CN116711185A

CN116711185A - Method and apparatus for load-based access control in resonant magnetic coupling networks

Info

Publication number: CN116711185A
Application number: CN202180087751.XA
Authority: CN
Inventors: P·卡布罗; 坦比尔·哈克; H·埃尔科比; 拉维库马尔·普拉加达
Original assignee: Tag Comm Inc
Current assignee: Tag Comm Inc
Priority date: 2020-12-14
Filing date: 2021-12-09
Publication date: 2023-09-05

Abstract

The present disclosure relates to methods and apparatus for operation by a wireless transmit/receive unit (WTRU). In one embodiment, a method comprises: receiving a request from a first device to send a transmission to a second device via a resonant magnetic coupling, the request including capability information indicating a set of load terminal states supported by the first device; transmitting measurement configuration information to the first device, the measurement configuration information including information indicating: (1) Timing and/or frequency information for scheduling measurements of signal strength received by the first device; and (2) at least one load termination state of a set of load termination states to be used by the first device in performing the measurements; receiving, from the first device, measurement information generated by a measurement performed by the first device according to the transmitted measurement configuration information; determining a load terminal status of the first device based on the measurement information; and transmitting information indicating the determined load terminal status of the first device to the first device.

Description

Method and apparatus for load-based access control in resonant magnetic coupling networks

Cross Reference to Related Applications

The present application claims priority from U.S. provisional patent application Ser. No. 63/125,045, filed on 12 months 14 of 2020, and U.S. provisional patent application Ser. No. 63/146,981, filed on 8 months 2 of 2021, each of which is incorporated herein by reference.

Technical Field

Embodiments disclosed herein relate generally to wireless communications and, for example, to methods and apparatus for load-based access control to Resonant Magnetic Coupling (RMC) networks.

Background

Due to the recent widespread adoption of portable electronic devices, wireless Power Transfer (WPT) has attracted considerable attention in many commercial applications including smart phones, medical appliances, electric Vehicles (EVs), wireless sensors, and other IoT devices.

Conventional radiant energy delivery, which is primarily used to deliver information, may present some difficulties for power delivery applications. For example, power transfer using an omni-directional radiation pattern may be inefficient, while unidirectional radiation, while being more efficient in terms of energy transfer, may use (e.g., require) a line of sight and special tracking mechanisms to accommodate mobility.

Previous work has demonstrated that power delivery can be more efficient than far field methods at midfield and at longer distances than conventional inductive coupling systems. Subsequent work has sought to overcome the fixed distance and orientation limitations associated with the previously mentioned studies, where the efficiency will drop rapidly as the receiving device is repositioned away from its optimal operating coordinates.

Drawings

A more detailed understanding can be obtained from the following detailed description, which is given by way of example in connection with the accompanying drawings. As with the detailed description, the drawings in such figures are exemplary. Accordingly, the drawings and detailed description are not to be regarded as limiting, and other equally effective examples are possible and contemplated. Additionally, like reference numerals ("ref") in the drawings ("figures") refer to like elements, and wherein:

FIG. 1A is a system diagram illustrating an exemplary communication system in which one or more disclosed embodiments may be implemented;

fig. 1B is a system diagram illustrating an exemplary wireless transmit/receive unit (WTRU) that may be used within the communication system shown in fig. 1A, according to one embodiment;

fig. 1C is a system diagram illustrating an exemplary Radio Access Network (RAN) and an exemplary Core Network (CN) that may be used within the communication system shown in fig. 1A, according to one embodiment;

fig. 1D is a system diagram illustrating another exemplary RAN and another exemplary CN that may be used in the communication system shown in fig. 1A, according to one embodiment;

FIG. 2 is a schematic diagram of a resonant magnetic wireless power transfer and communication system;

FIG. 3 is a graph of resonant magnetic frequency as a function of distance for a resonant magnetic coupling system;

FIG. 4 is a schematic diagram of a resonant magnetic power transfer circuit model;

FIG. 5 is a schematic diagram showing a resonant magnetic broadcast group;

FIG. 6 is a schematic diagram showing two main frameworks (i.e., centralized medium access and distributed medium access) for medium access in a communication network;

fig. 7A, 7B, and 7C illustrate network topologies of a wired network, a far-field wireless network, and a midfield wireless network, respectively;

FIGS. 8A and 8B are load model and transformer representations of a plurality of load devices coupled to a single power supply;

fig. 9A and 9B illustrate the contents of a control plane frame according to two exemplary embodiments;

fig. 10A and 10B illustrate the contents of a downlink control plane frame and an uplink control plane frame according to one embodiment;

FIG. 11 is a graph illustrating load terminal status assignments as a function of signal strength according to one embodiment;

fig. 12 is a graph illustrating a scheme for load terminal status assignment of multiple devices in multiple time slots according to one embodiment;

FIG. 13 is a flow diagram illustrating sharing a BCH between multiple devices according to one embodiment;

Fig. 14 is a schematic diagram showing load termination states of three devices over a period of 6 time slots according to one embodiment;

fig. 15 is a schematic diagram showing load terminal states of three devices over a period of 6 time slots according to another embodiment;

fig. 16 is a schematic diagram showing load terminal states of three devices over a period of 6 time slots according to still another embodiment;

FIG. 17 is a flow diagram illustrating a load-based access scheme from a device perspective according to one embodiment;

FIG. 18 is a graphical representation of the relationship between active power, reactive power and apparent power in a system;

FIG. 19 is a circuit diagram of a model circuit for simultaneously delivering power and information, according to one embodiment;

FIG. 20 is a flow chart describing a procedure for selecting complex impedance for energy harvesting or communication according to one embodiment;

FIG. 21 is a flow chart describing a procedure for selecting complex impedance for energy harvesting or communication according to one embodiment;

FIG. 22 is a schematic diagram showing several possible frequency and amplitude configurations of a power harvesting signal and various communication channels, according to an embodiment;

FIG. 23 is a schematic diagram showing how a device can transmit data on CW energy tones in a BCH by load modulating the CW energy tones, according to one embodiment;

Fig. 24 is a signal flow diagram illustrating a method performed by a cluster head to maximize the number of devices capable of communicating on a broadcast channel and allocate resources based on demand, according to one embodiment;

fig. 25 is a signal flow diagram illustrating a method performed by a cluster head for managing pairs of devices connected via unicast links and allocating media resources (bandwidth, time slots) according to one embodiment;

FIG. 26 is a flowchart illustrating an exemplary method performed by a cluster head (CLH) to manage new devices joining a cluster;

FIG. 27 is a schematic diagram illustrating time division multiplexing of energy transfer and information transfer according to one embodiment;

fig. 28 is a flow chart illustrating a representative method implemented by a WTRU;

FIG. 29 is a flow chart illustrating a representative method implemented by a first device;

figure 30 is a flow chart illustrating a representative method implemented by a WTRU communicating with one or more first devices via resonant magnetic coupling over a common channel;

FIG. 31 is a flow chart illustrating a representative method implemented by a cluster head for controlling device access in a Resonant Magnetic Coupling (RMC) network;

fig. 32 is a flow chart illustrating another exemplary method implemented by a WTRU; and is also provided with

FIG. 33 is a flow chart illustrating a representative method implemented in a cluster head of a resonant magnetic coupling network.

Detailed Description

Introduction to the invention

In the following detailed description, numerous specific details are set forth in order to provide a thorough understanding of the embodiments and/or examples disclosed herein. However, it should be understood that such embodiments and examples may be practiced without some or all of the specific details set forth herein. In other instances, well-known methods, procedures, components, and circuits have not been described in detail so as not to obscure the description below. Furthermore, embodiments and examples not specifically described herein may be practiced in place of or in combination with embodiments and other examples that are explicitly, implicitly, and/or inherently described, disclosed, or otherwise provided (collectively, "provided").

Detailed Description

Fig. 1A is a schematic diagram illustrating an exemplary communication system 100 in which one or more disclosed embodiments may be implemented. Communication system 100 may be a multiple access system that provides content, such as voice, data, video, messages, broadcasts, etc., to a plurality of wireless users. Communication system 100 may enable multiple wireless users to access such content through the sharing of system resources, including wireless bandwidth. For example, communication system 100 may employ one or more channel access methods such as Code Division Multiple Access (CDMA), time Division Multiple Access (TDMA), frequency Division Multiple Access (FDMA), orthogonal FDMA (OFDMA), single carrier FDMA (SC-FDMA), zero tail unique word DFT-spread OFDM (ZT UW DTS-s OFDM), unique word OFDM (UW-OFDM), resource block filtered OFDM, filter Bank Multicarrier (FBMC), and the like.

As shown in fig. 1A, the communication system 100 may include wireless transmit/receive units (WTRUs) 102a, 102b, 102c, 102d, RANs 104/113, CNs 106/115, public Switched Telephone Networks (PSTN) 108, the internet 110, and other networks 112, although it should be understood that the disclosed embodiments contemplate any number of WTRUs, base stations, networks, and/or network elements. Each of the WTRUs 102a, 102b, 102c, 102d may be any type of device configured to operate and/or communicate in a wireless environment. As an example, the WTRUs 102a, 102b, 102c, 102d (any of which may be referred to as a "station" and/or a "STA") may be configured to transmit and/or receive wireless signals and may include User Equipment (UE), mobile stations, fixed or mobile subscriber units, subscription-based units, pagers, cellular telephones, personal Digital Assistants (PDAs), smartphones, laptops, netbooks, personal computers, wireless sensors, hot spot or Mi-Fi devices, internet of things (IoT) devices, watches or other wearable devices, head Mounted Displays (HMDs), vehicles, drones, medical devices and applications (e.g., tele-surgery), industrial devices and applications (e.g., robots and/or other wireless devices operating in an industrial and/or automated processing chain environment), consumer electronic devices, devices operating on a commercial and/or industrial wireless network, and the like. Any of the UEs 102a, 102b, 102c, and 102d may be interchangeably referred to as WTRUs.

Communication system 100 may also include base station 114a and/or base station 114b. Each of the base stations 114a, 114b may be any type of device configured to wirelessly interface with at least one of the WTRUs 102a, 102b, 102c, 102d to facilitate access to one or more communication networks, such as the CN 106/115, the internet 110, and/or the other networks 112. By way of example, the base stations 114a, 114B may be Base Transceiver Stations (BTSs), node bs, evolved node bs, home evolved node bs, gnbs, NR node bs, site controllers, access Points (APs), wireless routers, and the like. Although the base stations 114a, 114b are each depicted as a single element, it should be appreciated that the base stations 114a, 114b may include any number of interconnected base stations and/or network elements.

Base station 114a may be part of RAN 104/113 that may also include other base stations and/or network elements (not shown), such as Base Station Controllers (BSCs), radio Network Controllers (RNCs), relay nodes, and the like. Base station 114a and/or base station 114b may be configured to transmit and/or receive wireless signals on one or more carrier frequencies, which may be referred to as cells (not shown). These frequencies may be in a licensed spectrum, an unlicensed spectrum, or a combination of licensed and unlicensed spectrum. A cell may provide coverage of wireless services to a particular geographic area, which may be relatively fixed or may change over time. The cell may be further divided into cell sectors. For example, a cell associated with base station 114a may be divided into three sectors. Thus, in one embodiment, the base station 114a may include three transceivers, e.g., one for each sector of a cell. In an embodiment, the base station 114a may employ multiple-input multiple-output (MIMO) technology and may utilize multiple transceivers for each sector of a cell. For example, beamforming may be used to transmit and/or receive signals in a desired spatial direction.

The base stations 114a, 114b may communicate with one or more of the WTRUs 102a, 102b, 102c, 102d over an air interface 116, which may be any suitable wireless communication link (e.g., radio Frequency (RF), microwave, centimeter wave, millimeter wave, infrared (IR), ultraviolet (UV), visible light, etc.). The air interface 116 may be established using any suitable Radio Access Technology (RAT).

More specifically, as noted above, communication system 100 may be a multiple access system and may employ one or more channel access schemes, such as CDMA, TDMA, FDMA, OFDMA, SC-FDMA, and the like. For example, a base station 114a in the RAN 104/113 and the WTRUs 102a, 102b, 102c may implement a radio technology such as Universal Mobile Telecommunications System (UMTS) terrestrial radio access (UTRA), which may use Wideband CDMA (WCDMA) to establish the air interfaces 115/116/117.WCDMA may include communication protocols such as High Speed Packet Access (HSPA) and/or evolved HSPA (hspa+). HSPA may include high speed Downlink (DL) packet access (HSDPA) and/or High Speed UL Packet Access (HSUPA).

In an embodiment, the base station 114a and the WTRUs 102a, 102b, 102c may implement a radio technology such as evolved UMTS terrestrial radio access (E-UTRA), which may use Long Term Evolution (LTE) and/or LTE-advanced (LTE-a) and/or LTE-advanced Pro (LTE-a Pro) to establish the air interface 116.

In an embodiment, the base station 114a and the WTRUs 102a, 102b, 102c may implement a radio technology such as NR radio access that may use a new air interface (NR) to establish the air interface 116.

In embodiments, the base station 114a and the WTRUs 102a, 102b, 102c may implement multiple radio access technologies. For example, the base station 114a and the WTRUs 102a, 102b, 102c may implement LTE radio access and NR radio access together, e.g., using a Dual Connectivity (DC) principle. Thus, the air interface utilized by the WTRUs 102a, 102b, 102c may be characterized by multiple types of radio access technologies and/or transmissions sent to/from multiple types of base stations (e.g., enbs and gnbs).

In other embodiments, the base station 114a and the WTRUs 102a, 102b, 102c may implement radio technologies such as IEEE 802.11 (e.g., wireless fidelity (WiFi)), IEEE 802.16 (e.g., worldwide Interoperability for Microwave Access (WiMAX)), CDMA2000 1X, CDMA EV-DO, tentative standard 2000 (IS-2000), tentative standard 95 (IS-95), tentative standard 856 (IS-856), global system for mobile communications (GSM), enhanced data rates for GSM evolution (EDGE), GSM EDGE (GERAN), and the like.

The base station 114B in fig. 1A may be, for example, a wireless router, home node B, home evolved node B, or access point, and may utilize any suitable RAT to facilitate wireless connections in local areas such as business, home, vehicle, campus, industrial facility, air corridor (e.g., for use by drones), road, etc. In an embodiment, the base station 114b and the WTRUs 102c, 102d may implement a radio technology such as IEEE 802.11 to establish a Wireless Local Area Network (WLAN). In an embodiment, the base station 114b and the WTRUs 102c, 102d may implement a radio technology such as IEEE 802.15 to establish a Wireless Personal Area Network (WPAN). In yet another embodiment, the base station 114b and the WTRUs 102c, 102d may utilize a cellular-based RAT (e.g., WCDMA, CDMA2000, GSM, LTE, LTE-A, LTE-a Pro, NR, etc.) to establish a pico cell or femto cell. As shown in fig. 1A, the base station 114b may have a direct connection with the internet 110. Thus, the base station 114b may not need to access the Internet 110 via the CN 106/115.

The RANs 104/113 may communicate with the CNs 106/115, which may be any type of network configured to provide voice, data, application, and/or voice over internet protocol (VoIP) services to one or more of the WTRUs 102a, 102b, 102c, 102 d. The data may have different quality of service (QoS) requirements, such as different throughput requirements, delay requirements, error tolerance requirements, reliability requirements, data throughput requirements, mobility requirements, and the like. The CN 106/115 may provide call control, billing services, mobile location based services, prepaid calls, internet connections, video distribution, etc., and/or perform advanced security functions such as user authentication. Although not shown in fig. 1A, it should be appreciated that the RANs 104/113 and/or CNs 106/115 may communicate directly or indirectly with other RANs that employ the same RAT as the RANs 104/113 or a different RAT. For example, in addition to being connected to the RAN 104/113 that may utilize NR radio technology, the CN 106/115 may also communicate with another RAN (not shown) employing GSM, UMTS, CDMA, wiMAX, E-UTRA, or WiFi radio technology.

The CN 106/115 may also act as a gateway for the WTRUs 102a, 102b, 102c, 102d to access the PSTN 108, the Internet 110, and/or other networks 112.PSTN 108 may include circuit-switched telephone networks that provide Plain Old Telephone Services (POTS). The internet 110 may include a global system for interconnecting computer networks and devices using common communication protocols, such as Transmission Control Protocol (TCP), user Datagram Protocol (UDP), and/or Internet Protocol (IP) in the TCP/IP internet protocol suite. Network 112 may include wired and/or wireless communication networks owned and/or operated by other service providers. For example, the network 112 may include another CN connected to one or more RANs, which may employ the same RAT as the RANs 104/113 or a different RAT.

Some or all of the WTRUs 102a, 102b, 102c, 102d in the communication system 100 may include multi-mode capabilities (e.g., the WTRUs 102a, 102b, 102c, 102d may include multiple transceivers for communicating with different wireless networks over different wireless links). For example, the WTRU102c shown in fig. 1A may be configured to communicate with a base station 114a, which may employ a cellular-based radio technology, and with a base station 114b, which may employ an IEEE 802 radio technology.

Fig. 1B is a system diagram illustrating an exemplary WTRU 102. As shown in fig. 1B, the WTRU102 may include a processor 118, a transceiver 120, a transmit/receive element 122, a speaker/microphone 124, a keypad 126, a display/touchpad 128, non-removable memory 130, removable memory 132, a power source 134, a Global Positioning System (GPS) chipset 136, and/or other peripheral devices 138, etc. It should be appreciated that the WTRU102 may include any sub-combination of the foregoing elements while remaining consistent with an embodiment.

