WO2024088218A1

WO2024088218A1 - Signal transmission method and apparatus, communication device, and storage medium

Info

Publication number: WO2024088218A1
Application number: PCT/CN2023/125991
Authority: WO
Inventors: 简荣灵; 姜大洁; 谭俊杰; 黄伟
Original assignee: 维沃移动通信有限公司
Priority date: 2022-10-25
Filing date: 2023-10-23
Publication date: 2024-05-02
Also published as: CN117997418A

Abstract

The present application relates to the technical field of communication and discloses a signal transmission method and apparatus, a communication device, and a storage medium. The signal transmission method of embodiments of the present application comprises: a first communication device receives first information and a first signal, wherein the first information comprises an energy storage parameter and a backscatter parameter, the energy storage parameter is used for indicating an energy storage operation of the first communication device, the backscatter parameter is used for indicating a generation operation of a backscatter signal of the first communication device, and the first signal is used for energy storage of the first communication device and generation of the backscatter signal; the first communication device performs energy storage on the basis of the first information and the first signal, generates a third-order intermodulation (IM3) signal, and modulates and generates the backscatter signal on the basis of the IM3 signal; the first communication device sends the backscatter signal.

Description

Signal transmission method, device, communication equipment and storage medium

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application claims priority to Chinese Patent Application No. 202211312657.2 filed in China on October 25, 2022, the entire contents of which are incorporated herein by reference.

Technical Field

The present application belongs to the field of communication technology, and specifically relates to a signal transmission method, device, communication equipment and storage medium.

Background technique

Backscatter Communication (BSC) refers to the use of radio frequency signals from other devices or the environment to modulate signals in order to transmit information. In a backscatter communication system, a backscatter communication device, such as a tag, can receive control signaling or carrier signals from a reader, modulate the data to be transmitted onto the carrier signal according to the instructions, and send a backscatter signal to the reader.

Backscatter communication equipment is limited by its own backscatter modulation circuit and energy storage capacity, and may need to obtain energy from the environment to send backscatter signals. At present, if the backscatter communication equipment is powered by radio frequency signals, the communication device as a reader needs to send a modulated carrier signal in addition to the power supply carrier signal to the backscatter communication equipment for the backscatter communication equipment to modulate the bit data. Sending additional modulated carrier signals requires additional power and will occupy more network resources.

Summary of the invention

The embodiments of the present application provide a signal transmission method, apparatus, communication equipment and storage medium, which do not require additional transmission of a modulated carrier signal, thereby avoiding the need for additional power consumption due to the additional transmission of the modulated carrier signal and saving network resources.

In a first aspect, a signal transmission method is provided, comprising:

The first communication device receives first information and a first signal, wherein the first information includes an energy storage parameter and a backscattering parameter, the energy storage parameter is used to indicate an energy storage operation of the first communication device, the backscattering parameter is used to indicate a backscattering signal generation operation of the first communication device, and the first signal is used for energy storage of the first communication device and generation of the backscattering signal;

The first communication device stores energy based on the first information and the first signal, generates a third-order intermodulation IM3 signal, and generates the backscatter signal based on modulation of the IM3 signal;

The first communication device transmits the backscatter signal.

In a second aspect, a signal transmission device is provided, comprising:

A first receiving module, configured to receive first information and a first signal, wherein the first information includes an energy storage parameter and a backscattering parameter, wherein the energy storage parameter is used to indicate an energy storage operation of the first communication device, and the backscattering parameter is used to indicate a generation operation of a backscattering signal of the first communication device, and the first signal is used for energy storage of the first communication device and generation of the backscattering signal;

A first operating module, configured to store energy based on the first information and the first signal, and generate a third-order intermodulation IM3 signal, and generate the backscatter signal based on modulation of the IM3 signal;

The first sending module is used to send the backscattered signal.

In a third aspect, a signal transmission method is provided, comprising:

The target communication device sends first information and/or a first signal to the first communication device, wherein the first information includes an energy storage parameter and a backscattering parameter, wherein the energy storage parameter is used to indicate an energy storage operation of the first communication device, and the backscattering parameter is used to indicate a backscattering signal generation operation of the first communication device, and the first signal is used for energy storage of the first communication device and generation of the backscattering signal.

In a fourth aspect, a signal transmission device is provided, comprising:

A second sending module is used to send first information and/or a first signal to a first communication device, wherein the first information includes an energy storage parameter and a backscattering parameter, the energy storage parameter is used to indicate the energy storage operation of the first communication device, the backscattering parameter is used to indicate the generation operation of the backscattering signal of the first communication device, and the first signal is used for energy storage of the first communication device and generation of the backscattering signal.

In a fifth aspect, a communication device is provided, comprising a processor and a memory, wherein the memory stores a program or instruction that can be run on the processor, and when the program or instruction is executed by the processor, the steps of the signal transmission method as described in the first aspect are implemented, or the steps of the signal transmission method as described in the third aspect are implemented.

In a sixth aspect, a communication system is provided, comprising: a first communication device and a target communication device, wherein the first communication device can be used to execute the steps of the signal transmission method as described in the first aspect, and the target communication device can be used to execute the steps of the signal transmission method as described in the third aspect.

In the seventh aspect, a readable storage medium is provided, on which a program or instruction is stored. When the program or instruction is executed by a processor, the steps of the signal transmission method described in the first aspect are implemented, or the steps of the signal transmission method described in the third aspect are implemented.

In an eighth aspect, a computer program/program product is provided, wherein the computer program/program product is stored in a storage device. In the medium, the computer program/program product is executed by at least one processor to implement the steps of the signal transmission method as described in the first aspect, or to implement the steps of the signal transmission method as described in the third aspect.

