the traditional wave beam forming scheme does not consider the multipath problem of complex indoor scene, and only one path of the signal transmitted by each array element reaches a preset sector. However, in a practical scenario, the signals of the array arrive at the tag with many paths, and the signals of the paths may be further superimposed and cancelled to generate the aforementioned energy holes, which results in poor effect of eliminating the energy holes in the indoor complex multipath (such as warehouse) scenario in the conventional beamforming.

In order to solve the above technical problems, the embodiments of the present application provide a communication system, where the communication system makes a centralized decision through a control module and issues configuration parameters to each reading module, so as to implement cooperative control between a plurality of reading modules or a plurality of repeaters. The control framework in the application can adapt to complex environmental changes through centralized control of the control module, reduces the probability of occurrence of energy holes in the same time, reduces dead zones, improves the effective coverage of the reader, and improves the inventory efficiency of the reader. In addition, the phase shifting is realized through connecting wires with different lengths, so that the complexity of a circuit can be reduced, and the cost is lower.

An embodiment of the present application provides a communication system, as shown in fig. 4, including a control module, at least one reading module, at least one repeater, and at least one tag.

The control module may be a software module or a hardware module. The control module may be disposed in a different device than the at least one reading module, or may be disposed in the same device as one of the at least one reading module. The reading module is configured to perform the function of a reader, and when the control module and a reading module are integrated in a device, the device may be a reader, i.e. the reader may include both the reading module and the control module. When the control module and the reading module are deployed in different devices, the reading module can be a reader, and the control module can be deployed in a server or cloud end and other devices. Fig. 4 illustrates an example in which a reading module is taken as a reader and a control module is deployed in a server.

The number of readers and repeaters included in the communication system is not limited in the embodiment of the present application, and (b) in fig. 4 is exemplified by an example that the communication system includes one reader, and in practical application, the specific number of readers and repeaters included in the communication system is related to parameters such as the number of tags and the size of the application scenario of the communication system. For example, in a warehouse with about 2000 RFID tags having an area of about hundred meters, 1 reader and 2 repeaters may be deployed, and the control module may be deployed on a server connected to the readers by serial lines. The reader communicates with the repeater wirelessly. The reader-to-repeater may employ a radio frequency band (e.g., UHF RFID 840 MHz-845 MHz), and the repeater-to-tag-to-reader may employ a radio frequency band (e.g., UHF RFID 920.5MHz-924.5 MHz). The embodiment of the application is not limited to the specific frequency band of communication between the reader and the repeater.

And the control module is used for sending the first message to the reading module. The first message includes a configuration parameter and an identification of the reading module, the configuration parameter being used to configure a beam for transmitting the first command and/or a first command for querying or controlling the tag.

The control module may communicate with the reader by wired or wireless means. For example, as shown in fig. 4 (a) and 4 (b), the control module is disposed in a server, which can communicate with the reader by wired or wireless means. In the embodiment of the application, the reading module is taken as a reader, the control module is deployed in the server as an example, and the identifier of the reading module in the embodiment of the application is the identifier of the reader.

The configuration parameters are used to configure the beam, or to configure the first command, or to configure the beam and the first command. The beam refers to the shape of a beam of waves, which may also be referred to as a waveform. The beam may be a beam formed after modulating a signal on a carrier. The beam is used to transmit a first command including, but not limited to, at least one of a select command, a query command, or an Acknowledgement (ACK) command. For example, the first command may be used to query the tag for product electronic code (electronic product code, EPC) information. For another example, the first command may also be used to control the state of the tag or to have the tag respond. For example, after receiving the first command, the tag may change its own state, and be in a silent state or an operating state. The embodiment of the application is not limited to the specific type of the first command, and the first command may inventory the tag. Inventory tags include query or control tags.

The configuration parameters include, but are not limited to, at least one of phase information, a switch control identification, a slot value, a frequency point (which may also be referred to as a frequency), an inventory duration, or a state of a switch tag. The configuration parameters may include a first parameter including at least one of phase information, a switch control identification, or a frequency bin, and a second parameter for configuring the beam. Configuring the beam includes configuring the carrier and/or configuring a signal modulated on the carrier. The second parameter includes at least one of a slot value, an inventory duration, or a state of the switch tag, and is used to configure the first command. Alternatively, the first parameter and the second parameter may be carried in the same message, or may be carried in different messages, and in this embodiment of the present application, the first parameter and the second parameter are both carried in the first message for example and are described as an example.

The phase information in the configuration parameters may be a specific phase shift value or a gear value, and the specific type of the phase information in the embodiment of the present application is not limited. The switch control flag is used to indicate the on and off of an antenna switch (e.g., a third switch in the embodiments described below).

The slot value is used to allocate a slot to each tag so that each tag in the communication system can have its own slot and set a slot reply according to the slot value. The counting duration refers to the time of counting one round. The state of the switch tag is used for switching the state of the tag from the working state to the silent state or from the silent state to the working state. The reader may configure the first command to inventory the tag according to the time slot value, the inventory duration, and the state of switching the tag, for example, the reader may configure the content of the first command according to the time slot value and the state of switching the tag, and the reader may send the first command to the tag based on the inventory duration.

Taking the first message including the reader identifier, the repeater identifier and the configuration parameter, the configuration parameter including the first parameter and the second parameter, the first parameter including the phase information, the switch control identifier and the frequency point, the second parameter including the time slot value, the inventory duration and the state of the switch label as an example, the signaling format of the first message may be the frame structure shown in fig. 5. As shown in fig. 5, the first message includes a preamble, a control field, and a cyclic redundancy check (cyclic redundancy check, CRC), the control field including a device identity, a command identity, a first parameter, and a second parameter.

As shown in fig. 5, the IDs of the repeater and the reader may be represented by 8 bits, respectively. The frequency point may be represented by 8 bits, and since wireless communication may occupy a range of frequencies, devices in the communication system (e.g., readers and repeaters) may be assigned a specific operating frequency point over a period of time. The phase information may be represented by 32 bits, and when the reader includes two phase shifting modules, the high 16 bits may represent the phase shift value of the first phase shifting module, and the low 16 bits represent the phase shift value corresponding to the second phase shifting module. The switch control identifier may be represented by 8 bits, each bit in the 8 bits may correspond to a third switch in a radio frequency channel, a value of 1 for the bit indicates turning on the third switch, and a value of 0 for the bit indicates turning off the third switch. It should be noted that, in the embodiment of the present application, the bit length of each parameter in the first message is not limited, and fig. 5 is an exemplary illustration of the bit length occupied by each parameter.

In this embodiment, the communication system provided in this embodiment is described by taking six-dimensional parameters including a device identifier, phase information, a switch control identifier, a slot value, an inventory duration, and a state of a switch tag as an example, where the device identifier may include a reader identifier and a repeater identifier. For example, the six-dimensional parameter included in the first message may be represented as [ device identification, phase information, switch control identification, slot value, inventory duration T, status of switch tag ].

The configuration parameters may be preset multiple groups of parameters, or may be configuration parameters determined by the control module according to a control policy.

Under the condition that the configuration parameters are preset parameters, the control module can preset a plurality of groups of configuration parameters and send the preset plurality of groups of configuration parameters to the reader. When the control module is deployed in the server, preset sets of configuration parameters may be stored in the server. When the control module and the reading module are both deployed in the reader, preset groups of configuration parameters can be stored in the reader.