The processor 118 may be a general purpose processor, a special purpose processor, a conventional processor, a Digital Signal Processor (DSP), a plurality of microprocessors, one or more microprocessors in association with a DSP core, a controller, a microcontroller, application Specific Integrated Circuits (ASICs), field Programmable Gate Arrays (FPGAs) circuits, any other type of Integrated Circuit (IC), a state machine, or the like. The processor 118 may perform signal coding, data processing, power control, input/output processing, and/or any other functions that enable the WTRU102 to operate in a wireless environment. The processor 118 may be coupled to a transceiver 120, which may be coupled to a transmit/receive element 122. Although fig. 1B depicts the processor 118 and the transceiver 120 as separate components, it should be understood that the processor 118 and the transceiver 120 may be integrated together in an electronic package or chip.

The transmit/receive element 122 may be configured to transmit signals to and receive signals from a base station (e.g., base station 114 a) over the air interface 116. For example, in one embodiment, the transmit/receive element 122 may be an antenna configured to transmit and/or receive RF signals. In one embodiment, the transmit/receive element 122 may be an emitter/detector configured to emit and/or receive, for example, IR, UV, or visible light signals. In yet another embodiment, the transmit/receive element 122 may be configured to transmit and/or receive RF and optical signals. It should be appreciated that the transmit/receive element 122 may be configured to transmit and/or receive any combination of wireless signals.

Although the transmit/receive element 122 is depicted as a single element in fig. 1B, the WTRU 102 may include any number of transmit/receive elements 122. More specifically, the WTRU 102 may employ MIMO technology. Thus, in one embodiment, the WTRU 102 may include two or more transmit/receive elements 122 (e.g., multiple antennas) for transmitting and receiving wireless signals over the air interface 116.

The transceiver 120 may be configured to modulate signals to be transmitted by the transmit/receive element 122 and demodulate signals received by the transmit/receive element 122. As noted above, the WTRU 102 may have multi-mode capabilities. For example, therefore, the transceiver 120 may include multiple transceivers to enable the WTRU 102 to communicate via multiple RATs (such as NR and IEEE 802.11).

The processor 118 of the WTRU 102 may be coupled to and may receive user input data from a speaker/microphone 124, a keypad 126, and/or a display/touchpad 128, such as a Liquid Crystal Display (LCD) display unit or an Organic Light Emitting Diode (OLED) display unit. The processor 118 may also output user data to the speaker/microphone 124, the keypad 126, and/or the display/touchpad 128. Further, the processor 118 may access information from and store data in any type of suitable memory, such as the non-removable memory 130 and/or the removable memory 132. The non-removable memory 130 may include Random Access Memory (RAM), read Only Memory (ROM), a hard disk, or any other type of memory storage device. Removable memory 132 may include a Subscriber Identity Module (SIM) card, a memory stick, a Secure Digital (SD) memory card, and the like. In other embodiments, the processor 118 may never physically locate memory access information on the WTRU 102, such as on a server or home computer (not shown), and store the data in that memory.

The processor 118 may receive power from the power source 134 and may be configured to distribute and/or control power to other components in the WTRU 102. The power source 134 may be any suitable device for powering the WTRU 102. For example, the power source 134 may include one or more dry battery packs (e.g., nickel cadmium (NiCd), nickel zinc (NiZn), nickel metal hydride (NiMH), lithium ion (Li-ion), etc.), solar cells, fuel cells, and the like.

The processor 118 may also be coupled to a GPS chipset 136, which may be configured to provide location information (e.g., longitude and latitude) regarding the current location of the WTRU 102. In addition to or in lieu of information from the GPS chipset 136, the WTRU 102 may receive location information from base stations (e.g., base stations 114a, 114 b) over the air interface 116 and/or determine its location based on the timing of signals received from two or more nearby base stations. It should be appreciated that the WTRU 102 may obtain location information by any suitable location determination method while remaining consistent with an embodiment.

The processor 118 may also be coupled to other peripheral devices 138, which may include one or more software modules and/or hardware modules that provide additional features, functionality, and/or wired or wireless connections. For example, the number of the cells to be processed, peripheral devices 138 may include accelerometers, electronic compasses, satellite transceivers, digital cameras (for photographs and/or video), universal Serial Bus (USB) ports, vibrating devices, television transceivers, hands-free headsets, wireless communications devices, and the like,Modules, frequency Modulation (FM) radio units, digital music players, media players, video game player modules, internet browsers, virtual reality and/or augmented reality (VR/AR) devices, activity trackers, and the like. The peripheral device 138 may include one or more sensors, which may be one or more of the following: gyroscopes, accelerometers, hall effect sensors, magnetometers, orientation sensors, proximity sensors, temperature sensors, time sensors; a geographic position sensor; altimeters, light sensors, touch sensors, magnetometers, barometers, gesture sensors, biometric sensors, and/or humidity sensors.

WTRU 102 may include a full duplex radio for which transmission and reception of some or all signals (e.g., associated with a particular subframe for UL (e.g., for transmission) and downlink (e.g., for reception)) may be concurrent and/or simultaneous. The full duplex radio station may include an interference management unit 139 for reducing and/or substantially eliminating self-interference via hardware (e.g., choke) or via signal processing by a processor (e.g., a separate processor (not shown) or via processor 118). In one embodiment, the WTRU 102 may include a half-duplex radio for which transmission and reception of some or all signals (e.g., associated with a particular subframe for UL (e.g., for transmission) or downlink (e.g., for reception)).

Fig. 1C is a system diagram illustrating a RAN 104 and a CN 106 according to an embodiment. As described above, the RAN 104 may communicate with the WTRUs 102a, 102b, 102c over the air interface 116 using an E-UTRA radio technology. RAN 104 may also communicate with CN 106.

RAN 104 may include enode bs 160a, 160B, 160c, but it should be understood that RAN 104 may include any number of enode bs while remaining consistent with an embodiment. The enode bs 160a, 160B, 160c may each include one or more transceivers to communicate with the WTRUs 102a, 102B, 102c over the air interface 116. In an embodiment, the evolved node bs 160a, 160B, 160c may implement MIMO technology. Thus, the enode B160 a may use multiple antennas to transmit wireless signals to the WTRU 102a and/or to receive wireless signals from the WTRU 102a, for example.

Each of the evolved node bs 160a, 160B, 160c may be associated with a particular cell (not shown) and may be configured to handle radio resource management decisions, handover decisions, scheduling of users in UL and/or DL, and the like. As shown in fig. 1C, the enode bs 160a, 160B, 160C may communicate with each other over an X2 interface.

The CN 106 shown in fig. 1C may include a Mobility Management Entity (MME) 162, a Serving Gateway (SGW) 164, and a Packet Data Network (PDN) gateway (or PGW) 166. While each of the foregoing elements are depicted as part of the CN 106, it should be understood that any of these elements may be owned and/or operated by an entity other than the CN operator.

The MME 162 may be connected to each of the evolved node bs 162a, 162B, 162c in the RAN 104 via an S1 interface and may function as a control node. For example, the MME 162 may be responsible for authenticating the user of the WTRUs 102a, 102b, 102c, bearer activation/deactivation, selecting a particular serving gateway during initial attach of the WTRUs 102a, 102b, 102c, and the like. MME 162 may provide control plane functionality for switching between RAN 104 and other RANs (not shown) employing other radio technologies such as GSM and/or WCDMA.

SGW 164 may be connected to each of the evolved node bs 160a, 160B, 160c in RAN 104 via an S1 interface. The SGW 164 may generally route and forward user data packets to/from the WTRUs 102a, 102b, 102 c. The SGW 164 may perform other functions such as anchoring user planes during inter-enode B handover, triggering paging when DL data is available to the WTRUs 102a, 102B, 102c, managing and storing the contexts of the WTRUs 102a, 102B, 102c, etc.

The SGW 164 may be connected to a PGW 166 that may provide the WTRUs 102a, 102b, 102c with access to a packet switched network, such as the internet 110, to facilitate communications between the WTRUs 102a, 102b, 102c and IP-enabled devices.

The CN 106 may facilitate communication with other networks. For example, the CN 106 may provide the WTRUs 102a, 102b, 102c with access to a circuit-switched network (such as the PSTN 108) to facilitate communications between the WTRUs 102a, 102b, 102c and legacy landline communication devices. For example, the CN 106 may include or may communicate with an IP gateway (e.g., an IP Multimedia Subsystem (IMS) server) that serves as an interface between the CN 106 and the PSTN 108. In addition, the CN 106 may provide the WTRUs 102a, 102b, 102c with access to other networks 112, which may include other wired and/or wireless networks owned and/or operated by other service providers.

Although the WTRU is depicted in fig. 1A-1D as a wireless terminal, it is contemplated that in some representative embodiments such a terminal may use a wired communication interface with a communication network (e.g., temporarily or permanently).

In representative embodiments, the other network 112 may be a WLAN.

A WLAN in an infrastructure Basic Service Set (BSS) mode may have an Access Point (AP) for the BSS and one or more Stations (STAs) associated with the AP. The AP may have access or interface to a Distribution System (DS) or another type of wired/wireless network that carries traffic to and/or from the BSS. Traffic originating outside the BSS and directed to the STA may arrive through the AP and may be delivered to the STA. Traffic originating from the STA and leading to a destination outside the BSS may be sent to the AP to be delivered to the respective destination. Traffic between STAs within the BSS may be sent through the AP, for example, where the source STA may send traffic to the AP and the AP may pass the traffic to the destination STA. Traffic between STAs within a BSS may be considered and/or referred to as point-to-point traffic. Point-to-point traffic may be sent between (e.g., directly between) the source and destination STAs using Direct Link Setup (DLS). In certain representative embodiments, the DLS may use 802.11e DLS or 802.11z Tunnel DLS (TDLS). A WLAN using an Independent BSS (IBSS) mode may not have an AP, and STAs (e.g., all STAs) within or using the IBSS may communicate directly with each other. The IBSS communication mode may sometimes be referred to herein as an "ad-hoc" communication mode.

When using the 802.11ac infrastructure mode of operation or similar modes of operation, the AP may transmit beacons on a fixed channel, such as a primary channel. The primary channel may be a fixed width (e.g., 20MHz wide bandwidth) or a dynamically set width via signaling. The primary channel may be an operating channel of the BSS and may be used by STAs to establish a connection with the AP. In certain representative embodiments, carrier sense multiple access/collision avoidance (CSMA/CA) may be implemented, for example, in an 802.11 system. For CSMA/CA, STAs (e.g., each STA), including the AP, may listen to the primary channel. If the primary channel is listened to/detected by a particular STA and/or determined to be busy, the particular STA may backoff. One STA (e.g., only one station) may transmit at any given time in a given BSS.

High Throughput (HT) STAs may communicate using 40MHz wide channels, for example, via a combination of a primary 20MHz channel with an adjacent or non-adjacent 20MHz channel to form a 40MHz wide channel.

Very High Throughput (VHT) STAs may support channels that are 20MHz, 40MHz, 80MHz, and/or 160MHz wide. 40MHz and/or 80MHz channels may be formed by combining consecutive 20MHz channels. The 160MHz channel may be formed by combining 8 consecutive 20MHz channels, or by combining two non-consecutive 80MHz channels (this may be referred to as an 80+80 configuration). For the 80+80 configuration, after channel coding, the data may pass through a segment parser that may split the data into two streams. An Inverse Fast Fourier Transform (IFFT) process and a time domain process may be performed on each stream separately. These streams may be mapped to two 80MHz channels and data may be transmitted by the transmitting STA. At the receiver of the receiving STA, the operations described above for the 80+80 configuration may be reversed and the combined data may be sent to a Medium Access Control (MAC).

The 802.11af and 802.11ah support modes of operation below 1 GHz. Channel operating bandwidth and carrier are reduced in 802.11af and 802.11ah relative to those used in 802.11n and 802.11 ac. The 802.11af supports 5MHz, 10MHz, and 20MHz bandwidths in the television white space (TVWS) spectrum, and the 802.11ah supports 1MHz, 2MHz, 4MHz, 8MHz, and 16MHz bandwidths using non-TVWS spectrum. According to representative embodiments, 802.11ah may support meter type control/machine type communications, such as MTC devices in macro coverage areas. MTC devices may have certain capabilities, such as limited capabilities, including supporting (e.g., supporting only) certain bandwidths and/or limited bandwidths. MTC devices may include batteries with battery lives above a threshold (e.g., to maintain very long battery lives).

WLAN systems that can support multiple channels, and channel bandwidths such as 802.11n, 802.11ac, 802.11af, and 802.11ah, include channels that can be designated as primary channels. The primary channel may have a bandwidth equal to the maximum common operating bandwidth supported by all STAs in the BSS. The bandwidth of the primary channel may be set and/or limited by STAs from all STAs operating in the BSS (which support a minimum bandwidth mode of operation). In the example of 802.11ah, for STAs (e.g., MTC-type devices) that support (e.g., only) 1MHz mode, the primary channel may be 1MHz wide, even though the AP and other STAs in the BSS support 2MHz, 4MHz, 8MHz, 16MHz, and/or other channel bandwidth modes of operation. The carrier sense and/or Network Allocation Vector (NAV) settings may depend on the state of the primary channel. If the primary channel is busy, for example, because the STA (supporting only 1MHz mode of operation) is transmitting to the AP, the entire available frequency band may be considered busy even though most of the frequency band remains idle and possibly available.

The available frequency band for 802.11ah in the united states is 902MHz to 928MHz. In korea, the available frequency band is 917.5MHz to 923.5MHz. In Japan, the available frequency band is 916.5MHz to 927.5MHz. The total bandwidth available for 802.11ah is 6MHz to 26MHz, depending on the country code.

Fig. 1D is a system diagram illustrating a RAN 113 and a CN 115 according to an embodiment. As noted above, RAN 113 may employ NR radio technology to communicate with WTRUs 102a, 102b, 102c over an air interface 116. RAN 113 may also communicate with CN 115.

RAN 113 may include gnbs 180a, 180b, 180c, but it should be understood that RAN 113 may include any number of gnbs while remaining consistent with an embodiment. Each of the gnbs 180a, 180b, 180c may include one or more transceivers to communicate with the WTRUs 102a, 102b, 102c over the air interface 116. In an embodiment, the gnbs 180a, 180b, 180c may implement MIMO technology. For example, gnbs 180a, 180b may utilize beamforming to transmit signals to gnbs 180a, 180b, 180c and/or to receive signals from gnbs 180a, 180b, 180 c. Thus, the gNB 180a may use multiple antennas to transmit wireless signals to the WTRU 102a and/or receive wireless signals from the WTRU 102a, for example. In an embodiment, the gnbs 180a, 180b, 180c may implement carrier aggregation techniques. For example, the gNB 180a may transmit multiple component carriers to the WTRU 102a (not shown). A subset of these component carriers may be on the unlicensed spectrum while the remaining component carriers may be on the licensed spectrum. In embodiments, the gnbs 180a, 180b, 180c may implement coordinated multipoint (CoMP) techniques. For example, WTRU 102a may receive coordinated transmissions from gNB 180a and gNB 180b (and/or gNB 180 c).

The WTRUs 102a, 102b, 102c may communicate with the gnbs 180a, 180b, 180c using transmissions associated with the scalable parameter sets. For example, the OFDM symbol interval and/or OFDM subcarrier interval may vary from one transmission to another, from one cell to another, and/or from one portion of the wireless transmission spectrum to another. The WTRUs 102a, 102b, 102c may communicate with the gnbs 180a, 180b, 180c using various or scalable length subframes or Transmission Time Intervals (TTIs) (e.g., including different numbers of OFDM symbols and/or continuously varying absolute time lengths).

The gnbs 180a, 180b, 180c may be configured to communicate with the WTRUs 102a, 102b, 102c in an independent configuration and/or in a non-independent configuration. In a standalone configuration, the WTRUs 102a, 102B, 102c may communicate with the gnbs 180a, 180B, 180c while also not accessing other RANs (e.g., such as the enode bs 160a, 160B, 160 c). In an independent configuration, the WTRUs 102a, 102b, 102c may use one or more of the gnbs 180a, 180b, 180c as mobility anchor points. In an independent configuration, the WTRUs 102a, 102b, 102c may use signals in unlicensed frequency bands to communicate with the gnbs 180a, 180b, 180 c. In a non-standalone configuration, the WTRUs 102a, 102B, 102c may communicate or connect with the gnbs 180a, 180B, 180c, while also communicating or connecting with other RANs (such as the enode bs 160a, 160B, 160 c). For example, the WTRUs 102a, 102B, 102c may implement DC principles to communicate with one or more gnbs 180a, 180B, 180c and one or more enodebs 160a, 160B, 160c substantially simultaneously. In a non-standalone configuration, the enode bs 160a, 160B, 160c may serve as mobility anchors for the WTRUs 102a, 102B, 102c, and the gnbs 180a, 180B, 180c may provide additional coverage and/or throughput for serving the WTRUs 102a, 102B, 102 c.

Each of the gnbs 180a, 180b, 180c may be associated with a particular cell (not shown) and may be configured to handle radio resource management decisions, handover decisions, scheduling of users in UL and/or DL, support of network slices, dual connectivity, interworking between NR and E-UTRA, routing of user plane data towards User Plane Functions (UPFs) 184a, 184b, routing of control plane information towards access and mobility management functions (AMFs) 182a, 182b, and so on. As shown in fig. 1D, gnbs 180a, 180b, 180c may communicate with each other through an Xn interface.

The CN 115 shown in fig. 1D may include at least one AMF 182a, 182b, at least one UPF 184a, 184b, at least one Session Management Function (SMF) 183a, 183b, and possibly a Data Network (DN) 185a, 185b. While each of the foregoing elements are depicted as part of the CN 115, it should be understood that any of these elements may be owned and/or operated by an entity other than the CN operator.

AMFs 182a, 182b may be connected to one or more of gNB 180a, 180b, 180c in RAN 113 via an N2 interface and may function as a control node. For example, the AMFs 182a, 182b may be responsible for authenticating users of the WTRUs 102a, 102b, 102c, support for network slices (e.g., handling of different PDU sessions with different requirements), selection of a particular SMF 183a, 183b, management of registration areas, termination of NAS signaling, mobility management, etc. The AMFs 182a, 182b may use network slices to customize CN support for the WTRUs 102a, 102b, 102c based on the type of service used by the WTRUs 102a, 102b, 102 c. For example, different network slices may be established for different use cases, such as services relying on ultra high reliability low latency (URLLC) access, services relying on enhanced mobile broadband (eMBB) access, services for Machine Type Communication (MTC) access, and so on. AMF 162 may provide control plane functionality for switching between RAN 113 and other RANs (not shown) employing other radio technologies, such as LTE, LTE-A, LTE-a Pro, and/or non-3 GPP access technologies, such as WiFi.

The SMFs 183a, 183b may be connected to AMFs 182a, 182b in the CN 115 via an N11 interface. The SMFs 183a, 183b may also be connected to UPFs 184a, 184b in the CN 115 via an N4 interface. SMFs 183a, 183b may select and control UPFs 184a, 184b and configure traffic routing through UPFs 184a, 184b. The SMFs 183a, 183b may perform other functions such as managing and assigning UE IP addresses, managing PDU sessions, controlling policy enforcement and QoS, providing downlink data notifications, etc. The PDU session type may be IP-based, non-IP-based, ethernet-based, etc.

UPFs 184a, 184b may be connected to one or more of the gnbs 180a, 180b, 180c in the RAN 113 via an N3 interface, which may provide the WTRUs 102a, 102b, 102c with access to a packet-switched network, such as the internet 110, to facilitate communications between the WTRUs 102a, 102b, 102c and IP-enabled devices. UPFs 184, 184b may perform other functions such as routing and forwarding packets, enforcing user plane policies, supporting multi-host PDU sessions, handling user plane QoS, buffering downlink packets, providing mobility anchoring, and the like.

The CN 115 may facilitate communication with other networks. For example, the CN 115 may include or may communicate with an IP gateway (e.g., an IP Multimedia Subsystem (IMS) server) that serves as an interface between the CN 115 and the PSTN 108. In addition, the CN 115 may provide the WTRUs 102a, 102b, 102c with access to other networks 112, which may include other wired and/or wireless networks owned and/or operated by other service providers. In one embodiment, the WTRUs 102a, 102b, 102c may connect to the local Data Networks (DNs) 185a, 185b through the UPFs 184a, 184b via an N3 interface to the UPFs 184a, 184b and an N6 interface between the UPFs 184a, 184b and the DNs 185a, 185b.

In view of fig. 1A-1D and the corresponding descriptions of fig. 1A-1D, one or more or all of the functions described herein with reference to one or more of the following may be performed by one or more emulation devices (not shown): the WTRUs 102a-102d, base stations 114a-114B, eNodeBs 160a-160c, MME 162, SGW 164, PGW 166, gNB 180a-180c, AMFs 182a-182B, UPFs 184a-184B, SMFs 183a-183B, DNs 185a-185B, and/or any other devices described herein. The emulated device may be one or more devices configured to emulate one or more or all of the functions described herein. For example, the emulation device may be used to test other devices and/or analog network and/or WTRU functions.

The simulation device may be designed to enable one or more tests of other devices in a laboratory environment and/or an operator network environment. For example, the one or more emulation devices can perform one or more or all of the functions while being fully or partially implemented and/or deployed as part of a wired and/or wireless communication network in order to test other devices within the communication network. The one or more emulation devices can perform one or more functions or all functions while being temporarily implemented/deployed as part of a wired and/or wireless communication network. The emulation device may be directly coupled to another device for testing purposes and/or may perform testing using over-the-air wireless communications.

The one or more emulation devices can perform one or more (including all) functions while not being implemented/deployed as part of a wired and/or wireless communication network. For example, the simulation device may be used in a test laboratory and/or a test scenario in a non-deployed (e.g., test) wired and/or wireless communication network in order to enable testing of one or more components. The one or more simulation devices may be test equipment. Direct RF coupling and/or wireless communication via RF circuitry (e.g., which may include one or more antennas) may be used by the emulation device to transmit and/or receive data.

Wireless power transfer

1. Background art

The feasibility of using a resonant object coupled by its non-radiative field for mid-range energy transfer has been demonstrated. Intuitively, two resonant targets tuned at the same resonant frequency can often effectively exchange energy. In addition, magnetic resonance systems may be particularly suitable for everyday applications, as most common materials do not interact with magnetic fields.

When multiple devices are within range of each other, they may (possibly) coordinate their interactions and/or minimize (the need for) cross-interference.

In LTE and other cellular systems, the Common Control Channel (CCCH) may be responsible for conveying control information between all mobile devices (e.g., WTRU 102) and a Base Transceiver Station (BTS). This is necessary for implementation of "call initiation" and/or "call paging" functions (e.g., as necessary).

The Physical Broadcast Channel (PBCH) may carry system information of UEs attempting to access the network. In Universal Mobile Telecommunications System (UMTS), a group of Broadcast Channels (BCH) may include three channels, namely, a Broadcast Control Channel (BCCH), a Frequency Correction Channel (FCCH), and/or a Synchronization Channel (SCH). A Cell Broadcast Channel (CBCH) may be used to transmit messages to be broadcast to all Mobile Stations (MSs) within a cell. The MS may move to a dedicated channel (e.g., subsequently) to proceed with call setup, respond to paging messages, location area update, or Short Message Service (SMS).

A Medium Access Control (MAC) layer may control access to the PHY layer by higher layers. The MAC layer may be connected to a PHY layer below it through a transport channel and to an RLC layer above it through a logical channel. The MAC layer may decide which logical channels may access transport channels at a given time and perform multiplexing and/or demultiplexing of data between the transport channels. The MAC layer basically can provide a radio resource allocation service and/or a data transfer service to an upper layer.

1.1. Resonant magnetic couplerSummary of the integrated system

A schematic diagram of a resonant magnetic WPT and a communication system is shown in fig. 2. A single turn drive loop 201 coupled to a multi-turn helical coil 203 constitutes a transmit antenna. In the case where the Transmitter (TRX) amplifier 205 powers the drive loop 201, the resulting oscillating magnetic field may excite the Tx coil 203, which may store energy in the same manner as the discrete LC tank. The Rx coil 207 and/or the load loop coil 209 on the receive side may function in a similar complementary manner. Key interactions may occur between Tx coil 203 and/or Rx coil 207, any (e.g., each) of which may be a high Q RLC (high quality resistor, inductor, capacitor) slot resonator. In the case where (e.g., just) the loop and coil (201 and 203 or 209 and 207) may be magnetically coupled, the transmit coil (205) and the receive coil (207) may share a mutual inductance, which may depend on the geometry of the coils and/or the distance between them. FIG. 3 is a graph showing a typical plot of resonant magnetic frequency as a function of distance for a resonant magnetic coupling system.

Equivalently, if a radio front end (RF) source is used to drive the wireless power system and/or a load resistor on the receiver is used to extract work from the system, the amount of coupling can define how much energy can be transferred per cycle. This means that there may be a distance (called the critical coupling point) beyond which the system may no longer drive a given load with maximum efficiency. In the next section an analytical model of the magnetically coupled resonator system is given. This is followed by the derivation of key system parameters and figures of merit. Finally, a description is given of an adaptive tuning technique for achieving near constant efficiency and distance.

1.1.1. Circuit model and transfer function

Fig. 4 is a schematic diagram showing a resonant magnetic power transfer circuit model. The resonant magnetic system modeled in fig. 4 can use lumped circuit elements to describe a resonant magnetic system. Exhibiting a coefficient of k ₁₂ ^A ,k _AB ,k ₁₂ ^B Four circuits are shown magnetically coupled. The drive loop on the left side can be formed by a loop with an output impedance R _s Is a source of (a)The excitation, single turn drive loop is modeled as having an accompanying parasitic resistance R _p1 Inductor L of (2) ₁ . Capacitor C ₁ L and ₁ the drive loop resonant frequency may be set.

The transmit coil may include (e.g., be formed of) a multi-turn spiral inductor (L ₂ ) (composition) having an accompanying parasitic resistance (R _p2 ) And/or self-capacitance C ₂ . Inductor L ₁ And L ₂ Can be correlated with the coupling coefficient k ₁₂ ^A . The receiver side may share a similar topology.

The transmitter and receiver coils can be coupled by a coupling coefficient k _AB And (5) associating. In an exemplary embodiment of the system, k _AB May vary with the distance between the transmitter and the receiver.

Circuit Theory (ECT) may be one of the tools that allow design and analysis of WPT systems. For the resonant circuit model shown in fig. 4, kirchhoff's voltage law (1-4) is used to determine the current in any (e.g., each) resonant circuit:

The coupling coefficient may be defined as:

wherein M is each otherFeel (e.g. M ₁₂ Is the mutual inductance between coil 1 and coil 2); and

ω is frequency.

When solving these four KVL equations for the voltage across the load resistor we have:

the following substitutions were used:

can use [1 ]]、[2]To calculate the equivalent S ₂₁ A scattering parameter that yields the following equation:

1.1.2. critical coupling and derivation of system parameters

First, the equation for critical coupling is derived by substituting the term in the transfer function for the series of quality factors and/or resonant frequencies shown in the following equation:

the center frequency ω is presented in the following equation ₀ Voltage gain at:

wherein k is _cc Is a sign (e.g., k) representing symmetric coil-to-coil coupling _AB And k _BA ). Solving for k _cc Symmetrical coil-to-coil coupling notation (k _AB And k _BA ) The method comprises the following steps of:

wherein K is _crit Is a critical coupling coefficient, e.g. a point (K) above which energy transfer is no longer practical _crit Is the coupling efficiency at point 301 in the frequency/distance plot of fig. 3);

Q _coil is the quality factor of the coil;

Q _loop is the quality factor of the drive loop; and

K ₁₂ is the coupling factor (or coupling coefficient) between the loop and the coil.

At the critical coupling point:

reducing k ₁₂ (loop-to-coil coupling) reduces k _crit And, for example, thus, the range may be increased. However, according to equation (16), k is reduced ₁₂ Efficiency may (e.g., also) be reduced.

The radiating far field communication system may be unaffected by the number, location, and/or orientation of the devices; but (e.g., in addition to its dependence on all of the above), the midfield RMC channel may also depend on the load terminal at the device.

As the number of devices (e.g., WTRU 102) introduced within a given RMC range increases, the midfield power coupled by the transmitter to any (e.g., each) of the devices (e.g., WTRU 102) may decrease, e.g., the total power coupled by the transmitter to the midfield may be divided among the receiving devices. The amount of energy coupled to the receiver may be proportional to its coupling factor and/or inversely proportional to the number of receiving devices (e.g., WTRUs 102) within range. For example, any remaining power not absorbed by the load may be reflected at the emission source.

Resonant magnetic coupling may facilitate mid-field WPT. Mobility may be supported in the midfield range at the expense of adjusting the tank circuit resonant frequency to compensate for variations in the position and/or orientation of the magnetically coupled device. As two devices (e.g., WTRU 102) move (including rotation and translation) relative to each other, the coupling efficiency between them at a given frequency may change. The optimal frequency for maximum energy coupling between two devices (e.g., WTRU 102) may change as the two devices (e.g., WTRU 102) move relative to each other.

New procedures have been developed to enable device discovery and/or establishment of device-to-device communications within the RMC framework.

For possible scenarios where multiple device pairs communicate within the same RMC range, this may result in potential interference to neighboring device pairs, e.g., access to the network from multiple devices (e.g., WTRU 102) may be adjusted while considering the number and/or proximity of the devices.

Methods, apparatus, and procedures are disclosed herein that utilize the loading effect to regulate access to an RMC network and/or use non-transmitting devices (e.g., WTRU 102) to improve information transfer over an active RMC link.

2.RMC in communication system

This section contemplates WTRUs that utilize the effects of loading of devices coupled to a common or dedicated channel (e.g., WTRU 102) to regulate/manage and/or optimize access to RMC network resources. It also contemplates that WTRUs acting as cluster heads and/or conditioning/management devices (e.g., WTRU 102) may be included and/or excluded from the clusters to optimize link quality between pairs of clusters on unicast and/or broadcast channels.

2.1.RMC network access control for information transfer

Fig. 5 is a diagram illustrating an exemplary broadcast scenario for a cluster head a (e.g., WTRU 501) for managing the number of devices (e.g., WTRU 102) in a broadcast group. In this example, devices (e.g., WTRU 102) C and D may have RMC data links, while cluster head a (e.g., WTRU 501) and device B may have RMC data links. Cluster head a (e.g., WTRU 501) may broadcast control information to (e.g., all) devices under its control (e.g., WTRU 102) (e.g., B, C and D). A single device (e.g., WTRU 102) may exchange control information between them, such as shown between devices (e.g., WTRU 102) B and D and/or between devices (e.g., WTRU 102) C and D.

Devices E and F may have RMC data links between them, but they are not within range of cluster head a (e.g., WTRU 501) and/or may therefore not be managed by cluster head a (e.g., WTRU 501). They may be managed by different cluster heads (e.g., WTRU 501) (not shown) or may be autonomously operated by any cluster head (e.g., WTRU 501).

2.1.1.Centralized and distributed framework

As shown in fig. 6, medium access can be regulated generally considering two main frameworks: centralized framework and distributed framework. In a centralized wireless network, such as infrastructure mode in WLAN and cellular networks, an Access Point (AP) or Base Station (BS) may consider broadcast transmissions in the downlink and/or may control uplink access, e.g., according to a particular quality of service (QoS) target. On the other hand, a distributed wireless network, such as a packet radio or an ad hoc network (as in IEEE 802.11), may not have a central controller and/or may utilize techniques such as ALOHA and/or carrier sense multiple access-collision avoidance/collision detection (CSMA-CA/CD) for medium access control.

In this disclosure, we consider a centralized framework in which a cluster head (e.g., WTRU 501) may be responsible for coordinating access to RMC network resources.

When two or more devices (e.g., WTRU 102) are present within RMC range of each other, for example, a cluster may be formed after a discovery procedure initiated by one or more of those devices. Further, in the centralized framework, a cluster head (e.g., WTRU 501) may be a device responsible for coordinating with other cluster members to establish a common channel that may be used for broadcast communications. The ability to communicate with other cluster members simultaneously or consecutively in time with a signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) above a minimum threshold may be one of the primary qualifications for the function.

2.1.2.Influence of load terminals

In conventional wired communication systems, data transmission between multiple pairs of devices may be performed on a single wire/cable (channel) using a combination of Frequency Division Multiplexing (FDM) and/or Time Division Multiplexing (TDM). Any (e.g., each) data link is assigned a segment of channel bandwidth for transmission. A receiving device (e.g., WTRU 102) may be tuned to its designated channel frequency to terminate the communication link. Due to frequency orthogonality and/or filtering, individual link performance may not be affected by other devices (e.g., WTRU 102) operating in adjacent channels.

Similarly, in far field communication systems, the signal strength received by a device (e.g., WTRU 102) may not depend on the power received by other devices in the far field (e.g., WTRU 102). It may be a function of distance from the transmitting device (e.g., WTRU 102) and/or channel characteristics such as fading and/or frequency-dependent attenuation.

In a resonant magnetic midfield communication system, energy may be coupled from a data source to a receiving device.

Three of the aforementioned data transmission frameworks, namely wired, far-field and/or mid-field, are shown in fig. 7A, 7B and 7C, respectively.

A good analogy for a midfield transmission frame may be a transformer with a primary coil and a plurality of secondary coils, wherein the coupled power may be divided between a plurality of receiving devices. An analogy is shown in fig. 8A and 8B, which are load model and transformer representations of multiple load devices (e.g., WTRU 102) coupled to a single power source, respectively. In this framework, the received signals may depend on the number of devices (e.g., the WTRU 102) coupled to the midrange source and their loading effects. If the signal power extracted by the receiving device (e.g., WTRU 102) is significantly greater than the minimum required signal power required to maintain an operational data link, that power may not be available for a potentially "starved" link where the received signal strength may be below a minimum threshold. Load-based access control may facilitate less wasteful allocation of signal energy, particularly for devices (e.g., WTRUs 102) operating at the outer edge of a resonant magnetic cell or cluster.

Using the loaded terminal status of a device (e.g., WTRU 102) during a transmission and/or reception cycle, a CLH (e.g., WTRU 501) may manage pairs of devices in a unicast link to minimize interference between neighboring links. The load termination state (e.g., substantially) of a device (e.g., WTRU 102) may be the impedance (e.g., in ohms) it presents to another device (e.g., WTRU 102) magnetically coupled thereto. This value can be dynamically set in order to control the resonant magnetic coupling efficiency between the two devices. The load termination state may range from a matching conjugate termination value of 50 ohms (e.g., in a 50 ohm system) to a floating state where no energy may be absorbed/transferred to the device. The load termination state may have a plurality of discrete values (e.g., Z ₁ 、Z ₂ …, zn), for example 75 ohms, 100 ohms, etc.

After the slave receives the request for unicast link formation, the CLH (e.g., WTRU 501) may assign an RMC channel as well as a load terminal status to any (e.g., each) device.

Additionally or alternatively, a CLH (e.g., WTRU 501) may assign a load terminal status table to any (e.g., each) device pair, e.g., according to a signal strength threshold level (e.g., RSSI or SNR). During normal operation, a device (e.g., WTRU 102) may independently select the correct load terminal when channel conditions change without direct intervention or instruction from a cluster head (e.g., WTRU 501).