In the case where the configuration parameters are parameters determined by the control module according to a control strategy, the control strategy determines the configuration parameters through a parameter configuration model. The control module is further configured to receive a third message from the reading module, the third message including information of the tag and an identification of the reading module, the information of the tag including a product electronic code EPC of the tag. The control module is specifically used for inputting information of the tag into the parameter configuration model to obtain configuration parameters.

The information of the tag further includes at least one of a phase or a signal strength of the response signal received by each receiving channel of the reading module. The function of the control module will be described below taking the tag information including the EPC of the tag, the phase and signal strength of the response signal received by each receiving channel of the reading module as an example. Alternatively, the information of the tag may be information of the checked tag.

The signaling format of the third message may be the frame structure shown in fig. 6. As shown in fig. 6, the third message includes a frame header, a frame length, a control field, and a CRC, and the control field includes a reader ID, the number of antennas, EPC, an antenna received signal strength indication (received signal strength indication, RSSI), and an antenna received phase. Wherein the frame header and frame length may be represented by 8 bits, respectively. The antenna number may be represented by 8 bits, EPC may be represented by 128 bits, and antenna reception RSSI and antenna reception phase may be represented by 16 bits, respectively. Note that, in the embodiment of the present application, the parameter types included in the third message and the bit lengths of the respective parameters are not limited, and fig. 6 is an exemplary frame structure illustrating the third message.

For example, taking the example that the reader includes Y receiving channels, the control module may receive information from the tag of the reader, which may be [ reader ID, EPC value, RSSI ] ₁ ，RSSI ₂ ，RSSI ₃ ，…，RSSI _Y ，φ ₁ ，φ ₂ ，φ ₃ ，…，φ _Y ]Wherein, RSSI _i Representing i the strength of the received signal of the receive channel, phi _i Representing the phase of the i receive channels. I.e. the information of the tag can be represented by a 2y+2-dimensional number. The control module can input the 2Y+2-dimensional numerical value into a parameter configuration model to obtain configuration parameters such as time slot value, inventory duration, label state, phase information and switch control identification ]。

The parameter configuration model may be a reinforcement learning (reinforcement learning, RL) model, and the control module deduces the propagation condition of the electromagnetic wave in the space by inputting the information of the tag, calculates the parameter configuration by reinforcement learning algorithm, and outputs the parameter configuration. The embodiment of the present application is not limited to the specific type of the parameter configuration model, and for example, the parameter configuration model may be a neural network model.

The control module performs reinforcement learning design based on the three parts of the mapping algorithm, the feature extraction module and the strategy calculation module. The mapping algorithm is used for analyzing response signals sent by the tag, and calculating the spatial spectrum of the electromagnetic signals by using information of the tag. The feature extraction module extracts spatial spectral features of the electromagnetic signal using a deep convolutional neural network. The strategy computation module employs a fully connected network for generating desired beamforming parameters from the current spatial energy distribution of electromagnetic energy. The deep reinforcement learning algorithm obtains the counting result of the corresponding environment through a series of beam forming parameter trial, judges the quality of the current action through the counting result, and adjusts the counting strategy. The deep reinforcement learning algorithm gradually interacts with the environment, so that the parameter space of beam forming is explored, the state of the environment is learned, and finally the optimal inventory strategy is mastered.

Alternatively, the parameter configuration model may be obtained through training. For example, the policy calculation module may include two phases, namely a training phase and an inventory phase. In the training stage, the reader can continuously try to count the tags in the space, learn the electromagnetic environment and obtain the optimal inventory parameter configuration strategy under the environment. In the checking stage, the labels in the environment are checked by using the checking parameter configuration strategy obtained in the training stage. The inventory parameter configuration policy may be a parameter configuration model as described above.

It can be understood that, unlike the prior art, the configuration parameters in the present application are not fixed, but are determined by the control module, so that when the control module centrally decides and issues the configuration parameters to each reading module, the cooperative control of multiple relays can be realized in a scenario of large-scale deployment of the multiple relays, and the inventory efficiency is improved.

And the reading module is used for sending a second message to the repeater according to the repeater identification, wherein the second message comprises a first parameter in the configuration parameters.

The reader may communicate with the repeater by wired or wireless means. As shown in fig. 4 (b), when the downlink from the reader to the repeater uses wireless communication, the reader uses a radio band to transmit a second message to the repeater. When the downlink from the reader to the repeater adopts wired communication, the reader adopts a network cable, a serial port cable, an optical fiber cable and other cables to send a second message to the repeater.

Taking the example that the second message includes the repeater identifier, the phase information, the switch control identifier and the frequency point, the signaling format of the second message may be the frame structure shown in fig. 7. As shown in fig. 7, the second message includes a preamble, a control field, and a CRC, and the control field includes a repeater identification, phase information, a switch control identification, and a frequency bin. Wherein the repeater identity may be represented by 8 bits. The frequency point can be represented by 8 bits, the switch control identifier can be represented by 8 bits, and the phase information can be represented by 32 bits. It should be noted that, in the embodiment of the present application, the bit length of each parameter in the second message is not limited, and fig. 7 is an exemplary frame structure illustrating the second message.

The reading module can send the first command and the second message separately, and can also send the first command to the repeater with the second message. In some examples, the reading module may send a second message including the first parameter to the repeater once and inventory multiple times based on the first message (i.e., one configuration, multiple inventory). In other examples, the reading module may also send a second message to the repeater that includes the first parameter once, and perform an inventory (i.e., a configuration, an inventory) based on the first message. In still other examples, the reading module may also send a second message to the repeater including the first parameter and the first command.

And the repeater is used for receiving the second message and configuring the wave beam according to the first parameter in the second message.

Alternatively, the repeater may comprise communication means which may configure the phase of the beam according to the first parameter. The communication device in the repeater may be any one of the communication devices shown in fig. 19, 20, 23 to 25 in the following embodiments, where the phase shifting unit (e.g., the first phase shifting unit and/or the second phase shifting unit) in the communication device may adjust the phase of the beam according to the phase information in the first parameter, and the processor in the communication device may adjust the state of the third switch according to the switch control identifier, for example, turn the third switch on or off. I.e. the repeater can configure the phase of the beam by the communication means. The specific structure of the repeater in the communication system in practical application is not limited, and the repeater in the communication system may or may not include the communication device shown in any one of fig. 19, 20, 23 to 25 in the following embodiments. That is, in the communication system shown in fig. 4, the specific structure of the repeater may be decoupled from the structure of the communication device provided in the embodiments described below, and there is no strong coupling relationship.

As shown in fig. 4 (b), when the communication system includes a plurality of repeaters, the plurality of repeaters may configure beams according to the first parameter in the second message at the same time or in a time-sharing manner. When a plurality of repeaters simultaneously configure a beam according to a first parameter, each repeater may include a clock synchronization module for synchronizing a clock of the repeater with a clock of an external clock source.

For example, as shown in fig. 8, taking an external clock source as a clock source of 10Mhz as an example, the clock synchronization module of each repeater is connected with the 10Mhz external clock source in N repeaters in the communication system, so that the clock of each repeater is synchronous with the clock of the 10Mhz external clock source, and thus the N repeaters can jointly modulate phase, and the multiple repeaters jointly transmit radio frequency signals to form distributed beam forming.

And the reading module is also used for sending the first command to the tag through the repeater based on the second parameter in the configuration parameters.

For example, as shown in (b) of fig. 4, after receiving the configuration parameters, the reader may send a first command to the repeater to inventory the tag according to the slot value, the inventory duration, and the state of switching the tag in the configuration parameters.