The load terminal status of the Tx cycle of a device (e.g., WTRU 102) may be different from the load terminal status of the receive period of the device. The load termination status may also change over time. Unicast link TX/RX periods may be allocated among users according to priority levels, link quality, and/or data transfer rate requirements.

2.1.3.Scheduling function and control information

In a centralized framework, a cluster head (e.g., WTRU 501) may serve as a control plane and may be responsible for creating a "routing/scheduling" table for data packet traffic between pairs of communication devices (e.g., WTRU 102). To facilitate the functionality of the cluster head, devices in the cluster (e.g., WTRU 102) may share any (e.g., each) data transfer period prior to the control period of their capabilities and/or status with the cluster head (e.g., WTRU 501).

For example, during a control period, any of the following information may be exchanged with the cluster head (e.g., WTRU 501):

-a request for link establishment with a specific device within the cluster (e.g., WTRU 102) or directly with the cluster head (e.g., WTRU 501);

desired QoS requirements including, for example, specific priority and/or reliability requirements;

-a buffer status indicating how much information (e.g. needs) to be exchanged;

-a channel quality metric as an indication of e.g. supported data and/or coding rate; and/or

Capability information such as supported load termination status and/or coupling coefficients.

Based on any of the link establishment request, the provided information, and/or available network resources, the cluster head (e.g., WTRU 501) may create any of a schedule with a slot assignment, a load terminal status of a non-transmitting device (e.g., WTRU 102) in any (e.g., each) slot, and/or a synchronization signal of any (e.g., each) device. The grant access message may be sent in any (e.g., each) slot during the data transfer/exchange cycle to any (e.g., each) device pair describing their behavioral requirements.

For better resource allocation, time Division Multiplexing (TDM) and/or Frequency Division Multiplexing (FDM) may be combined. For example, any (e.g., each) link may be assigned a carrier frequency, and the cluster head (e.g., WTRU 501) may further divide and/or allocate access time. As a result, two or more links may be time division multiplexed on the same physical channel. The slot usage may be divided proportionally among users based on any one or more of QoS (priority and/or reliability), data rate requirements, and/or buffer status.

In summary, once authentication, data requirements, and/or SNR profiles have been reported on a pre-established Broadcast Channel (BCH), a CLH (e.g., WTRU 501) may act as a radio resource manager and allocate a data traffic channel (radio channel and/or associated time slot) for each device.

Fig. 9A and 9B show two examples of control frame formats exchanged during a control period. Fig. 9A illustrates an exemplary format for scheduling and/or control. In this format, a device (e.g., WTRU 102) may report (e.g., transmit information indicating) any of the following: its ID, requested QoS, CQI and/or buffer status. Fig. 9B illustrates an exemplary format for a device (e.g., WTRU 102) to report (e.g., transmit information indicating) its capabilities to a cluster head (e.g., WTRU 501). In this format, a device (e.g., WTRU 102) may report (e.g., transmit information indicating) any of the following: its ID, the features that it can support, the possible load conditions, and/or the possible coupling coefficients for the device. There may be two methods/strategies for slot allocation, fixed or dynamic. These methods are described below.

The fixed slot assignment policy may generally be simple, but may be inefficient because slots cannot be reallocated to other devices (e.g., WTRU 102) in each frame when not in use (e.g., needed). Generating a fixed schedule for the entire cluster that can be adjusted for (e.g., each) change in cluster topology or traffic characteristics can be challenging.

The dynamic slot assignment policy may allow devices (e.g., WTRU 102) to access the medium on demand. In particular, the traffic adaptation protocol may increase network throughput and/or energy efficiency by determining when a node device (e.g., WTRU 102) may be allowed to transmit, e.g., based on information about traffic on any (e.g., each) link. The last slot in the schedule may be used to announce the next schedule of the upcoming interval. However, such a strategy may add significant overhead and/or complexity to the cluster head (e.g., WTRU 501).

Fig. 10A and 10B illustrate exemplary content for downlink control plane frames (e.g., from CLH (e.g., WTRU 501) to an attached device (e.g., WTRU 102)) and uplink control plane frames (e.g., from device to CLH) according to an embodiment. As shown in fig. 10A, the downlink control frame may include one of a slot assignment, a load terminal status, and/or a schedule associated with any (e.g., each) device (e.g., WTRU 102) Id. As shown in fig. 10B, any (e.g., each) device (e.g., WTRU 102) may acknowledge receipt of the downlink control information, e.g., by replying according to its assigned time slot.

2.1.4.Management of load termination status in RMC systems

In this section, a device (e.g., WTRU 102) supporting multiple (e.g., multiple) load terminal states may consider the load terminal states as resources scheduled as part of the resource allocation between clustered devices (e.g., WTRU 102) using a centralized cluster framework in which the cluster head (e.g., WTRU 501) may have been selected to improve communication link performance. Two potential scenarios may be considered, one in which any (e.g., each) device (e.g., WTRU 102) may support (e.g., only) two (binary) load terminal states (floating/open and load/closed states), and another in which any (e.g., each) device (e.g., WTRU 102) may support more than two load terminal states.

2.1.4.1.Multiple load terminal status support

CLH manages access to BCH with multiple load termination states

In embodiments, a cluster head (e.g., WTRU 501) may assign a load terminal status to a particular device, e.g., based on experienced SNR and/or Received Signal Strength Indicator (RSSI) levels. The cluster head (e.g., WTRU 501) may request and/or receive SNR tables (profiles) from any number of devices (e.g., WTRU 102) (e.g., in a first step). The CLH (e.g., WTRU 501) may determine (e.g., in a second step) a reasonably loaded terminal status of any (e.g., each) device (e.g., WTRU 102) based on capabilities supported by the device and/or SNR/RSSI levels experienced on the BCH. In this example, the load termination state may range from a matching conjugate termination value of 50 ohms (e.g., in a 50 ohm system) to a floating state where, for example, no energy is absorbed/transferred to the device. The load termination state may then take on a plurality of (e.g., multiple) discrete values (e.g., Z1, Z2, …, zn) between and including the two settings, e.g., 75 ohms, 100 ohms, etc.

For example, for a device (e.g., WTRU 102) that receives a signal strength (e.g., RSSI) that may be well above a minimum threshold and/or above a second threshold, a cluster head (e.g., WTRU 501) may allocate a load termination state such that the signal power delivered to the device (e.g., WTRU 102) will be reduced to a level below the second threshold. This may be helpful because excess or unused energy may remain available in the magnetic field for extraction by other cluster members as needed. In another example, for a device (e.g., WTRU 102) that may receive a signal having a strength that is minimally above a defined minimum threshold, a CLH (e.g., WTRU 501) may allocate an optimal load termination state, e.g., 50 ohms, in order to achieve maximum power transfer to the device.

The above scenario/example is illustrated in fig. 11, where an exemplary device (e.g., WTRU 102) may support three load terminal states (Z ₁ 、Z ₂ 、Z ₃ ). For example, after the received signal strength is below THLD1 (e.g., when the received signal strength is below THLD 1), the device (e.g., WTRU 102) may switch to the optimal load terminal state Z ₁ (e.g., 50 ohms). For RSSI levels between the two thresholds (THLD 1 and THLD 2), the load state may be set to a slightly mismatched value Z ₂ (e.g., 30, 40, or 75 ohms). For very strong RSSI values, e.g., above THLD2, the load state may switch to the sub-optimal value Z ₃ (e.g., 100 ohms), wherein "excess" signal power may not be extracted from the resonant magnetic medium and/or may remain available for use by other devices coupled to the channel (e.g., WTRU 102).

In various embodiments, during the cluster creation/formation phase, a CLH (e.g., WTRU 501) may assign a table of load terminal status versus threshold level to any (e.g., each) cluster member device. During normal operation, a device (e.g., WTRU 102) may autonomously and/or dynamically select the correct load terminal without direct intervention or instruction from a cluster head (e.g., WTRU 501). This is shown in fig. 12. For example, during T slot-1, the link LAB is not coupled to the channel and the load terminal of the link LCD may be set based on the current or previously measured SNR/RSSI level between the devices (e.g., WTRU 102) C and D. For example, if SNR/RSSI is lower than THLD 1, the terminal may be set to Z1, if SNR/RSSI is between THLD 1 and THLD2, the terminal may be set to Z2, and so on. The difference is that the threshold setting may be semi-static rather than dynamically changing the threshold based on, for example, the number of cluster members, channel conditions, traffic activity, etc. All devices (e.g., WTRU 102) may have the same load terminal status capability.

In various embodiments, to improve resource utilization on the broadcast channel, a CLH (e.g., WTRU 501) may allocate a time slot with an associated load terminal status for any (e.g., each) device. The CLH (e.g., WTRU 501) may broadcast a schedule listing the load terminal status of the respective device (e.g., WTRU 102) to all clustered devices (e.g., WTRU 102) during any (e.g., each) time slot and/or transmission period. Multiple (e.g., multiple) devices (e.g., WTRU 102) may be time division multiplexed on the same physical channel. The slot usage may be divided proportionally between users based on priority and/or data rate requirements.

In various embodiments, a cluster head (e.g., WTRU 501) may monitor the average SNR of devices in the cluster (e.g., WTRU 102) and may determine whether the average cluster SNR on the BCH (e.g., when) is below a threshold and/or whether the number of members in the cluster exceeds a predetermined count. When the condition is met, the CLH (e.g., WTRU 501) may create N subgroups of devices (e.g., WTRU 102), assign devices (e.g., WTRU 102) to any (e.g., each) group, one of which may access the broadcast channel at a given time, resulting in an improved average SNR.

Such an embodiment is shown in the flow chart of fig. 13. At 1301, the CLH (e.g., WTRU 501) may measure the average SNR of the device (e.g., WTRU 102). At 1303, the CLH (e.g., WTRU 501) may determine whether the average SNR is below a threshold. The CLH (e.g., WTRU 501) may decompose a device (e.g., WTRU 102) into N subgroups (1305). At 1307, the CLH (e.g., WTRU 501) may assign a unique time slot to any (e.g., each) of the N groups for accessing the BCH, and may set the counter to n=1. At 1309, the CLH (e.g., WTRU 501) may set the slot to n and/or the LOAD terminal status of group n to LOAD (or ON) for the slot (or, in a system with multiple (e.g., multiple) LOAD terminal statuses), to one of the LOAD terminal statuses, e.g., the most preferred one. At 1311, the CLH (e.g., WTRU 501) may set the load terminal status of all other subgroups to flow (or OFF) for the slot (or another load terminal status value if the system supports multiple (e.g., multiple) load terminal statuses), may broadcast relevant control and/or configuration information to devices in subgroup n (e.g., WTRU 102), and may increment a counter. At 1313, the CLH (e.g., WTRU 501) may determine whether it has assigned a time slot for using BCH for any (e.g., each) subgroup. If not, the flow may return to step 1309 such that any (e.g., each) subgroup is assigned a time slot in which the BCH is used. Otherwise, it may return to normal operation.

The data scheduling period and device (e.g., WTRU 102) loading behavior may be constructed by the cluster head (e.g., WTRU 501) using information collected from the cluster device (e.g., WTRU 102), for example, during a control period. Fig. 14 and 15 show examples. In the scenario shown in fig. 14, the system may support binary load termination states, where links AB (L _AB ) May be turned on (e.g., continuously) while the links LEF and LCD may be active during their assigned time slots, e.g., according to a schedule generated by CLH 102 a.

Another example of a device (e.g., WTRU 102) loading terminal status during a transmit period is shown in fig. 15. In this example, device a (e.g., WTRU 102 a) may transmit data in slot 1 and slot 2, have its coil "FLOAT" in slot 4 and slot 5, and "LOAD" in slot 3 and slot 6 with a magnetic medium of assigned LOAD terminal support value Zi. Similarly, device B (e.g., WTRU 102B) may transmit data in slots 4 and 5, while device a (e.g., WTRU 102 a) may remain in the "flow" state in this example. A device C (e.g., WTRU 102C) recruited as a facilitator may use the assigned termination impedance value Z _k The medium is loaded. Device C (e.g., WTRU 102C) may transmit in the remaining time slots 3 and 6, where device a acts as Z _i Is a service provider for value termination of (a).

A further example of the device load termination status during a transmission period is shown in fig. 16. In this example, during a receive period, device a (e.g., WTRU 102 a) may receive data in slots 1 and 2, float its coil to release the media resources in slots 3 and 6, and use Z in slots 4 and 5 _m The medium is loaded to support device B during its own receive cycle. Device B may receive data in slots 4 and 5, float during slots 1 and 2, and may appear to the medium as Z in slots 3 and 6 _n Thereby supporting the receive cycle of device C. Finally, device C (e.g., WTRU 102C)With assigned impedance value Z in timeslots 1 and 2 _p The loading medium floats during time slots 4 and 5 and can be received in time slots 3 and 6.

Mobility control

Mobility of devices within a cluster may affect the strength of their received signals and/or affect the link quality of neighboring device pairs (e.g., both). A cluster head (e.g., WTRU 501) may implement a control procedure to mitigate the impact of a mobile device (e.g., WTRU 102) on overall cluster performance.

For example, after receiving a change in link quality report (e.g., SNR or RSSI drops below a predetermined threshold) from a device (e.g., WTRU 102) on a broadcast channel, the CLH (e.g., WTRU 501) may continue to determine and/or send rebalancing instructions to the device, e.g., adjust to any of the following settings:

a coupling factor;

a load terminal state;

the o assigned time slots; and/or

The center frequency.

The exact change to the settings described above may be based on a newly reported, tabular form of SNR versus frequency curve. Using these curves, the cluster head (e.g., WTRU 501) may evaluate the changes in channel response, including bandwidth and Q, and determine the best setting of the newly induced channel characteristics. Subsequently, a device (e.g., WTRU 102) may send an update report with new SNR/RSSI measurements to the CLH (e.g., WTRU 501), thereby potentially acknowledging the improvement in link quality.

CLH processing request for unicast link formation

In various embodiments, a CLH (e.g., WTRU 501) may receive a request from a device (a) (e.g., WTRU 102 a) to form a unicast link with another device (B) (e.g., WTRU 102B). The CLH (e.g., WTRU 501) may use existing or updated SNR tables and new link information and/or energy transfer requirements to form an assigned channel for the unicast link and/or to determine the load terminal status for devices (e.g., WTRU 102) a and B to minimize potential interference to other concurrently operating unicast links. CLH (e.g., WTRU 501) may assign transmission slots to devices to further reduce interference or maximize cluster resource utilization.

2.1.4.2.Binary load terminal state support

CLH management device supporting (e.g., only) binary load terminal status

Since a device in a floating state (e.g., WTRU 102) may receive transmissions on the BCH, one form of scheduled access is desirable.

In various embodiments, there may be (e.g., only) devices (e.g., WTRU 102) that support binary load termination states, such as floating (open) or loading (closed). CLH (e.g., WTRU 501) may divide a cluster into two or more groups to potentially accommodate a larger number of devices (e.g., WTRU 102) on the BCH. A cluster head (e.g., WTRU 501) may assign a device (e.g., WTRU 102) to any (e.g., each) group based on (e.g., simultaneously) the ability to couple to a BCH (e.g., with SNR/RSSI above a minimum threshold). The CLH (e.g., WTRU 501) may generate a schedule with a time slot assignment for any (e.g., each) group during which devices in the group (e.g., WTRU 102) may couple and/or load BCH to receive broadcast transmissions from the CLH (e.g., WTRU 501) or other devices in the group (e.g., WTRU 102). To reach any (e.g., all) cluster devices (e.g., WTRU 102), the CLH (e.g., WTRU 501) may rebroadcast its control information and/or instructions in any (e.g., every) time slot, e.g., according to a schedule.

In various embodiments, during the cluster creation/formation phase, the CLH (e.g., WTRU 501) may also create subgroups with scheduling and/or assign assignment of load terminal status to threshold levels to any (e.g., each) subgroup member devices. During normal operation, members of the subgroup may autonomously and/or dynamically select the correct load terminal state without direct intervention or instruction from the cluster head (e.g., WTRU 501).

Perspective view of equipment

An exemplary embodiment of a load-based access scheme from the perspective of a device (e.g., WTRU 102) is shown in fig. 17. In step (1701), a device (e.g., WTRU 102) may request network resources to establish a data link. If CLH 102a is not already available, the device may send any of the following: load terminal status supported by it, qoS requirements, supported data rates, and/or coupling coefficients (1703). A device (e.g., WTRU 102) may receive an authorization from a CLH (e.g., WTRU 501), the authorization including any one of: time slot assignment, load terminal status during a transmit cycle, and/or load terminal status during a non-transmit cycle, and/or timing and/or synchronization settings (1705). In step (1707), a device (e.g., WTRU 102) may transmit in the assigned time slot, e.g., wherein the load terminal status is configured according to a predetermined value for any (e.g., each) period. The data buffer may be updated at the end of any (e.g., each) transmission period (1709 and 1711). After the end of the transmit cycle (e.g., when the transmit period ends), for example, the data buffer may be empty (1713), the device (e.g., WTRU 102) may switch to the support mode using the pre-assigned load terminal state for the non-transmit mode (1715).

2.2.Simultaneous delivery of energy and information in RMC systems

A major challenge for RMC networks may be the simultaneous transfer of power and information. The above discussion contemplates communication-related transmissions of RMCs in which information may be sent and received between multiple devices (e.g., WTRUs 102) within a cluster without regard to power transfer. When energy harvesting capability is introduced into the cluster; where typically strong Continuous Wave (CW) tones or other power optimized waveforms may be present in a typically weaker information bearing signal. The CW tone may behave like an jammer and/or interfere with the reception of the information signal.

2.2.1.Magnetically coupled domain multiple access (MC-DMA)

This section describes methods, apparatus and techniques for medium access with a new class of load states and load management schemes, and introduces the concept of magnetically coupled domain multiple access (MC-DMA) into the aforementioned resonant magnetic framework to achieve this new class of load termination states.