And the repeater is also used for receiving the first command, generating a beam and transmitting the beam to the tag.

For example, as shown in (b) of fig. 4, the repeater receives the first command, generates a beam for transmitting the first command, and transmits the beam to the tag.

Alternatively, the repeater may include M antenna units, M being an integer greater than or equal to 2, and the second phase shift unit in the repeater may be coupled to the M antenna units, respectively, and the repeater may transmit a beam to the tag through the M antenna units to inventory the tag.

And the tag is used for responding to the first command and sending a response signal to the reading module.

Referring to fig. 4, as shown in fig. 9, in the communication system shown in fig. 4, a reader receives a response signal transmitted from a tag through a receiving antenna, and analyzes the tag signal and the tag received energy intensity using a demodulator. And the data is reported to a medium access control layer (media access control, MAC) layer scheduling module through a baseband signal processing module. The MAC layer scheduling module reports the checking result to the server through the peripheral communication interface of the application layer, obtains the scheduling strategy issued by the server, generates a specific checking signaling (e.g. a first command) according to the strategy, and issues the checking signaling to the repeater through the modulator and the transmitting antenna. As shown in fig. 10, the repeater obtains inventory signaling issued by the reader through the receiving antenna and the demodulator. And generating a baseband signal to be transmitted by using the signaling baseband processing module and configuring the switching states of the phase shifting module and the power amplifier switch. The baseband signal passes through a modulator, a phase shifting module, a power amplifier and then is transmitted through a transmitting antenna. In response to the transmitting signal, the tag transmits a response signal to the reader, the reader transmits information when receiving the response signal to the control module, and the control module adaptively adjusts the inventory strategy according to the information of the tag by using a reinforcement learning algorithm and transmits the inventory strategy to the MAC scheduling module through an interface of the application layer. The control module is provided with a user interface, so that a user can conveniently learn the inventory condition at an upper layer.

As shown in fig. 11, each time a tag is checked, the control module may obtain a configuration parameter according to a third message and a parameter configuration model sent by the reading module, and send the configuration parameter to the reading module through a first message, and the reading module may send a first parameter in the configuration parameter to the repeater according to the repeater identifier in the first message, so that the repeater may configure a beam according to the first parameter. And the reading module may send a first command to the repeater according to a second one of the configuration parameters, the repeater receiving the first command and generating a beam to send the first command, thereby sending the beam to the tag. And responding to the first command, the tag sends a response signal to the reading module, and then the reading module carries information when receiving the response signal sent by the tag in a third message and sends the third message to the control module.

When the communication system includes a plurality of readers, the control module may transmit a first message including the configuration parameter to the plurality of readers, respectively. As shown in fig. 12, taking a communication system including 2 readers, a plurality of repeaters are disposed under each reader, and a control module is disposed in a server as an example, the control module in the server may send first messages including configuration parameters to the 2 readers, respectively, and the readers may send first parameters in the configuration parameters to the corresponding repeaters according to the repeater identification in the first messages, so that the repeaters may configure beams according to the first parameters. And the reading module may send a first command to the corresponding repeater according to a second parameter of the configuration parameters, the repeater receiving the first command and generating a beam for sending the first command, thereby sending the beam to the tag. The specific number of readers included in the communication system in the embodiments of the present application is not limited, and the networking architecture of the communication system may be different according to the application scenario.

As shown in fig. 13, during initial inventory, the control module may select initial configuration parameters according to expert experience, and the control module may control the reading module to send a selection command to control the states of all the tags, and control the reading module to start a first initial inventory period, and after the duration T of inventory, the control module determines whether the tags are all in inventory according to the information reported by the reading module, and if the tags are all in inventory, one inventory round is ended. Otherwise, the control module inputs the information of the checked tag to the neural network, the neural network outputs the configuration parameters, the reading module sends first parameters in the configuration parameters to the repeater, and the repeater adjusts the phase of the transmitting antenna according to the first parameters. And the reader starts counting the tags according to the second parameter in the configuration parameters, after counting is finished, the control module calculates rewards according to the number of the newly added tags and the counting period, if all the tags are finished, one round is finished, otherwise, the information of the counted tags is continuously extracted, the next configuration parameter is output according to the reinforcement learning algorithm, and until all the tags are finished.

As shown in fig. 14, when the control module starts a round of counting, the control module sends a first message including configuration parameters to the reader, the reader issues the first parameters in the configuration parameters to the repeater, and the repeater generates a corresponding air interface beam according to the first parameters. And the reader sends the inventory signaling to the repeater according to the second parameter in the configuration parameters, and the repeater forwards the inventory signaling of the reader to the tag according to the configured air interface beam. And responding to the checking signaling, sending a response signal to the reader by each tag according to the time slot set by the time slot value, and continuously checking the tag by the reader according to the time slot value in the T time. The reader sends information of the checked tag in the T time period to the control module, and the strategy calculation module in the control module carries out decision judgment according to the input data (such as the information of the tag). If the tags are determined to have been completely checked, the checking is exited. Otherwise, the control module outputs the configuration parameters of the next wheel disc point.

As shown in fig. 15, in the process of checking the tag, the reader may send a select command for checking the tag to the tag through the repeater using the frequency point in the configuration parameter to select the tag, where the select command carries EPC of the tag, and the Identity (ID) of the tag may be obtained from the server. And then the reader adopts the frequency point in the configuration parameters to issue a query command to the repeater. When the repeater forwards the inquiry command from the reading module, the tag reports a response signal (for example, RN16 frame) in response to the inquiry command, and rapidly switches to the response state. If the reader receives a valid RN16 frame, the reader sends an acknowledgement command to the repeater, the repeater forwards the acknowledgement command from the reading module, and if the tag receives the acknowledgement command, in response to the acknowledgement command, the tag immediately transitions to an acknowledgement state and reports a response signal (e.g., EPC frame, protocol control word (PC), and CRC frame). Optionally, the frequency point in the configuration parameter may be a frequency point in an ultra-high frequency UHF 840 MHz-845 MHz band. The specific value of the frequency point in the configuration parameter is not limited in the embodiment of the application, and the value of the frequency point is related to parameters such as the type of the tag.

When a tag is checked, the state of the tag may include, but is not limited to, a silent state and an operational state. At the beginning of the inventory cycle, the reader will inventory tags with states X or Y. When the tag is checked, the flag bit of the tag is inverted from X to Y or from Y to X. It should be noted that, when the tag is in the power-down state or after being checked, the tag can automatically reverse from the Y state to the X state, and the time when the tag stays in the Y state before automatically returning to the X state is referred to as the duration of the tag. The duration time of different manufacturers may be the same or different, and the specific value of the duration time of the label under each session in the embodiment of the present application is not limited. The state X may be a silent state, and the state Y may be an operating state.

According to the communication system provided by the embodiment of the application, the control module is arranged in the system, can make a centralized decision, and issues configuration parameters to each reading module in the system, and then the reading module sends the parameters of the configuration beam to the relay, so that cooperative control among a plurality of relays can be realized. Under the scene of large-scale deployment of multiple repeaters in a communication system, the centralized control of the control module not only can adapt to complex environmental changes, changes the energy distribution in space, reduces the probability of occurrence of energy holes in the same time, reduces dead zones and improves the effective coverage range of a reader. And the counting efficiency of the multi-repeater can be improved.

The embodiment of the application also provides a communication system, as shown in fig. 16, which comprises a control module, at least one reading module and at least one tag.

The control module may be a software module or a hardware module. The control module may be disposed in a different device than the at least one reading module, or may be disposed in the same device as one of the at least one reading module. Fig. 16 illustrates an example in which a reading module is taken as a reader and a control module is disposed in a server.

And the control module is used for sending the first message to the reading module. The first message includes configuration parameters for configuring a beam for transmitting the first command and/or a first command for querying or controlling the tag. The first message also includes an identification of the reading module and a repeater identification.

The content of the parameter type, the signaling format of the first message, the specific function of the control module, and the like included in the configuration parameter may refer to the related description in the foregoing embodiment, which is not repeated herein.

The communication system provided in this embodiment of the present application is described by taking six-dimensional parameters including a device identifier, phase information, a switch control identifier, a slot value, an inventory duration, and a status of a switch tag as an example, where the device identifier includes a reader identifier (may also be referred to as an identifier of a reading module). For example, the six-dimensional parameter included in the first message may be represented as [ device identification, phase information, switch control identification, slot value, inventory duration T, status of switch tag ]. The signalling format of the first message may refer to the frame structure shown in fig. 5, unlike the communication systems shown in fig. 4 and 12, in which the device identification in the first message shown in fig. 5 only includes the reader identification.

In the case where the configuration parameters are parameters determined by the control module according to a control strategy, the control strategy determines the configuration parameters through a parameter configuration model. The control module is further configured to receive a third message from the reading module, the third message including information of the tag and the reader identification, the information of the tag including a product electronic code EPC of the tag. The control module is specifically used for inputting information of the tag into the parameter configuration model to obtain configuration parameters. The signaling format of the third message may be the frame structure shown in fig. 6.

The parameter configuration model can be a reinforcement learning model, and the control module deduces the propagation condition of electromagnetic waves in space through the information of the input tag, and outputs configuration parameters through calculation of a reinforcement learning algorithm. For the parameter configuration model and the method for determining the configuration parameters, reference may be made to the related descriptions of the foregoing embodiments, which are not repeated herein.

And the reading module is used for configuring the wave beam based on the configuration parameters in the first message and transmitting the wave beam to the tag. The beam is used to transmit a first command.

It should be noted that, unlike the communication systems shown in fig. 4 and 12, in the communication systems shown in fig. 4 and 12, the first command is configured by the reader according to the second parameter of the configuration parameters, and the beam is configured by the repeater according to the first parameter of the configuration parameters. In the communication system shown in fig. 16, the reader configures the beam according to a first parameter of the configuration parameters, and the reader configures the first command according to a second parameter of the configuration parameters.

Optionally, the reader in the communication system shown in fig. 16 may include a communication device shown in any one of fig. 19, fig. 20, and fig. 23 to fig. 25 in the following embodiment, where a phase shifting unit (e.g., a first phase shifting unit and/or a second phase shifting unit) in the communication device may adjust a phase of the beam according to phase information in the first parameter, and a processor in the communication device may adjust a state of the third switch according to the switch control identifier, for example, turn the third switch on or off. I.e. the reader can configure the phase of the beam by means of the communication means. The specific structure of the reader in the communication system in practical application is not limited, and the reader in the communication system may or may not include the communication device shown in any one of fig. 19, 20, 23 to 25 in the following embodiments, and the specific structure of the reader in the communication system in the present embodiment is not limited. That is, in the communication system shown in fig. 16, the specific structure of the reader and the structure of the communication device provided in the embodiments described below of the present application may be decoupled, and there is no strong coupling relationship.

As shown in (b) of fig. 16, when the communication system includes a plurality of readers, the plurality of readers may configure the beam according to the first parameter, configure the first command according to the second parameter, simultaneously or time-division. When a plurality of readers simultaneously configure the beam according to the first parameter, each reader may include a clock synchronization module for synchronizing a clock of the reader with a clock of an external clock source.

For example, as shown in fig. 17, taking an external clock source as an example of a clock source of 10Mhz, a clock synchronization module of each reader is connected with the 10Mhz external clock source in N readers in the communication system, so that the clock of each reader is synchronous with the clock of the 10Mhz external clock source, and thus the N readers in the communication system can jointly modulate phase, and the multiple readers commonly transmit radio frequency signals to form distributed beam forming. The embodiments of the present application are not limited to a particular number of readers included in a communication system.

The reading module is specifically configured to send a first command to the tag based on the time slot value, the inventory duration, or the state of switching the tag, and configure the phase of the beam that sends the first command based on the switch control identifier and the phase information in the configuration parameter.

Alternatively, the tag in the communication system shown in fig. 4, fig. 12 and fig. 16 may be a passive RFID tag, or may be an active or semi-active RFID tag, and the specific type of the tag is not limited in the embodiments of the present application. When the tag is a passive tag, the passive tag may collect wireless energy of the beam to charge the passive tag. When the tag is an active or semi-active tag, the signal to noise ratio can be improved by receiving the beam.

As shown in fig. 18, each time a tag is checked, the control module may obtain a configuration parameter according to the third message and the parameter configuration model sent by the reading module, and send the configuration parameter to the reading module through the first message. The reading module configures a beam according to a first parameter in the configuration parameters, and transmits the beam to the tag according to a second parameter in the configuration parameters, wherein the beam is used for transmitting a first command. In response to the first command, the tag sends a reply signal to the reading module. The reader carries information when receiving the response signal sent by the tag in a third message and sends the third message to the control module.

According to the communication system provided by the embodiment of the application, the control module is arranged, so that the control module can make a centralized decision, and the configuration parameters are issued to each reading module in the system, so that cooperative control among a plurality of reading modules can be realized. When the communication system comprises a plurality of reading modules, the centralized control of the control module can adapt to complex environmental changes, change the energy distribution in space, reduce the probability of occurrence of energy holes in the same time, reduce dead zones and improve the effective coverage of the reader. And the inventory efficiency of the reader can be improved.

Fig. 19 is a schematic structural diagram of a communication device according to an embodiment of the present application, where the communication device is configured to generate a beam, and as shown in fig. 19, the communication device includes a first signal generating module, a first phase shifting module, and a second phase shifting module, where an output end of the first signal generating module is coupled to an input end of the first phase shifting module, an output end of the first phase shifting module is coupled to an input end of the second phase shifting module, and output ends of the second phase shifting module are respectively configured to be coupled to an antenna module.

The first signal generating module is used for generating a signal and a carrier corresponding to the first command, adjusting the phase of the carrier, and modulating the signal corresponding to the first command onto the adjusted carrier. The first command is used to query or control the tag.

And the first phase shifting module is used for generating a wave beam, and the wave beam is used for transmitting the first command.

And the second phase shifting module is used for adjusting the phase of the wave beam output by the first phase shifting module and transmitting the adjusted wave beam through the antenna unit.

As shown in fig. 20, the first phase shift module includes P first phase shift units, the second phase shift module includes M second phase shift units, P is an integer greater than or equal to 1, and M is an integer greater than or equal to 2. The antenna module comprises M antenna units, and the output ends of the M second phase shifting units are respectively used for being coupled with the M antenna units.

Each second phase shift unit can realize multi-gear phase shift through different connecting wire lengths. As shown in fig. 21, the second phase shift unit may include a first switch and a second switch, where the first switch and the second switch are both an L-selecting switch, the first switch is coupled to the second switch through L connection lines, the lengths of the L connection lines are different, and L is an integer greater than or equal to 2. Namely, the second phase shifting unit can realize L-gear phase shifting through L connecting lines with different lengths.