The near ideal orthogonality between active and reactive power is well understood in power transmission and distribution circuit analysis. Fig. 18 depicts the relationship between active power, reactive power, and apparent power. The ratio of the real (or actual) power dissipated at the load to the apparent (or total) power supplied by the source is defined as the power factor. For a sine waveform, the power factor is the cosine of the angle phi between the real power and the apparent power. For a purely resistive load, the voltage and current are in phase, and the apparent power and the real power are equal. However, a pure reactive load may result in a zero power factor, since the current and voltage will be 90 degrees out of phase.

The power may be expressed in complex form as shown in the following equation:

S＝P+jQ (17)

where P is the real power and Q is the reactive power.

2.2.2.Using a plurality of load termination states

The complex impedance may include two parts: the real or resistive portion of the dissipated active power (e.g., heat), and the imaginary portion, including inductive reactance or capacitive reactance or both, is frequency dependent and responsible for the reactive power present in the circuit. Reactive power may be generated by charging a capacitor or by a current that generates a magnetic field around a coil. The current may be out of phase with the voltage.

A device with a complex load impedance termination (e.g., WTRU 102) may utilize the real part of its load termination to simultaneously harvest energy and/or receive information by coupling or tapping into reactive power available in a magnetic field induced by the WTRU or cluster head (e.g., WTRU 501).

Similarly, multiple devices (e.g., WTRU 102) may collect energy based on their respective requirements by coupling a resistive load to a resonant magnetic field emanating from the WTRU, while other devices (e.g., WTRU 102) instead use complex load impedance terminals (primarily reactive, with small resistive components) to extract signal energy from the magnetic field.

While much of the discussion herein is written in terms of an exemplary implementation in which different devices (e.g., WTRU 102) transmit data and energy harvesting simultaneously, it should be noted that any single device (e.g., WTRU 102) may also perform data transfer and energy harvesting simultaneously in accordance with the principles disclosed herein.

Fig. 19 illustrates the concept of magnetic coupling domain multiple access according to an embodiment. On the primary side of the transformer, there is an internal complex impedance value Z _A Voltage source V of (2) _A And has an internal impedance value Z _B Voltage source V of (2) _B May be linearly combined or added to produce an input signal to the primary side of the resonant magnetic circuit model. The secondary side of the transformer may include two windings with an impedance Z' _A Terminated L _A And with complex impedance Z' _B Terminated L _B 。

Fig. 20 depicts voltage signals associated with the circuit model of fig. 19. Part a of fig. 20 shows a voltage source V operating at a frequency f _A And at a frequency f _B Source V of operation _B . Part b of fig. 20 shows the complex load Z 'across fig. 19' _A A measured voltage component associated with any (e.g., each) source. When Z' _A Equal to Z ^* _A When (wherein Z.times.A is the source V _A Z of (2) _A Complex conjugate match of (V) that achieves the best match and thus the maximum power transfer can be from source V _A To the load Z' _A Which occurs.

However, across Z' _A Delivered Source V _B The component of (2) may be very small because of its source impedance Z _B Not in contact with the load Z' _A Is a conjugate match of (c). As a result, we can observe delivery to the load Z' _A Source voltage V of (2) _B Is a small part of the same.

Similarly, for Z' _B As shown in part c of fig. 20, a voltage source V _B Impedance Z of (2) _B Is complex conjugate and results in maximum power transfer. However, from source V _A Z of (2) _A Not perfect matches and potentially could result in cross Z' _B Is a serious decay of this voltage of (a).

Careful selection of the source and load complex impedances can therefore help implement the magnetically coupled domain multiple access (or MC-DMA) scheme by selectively presenting the best load termination of the desired signal and actually presenting an open circuit of the undesired signal. The complex load impedance termination may be represented by an equivalent series or parallel R, L, C passive network, where the passive components may include, for example, a combination of electronically selectable or tunable components connected to achieve or approach a desired impedance value.

Fig. 21 is a flow chart describing a procedure for selecting complex impedance for energy harvesting or communication. At 2101, a device (e.g., WTRU 102) may request network resources for establishing a data link with a network. At 2103, a device (e.g., WTRU 102) may receive a configuration from CLH 102a, which may include any of the following: time slot assignment, timing/frame synchronization data, and/or information about the load status in other time slots. Information about the load status in other slots may be used by a device (e.g., WTRU 102) to determine what its load status should be in a slot in which it is not transmitting because the cluster head (e.g., WTRU 501) may want the device (e.g., WTRU 102) to offload resonant magnetic medium (or sub-optimally couple) to release energy/power of other devices (e.g., WTRU 102).

At 2105, a device (e.g., WTRU 102) may determine whether it is to collect power from CLH 102 a. If it is to collect power, the process may proceed to 2107 where the device (e.g., WTRU 102) may inform the CLH (e.g., WTRU 501) that it wishes to collect energy (effectively requesting the CLH (e.g., WTRU 501) to transmit to the device (e.g., WTRU 102) complex load settings that are optimized for energy collection). At 2109, a device (e.g., WTRU 102) may receive and set itself to a load setting received from a CLH (e.g., WTRU 501) (e.g., a complex impedance state optimized for power harvesting without interfering with other information signals transmitted/received by CLH 102 a). The load impedance may preferably be selected such that it presents an ideal conjugate match to the energy source (e.g., CW signal), but presents a near open circuit to the information source. Next, a device (e.g., WTRU 102) may begin to collect energy from the CW signal.

The energy harvesting scheme may be implemented in any number of ways. In one embodiment shown in the flowchart, a device (e.g., WTRU 102) collects energy for a predetermined period of time (e.g., td seconds) (step 2111). At the end of the period, a device (e.g., WTRU 102) may determine whether the charging cycle is to end (step 2113). This may occur when a device (e.g., WTRU 102) has obtained what it deems to be a sufficient amount of power. In various embodiments, step 2113 may include the device (e.g., WTRU 102) listening for a Broadcast Channel (BCH) every Td seconds for a potential control message from the CLH (e.g., WTRU 501) (e.g., there may be a request to temporarily stop energy harvesting or modify settings). In step 2113, if there is no related instruction to stop charging on BCH and/or the desired charge level has not been reached, charging may continue for another Td period. This process may be repeated until the charging cycle is complete.

After the energy harvesting cycle ends (e.g., when the energy harvesting cycle ends), flow may proceed from step 2113 to step 2115, where a device (e.g., WTRU 102) may configure itself with complex load settings optimized for information transfer, and may begin information transmission/reception in the assigned time slot (2117). The impedance in this scenario may present a conjugate load match to the information source, but a near open circuit to the energy harvesting voltage source.

The optimal complex load impedance determined by the CLH (e.g., WTRU 501) and transmitted to the device may have different values for transmission and for reception. In particular, it may depend on signal quality factors such as SNR, RSSI. Further, the CLH (e.g., WTRU 501) may determine a power budget that may support various energy transfer and/or information transfer requests that it has received from various devices (e.g., WTRU 102), and this may also potentially be relevant to the determination of the load impedance state of the CLH for various devices (e.g., WTRU 102).

In an embodiment, a device (e.g., WTRU 102) may receive load settings for data transmission and reception from a CLH (e.g., WTRU 501), while it may receive load settings for power harvesting. In an embodiment, in conjunction with step 2115, it may send another load setting request (and receive load settings for data transmission and reception) to the CLH (e.g., WTRU 501) so that the load settings may be based on the latest SNR and/or RSSI.

Returning to step 2105, if the device (e.g., WTRU 102) does not intend to collect energy from CLH 102a, flow may proceed from step 2105 (e.g., directly) to steps 2115 and 2117 to configure itself with complex load settings optimized for information transfer and/or to begin information transmission/reception in the assigned time slot.

2.2.3.Selection and allocation of EH channels for CW tones

The CLH (e.g., WTRU 501) may specify a dedicated frequency or frequency range for the CW tone used for energy harvesting. Broadcast and all unicast data links may operate outside this range. When devices (e.g., WTRU 102) wish to collect energy rather than transfer data, they may adjust their coupling and load terminals to maximize the energy collected from the CW tone. In the presence of relatively strong CW levels compared to data signal strength, devices in the unicast link (e.g., WTRU 102) may weakly couple or load the CW while still collecting in an appropriate scheme. This is shown in part a of fig. 22.

In various embodiments, the CLH (e.g., WTRU 501) may dynamically select and/or allocate channels for energy CW tones while considering and minimizing the impact on adjacent link signal quality. Alternatively or in addition, the CLH (e.g., WTRU 501) may request the device (e.g., WTRU 102) to move to a new center frequency to establish a better communication link with minimized interference from the CW power tones, as shown in part b of fig. 22. As the cluster topology changes over time, the CLH (e.g., WTRU 501) may move the CW tone to a new frequency in the frequency band.

In various embodiments depicted in part c of fig. 22, a CLH (e.g., WTRU 501) may transmit modulated tones on the BCH for energy harvesting and communication on the BCH. The cluster devices (e.g., WTRU 102) collect energy and/or decode broadcast information from the CLH (e.g., WTRU 501) by adjusting their load terminals as needed. The device may transmit on the BCH by load modulating the CW energy tones.

In an embodiment, a device (e.g., WTRU 102) may transmit on the BCH by load modulating the CW energy tones and thus introduce a varying current that may be decoded by CLH 102 a. This concept is depicted in fig. 23, which shows the baseband data signal at (a) and the CW energy transfer tone at (b). The combined signal as shown at (c) in fig. 23 can be used for both energy harvesting and data transfer by load modulating the data signal (a) onto the CW tone (b) using, for example, amplitude Shift Keying (ASK).

With low modulation depth, the resulting modulated signal may maintain a large portion of the original CW tone amplitude, while the information or modulation depth may be sufficient for detection by receivers within range of the RMC.

In various implementations, the modulated tones may be placed in a unicast link in which both energy and information may be exchanged.

In various implementations, modulated tones may be used in unicast links, where both energy and information may be exchanged similar to the above description.

Time division multiplexing

When or if the above options are not available or practical, a Time Division Multiplexing (TDM) based approach may be used, where EH signals and data may be assigned to particular time slots, e.g., according to a predetermined schedule. For example, in a time-based approach, a CLH (e.g., WTRU 501) may transmit its modulated power waveform in a first time slot and turn off its transmitter and/or switch to a receive mode in a second time slot. A device (e.g., WTRU 102) may then take turns transmitting on the BCH according to a predetermined schedule.

Fig. 27 illustrates this embodiment by showing a slot configuration for a CLH (e.g., WTRU 501) and two devices (e.g., WTRU 102) (device a and device B) in communication with CLH 102 a. As shown, during a first time slot, the CLH (e.g., WTRU 501) may be configured to transmit data (e.g., on BCH) and the device (e.g., WTRU 102) may be configured to receive those transmissions. In a second time slot, (1) the CLH (e.g., WTRU 501) may turn off an energy harvesting beacon and/or may be configured to receive on a BCH, (2) the device a may be configured to transmit during the time slot, and (3) the device B may be floating in a third time slot, (1) the CLH (e.g., WTRU 501) may remain off an energy harvesting beacon and/or may remain configured to receive on a BCH, (2) the device B may be configured to transmit during the time slot, and (3) the device a may be floating.

In yet another example embodiment, a CLH (e.g., WTRU 501) may assign a time slot for data transmission and associated load status for any (e.g., each) device.

In still further exemplary embodiments, a CLH (e.g., WTRU 501) may assign a time slot for energy transfer and associated load status to any (e.g., each) device (e.g., WTRU 102).

2.3.Cluster membership and power saving policy

2.3.1.New devices join or leave clusters

A new device (e.g., WTRU 501) detected and authenticated by the CLH (e.g., WTRU 102) after the discovery procedure may request to join the cluster and establish a unicast data link with the current cluster member device (e.g., WTRU 102) for the purpose of exchanging information and/or other resources. Since the CLH (e.g., WTRU 501) has a table/list of supported features and the current configuration of any (e.g., each) device in the cluster (e.g., WTRU 102), it may utilize the relevant features or settings to help select candidate devices to support the unicast link requested by the joining device. The CLH (e.g., WTRU 501) may then evaluate the loading effect of the potential new link on the QoS of the existing link. If the RSSI or CQI reduction impact is below a first threshold, the CLH (e.g., the WTRU 501) may grant permission to the new link. If the RSSI decrease is above the first threshold, the CLH (e.g., WTRU 501) may grant permission for load-based access if there is a load terminal setting supported by the device (e.g., WTRU 102) that can reduce the performance impact below the first threshold.

If the performance impact remains above the first threshold but below the second threshold, the CLH (e.g., WTRU 501) may instead grant permission to slot-based load access on the medium. If the load impact is above a second threshold, the CLH (e.g., WTRU 501) may reject the device's request for new unicast link formation.

From the perspective of the device (e.g., WTRU 102), the new device (e.g., WTRU 102) may receive the authentication information request from CLH 102 a. A device (e.g., WTRU 102) may then report (e.g., transmit information to) to CLH 102a any of the following: its ID, SNR table, priority, supported features, etc. A device (e.g., WTRU 102) may request to move to a specified center frequency based on a CLH (e.g., WTRU 501) and may adjust its coupling coefficients and load terminal status based on the CLH (e.g., WTRU 501) request. If the CLH 102a selects slot-based access, a device (e.g., WTRU 102) may switch between a loaded state and a floating state, e.g., according to a slot schedule assigned from the CLH 102 a.

For devices (e.g., WTRU 102) that want to exit its current cluster, CLH 102a may send an ACK after receiving an exit notification from the exiting cluster device (e.g., upon receiving the exit notification) and a link quality measurement request from the remaining device (e.g., WTRU 102) members to evaluate overall cluster performance. If the link quality drops below a predetermined threshold, the CLH (e.g., WTRU 501) may send out any number of the following to any number of the remaining devices in the cluster (e.g., WTRU 102): load terminal status change, scheduling and slot update, and/or frequency adjustment.

2.3.2.Inter-cluster operation

In the case where two neighboring clusters exist and their respective clusters operate on their respective BCHs, the cluster head (e.g., WTRU 501) may be aware of the neighboring clusters due to discovery procedures and/or the device (e.g., WTRU 102) reporting (e.g., transmitting information indicating the presence of neighboring devices (e.g., WTRU 102) belonging to different clusters.

If the overall cluster performance measured on the BCH falls below a predetermined threshold, the CLH of the cluster (e.g., WTRU 501) may negotiate with a neighbor/offending CLH (e.g., WTRU 501) to adjust the BCH setting to the CLH of the neighbor/offending cluster (e.g., WTRU 501). The adjustment may include, for example, a change in the BCH center frequency and/or a change in the load terminal status of devices listening to their own BCH (e.g., WTRU 102), thereby reducing loading on neighboring BCHs. The adjustment may also include one or both of the neighbor/offending CLHs scheduling access to their BCHs during a specified time slot of any (e.g., each) cluster. In one embodiment, a type of DRX may be implemented on the BCH, where clusters that are not currently listening to their BCH may enter a floating state, offloading the medium shared with neighboring clusters.

2.3.3.Discontinuous Reception (DRX) strategy

Discontinuous reception may be used not only to extend the battery life of the mobile device (e.g., only), but may also be used to periodically decouple the device (e.g., WTRU 102) from the RMC cluster and release network resources.

DRX implementations may include any of the following:

the o device (e.g., WTRU 102) and CLH (e.g., WTRU 501) may negotiate (or the cluster header (e.g., WTRU 501) may simply assign) the period and/or DRX cycle during which data transfer may occur.

A device (e.g., WTRU 102) receiver is active at the beginning of any (e.g., each) associated time slot to determine whether data is being transmitted to the device in that time slot. If it determines that there is no data for the device in the slot, the device (e.g., WTRU 102) may turn off its receiver and/or may enter a low power state.

A poll technique, in which a device (e.g., WTRU 102) is in a standby state for a given duration. The beacon may be sent periodically by the CLH (e.g., WTRU 501) to indicate (e.g., transmit information indicating) when there is data waiting for any device (e.g., WTRU 102) within a configured DRX period, and the CLH is intended to schedule those devices (e.g., WTRU 102) for data reception.

The omicron includes a hybrid approach of a combination of the above techniques.

In one example, a device (e.g., WTRU 102) may receive any one of the following from a cluster head (e.g., WTRU 501): schedule, slot assignment, and/or load terminal status settings for any (e.g., each) slot. A device (e.g., WTRU 102) may then transmit according to its assigned transmission time slot. A device (e.g., WTRU 102) may periodically switch from a power saving mode or a floating state to a loaded terminal state according to a reception slot or schedule assigned by a CLH (e.g., WTRU 501).

In embodiments, devices that belong to the cluster but are not active parts of the data communication link (e.g., WTRU 102) may still be used by the cluster head (e.g., WTRU 501) to help improve RMC link quality for the currently connected device pair.

In embodiments, the CLH (e.g., WTRU 501) may determine that its cluster performance is suboptimal or recognize that existing link performance needs to be improved. Knowing the device (e.g., WTRU 102) capabilities and/or SNR tables of all cluster members, in such cases, the CLH (e.g., WTRU 501) may indicate those cluster members that are not currently in a unicast or multicast link (e.g., devices (e.g., WTRU 102) that have relinquished the resonant magnetic medium but periodically accessed the resonant magnetic medium to receive control information on the broadcast channel). The CLH 102a requests a device (e.g., WTRU 102) to load a change in terminal state to modify channel and/or link characteristics, such as any of the following:

The omicron is used for optimizing the center frequency of the common channel of the BCH;

the method comprises the steps of (1) optimizing the position of a resonance peak of the current equipment on link quality; and/or

Coupling efficiency between existing links.