For example, as shown in fig. 21, L is 4 as an example. The second phase shifting unit comprises a first switch and a second switch, the first switch and the second switch are four-way switches, the first switch and the second switch are connected through 4 connecting wires with different lengths, and the transmission delay of signals is different due to the fact that the lengths of the 4 connecting wires are different, and therefore multi-gear phase shifting can be achieved. For example, the second phase shifting unit may realize four phase shifts of 0 °, 45 °, 90 °, and 135 °, respectively. The number of gear positions and the adjusted phase shift value of the second phase shift unit can be adjusted by the embodiment of the application are not limited.

Alternatively, the structures of the first phase shifting unit and the second phase shifting unit may be the same or different, which is not limited in the embodiment of the present application. For example, the first phase shifting unit and the second phase shifting unit may be different in structure, and the first phase shifting unit may perform fine granularity phase shifting on the transmission signal. The second phase shifting unit can perform fine granularity phase shifting on the signal output by the first phase shifting unit. For another example, the first phase shifting unit and the second phase shifting unit may have the same structure, and the phase shifting may be implemented by connecting lines with different lengths.

When P is an integer greater than 1, the first phase shift module includes a plurality of first phase shift units. Optionally, as shown in fig. 20, the communication device may further include a power divider, where the first signal generating module is respectively coupled to the P first phase shifting units through the power divider, and the power divider is configured to divide the signal power output by the first signal generating module into P paths, and each path outputs a 1/P signal.

Optionally, as shown in fig. 20, the communication device provided in the embodiment of the present application may further include a receiving circuit, where the receiving circuit is configured to receive a configuration parameter, where the configuration parameter is used to configure the beam and/or the first command. The configuration parameters include phase information. The second phase shifting unit is specifically configured to adjust the phase of the beam output by the first phase shifting unit according to the phase information in the configuration parameter, and send the adjusted beam through the antenna unit.

The phase information in the configuration parameters may be a specific phase shift value or a gear value, for example, the phase information may include a phase shift value θ corresponding to the first phase shift unit ₁ Phase shift value θ corresponding to the second phase shift unit ₂ The first phase shift unit is based on θ ₁ Adjusting the phase of the carrier or adjusting the phase of the transmitted signal. The second phase shift unit is based on θ ₂ The phase of the transmission signal output by the first phase shifting unit is adjusted. For another example, the phase information may include a gear 1 corresponding to the first phase shifting unit and a gear 2 corresponding to the second phase shifting unit, where the first phase shifting unit adjusts the phase of the carrier or adjusts the phase of the transmit signal according to the gear 1. The second phase shifting unit adjusts the phase of the transmitting signal output by the first phase shifting unit according to the gear 2, the specific type of the phase information in the embodiment of the present application is not limited, and the type of the phase information corresponding to the first phase shifting unit may be the same as or different from the type of the phase information corresponding to the second phase shifting unit.

Optionally, the communication device may further include a power divider, through which the first phase shift units are respectively coupled to K second phase shift units, K being an integer greater than or equal to 2, M being equal to P multiplied by K. And the power divider is used for dividing the transmitting signal output by the first phase shifting unit into K paths. The specific number of power splitters included in the communication device according to the embodiment of the present application is not limited, and fig. 20 illustrates an example in which the communication device includes P power splitters.

For example, as shown in fig. 20, each first phase shift unit may be coupled to K second phase shift units through a power divider. The beam power output by the first phase shifting unit can be divided into K paths through the power divider, and each path outputs 1/K signals. The transmit chain of the communication device includes P by K lanes in total.

Alternatively, the power splitters coupled to different ones of the first phase shifting elements in the first phase shifting block may be the same or different. For example, taking the first phase shift module including 3 first phase shift units as an example, the first phase shift units 1 in the first phase shift module may be respectively coupled to 4 second phase shift units through a power divider, the first phase shift units 2 in the first phase shift module may be respectively coupled to 5 second phase shift units through a power divider, and the first phase shift units 3 in the first phase shift module may be respectively coupled to 6 second phase shift units through a power divider. Alternatively, the first phase shift units 1 to 3 in the first phase shift module may be respectively coupled to 4 second phase shift units through 3 power splitters, respectively. Fig. 20 illustrates an example in which each first phase shift unit is coupled to K second phase shift units through a power divider.

Optionally, the communication device may further include a multiplexer, and the first phase shifting units are respectively coupled to K second phase shifting units through the multiplexer, where K is an integer greater than or equal to 2, and M is equal to P multiplied by K.

And the multiplexer is used for outputting the wave beam output by the first phase shifting unit to the corresponding second phase shifting unit.

For example, each first phase shifting unit may be coupled to K second phase shifting units through a multiplexer. The modulated transmitting signal output by the first phase shifting unit can be output to one path of second phase shifting unit through the multiplexer, and the transmitting link of the communication device comprises P channels in total.

It can be understood that the beam power output by the first phase shifting unit is divided into K paths by the power divider or the multiplexer, and phase shifting is performed by the second phase shifting unit, so that the two-stage phase shifting can not only change the position where the energy cavity appears in the space, improve the effective coverage range, but also reduce the complexity and cost of the circuit.

Optionally, as shown in fig. 20, the communication device may further include M third switches, and each of the second phase shifting units is coupled to one of the antenna units through one of the third switches. The third switch may be a metal-oxide-semiconductor field-effect transistor (MOSFET), and the embodiment of the present application is not limited to the specific type of the third switch.

The configuration parameters received by the receiving circuit may further include a switch control identifier, and as shown in fig. 20, the communication device may further include a processor, where the processor is configured to control on and off of the third switch according to the switch control identifier. Since the energy distribution when all of the M third switches are turned on is different from the energy distribution when part of the third switches are turned on, the positions of the energy hollows are also different. Therefore, the on and off of the third switch is controlled by the processor, so that the energy distribution in the space can be changed, and the position of the energy cavity in the space is changed.

The communication device shown in fig. 19 or fig. 20 may be applied to a repeater in the communication system shown in fig. 4 or fig. 12, and may also be applied to a reader in the communication system shown in fig. 16, and the specific apparatus to which the communication device shown in fig. 19 or fig. 20 may be applied in the embodiment of the present application is not limited. When the communication device shown in fig. 19 or 20 is applied to a repeater in the communication system shown in fig. 4 or 12, the receiving circuit in the communication device is configured to receive the second message. When the communication device shown in fig. 19 or 20 is applied to a reader in the communication system shown in fig. 16, a receiving circuit in the communication device is used to receive the first message. Therefore, when the communication apparatus shown in fig. 19 or 20 is applied to different devices, the circuit configuration of the receiving circuit in the communication apparatus may be different, and the received message may be different.

Taking the example that the communication device shown in fig. 19 or fig. 20 is applied to a repeater in the communication system shown in fig. 4 or fig. 12, the first phase shifting unit in the repeater may adjust the difference between the repeater and other repeaters so that the phase output by the first phase shifting unit is a preset phase. A second phase shifting unit in the repeater may adjust for differences between multiple antenna ports inside the repeater. That is, the first phase shifting module may adjust the phase of each antenna subarray to generate a beam of a fixed waveform. The second phase shifting module can adjust the energy distribution of the antenna subarrays and adjust the wave form of wave beams so as to change the energy distribution in space. The two-stage phase shifting phase adjustment can change the position of the energy cavity in a complex multipath scene, reduce the probability of occurrence of the energy cavity in the same time, reduce the dead zone of the reader and improve the effective coverage of the reader.

Optionally, as shown in fig. 20, the communication device may further include a clock synchronization module for synchronizing a clock of the communication device with a clock of an external clock source. When a plurality of communication devices are included in the communication system, clock synchronization of the plurality of devices can be achieved through a clock synchronization module in each communication device, so that phase modulation can be combined among the plurality of devices, and the plurality of devices jointly transmit radio frequency signals to form distributed beam forming.

For example, as shown in connection with fig. 4 and 8, when the communication system shown in fig. 4 includes a plurality of repeaters, the communication devices in the plurality of repeaters include a clock synchronization module that enables clocks of the plurality of repeaters to be synchronized with clocks of an external clock source, so that radio frequency signals can be jointly transmitted after phase modulation between the plurality of repeaters to form distributed beamforming. As shown in fig. 16 and 17, when the communication system shown in fig. 16 includes a plurality of readers, the communication devices in the plurality of readers include a clock synchronization module, and the clock synchronization module enables clocks of the plurality of readers to be synchronized with clocks of an external clock source, so that the plurality of readers can jointly phase-modulate and then jointly transmit radio-frequency signals, thereby forming distributed beam forming.

Alternatively, the M antenna elements may be arranged in a triangular lattice shape as shown in fig. 22. As shown in fig. 22, a rectangle represents one antenna element, and any adjacent three antenna elements are triangular. The arrangement mode of the triangular lattice shape can effectively enlarge the equivalent caliber of the array, improve the scanning resolution of the main lobe, reduce the average side lobe power and reduce the coupling between antennas.

The distance between any two adjacent antenna units in the M antenna units is larger than or equal to 0.5 times of wavelength. For example, the spacing between any adjacent two of the M antenna elements is greater than or equal to 16.2cm.

According to the communication device, the difference between the communication device and other communication devices is adjusted through the first phase shifting unit, so that the phase output by the first phase shifting unit is a preset phase. The difference between the plurality of antenna ports inside the communication device is adjusted by the second phase shifting unit. According to the method and the device, the phase of the wave beam is adjusted through two-stage phase shifting, the position of the energy cavity in the space can be changed, the probability of the occurrence of the energy cavity in the same time is reduced, the dead zone is reduced, and the effective coverage area can be improved.

Fig. 23 is a schematic structural diagram of another communication device according to an embodiment of the present application, where the communication device is configured to generate a beam. As shown in fig. 23, the communication device includes a second signal generating module, a first phase shifting module, and a second phase shifting module. The first phase shift module comprises P first phase shift units and P modulation units, wherein P is an integer greater than or equal to 1. The output ends of the P first phase shifting units in the first phase shifting module are respectively coupled to the first input ends of the P modulation units, and the output ends of the second signal generating module are respectively coupled to the second input ends of the P modulation units. The output ends of the P modulation units are respectively coupled to the input ends of the second phase shifting module.

And the second signal generation module is used for generating a signal corresponding to the first command. The first command is used to query or control the tag.

A first phase shifting unit for generating a carrier wave;

the modulating unit is configured to modulate the signal generated by the second signal generating module onto the carrier wave generated by the first phase shifting unit, so as to generate a beam. The beam is used to transmit a first command.

And the second phase shifting module is used for adjusting the phase of the wave beam output by the modulation unit and transmitting the adjusted wave beam through the antenna unit.

As shown in fig. 24, the second phase shift module includes M second phase shift units, where M is an integer greater than or equal to 2. The antenna module comprises M antenna units, and the output ends of the M second phase shifting units are respectively used for being coupled with the M antenna units.

The second phase shift unit in the communication device shown in fig. 23 or fig. 24 may be configured as the second phase shift unit shown in fig. 21, that is, the phase shift may be implemented by L connection lines with different lengths.

As shown in fig. 24, the communication device further includes a power divider, the first phase shift module includes P outputs, where the P outputs are outputs of P modulation units, and an output end of each modulation unit may be coupled to K second phase shift units through the power divider, where K is an integer greater than or equal to 2, and M is equal to P multiplied by K. And the power divider is used for dividing the wave beam output by the first phase shifting unit into K paths. The specific number of power splitters included in the communication device according to the embodiment of the present application is not limited, and fig. 24 illustrates an example in which the communication device includes P power splitters.

Alternatively, the power splitters of the different output couplings of the first phase shifting module may be the same or different. For example, taking the example that the first phase shift module includes 3 outputs, the modulation unit 1 in the first phase shift module may be respectively coupled to 4 second phase shift units through a power divider, the modulation unit 2 in the first phase shift module may be respectively coupled to 5 second phase shift units through a power divider, and the modulation unit 3 in the first phase shift module may be respectively coupled to 6 second phase shift units through a power divider. Alternatively, the modulation units 1 to 3 in the first phase shift module may be respectively coupled to 4 second phase shift units through 3 power splitters, respectively. Fig. 24 illustrates an example in which each output of the first phase shift module is coupled to K second phase shift units through a power divider.

Alternatively, the output of each modulation unit may be coupled to K second phase shift units through a multiplexer, where K is an integer greater than or equal to 2, and M is equal to P multiplied by K. And the multiplexer is used for outputting the wave beam output by the first phase shifting unit to the corresponding second phase shifting unit.

It can be understood that the beam power output by each path of the first phase shifting module is divided into K paths by the power divider or the multiplexer, and phase shifting is performed by the second phase shifting unit, so that the two-stage phase shifting can not only change the position of the energy cavity in the space, improve the effective coverage range, but also reduce the complexity and the cost of the circuit.

Optionally, as shown in fig. 24, the communication device may further include M third switches, each second phase shift unit is coupled to one antenna unit through one third switch, and the configuration parameter received by the receiving circuit may further include a switch control identifier, as shown in fig. 24, and the communication device may further include a processor, where the processor is configured to control on and off of the third switches according to the switch control identifier. The processor controls the on and off of the third switch, so that the transmitting link of the communication device can be adjusted, and the energy distribution in the space is changed, thereby changing the position of the energy cavity in the space.

The communication device shown in fig. 23 or fig. 24 may be applied to a repeater in the communication system shown in fig. 4 or fig. 12, and may also be applied to a reader in the communication system shown in fig. 16, and the specific apparatus to which the communication device shown in fig. 23 or fig. 24 may be applied in the embodiment of the present application is not limited. When the communication device shown in fig. 23 or 24 is applied to a repeater in the communication system shown in fig. 4 or 12, the receiving circuit in the communication device is configured to receive the second message. When the communication device shown in fig. 23 or 24 is applied to a reader in the communication system shown in fig. 16, a receiving circuit in the communication device is used to receive the first message. Therefore, when the communication apparatus shown in fig. 23 or 24 is applied to different devices, the circuit configuration of the receiving circuit in the communication apparatus may be different, and the received message may be different.

Taking the example that the communication device shown in fig. 23 or fig. 24 is applied to a repeater in the communication system shown in fig. 4 or fig. 12, the first phase shifting unit in the repeater may adjust the difference between the repeater and other repeaters so that the phase output by the first phase shifting unit is a preset phase. The second phase shifting unit in the repeater can adjust the difference among a plurality of antenna ports in the repeater, the positions of the energy holes can be changed in a complex multipath scene through the two-stage phase shifting adjustment phases, the occurrence probability of the energy holes in the same time is reduced, the blind area of the reader is reduced, and the effective coverage range of the reader can be improved.