Device mobility

Non-transmitting devices (e.g., WTRU 102) may also be affected by mobility within the cluster, which may affect other device-to-link. The cluster head (e.g., WTRU 501) may perform a periodic control procedure to evaluate the continued usefulness of the device (e.g., WTRU 102) in helping to overall cluster performance and/or mitigating potential negative effects introduced by changes in the location of the device (e.g., WTRU 102).

For example, a device (e.g., WTRU 102) may continuously report (e.g., transmit information indicating) a change in link quality to a CLH (e.g., WTRU 501) on the BCH and receive a rebalancing instruction from CLH 102 a. The CLH (e.g., WTRU 501) may request that a non-transmitting device (e.g., WTRU 102) move to a floating state so that the CLH (e.g., WTRU 501) may measure the impact of the device on cluster performance. If a device (e.g., WTRU 102) has sufficient detrimental impact on cluster performance, then the CLH (e.g., WTRU 501) may request that a non-transmitting device (e.g., WTRU 102) switch to a new loaded terminal state for the specified time slot.

2.4. Exemplary embodiments

2.4.1. Exemplary embodiment 1

Fig. 24 is a signal flow diagram illustrating an exemplary method performed by a CLH (e.g., WTRU 501) to maximize the number of devices (e.g., WTRU 102) capable of communicating on the BCH and/or allocate resources based on the load terminal status that needs to be utilized by devices within range thereof (e.g., WTRU 102). The method may include the CLH (e.g., WTRU 501) receiving measurement reports (e.g., channel quality/SNR tables), device (e.g., WTRU 102) capabilities (e.g., supported load terminal states) from all devices (e.g., WTRU 102) within range (within a served cluster), wherein all devices (e.g., WTRU 102) are configured with their default load terminal state values (2401). Using the received measurement reports and/or device (e.g., WTRU 102) capabilities, the CLH (e.g., WTRU 501) may assign any (e.g., each) device (e.g., WTRU 102) to one of the N subgroups (2403). The CLH (e.g., WTRU 501) may also be assigned a load terminal status based on the respective group assignment of any (e.g., each) device (e.g., WTRU 102) for use in a receive mode (listening on BCH) (2405).

For example, the CLH (e.g., WTRU 501) may allocate a load terminal status to any (e.g., each) device (e.g., WTRU 102) based on its respective group assignment used during the transmit cycle on the BCH, wherein the device (e.g., WTRU 102) TX load terminal status may provide a better match or termination to the RMC channel, resulting in a stronger RSSI at the CLH (e.g., WTRU 501) receiver. The assigned RX load terminal status setting may be different from the assigned TX load terminal status, e.g., the RX load terminal may be set to a sub-optimal value of 75 or 100 ohms in order to receive signals slightly above a minimum SNR, while the TX load may be set to 50 ohms (in a 50 ohm system) in order to provide a best match and/or better efficiency during a device (e.g., WTRU 102) transmit cycle on the RMC channel. Other TX/RX load terminal pairs may include, for example, the following (TX, RX) pairs: (75, 50), (100 ), (50, 50), (75, 100), and the like. For a device listening for broadcast information from CLH 102a (e.g., WTRU 102), its receiver load terminal status may be set to a pre-assigned RX terminal value. When transmitting on the BCH, for example, during a random access period (RACH) or form of a carrier sense multiple access with collision avoidance (CSMA/CA) scheme, the device (e.g., WTRU 102) load terminal status may be changed to a pre-assigned TX load terminal (e.g., Z ₁ ＝25、Z ₂ ＝50、Z ₃ =75 or Z _i =100 ohms).

Further, the CLH (e.g., WTRU 501) may utilize measurement reports to determine a group of edge devices (e.g., WTRU 102) and/or assign them to a single group. CLH (e.g., WTRU 501) may also schedule measurement opportunities for a combination of sub-groups (transmit versus receive) of devices (e.g., WTRU 102) within the identified edge user group through a combination of time, frequency, and/or load terminal status. The CLH (e.g., WTRU 501) may also determine how frequently the SNR curve for any (e.g., each) device is configured for each loaded terminal state and subset of devices (e.g., WTRU 102). The CLH (e.g., WTRU 501) may also determine/calculate the load terminal status of any (e.g., each) device (e.g., WTRU 102) based on the measured/determined SNR/RSSI curves and the expected/planned BCH scheduling configuration.

Next, the CLH (e.g., WTRU 501) may assign a time slot for transmission to any (e.g., each) device (e.g., WTRU 102) having an associated load terminal status and broadcast a schedule (2407) to all clustered devices (e.g., WTRU 102) in the specified time slot and/or transmission period. The slot usage may be divided proportionally between users based on priority and/or data rate requirements.

In addition, CLH (e.g., WTRU 501) may build a subset of devices (e.g., WTRU 102) within its cluster, where devices (e.g., WTRU 102) may be assigned to the subset (2409) based on SNR/RSSI, priority, supported features, etc.

Further, the CLH (e.g., WTRU 501) may assign a DRX cycle to any (e.g., each) subgroup, where any (e.g., each) subgroup will in turn listen to BCH (2411) according to its assigned DRX cycle.

In addition, the CLH (e.g., WTRU 501) may request that devices not currently communicating on the BCH (e.g., WTRU 102) and/or devices that have relinquished the medium (e.g., WTRU 102) change the load terminal state to help shape the channel response (e.g., channel quality factor (Q)) to optimize/maximize channel usage and/or bandwidth (2413). After the cluster conditions have changed (e.g., when the cluster conditions have changed), the CLH (e.g., WTRU 501) may request the device (e.g., WTRU 102) to exit the facilitator mode by relinquishing the medium and, for example, reverting to a power saving mode or sleep mode, etc.

In one embodiment, CLH 102a does not create a subgroup. Instead, the terminal status may be loaded (e.g., only) with individual devices (e.g., WTRU 102). The CLH (e.g., WTRU 501) may receive the frequency versus SNR curve and supported load terminal status from all devices within range (e.g., WTRU 102) that are configured with their default load terminal status values. The CLH (e.g., WTRU 501) may determine/calculate the load terminal status of any (e.g., each) device (e.g., WTRU 102) based on the reported SNR/RSSI. The CLH (e.g., WTRU 501) may allocate load termination status for any (e.g., each) device (e.g., WTRU 102) to use in a receive mode (or listening on BCH). The CLH (e.g., WTRU 501) may allocate a load termination status for any (e.g., each) device (e.g., WTRU 102) to use during a transmit cycle on the BCH, wherein the device (e.g., WTRU 102) TX load termination status may provide a better match or termination to the RMC channel, resulting in a stronger RSSI at the CLH (e.g., WTRU 501) receiver. The assigned RX load terminal status setting may be different from the assigned TX load terminal status, e.g., the RX load terminal may be set to a sub-optimal value of 75 or 100 ohms in order to receive signals slightly above a minimum SNR, while the TX load may be set to 50 ohms (in a 50 ohm system) in order to provide a best match and/or better efficiency during a device (e.g., WTRU 102) transmit cycle on the RMC channel. Other TX/RX load terminal pairs may include, for example, the following (TX, RX) pairs: (75, 50), (100 ), (50, 50), (75, 100), and the like.

For a device listening for broadcast information from CLH 102a (e.g., WTRU 102), its receiver load terminal status may be set to a pre-assigned RX terminal value. When transmitting on BCH, for example, during a random access period (RACH) or form of carrier sense multiple access with collision avoidance (CSMA/CA) scheme, the device (e.g., WTRU 102) load terminal state may be changed to a pre-assigned TX load terminal (e.g., z1=25, z2=50, z3=75, or zi=100 ohms).

In an embodiment, a subgroup may be created by the CLH (e.g., WTRU 102) that includes (e.g., consists of) cell edge devices (e.g., WTRU 501) where the reported SNR is above a first threshold but below a second threshold to load terminal status with the subgroup devices (e.g., WTRU 102) while maintaining the overall cluster management overhead at a reasonable or acceptable level. In an embodiment, a cluster head (e.g., WTRU 501) may receive any of the following from all devices (e.g., WTRU 102) within range (in a serving cluster): measurement reports (e.g., channel quality/SNR tables), device (e.g., WTRU 102) capabilities (e.g., supported load terminal status), wherein all devices (e.g., WTRU 102) are configured with their default load terminal status values.

Using the received measurement reports and/or device (e.g., WTRU 102) capabilities, the CLH (e.g., WTRU 501) may assign any (e.g., each) device (e.g., WTRU 102) to one of the 2 groups, i.e., the group of devices (e.g., WTRU 102) for reporting (e.g., transmitting information indicating) SNR levels below a predetermined threshold and/or the common group for all other devices (e.g., WTRU 102).

CLHs (e.g., WTRUs 501) may also be assigned load terminal status based on their respective group assignments for any (e.g., each) device (e.g., WTRU 102) to use in a receive mode (or listening on BCH). The normal group load terminal status may be assigned a relatively long duration, e.g., n cycles, where n>>m _{Time slots} Wherein m is _{Time slots} Number of time slots. The edge device (e.g., WTRU 102) group load terminal status may be periodically assigned at a high frequency, e.g., the device (e.g., WTRU 102) load terminal status is updated at a much higher rate than the normal group device (e.g., WTRU 102) load terminal status.

The CLH (e.g., WTRU 501) may allocate a load termination status for any (e.g., each) device (e.g., WTRU 102) to use during a transmit cycle on the BCH, wherein the device (e.g., WTRU 102) TX load termination status may provide a better match or termination to the RMC channel, resulting in a stronger RSSI at the CLH (e.g., WTRU 501) receiver. The assigned RX load terminal status setting may be different from the assigned TX load terminal status, e.g., the RX load terminal may be set to a sub-optimal value of 75 or 100 ohms in order to receive signals slightly above a minimum SNR, while the TX load may be set to 50 ohms (in a 50 ohm system) in order to provide a best match and/or better efficiency during a device (e.g., WTRU 102) transmit cycle on the RMC channel. Other TX/RX load terminal pairs may include, for example, the following (TX, RX) pairs: (75, 50), (100 ), (50, 50), (75, 100), and the like.

2.4.2. Exemplary embodiment 2

Fig. 25 is a signal flow diagram illustrating an exemplary method performed by a cluster head (e.g., WTRU 501) that manages pairs of devices connected via unicast links and/or allocates medium resources (bandwidth, time slots) and/or minimizes interference between neighboring links by using the loaded terminal state of the devices (e.g., WTRU 102) during transmission and/or reception cycles. The method may include the CLH (e.g., WTRU 501) receiving supported load terminal states (e.g., capabilities) from all devices (e.g., WTRU 102) within range (within a served cluster), where all devices (e.g., WTRU 102) are configured with their default load terminal state values.

The CLH (e.g., WTRU 501) may receive any of a link setup request, scheduling control information (e.g., quality of service, buffer status, …, etc.), and/or capabilities (e.g., 2501, 2503) in a control period preceding a data scheduling period from a device (e.g., WTRU 102) that wishes to establish an RMC link with each other (e.g., devices (e.g., WTRU 102) a and B and devices (e.g., WTRU 102) C and D).

The CLH (e.g., WTRU 501) may determine scheduling measurement occasions for devices (e.g., WTRU 102) that are part of the link setup request and/or schedule transmission of measurement occasions to all such devices (e.g., WTRU 102) through a combination of time, frequency, and/or load terminal status (2507). At 2509, the CLH (e.g., WTRU 501) may receive requested measurements, such as SNR, based on frequency, load terminal status, and the like. Based on these measurements and/or any other relevant factors (e.g., qoS requirements, buffer status, etc.), the CLH (e.g., WTRU 501) may determine an SNR curve for any (e.g., each) device and/or an optimal load terminal status (2511) for any (e.g., each) transmission and/or reception by any (e.g., each) such device (e.g., WTRU 102). The CLH (e.g., WTRU 501) may transmit the assigned load terminal status and/or channel assignment for any (e.g., each) link to various devices (e.g., WTRU 102) (e.g., 2513, 2517). It may assign and/or transmit slot schedules for any (e.g., each) link (e.g., 2515, 2519). Thereafter, a device (e.g., WTRU 102) may begin communicating over the RMC link (e.g., 2521, 2523).

In one embodiment, measurement occasions may be scheduled at each control/data scheduling period (before the data transfer period, but after the control period).

In one embodiment, the measurement occasions may be periodic, where a period may span multiple (e.g., multiple) control/data scheduling periods and/or may further include CLH 102a:

scheduling measurement occasions at the beginning of a measurement period for a combination of device (e.g., WTRU 102) group, time, frequency, and/or load terminal status;

determining the frequency at which the SNR curve for any (e.g., each) device is configured for each loaded terminal state and/or group of devices (e.g., WTRU 102);

receiving a link establishment request, scheduling control information and/or capability in a control period preceding each data transfer period within a measurement period; and/or

The load terminal status of any (e.g., each) device (e.g., WTRU 102) is determined/calculated based on the measured/determined SNR/RSSI curves, link establishment requests, qoS requirements, and/or buffer status in the current control/data transfer cycle.

A CLH (e.g., WTRU 501) may be any (e.g., each) device pair that allocates a period of TX/RX cycles, where two devices forming a unicast link (e.g., WTRU 102) may complete a transmit-receive cycle before entering a DTX/DRX loaded terminal state (e.g., floating state), while other device pairs may enter their respective transmit cycles.

Unicast link Tx/Rx periods may be allocated proportionally among users based on priority and/or data rate requirements.

From the perspective of a device (e.g., WTRU 102), the method may include the device (e.g., WTRU 102) performing any number of the following actions:

for the purpose of exchanging information, a device (e.g., WTRU 102) requests access to a unicast link or forms a unicast link;

-a device (e.g., WTRU 102) sending a candidate device (e.g., WTRU 102) ID for unicast link formation, or a device (e.g., WTRU 102) may be assigned by CLH 102 a;

-a device (e.g., WTRU 102) receiving a load terminal value from CLH 102a for a transmit and/or receive period;

the assigned transmit load terminal status may be different from the receive load terminal status; and/or

A device (e.g., WTRU 102) communicates with the assigned device (e.g., WTRU 102) on the assigned unicast link using the assigned TX load terminal state during a transmit cycle and switches to the assigned receive load terminal state during an RX cycle.

Further, a device (e.g., WTRU 102) may receive a time period assignment for a TX/RX cycle, where two devices forming a unicast link (e.g., WTRU 102) may complete a transmit-receive cycle before entering a DTX/DRX loaded terminal state (e.g., floating state), while other device pairs may begin their respective transmit cycles.

A device (e.g., WTRU 102) may enter an assigned DTX/DRX loaded terminal state after completing a TX/RX cycle.

A device (e.g., WTRU 102) may exit DRX/DTX floating state after a pre-assigned period of time and/or resume normal TX/RX cycles on the unicast link.

2.4.3. Exemplary embodiment 3

Fig. 26 is a flowchart illustrating an exemplary method performed by a CLH (e.g., WTRU 501) to manage new devices (e.g., WTRU 102) joining a cluster.

After a new device (e.g., WTRU 102) joins the cluster (e.g., when the new device joins the cluster), the cluster head (e.g., WTRU 501) may authenticate the new device (e.g., WTRU 102) configured with its default load terminal status value and/or may receive a request from the new device (e.g., WTRU 102) to join the BCH (2601) after a discovery procedure in which the cluster head (e.g., WTRU 501) establishes a communication link with the new device (e.g., WTRU 102) (not shown). In response, the CLH (e.g., WTRU 501) may evaluate the loading effect of the potential new link on the existing BCH link QoS (2603). At 2605, the CLH (e.g., the WTRU 501) may determine whether the RSSI reduction (Δrssi) is below a first threshold. If so, the CLH (e.g., WTRU 501) may grant permission to the new link (2613). If not, the flow may proceed to step 2607, where the CLH (e.g., the WTRU 501) may determine whether the RSSI reduction is between the first threshold and the second threshold. If the load impact is above the second threshold, the CLH (e.g., WTRU 501) may reject the new link request and/or the device (e.g., WTRU 102) may be requested to switch to the floating state (2615).

On the other hand, if it is determined in step 2607 that the load impact is between the first threshold and the second threshold, the CLH (e.g., WTRU 501) may request the new device (e.g., WTRU 102) to change its load termination state as desired (2609) and/or may check if the new load setting causes the load impact to drop below the first threshold (2611). If so, the CLH (e.g., WTRU 501) may grant permission for load-based access (2613). On the other hand, if the new load setting does not reduce the load impact below the first threshold, the CLH (e.g., WTRU 501) may grant permission for slot-based load access (2617).

Newly admitted devices (e.g., WTRUs 102) in a cluster that are not currently communicating on BCH or unicast links may be configured to service providers and/or to help shape and/or improve the channel response of other links, e.g., by setting their terminal load to a pre-assigned value.

From the perspective of the device (e.g., WTRU 102), the new device (e.g., WTRU 102) may receive the authentication information request from the CLH (e.g., WTRU 501) and/or may send its settings and supported features (e.g., ID, SNR table, priority, load terminal status) to CLH 102 a. A device (e.g., WTRU 102) may move to a designated center frequency upon request by a CLH (e.g., WTRU 501), may adjust its coupling coefficient and/or load termination state upon request by a CLH (e.g., WTRU 501), and/or may switch to a floating state (optional) according to a time slot schedule from a CLH (e.g., WTRU 501).

After a device (e.g., WTRU 102) exits the cluster (e.g., when exiting the cluster), the CLH (e.g., WTRU 501) may receive an exit notification from the clustered device (e.g., WTRU 102) and/or may send an ACK to the device. The CLH (e.g., WTRU 501) may request and/or receive link quality data from the remaining cluster members, e.g., to evaluate cluster performance on BCH. The CLH (e.g., WTRU 501) may issue any number of the following: load terminal status changes; scheduling and/or slot updating; setting and adjusting frequency; and/or coupling coefficient modifications.

Fig. 28 is a flow chart illustrating a representative method implemented by a WTRU.

Referring to fig. 28, a representative method 2800 may include receiving, at block 2810, a request from a first device (e.g., WTRU 102 a) to send a transmission to a second device (e.g., WTRU 102 b) via a resonant magnetic coupling, the request including capability information indicating a set of load terminal states supported by the first device. At block 2820, the WTRU 501 may send measurement configuration information to a first device (e.g., the WTRU 102 a), the measurement configuration information including information indicating: (1) Timing and/or frequency information for scheduling measurements of signal strength received by a first device (e.g., WTRU 102 a); and/or (2) at least one load termination state of a set of load termination states used by a first device (e.g., WTRU 102 a) when performing measurements. At block 2830, the WTRU 501 may receive, from a first device, measurement information generated from measurements performed by the first device (e.g., the WTRU 102 a) based on the transmitted measurement configuration information. At block 2840, the WTRU 501 may determine a load terminal status of a first device (e.g., the WTRU 102 a) based on the measurement information. At block 2850, the WTRU 501 may send information to the first device indicating the determined load terminal status of the first device.

In some representative embodiments, the load terminal status may be determined based on a time slot and/or frequency assignment used by the first device (e.g., WTRU 102 a).

In some representative embodiments, the information indicates a time slot and/or frequency assignment used by a first device (e.g., WTRU 102 a), such as WTRU 102 a.

In some representative embodiments, the WTRU 501 may send information to a first device (e.g., the WTRU 102 a) indicating an operating mode and/or a corresponding load terminal status corresponding to any of a transmit mode, a receive mode, or a boost mode.

In certain representative embodiments, the load terminal status may be determined among the set of load terminal statuses indicated by the capability information.

In certain representative embodiments, the measurement information includes information indicative of any one of: signal to noise ratio (SNR) and/or Reported Signal Strength (RSS).

In certain representative embodiments, the received request includes information indicating any one of: a requested quality of service (QoS), a priority indicator, an indicator of a required level of communication reliability, a buffer status indicating an amount of data to be transmitted via the requested transmission, a channel quality metric, and/or capability information indicating a coupling coefficient supported by a first device (e.g., WTRU 102 a); and/or wherein the WTRU may determine a load terminal status of the first device (e.g., WTRU 102 a) may be based at least on information included in the received request.

In some representative embodiments, the WTRU 501 may be a cluster head (e.g., WTRU 501) WTRU, and/or the second device (e.g., WTRU 102 b) may be managed by the cluster head WTRU 501.

In some representative embodiments, the WTRU 501 may determine the load terminal status of the second device (e.g., the WTRU 102 b) based on the measurement information; and/or may send information to the second device (e.g., WTRU 102 b) indicating the determined load terminal status of the second device (e.g., WTRU 102 b).

In some representative embodiments, the WTRU 501 may receive a request from a first device (e.g., the WTRU 102 a) to send a transmission to a second device (e.g., the WTRU 102 b) via a resonant magnetic coupling, the request including capability information indicating a set of load terminal states supported by the first device and/or the second device. At block 2820, the WTRU 501 may send measurement configuration information to a first device (e.g., WTRU 102 a) and/or a second device (e.g., WTRU 102 b), the measurement configuration information including information indicating: (1) Timing and/or frequency information for scheduling measurements of signal strength received by a first device (e.g., WTRU 102 a) and/or a second device (e.g., WTRU 102 b); and/or (2) at least one load termination state of a set of load termination states used by the first device (e.g., WTRU 102 a) and/or the second device (e.g., WTRU 102 b) when performing the measurements. At block 2830, the WTRU 501 may receive, from a first device and/or a second device (e.g., WTRU 102 b), measurement information generated from measurements performed by the first device (e.g., WTRU 102 a) and/or the second device (e.g., WTRU 102 b) based on the transmitted measurement configuration information. At block 2840, the WTRU 501 may determine a load terminal status of a first device (e.g., the WTRU 102 a) and/or a second device (e.g., the WTRU 102 b) based on the measurement information. At block 2850, the WTRU 501 may send information indicating the determined load terminal status of the first device to the first device and/or the second device (e.g., the WTRU 102 b).

Fig. 29 is a flowchart illustrating a representative method implemented by a first device (e.g., WTRU 102 a).

Referring to fig. 29, an exemplary method 2900 may include, at block 2910, sending a request to the WTRU 501 to send a transmission to a second device (e.g., WTRU 102 b) via a resonant magnetic coupling, the request including capability information indicating a set of load terminal states supported by a first device (e.g., WTRU 102 a). At block 2920, the device may receive measurement configuration information from the WTRU 501, the measurement configuration information including information indicating: (1) Timing and/or frequency information for scheduling measurements of signal strength received by a first device (e.g., WTRU 102 a); and/or (2) at least one load termination state of a set of load termination states used by a first device (e.g., WTRU 102 a) when performing measurements. At block 2930, the device may send measurement information to the WTRU 501, the measurement information resulting from measurements performed by a first device (e.g., the WTRU 102 a) based on the received measurement configuration information. At block 2940, the device may receive information from the WTRU 501 indicating the determined load terminal status of the first device (e.g., WTRU 102 a).

In some representative embodiments, a device may receive information from the WTRU 501 indicating a time slot and/or frequency assignment used by a first device (e.g., the WTRU 102 a).

In some representative embodiments, the device may receive information from the WTRU 501 indicating an operation mode and/or a corresponding load terminal status corresponding to any of a transmit mode, a receive mode, or a boost mode.

In certain representative embodiments, the receiving the request includes information indicating any one of: a requested quality of service (QoS), a priority indicator, an indicator of a required reliability level of the communication, a buffer status indicating an amount of data to be transmitted via the requested transmission, a channel quality metric, and/or capability information indicating a coupling coefficient supported by the first device (e.g., WTRU 102 a).

In some representative embodiments, the WTRU 501 may be a cluster head WTRU and the second device (e.g., the WTRU 102 b) may be managed by the cluster head WTRU.

Figure 30 is a flow chart illustrating a representative method implemented by a WTRU 501 in communication with one or more first devices (e.g., WTRU 102 a) via resonant magnetic coupling over a common channel.

Referring to fig. 30, an exemplary method 3000 may include, at block 3010, establishing a communication link with a second device (e.g., WTRU 102 b) configured with a first load termination state (e.g., WTRU 102 b). At block 3020, the WTRU 501 may receive a request from a second device (e.g., WTRU 102 b) to access a common channel. At block 3030, the WTRU 501 may request measurement information from at least one of the first devices (e.g., WTRU 102 a) indicating a signal strength received by the at least one of the first devices (e.g., WTRU 102 a) via a common channel, considering that the second device (e.g., WTRU 102 b) has access to the common channel. At block 3040, the WTRU 501 may receive measurement information from at least one of the first devices (e.g., the WTRU 102 a). At block 3050, the WTRU 501 may grant a second device (e.g., WTRU 102 b) access to a common channel based on the measurement information.

In some representative embodiments, the common channel may be a broadcast/unicast channel.

In certain representative embodiments, the measurement information includes any one of the following: signal to noise ratio (SNR) and/or Reported Signal Strength (RSS).

In some representative embodiments, the measurement information includes a signal quality value indicating a change in signal strength received by at least one of the first devices (e.g., WTRU 102 a) via the common channel in view of the second device (e.g., WTRU 102 b) accessing the common channel.

In some representative embodiments, the WTRU 501 may grant the second device (e.g., the WTRU 102 b) access to the common channel in the event that the signal quality value may be below a threshold indicating a maximum allowable reduction in the quality level of the common channel.

In some representative embodiments, the WTRU 501 may determine a second load terminal status of a second device (e.g., the WTRU 102 b) based on the measurement information; and/or may transmit information to the second device (e.g., WTRU 102 b) indicating the determined second load terminal status of the second device (e.g., WTRU 102 b), and/or wherein the first load terminal status may be determined based on a time slot assignment of a common channel used by the second device (e.g., WTRU 102 b), and/or wherein the second load terminal status may be determined based on a time slot assignment of a common channel used by at least one of the first devices (e.g., WTRU 102 a).

In some representative embodiments, the WTRU 501 may determine a second load terminal status of at least one of the first devices (e.g., the WTRU 102 a) based on the measurement information; and/or at least one of the first devices (e.g., WTRU 102) transmitting information indicating the determined second load terminal status of the at least one of the first devices (e.g., WTRU 102 a). In some representative embodiments, the first load terminal state may be determined from a time slot assignment of a common channel used by the second device (e.g., the WTRU 102 b) and/or the second load terminal state may be determined from a time slot assignment of a common channel used by at least one of the first devices (e.g., the WTRU 102 a).

In some representative embodiments, the WTRU 501 may determine a second loaded terminal state of a second device (e.g., the WTRU 102 b) based on the measurement information on the condition that the signal quality value may be greater than a first threshold and less than a second threshold, the first threshold indicating a first maximum allowable reduction in the quality level of the common channel and/or the second threshold indicating a second higher reduction in the quality level of the common channel; and/or may send information to a second device (e.g., WTRU 102 b) indicating the determined second load terminal status of the second device (e.g., WTRU 102 b).

In some representative embodiments, the second load terminal state may be determined from a time slot assignment of a common channel used by the second device (e.g., WTRU 102 b), and/or wherein the second load terminal state may be used as a default load terminal for access to the common channel by the second device (e.g., WTRU 102 b).

In some representative embodiments, the WTRU 501 may determine a third load terminal status of at least one of the first devices (e.g., the WTRU 102 a) based on the measurement information. And/or may transmit information indicating the determined third load terminal status of at least one of the first devices (e.g., WTRU 102 a) to at least one of the first devices (e.g., WTRU 102 a). In some representative embodiments, the second loaded terminal state may be determined based on a time slot assignment of a common channel used by the second device (e.g., WTRU 102 b) and/or the third loaded terminal state may be determined based on a time slot assignment of a common channel used by at least one of the first devices (e.g., WTRU 102 a).

Fig. 31 is a flow chart illustrating a representative method implemented by a cluster head (e.g., WTRU 501) for controlling device access in a Resonant Magnetic Coupling (RMC) network.

Referring to fig. 31, a representative method 3100 may include, at block 3110, receiving a request from a first device (e.g., WTRU 102 a) to establish an RMC connection with a second device (e.g., WTRU 102 b), the request including at least one of: requested quality of service (QoS); a priority indicator; an indicator of the required communication reliability level; a buffer status indicating an amount of data to be transferred over the requested RMC connection; a channel quality metric; capability information indicating a load terminal status supported by a first device (e.g., WTRU 102 a); and/or capability information indicating coupling coefficients supported by a first device (e.g., WTRU 102 a). At block 3120, the cluster head (e.g., WTRU 501) may generate a schedule of frequency and/or time resources for use of the network by the first device and/or the second device (e.g., WTRU 102 b) based on at least the information contained in the request and/or available network resources.

In some representative embodiments, the second device (e.g., WTRU 102 b) may be another device managed by the cluster head (e.g., WTRU 501) or one of the cluster heads (e.g., WTRU 501) itself.

In some demonstrative embodiments, the schedule may include at least a time slot assignment and/or a load terminal status used by the first device and/or the second device (e.g., WTRU 102 b).

In some representative embodiments, the schedule may be a schedule for use of a Broadcast Channel (BCH).

In some representative embodiments, the scheduling may include frequency assignment.

In some representative embodiments, if a first device (e.g., WTRU 102 a) has a received signal strength greater than a minimum threshold and greater than a second, higher threshold, a cluster head (e.g., WTRU 501) may assign a load state such that the signal power delivered to the device may be reduced to a level below the second threshold and above the first threshold.

Fig. 32 is a flow chart illustrating a representative method implemented by a WTRU.

Referring to fig. 32, a representative method 3200 may include receiving, at block 3210, from a wireless network, a configuration for an access point connected to the network via resonant magnetic coupling. At block 3220, the WTRU 501 may determine whether the connection to the access point is to be used for collecting power from the access point or for data transfer with the access point. At block 3230, if the connection is determined to be for power harvesting, the WTRU 501 may set a complex load impedance of the WTRU for the connection to a first state optimized to harvest energy from the access point. At block 3240, if the connection is determined to be for data transfer, the WTRU 501 may set a complex load impedance of the WTRU for the connection to a second state optimized for data transfer with the access point. At block 3250, the WTRU 501 may begin energy harvesting if the impedance is set to a first setting, or begin data transfer if the impedance is set to a second setting.

In some representative embodiments, the WTRU 501 may receive a complex load impedance setting from the network.

In certain representative embodiments, the complex load impedance includes real and/or reactive parts.

In certain representative embodiments, the first load impedance state and/or the second load impedance state are orthogonal to each other.

In some representative embodiments, the WTRU 501 may be coupled to a CW tone of a first frequency for power harvesting; and/or for data transfer, the WTRU 501 may be coupled to the data channel at a second frequency.

Fig. 33 is a flow chart illustrating a representative method implemented in cluster head 501 of a resonant magnetic coupling network.

Referring to fig. 33, a representative method 3300 may include, at block 3310, transmitting a CW signal for energy harvesting by a WTRU 102 coupled to a cluster head (e.g., WTRU 501). At block 3320, the cluster head 501 may receive a request from at least one first WTRU 102a for data transfer with an access point of a network. At block 3330, the cluster head 501 may receive a request from at least one second WTRU 102b to collect power from an access point. At block 3340, the cluster head 501 may determine a complex impedance load state of each first WTRU 102a and each second WTRU 102b, where the complex load state of each first WTRU 102a may be optimized for data transfer with the cluster head 501 and/or the complex load state of each second WTRU 102b may be optimized for energy harvesting from the CW signal of the cluster head 501. At block 3350, the cluster head 501 may transmit the complex load impedance state determined for each such WTRU to each of the first at least one WTRU 102a and/or the second at least one WTRU 102 b.

In some representative embodiments, the cluster head 501 may determine a power budget for supporting data transfer with a first at least one WTRU 102a and/or energy transfer with at least one second WTRU 102 b.

In some representative embodiments, the determination of the load impedance state of the WTRUs may be based on at least one of a signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) and/or a Reported Signal Strength (RSS) of the first and/or second WTRUs.

In certain representative embodiments, the load impedance states of the first WTRU 102a and/or the second WTRU 102b are orthogonal to each other.

In some representative embodiments, the CW tone may have a frequency that is different from the frequency of any data transfer channel of cluster head 501.

In certain representative embodiments, the CW tone may have an amplitude that is substantially greater than the amplitude used for the data transfer channel.

In certain representative embodiments, the frequency of the CW tone may be dynamically selected based on data communications occurring over the data transfer channel.

In some representative embodiments, the cluster head 501 may instruct the first at least one WTRU to use a data transfer channel having a selected frequency in order to minimize CW and/or interference between selected data channels.

In some representative embodiments, the frequency of the CW tone may be within the frequency range of the Broadcast Channel (BCH) of cluster head 501 and/or the CW may be modulated with the data signal.

Conclusion(s)

Although the features and elements are described above in particular combinations, one of ordinary skill in the art will appreciate that each feature or element can be used alone or in any combination with other features and elements. Additionally, the methods described herein may be implemented in a computer program, software, or firmware incorporated in a computer readable medium for execution by a computer or processor. Examples of non-transitory computer readable storage media include, but are not limited to, read-only memory (ROM), random-access memory (RAM), registers, cache memory, semiconductor memory devices, magnetic media such as internal hard disks and removable disks, magneto-optical media, and optical media such as CD-ROM disks and Digital Versatile Disks (DVDs). A processor associated with the software may be used to implement a radio frequency transceiver for the WTRU 102, WTRU, terminal, base station, RNC, or any host computer.

Furthermore, in the above embodiments, processing platforms, computing systems, controllers, and other devices including processors are indicated. These devices may include at least one central processing unit ("CPU") and memory. References to actions and symbolic representations of operations or instructions may be performed by various CPUs and memories in accordance with practices of persons skilled in the art of computer programming. Such acts and operations, or instructions, may be considered to be "executing," computer-executed, "or" CPU-executed.

Those of ordinary skill in the art will appreciate that the acts and symbolically represented operations or instructions include the manipulation of electrical signals by the CPU. The electrical system represents data bits that may result in a final transformation of the electrical signal or a reduction of the electrical signal and a retention of the data bits at memory locations in the memory system, thereby reconfiguring or otherwise altering the operation of the CPU and performing other processing of the signal. The memory location holding the data bit is a physical location having a particular electrical, magnetic, optical, or organic attribute corresponding to or representing the data bit. It should be understood that the exemplary embodiments are not limited to the above-described platforms or CPUs, and that other platforms and CPUs may also support the provided methods.

The data bits may also be maintained on computer readable media including magnetic disks, optical disks, and any other volatile (e.g., random access memory ("RAM")) or non-volatile (e.g., read only memory ("ROM")) mass storage system readable by the CPU. The computer readable media may comprise cooperating or interconnected computer readable media residing solely on the processing system or distributed among multiple (e.g., multiple) interconnected processing systems, which may be local or remote relative to the processing system. It should be understood that the representative embodiments are not limited to the above-described memories, and that other platforms and memories may support the described methods.

In an exemplary embodiment, any of the operations, processes, etc. described herein may be implemented as computer readable instructions stored on a computer readable medium. The computer readable instructions may be executed by a processor of the mobile unit, the network element, and/or any other computing device.