As shown in fig. 24, the communication device may further include a clock synchronization module for synchronizing a clock of the communication device with a clock of an external clock source. When a plurality of communication devices are included in the communication system, clock synchronization of the plurality of devices can be achieved through a clock synchronization module in each communication device, so that phase modulation can be combined among the plurality of devices, and the plurality of devices jointly transmit radio frequency signals to form distributed beam forming.

For example, as shown in connection with fig. 4 and 8, when the communication system shown in fig. 24 includes a plurality of repeaters, the communication devices in the plurality of repeaters include a clock synchronization module that enables clocks of the plurality of repeaters to be synchronized with clocks of an external clock source, so that radio frequency signals can be jointly transmitted after phase modulation between the plurality of repeaters to form distributed beamforming. As shown in fig. 16 and 17, when the communication system shown in fig. 16 includes a plurality of readers, the communication devices in the plurality of readers include a clock synchronization module, and the clock synchronization module enables clocks of the plurality of readers to be synchronized with clocks of an external clock source, so that the plurality of readers can jointly phase-modulate and then jointly transmit radio-frequency signals, thereby forming distributed beam forming.

The M antenna elements shown in fig. 24 may be arranged in a triangular lattice shape as shown in fig. 22, so that the equivalent caliber of the array may be effectively enlarged, the scanning resolution of the main lobe may be improved, the average side lobe power may be reduced, and the coupling between antennas may be reduced.

Fig. 25 is a schematic structural diagram of another communication device according to an embodiment of the present application, as shown in fig. 25, where the communication device includes a power divider and M phase shift units, an input end of the power divider is configured to receive a beam, output ends of the power divider are respectively coupled to the M phase shift units, output ends of the M phase shift units are respectively configured to be coupled to the M antenna units, and M is an integer greater than or equal to 2.

And the power divider is used for dividing the wave beam into M paths.

And the phase shifting unit is used for adjusting the phase of the wave beam output by the power divider.

The phase shifting unit comprises a first switch and a second switch, wherein the first switch and the second switch are L-selecting switches, the first switch is respectively coupled with the second switch through L connecting wires, the lengths of the L connecting wires are different, and L is an integer larger than or equal to 2. That is, the structure of the phase shift unit in this embodiment may be the circuit structure shown in fig. 21.

Optionally, as shown in fig. 25, the communication device may further comprise an input interface for receiving configuration parameters for configuring the beam and/or the first command. The configuration parameters include phase information. The phase shifting unit is specifically configured to adjust the phase of the beam output by the first phase shifting unit according to the phase information in the configuration parameter, and send the adjusted beam through the antenna unit.

As shown in fig. 25, the communication device further includes M third switches, and each phase shifting unit is coupled to one antenna unit through one third switch. The configuration parameters received by the input interface may further include a switch control identifier, as shown in fig. 25, and the communication device may further include a processor, where the processor is configured to control on and off of the third switch according to the switch control identifier. The controller controls the on and off of the third switch, so that the transmitting link of the communication device can be adjusted, and the energy distribution in the space is changed, thereby changing the position of the energy cavity in the space. For example, the energy distribution when all of the M third switches are turned on is different from the energy distribution when part of the third switches are turned on, and therefore the positions of the energy hollows are also different.

The communication device shown in fig. 25 may be applied to a repeater in the communication system shown in fig. 4 or fig. 12, or may be applied to a reader in the communication system shown in fig. 16, and the specific apparatus to which the communication device shown in fig. 25 may be applied in the embodiment of the present application is not limited. Taking the example of the communication apparatus shown in fig. 23 applied to the repeater in the communication system shown in fig. 4 or 12, the phase shift unit in the repeater can adjust the difference between the plurality of antenna ports inside the repeater. That is, the phase shifting unit can adjust the radio frequency signal phase of each channel of the antenna subarray, so as to realize the beam forming of the antenna subarray and adjust the characteristics of the beam. The phase shifting unit realizes phase shifting through connecting wires with different lengths, so that the circuit is simpler and the cost is lower. And the communication device adjusts the phase of the wave beam according to the configuration parameters, so that the energy distribution in the space can be changed, the position of the energy cavity in the space is changed, the probability of the occurrence of the energy cavity in the same time is reduced, the dead zone is reduced, and the effective coverage range of the reader can be improved.

The embodiment of the application also provides a communication method, as shown in fig. 26, which includes steps S2601-S2603.

S2601, acquiring information of the tag.

The tag information includes the EPC of the tag. Optionally, the information of the tag further includes at least one of a phase or a signal strength of the response signal received by each receiving channel of the reader.

S2602, obtaining configuration parameters according to the information of the tag. The configuration parameters are used to configure the beam and/or the first command, the beam is used to send the first command, and the first command is used to query or control the tag.

The configuration parameters include at least one of phase information, switch control identification, slot value, frequency count, inventory duration, or state of switching the tag.

In step S2602, the configuration parameters are obtained according to the information of the tag, including: inputting the information of the tag into a parameter configuration model to obtain configuration parameters. The parameter configuration model may be a reinforcement learning model.

S2603, a first message is sent to the reader, wherein the first message comprises configuration parameters and identification of the reading module.

It can be appreciated that the first message including the configuration parameter is sent to the reader by the control module, so that the reader or the repeater can adjust the phase of the beam based on the configuration parameter, that is, the reader or the repeater can adjust the phase of the beam according to the configuration parameter issued by the control module. That is, the control module is arranged in the system, and can make a centralized decision, and issue configuration parameters to each reading module in the system, so that cooperative control among a plurality of reading modules can be realized, complex environmental changes can be adapted, energy distribution in space is changed, probability of occurrence of energy holes in the same time is reduced, blind areas are reduced, and effective coverage of a reader can be improved. And the inventory efficiency of the reader can be improved.

Embodiments of the present application also provide a computer readable storage medium having computer program code embodied therein, which when run on a processor causes the processor to perform the method as shown in fig. 26.

Embodiments of the present application also provide a computer program product comprising program instructions which, when executed, implement the method as shown in fig. 26.

The steps of a method or algorithm described in connection with the disclosure herein may be embodied in hardware, or may be embodied in software instructions executed by a processor. The software instructions may be comprised of corresponding software modules that may be stored in random access memory (random access memory, RAM), flash memory, erasable programmable read-only memory (erasable programmable ROM, EPROM), electrically erasable programmable read-only memory (EEPROM), registers, hard disk, a removable disk, a compact disc read-only memory (CD-ROM), or any other form of storage medium known in the art. An exemplary storage medium is coupled to the processor such the processor can read information from, and write information to, the storage medium. In the alternative, the storage medium may be integral to the processor. The processor and the storage medium may reside in an ASIC. In addition, the ASIC may be located in a core network interface device. The processor and the storage medium may reside as discrete components in a core network interface device.

Those skilled in the art will appreciate that in one or more of the examples described above, the functions described in the present invention may be implemented in hardware, software, firmware, or any combination thereof. When implemented in software, these functions may be stored on or transmitted over as one or more instructions or code on a computer-readable medium. Computer-readable media includes both computer storage media and communication media including any medium that facilitates transfer of a computer program from one place to another. A storage media may be any available media that can be accessed by a general purpose or special purpose computer.

The foregoing embodiments have been provided for the purpose of illustrating the general principles of the present invention in further detail, and are not to be construed as limiting the scope of the invention, but are merely intended to cover any modifications, equivalents, improvements, etc. based on the teachings of the invention.

Claims

1. A communication system, the communication system comprising: a control module, at least one reading module, at least one repeater, and at least one tag;

The control module is configured to send a first message to the reading module, where the first message includes a configuration parameter, an identifier of the reading module, and the repeater identifier, where the configuration parameter is used to configure at least one of a beam and a first command, where the beam is used to send the first command, and the first command is used to query or control the tag;

the reading module is used for sending a second message to the repeater according to the repeater identification, wherein the second message comprises a first parameter in the configuration parameters, and the first parameter is used for configuring the wave beam;

the repeater is configured to configure the beam according to the first parameter.

2. The communication system of claim 1, wherein,

the reading module is further configured to send the first command to the tag through the repeater based on a second parameter in the configuration parameters, where the second parameter is used to configure the first command;

the repeater is further configured to receive the first command, generate the beam, and send the beam to the tag;

the tag is used for responding to the first command and sending a response signal to the reading module.

3. The communication system according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the first parameter comprises at least one of phase information, frequency bin or switch control identification.

4. A communication system according to claim 2 or 3, wherein the second parameter comprises at least one of a time slot value, an inventory duration or a state of switching the tag.

5. A communication system, the communication system comprising: the system comprises a control module, at least one reading module and at least one tag;

the control module is configured to send a first message to the reading module, where the first message includes a configuration parameter and an identifier of the reading module, where the configuration parameter is used to configure at least one of a beam or a first command, the beam is used to send the first command, and the first command is used to query or control the tag;

the reading module is used for configuring the wave beam based on the first message and sending the wave beam to the tag;

6. The communication system of claim 5, wherein the configuration parameters include at least one of phase information, switch control identification, time slot value, frequency count, inventory duration, or state of switching the tag.

7. The communication system according to any of claims 1-6, wherein the control module is further configured to determine the configuration parameters according to a control strategy.

8. The communication system of claim 7, wherein the control strategy is to determine the configuration parameters by a parameter configuration model.

9. The communication system according to claim 7 or 8, wherein the control module is further configured to receive a third message from the reading module, the third message comprising information of the tag and an identification of the reading module, the information of the tag comprising a product electronic code EPC of the tag.

10. The communication system of claim 9, wherein the tag information further comprises at least one of a phase or a signal strength of a received reply signal for each receive channel of the reading module.

11. The communication system according to any of claims 1-10, wherein the control module is deployed in a different device than the at least one reading module or the control module is deployed in the same device as one of the at least one reading module.

12. A method of communication, the method comprising:

acquiring information of a tag, wherein the information of the tag comprises an electronic product code EPC of the tag;

obtaining configuration parameters according to the information of the tag, wherein the configuration parameters are used for configuring at least one of a wave beam or a first command, the wave beam is used for sending the first command, and the first command is used for inquiring or controlling the tag;

and sending a first message to a reading module, wherein the first message comprises the configuration parameters and the identification of the reading module.

13. The method of claim 12, wherein the tag information further comprises at least one of a phase or a signal strength of a received reply signal for each receive channel of the reader.

14. The method of claim 12 or 13, wherein the configuration parameters include at least one of phase information, switch control identification, slot value, frequency count, count duration, or state of switching the tag.

15. The method according to any one of claims 12-14, wherein the deriving configuration parameters from the tag information comprises:

and inputting the information of the tag into a parameter configuration model to obtain the configuration parameters.

16. A communication device for generating a beam, the communication device comprising a first phase shift module and a second phase shift module, an output of the first phase shift module coupled to an input of the second phase shift module, an output of the second phase shift module for coupling with an antenna module;

the first phase shifting module is used for generating a wave beam, wherein the wave beam is used for sending a first command, and the first command is used for inquiring or controlling a tag;

the second phase shifting module is configured to adjust a phase of the beam output by the first phase shifting module, and send the adjusted beam through one or more antenna units in the antenna module.

17. The communication device of claim 16, further comprising a first signal generation module, an output of the first signal generation module coupled to an input of the first phase shift module;

the first signal generating module is configured to generate a signal and a carrier corresponding to the first command, adjust a phase of the carrier, and modulate the signal corresponding to the first command onto the carrier after adjustment.

18. The communication device of claim 16, further comprising a second signal generation module, the first phase shift module comprising P first phase shift units and P modulation units, the outputs of the P first phase shift units in the first phase shift module being coupled to first inputs of the P modulation units, respectively, the outputs of the second signal generation module being coupled to second inputs of the P modulation units, respectively;

the second signal generating module is used for generating a signal corresponding to the first command;

the first phase shifting unit is used for generating a carrier wave;

the modulating unit is configured to modulate the signal generated by the second signal generating module onto the carrier wave generated by the first phase shifting unit, so as to generate the beam.

19. The communication device according to any one of claims 16-18, wherein the second phase shift module comprises M second phase shift units, M being an integer greater than or equal to 2, the second phase shift units comprising a first switch and a second switch, the first switch and the second switch each being an L-selected switch, the first switch being coupled to the second switch by L connection lines, respectively, the L connection lines being different in length, the L being an integer greater than or equal to 2.

20. The communication device of any of claims 16-19, further comprising a receiving circuit to receive a configuration parameter, the configuration parameter comprising phase information, the configuration parameter to configure at least one of a beam or the first command;

the second phase shifting module is specifically configured to adjust a phase of a beam output by the first phase shifting module according to the phase information.

21. The communication device of claim 20, wherein the second phase shift module comprises M second phase shift elements, the antenna module comprises M antenna elements, the communication device further comprises M third switches, each second phase shift element coupled to one of the antenna elements through one of the third switches.

22. The communication device of claim 21, wherein the configuration parameters further comprise a switch control identification, the communication device further comprising a processor for controlling the turning on and off of the third switch according to the switch control identification.

23. The communication device according to any one of claims 16-22, wherein the first phase shift module comprises P first phase shift units and the second phase shift module comprises M second phase shift units, the communication device further comprising P power splitters through which the first phase shift units are respectively coupled to K second phase shift units, the K being an integer greater than or equal to 2, the M being equal to the P multiplied by the K;

The power divider is used for dividing the wave beam output by the first phase shifting unit into K paths.

24. The communication device according to any one of claims 16-22, wherein the first phase shift module comprises P first phase shift units and the second phase shift module comprises M second phase shift units, the communication device further comprising P multiplexers through which the first phase shift units are coupled to K second phase shift units, respectively, the K being an integer greater than or equal to 2, the M being equal to the P multiplied by the K;

the multiplexer is used for outputting the wave beam output by the first phase shifting unit to the corresponding second phase shifting unit.

25. A communication device, wherein the communication device is used for generating a wave beam, the communication device comprises a power divider and M phase shifting units, the input end of the power divider is used for receiving the wave beam, the output ends of the power divider are respectively coupled to the M phase shifting units, the output ends of the M phase shifting units are respectively coupled to M antenna units, and M is an integer greater than or equal to 2; the phase shifting unit comprises a first switch and a second switch, wherein the first switch and the second switch are L-selected switches, the first switch is respectively coupled with the second switch through L connecting wires, the lengths of the L connecting wires are different, and L is an integer greater than or equal to 2;

The power divider is used for dividing the wave beam into M paths;

26. The communication device of claim 25, further comprising M third switches, each of the phase shifting units being coupled to one of the antenna units through one of the third switches.

27. A computer readable storage medium having computer program code embodied therein, which, when run on a processor, causes the processor to perform the method of any of claims 12-15.

28. A computer program product comprising program instructions which, when executed, implement the method of any of claims 12-15.