There is little distinction between hardware and software implementations of aspects of the system. The use of hardware or software is often (but not always, as in some contexts the choice between hardware and software may become important) a design choice representing a tradeoff between cost and efficiency. There may be various media (e.g., hardware, software, and/or firmware) that may implement the processes and/or systems and/or other techniques described herein, and the preferred media may vary with the context in which the processes and/or systems and/or other techniques are deployed. For example, if the implementer determines that speed and accuracy are paramount, the implementer may opt for a medium of mainly hardware and/or firmware. If flexibility is paramount, the implementer may opt for an implementation that is primarily software. Alternatively, the implementer may opt for some combination of hardware, software, and/or firmware.

The foregoing detailed description has set forth various embodiments of the devices and/or processes via the use of block diagrams, flowcharts, and/or examples. Where such block diagrams, flowcharts, and/or examples contain one or more functions and/or operations, it will be understood by those skilled in the art that each function and/or operation within such block diagrams, flowcharts, or examples can be implemented, individually and/or collectively, by a wide range of hardware, software, firmware, or virtually any combination thereof. Suitable processors include, by way of example, a general purpose processor, a special purpose processor, a conventional processor, a Digital Signal Processor (DSP), a plurality of microprocessors, one or more microprocessors in association with a DSP core, a controller, a microcontroller, application Specific Integrated Circuits (ASICs), application Specific Standard Products (ASSPs), field Programmable Gate Arrays (FPGAs) circuits, any other type of Integrated Circuit (IC), and/or a state machine.

Although features and elements are provided above in particular combinations, one of ordinary skill in the art will understand that each feature or element can be used alone or in any combination with other features and elements. The present disclosure is not limited to the specific embodiments described in this patent application, which are intended as illustrations of various aspects. Many modifications and variations may be made without departing from the spirit and scope of the application, as will be apparent to those skilled in the art. No element, act, or instruction used in the description of the present application should be construed as critical or essential to the application unless explicitly described as such. Functionally equivalent methods and apparatus, other than those enumerated herein, which are within the scope of the present disclosure, will be apparent to those skilled in the art from the foregoing description. Such modifications and variations are intended to fall within the scope of the appended claims. The present disclosure is to be limited only by the terms of the appended claims, along with the full scope of equivalents to which such claims are entitled. It should be understood that the present disclosure is not limited to a particular method or system.

It is also to be understood that the terminology used herein is for the purpose of describing particular embodiments only and is not intended to be limiting. As used herein, the terms "station" and its abbreviation "STA", "user equipment" and its abbreviation "UE" may mean, as referred to herein: (i) A wireless transmit and/or receive unit (WTRU), such as described below; (ii) Any of several embodiments of the WTRU, such as those described below; (iii) Devices with wireless capabilities and/or with wired capabilities (e.g., tethered) are configured with some or all of the structure and functionality of a WTRU, in particular, such as described below; (iii) A wireless-capable and/or wireline-capable device may be configured with less than all of the structure and functionality of a WTRU, such as described below; or (iv) etc. Details of an exemplary WTRU that may represent any of the WTRUs described herein are provided below with respect to fig. 1A-1D.

In certain representative implementations, portions of the subject matter described herein can be implemented via an Application Specific Integrated Circuit (ASIC), a Field Programmable Gate Array (FPGA), a Digital Signal Processor (DSP), and/or other integrated format. However, those skilled in the art will recognize that some aspects of the embodiments disclosed herein, in whole or in part, can be equivalently implemented in integrated circuits, as one or more computer programs running on one or more computers (e.g., as one or more programs running on one or more computer systems), as one or more programs running on one or more processors (e.g., as one or more programs running on one or more microprocessors), as firmware, or as virtually any combination thereof, and that designing the circuitry and/or writing the code for the software and/or firmware would be well within the skill of one of skill in the art in light of this disclosure. In addition, those skilled in the art will appreciate that the mechanisms of the subject matter described herein are capable of being distributed as a program product in a variety of forms, and that an illustrative embodiment of the subject matter described herein applies regardless of the particular type of signal bearing media used to actually carry out the distribution. Examples of signal bearing media include, but are not limited to, the following: recordable type media (such as floppy disks, hard disk drives, CDs, DVDs, digital tapes, computer memory, etc.); and transmission type media such as digital and/or analog communications media (e.g., fiber optic cable, waveguide, wired communications link, wireless communications link, etc.).

The subject matter described herein sometimes illustrates different components contained within, or connected with, different other components. It is to be understood that such depicted architectures are merely examples, and that in fact many other architectures can be implemented which achieve the same functionality. In a conceptual sense, any arrangement of components to achieve the same functionality is effectively "associated" such that the desired functionality is achieved. Thus, any two components herein combined to achieve a particular functionality can be seen as "associated with" each other such that the desired functionality is achieved, irrespective of architectures or intermedial components. Likewise, any two components so associated can also be viewed as being "operably connected," or "operably coupled," to each other to achieve the desired functionality, and any two components capable of being so associated can also be viewed as being "operably couplable," to each other to achieve the desired functionality. Specific examples of operably couplable include, but are not limited to, physically mateable and/or physically interactable components and/or wirelessly interactable components and/or logically interactable components.

With respect to substantially any plural and/or singular terms used herein, those having skill in the art can translate from the plural to the singular and/or from the singular to the plural as is appropriate to the context and/or application. For clarity, various singular/plural permutations may be explicitly listed herein.

It will be understood by those within the art that, in general, terms used herein, and especially in the appended claims (e.g., bodies of the appended claims) are generally intended as "open" terms (e.g., the term "including" should be interpreted as "including but not limited to," the term "having" should be interpreted as "having at least," the term "comprising" should be interpreted as "including but not limited to," etc.). It will be further understood by those with skill in the art that if a specific number of an introduced claim recitation is intended, such intent will be explicitly recited in the claim, and in the absence of such recitation no such intent is present. For example, where only one item is contemplated, the term "single" or similar language may be used. To facilitate understanding, the following appended claims and/or the description herein may contain usage of the introductory phrases "at least one" and "one or more" to introduce claim recitations. However, the use of such phrases should not be construed to imply that the introduction of a claim recitation object by the indefinite articles "a" or "an" limits any particular claim containing such introduced claim recitation object to embodiments containing only one such recitation object. Even when the same claim includes the introductory phrases "one or more" or "at least one" and indefinite articles such as "a" or "an" (e.g., "a" and/or "an" should be interpreted to mean "at least one" or "one or more"). The same holds true for the use of definite articles used to introduce claim recitations. In addition, even if a specific number of an introduced claim recitation is explicitly recited, those skilled in the art will recognize that such recitation should be interpreted to mean at least the recited number (e.g., the bare recitation of "two recitations," without other modifiers, means at least two recitations, or two or more recitations). In addition, in those instances where a convention analogous to "at least one of A, B and C, etc." is used, in general such a construction has the meaning that one having skill in the art would understand the convention (e.g., "a system having at least one of A, B and C" would include but not be limited to systems that have a alone, B alone, C alone, a and B together, a and C together, B and C together, and/or A, B and C together, etc.). In those instances where a convention analogous to "at least one of A, B or C, etc." is used, in general such a construction has the meaning that one having skill in the art would understand the convention (e.g., "a system having at least one of A, B or C" would include but not be limited to systems having a alone, B alone, C alone, a and B together, a and C together, B and C together, and/or A, B and C together, etc.). It should also be understood by those within the art that virtually any separate word and/or phrase presenting two or more alternative terms, whether in the specification, claims, or drawings, should be understood to contemplate the possibilities of including one of the terms, either of the terms, or both terms. For example, the phrase "a or B" will be understood to include the possibilities of "a" or "B" or "a and B". In addition, as used herein, the term "…" followed by listing a plurality of items and/or a plurality of item categories is intended to include items and/or item categories "any one of", "any combination of", "any multiple of" and/or any combination of multiples of "alone or in combination with other items and/or other item categories. Furthermore, as used herein, the term "group" or "group" is intended to include any number of items, including zero. In addition, as used herein, the term "number" is intended to include any number, including zero.

Additionally, where features or aspects of the disclosure are described in terms of markush groups, those skilled in the art will recognize thereby that the disclosure is also described in terms of any individual member or subgroup of members of the markush group.

As will be understood by those skilled in the art, for any and all purposes (such as in terms of providing a written description), all ranges disclosed herein also encompass any and all possible sub-ranges and combinations of sub-ranges thereof. Any listed range can be readily identified as sufficiently descriptive and so that the same range can be divided into at least equal halves, thirds, quarters, fifths, tenths, etc. As a non-limiting example, each range discussed herein can be readily divided into a lower third, a middle third, an upper third, and the like. As will also be understood by those skilled in the art, all language such as "up to", "at least", "greater than", "less than", etc., include the recited numbers and refer to ranges that may be subsequently divided into sub-ranges as described above. Finally, as will be understood by those skilled in the art, the scope includes each individual number. Thus, for example, a group having 1 to 3 units refers to a group having 1, 2, or 3 units. Similarly, a group having 1 to 5 units refers to a group having 1, 2, 3, 4, or 5 units, or the like.

Furthermore, the claims should not be read as limited to the order or elements provided, unless stated to that effect. In addition, use of the term "means for …" in any claim is intended to invoke 35U.S. C. ≡112,6 or device plus function claims format, and any claims without the term "device for …" are not intended to be so.

Although the invention is illustrated and described herein with reference to specific embodiments, the invention is not intended to be limited to the details shown. Rather, various modifications may be made in the details within the scope and range of equivalents of the claims and without departing from the invention.

Throughout this disclosure, those skilled in the art will appreciate that certain representative embodiments can be used in alternative forms or in combination with other representative embodiments.

Although the features and elements are described above in particular combinations, one of ordinary skill in the art will appreciate that each feature or element can be used alone or in any combination with other features and elements. Additionally, the methods described herein may be implemented in a computer program, software, or firmware incorporated in a computer readable medium for execution by a computer or processor. Examples of non-transitory computer readable storage media include, but are not limited to, read-only memory (ROM), random-access memory (RAM), registers, cache memory, semiconductor memory devices, magnetic media such as internal hard disks and removable disks, magneto-optical media, and optical media such as CD-ROM disks and Digital Versatile Disks (DVDs). A processor associated with the software may be used to implement a radio frequency transceiver for a UE, WTRU, terminal, base station, RNC, or any host computer.

Those of ordinary skill in the art will appreciate that the acts and symbolically represented operations or instructions include the manipulation of electrical signals by the CPU. The electrical system represents data bits that may result in a final transformation of the electrical signal or a reduction of the electrical signal and a retention of the data bits at memory locations in the memory system, thereby reconfiguring or otherwise altering the operation of the CPU and performing other processing of the signal. The memory location holding the data bit is a physical location having a particular electrical, magnetic, optical, or organic attribute corresponding to or representing the data bit.

The data bits may also be maintained on computer readable media including magnetic disks, optical disks, and any other volatile (e.g., random access memory ("RAM")) or non-volatile (e.g., read only memory ("ROM")) mass storage system readable by the CPU. The computer readable media may comprise cooperating or interconnected computer readable media that reside exclusively on the processing system or are distributed among a plurality of interconnected processing systems, which may be local or remote relative to the processing system. It should be understood that the representative embodiments are not limited to the above-described memories, and that other platforms and memories may support the described methods.

No element, act, or instruction used in the description of the present application should be construed as critical or essential to the application unless explicitly described as such. In addition, as used herein, the article "a" is intended to include one or more items. Where only one item is contemplated, the term "a" or similar language is used. In addition, as used herein, the term "…" followed by listing a plurality of items and/or a plurality of item categories is intended to include items and/or item categories "any one of", "any combination of", "any multiple of" and/or any combination of multiples of "alone or in combination with other items and/or other item categories. Furthermore, as used herein, the term "group" is intended to include any number of items, including zero. In addition, as used herein, the term "number" is intended to include any number, including zero.

Furthermore, the claims should not be read as limited to the described order or elements unless stated to that effect. In addition, use of the term "apparatus" in any claim is intended to invoke 35U.S. C. ≡112,any claims that do not have the term "means" are not intended to so.

Suitable processors include, by way of example, a general purpose processor, a special purpose processor, a conventional processor, a Digital Signal Processor (DSP), a plurality of microprocessors, one or more microprocessors in association with a DSP core, a controller, a microcontroller, application Specific Integrated Circuits (ASICs), application Specific Standard Products (ASSPs), field Programmable Gate Arrays (FPGAs) circuits, any other type of Integrated Circuit (IC), and/or a state machine.

A processor associated with the software may be used to implement the use of a radio frequency transceiver in a Wireless Transmit Receive Unit (WTRU), a User Equipment (UE), a terminal, a base station, a Mobility Management Entity (MME) or an Evolved Packet Core (EPC) or any host. The WTRU may be used in combination with a module, and may be implemented in hardware and/or software including: software Defined Radio (SDR) and other components such as cameras, video camera modules, video phones, speakerphones, vibration devices, speakers, microphones, television transceivers, hands-free headsets, keyboards, and the like,A module, a Frequency Modulation (FM) radio unit, a Near Field Communication (NFC) module, a Liquid Crystal Display (LCD) display unit, an Organic Light Emitting Diode (OLED) display unit, a digital music player, a media player, a video game player module, an internet browser, and/or any Wireless Local Area Network (WLAN) or Ultra Wideband (UWB) module.

Although the present invention has been described in terms of a communication system, it is contemplated that the system may be implemented in software on a microprocessor/general purpose computer (not shown). In some embodiments, one or more of the functions of the various components may be implemented in software that controls a general purpose computer.

In addition, while the invention is illustrated and described herein with reference to specific embodiments, the invention is not intended to be limited to the details shown. Rather, various modifications may be made in the details within the scope and range of equivalents of the claims and without departing from the invention.

Reference to the literature

The following references may have been mentioned above and incorporated by reference herein in their entirety.

[1] Mongia, rf and microwave coupled Line Circuits (Rf and Microwave Coupled-Line Circuits). City: artech House Publishers,2007.

[2] Chen, feedback network: theoretical and circuit applications (Feedback Networks: theory and circuit application). City: world Scientific Publishing Company,2007.

Claims

1. A method implemented by a wireless transmit/receive unit (WTRU), the method comprising:

receiving a request from a first device to send a transmission to a second device via a resonant magnetic coupling, the request comprising capability information indicating a set of load terminal states supported by the first device;

Transmitting measurement configuration information to the first device, the measurement configuration information including information indicating: (1) Timing and/or frequency information for scheduling measurements of signal strength received by the first device; and (2) at least one load termination state of the set of load termination states to be used by the first device in performing measurements;

receiving, from the first device, measurement information generated by the first device in accordance with the measurement that the transmitted measurement configuration information is to be performed;

determining a load terminal status of the first device based on the measurement information; and

and transmitting information indicating the determined load terminal state of the first device to the first device.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein the load terminal status is determined from a time slot and/or frequency assignment used by the first device.

3. The method of any of claims 1-2, further comprising sending information to the first device indicating a time slot and/or frequency assignment used by the first device.

4. A method according to any of claims 1 to 3, further comprising sending information to the first device indicating an operation mode and/or a corresponding load terminal status corresponding to any of a transmit mode, a receive mode or a boost mode.

5. The method of any of claims 1-4, wherein the load terminal status is determined among the set of load terminal statuses indicated by the capability information.

6. The method of any of claims 1 to 5, wherein the measurement information comprises information indicative of any of: signal to noise ratio (SNR) and/or Reported Signal Strength (RSS).

7. The method of any of claims 1-6, wherein the received request includes information indicating any of: a requested quality of service (QoS), a priority indicator, an indicator of a required communication reliability level, a buffer status indicating an amount of data to be transmitted via the requested transmission, a channel quality metric, and capability information indicating a coupling coefficient supported by the first device; and

wherein the load terminal status of the first device is determined based at least on the information included in the received request.

8. The method of any of claims 1-7, wherein the WTRU is a cluster head WTRU and the second device is managed by the cluster head WTRU.

9. The method of any one of claims 1 to 8, the method further comprising:

determining a load terminal status of the second device based on the measurement information; and

and sending information indicating the determined load terminal state of the second device to the second device.

10. A wireless transmit/receive unit (WTRU), the WTRU comprising:

a transmitter/receiver unit configured to:

receiving, from the first device, measurement information resulting from measurements performed by the first device in accordance with the transmitted measurement configuration information;

A processor configured to determine a load terminal status of the first device based on the measurement information; and

wherein the transmitter/receiver unit is configured to send information indicative of the determined load terminal status of the first device to the first device.

11. The WTRU of claim 10 wherein the load terminal status is determined according to a time slot and/or frequency assignment used by the first device.

12. The WTRU of any one of claims 10 to 11, wherein the transmitter/receiver unit is further configured to send information to the first device indicating a time slot and/or frequency assignment used by the first device.

13. The WTRU of any one of claims 10 to 12, wherein the transmitter/receiver unit is further configured to send information to the first device indicating an operation mode and/or a corresponding load terminal status corresponding to any one of a transmission mode, a reception mode, or a facilitation mode.

14. The WTRU of any one of claims 10 to 13, wherein the load terminal state is determined among the set of load terminal states indicated by the capability information.

15. The WTRU of any one of claims 10 to 14, wherein the measurement information includes information indicating any one of: signal to noise ratio (SNR) and/or Reported Signal Strength (RSS).

16. The WTRU of any one of claims 10 to 15, wherein the received request includes information indicating any one of: a requested quality of service (QoS), a priority indicator, an indicator of a required communication reliability level, a buffer status indicating an amount of data to be transmitted via the requested transmission, a channel quality metric, and capability information indicating a coupling coefficient supported by the first device; and

17. The WTRU of any of claims 10-16, wherein the WTRU is a cluster head WTRU and the second device is managed by the cluster head WTRU.

18. The WTRU of any one of claims 10 to 17, wherein the processor is further configured to determine a load terminal status of the second device based on the measurement information; and

Wherein the transmitter/receiver unit is further configured to send information indicative of the determined load terminal status of the second device to the second device.