In an embodiment of the present application, a first communication device receives first information and a first signal, wherein the first information includes an energy storage parameter and a backscattering parameter, wherein the energy storage parameter can indicate the energy storage operation of the first communication device, and the backscattering parameter can indicate the backscattering signal generation operation of the first communication device, and the first signal can be used for both energy storage of the first communication device and generation of a backscattering signal, and the first communication device can store energy and generate an IM3 signal based on the first information and the first signal, and can modulate and generate a backscattering signal based on the IM3 signal, and send the backscattering signal. That is, the first signal received by the first communication device can be used for both energy storage of the first communication device and generation of a backscattering signal by the first communication device, and there is no need to send an additional modulated carrier signal to the first communication device, which can reduce the additional power required for additionally sending a modulated carrier signal, and can effectively save network resources.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG1 is a block diagram of a wireless communication system applicable to an embodiment of the present application;

FIG2 is a schematic diagram of a backscatter communication process in the related art;

FIG3 is a schematic diagram of the backscatter communication principle in the related art;

FIG4 is a schematic diagram of a backscatter communication scenario in the related art;

FIG5 is a flowchart of a signal transmission method according to an embodiment of the present application;

FIG6 is a schematic diagram of the structure of an energy collection unit of a tag device in an embodiment of the present application;

7 is a schematic diagram of the spectrum of a signal generated after the first carrier signal and the second carrier signal are input into a nonlinear device in an embodiment of the present application;

FIG8 is a schematic diagram of third-order intermodulation distortion in an embodiment of the present application;

FIG9 is a schematic diagram of a single base architecture in an embodiment of the present application;

FIG10 is a schematic diagram of a dual-base architecture in an embodiment of the present application;

FIG11 is a schematic diagram of a specific example of a signal transmission process in an embodiment of the present application;

FIG12 is a schematic diagram of another specific example of a signal transmission process in an embodiment of the present application;

FIG13 is a schematic diagram of another specific example of a signal transmission process in an embodiment of the present application;

FIG14 is a schematic structural diagram of a signal transmission device corresponding to FIG5 in an embodiment of the present application;

FIG15 is a flowchart of another signal transmission method in an embodiment of the present application;

FIG16 is a schematic structural diagram of a signal transmission device corresponding to FIG15 in an embodiment of the present application;

FIG17 is a schematic diagram of the structure of a communication device in an embodiment of the present application;

FIG18 is a schematic diagram of the structure of a terminal device in an embodiment of the present application;

FIG19 is a schematic diagram of the structure of a network-side device in an embodiment of the present application.

Detailed ways

The following will be combined with the drawings in the embodiments of the present application to clearly describe the technical solutions in the embodiments of the present application. Obviously, the described embodiments are part of the embodiments of the present application, rather than all the embodiments. Based on the embodiments in the present application, all other embodiments obtained by ordinary technicians in this field belong to the scope of protection of this application.

The terms "first", "second", etc. in the specification and claims of the present application are used to distinguish similar objects, and are not used to describe a specific order or sequence. It should be understood that the terms used in this way are interchangeable under appropriate circumstances, so that the embodiments of the present application can be implemented in an order other than those illustrated or described here, and the objects distinguished by "first" and "second" are generally of the same type, and the number of objects is not limited. For example, the first object can be one or more. In addition, "and/or" in the specification and claims represents at least one of the connected objects, and the character "/" generally represents that the objects associated with each other are in an "or" relationship.

It is worth noting that the technology described in the embodiments of the present application is not limited to the Long Term Evolution (LTE)/LTE-Advanced (LTE-A) system, but can also be used in other wireless communication systems, such as Code Division Multiple Access (CDMA), Time Division Multiple Access (TDMA), Frequency Division Multiple Access (FDMA), Orthogonal Frequency Division Multiple Access (OFDMA), Single-carrier Frequency Division Multiple Access (SC-FDMA) and other systems. The terms "system" and "network" in the embodiments of the present application are often used interchangeably, and the described technology can be used for the above-mentioned systems and radio technologies as well as other systems and radio technologies. The following description describes a new radio (NR) system for example purposes, and NR terms are used in most of the following descriptions, but these technologies can also be applied to applications other than NR system applications, such as the ^6th Generation (6G) communication system.

FIG1 shows a block diagram of a wireless communication system applicable to an embodiment of the present application. The wireless communication system includes a terminal 11 and a network side device 12 .

The terminal 11 may be a mobile phone, a tablet computer, a laptop computer, a personal digital assistant (PDA), a handheld computer, a netbook, an ultra-mobile personal computer (UMPC), a mobile Internet device (MID), an augmented reality (AR)/virtual reality (VR) Devices, robots, wearable devices (Wearable Device), vehicle-mounted equipment (VUE), pedestrian terminals (PUE), smart homes (home appliances with wireless communication functions, such as refrigerators, televisions, washing machines or furniture, etc.), game consoles, personal computers (personal computers, PCs), teller machines or self-service machines and other terminal-side devices, wearable devices include: smart watches, smart bracelets, smart headphones, smart glasses, smart jewelry (smart bracelets, smart bracelets, smart rings, smart necklaces, smart anklets, smart anklets, etc.), smart wristbands, smart clothing, etc. It should be noted that the embodiments of the present application do not limit the specific type of terminal 11.

The network side device 12 may include an access network device or a core network device.

Among them, the access network equipment may also be referred to as wireless access network equipment, wireless access network (Radio Access Network, RAN), wireless access network function or wireless access network unit. The access network equipment may include base stations, WLAN access points or WiFi nodes, etc. The base station may be referred to as node B, evolved node B (eNB), access point, base transceiver station (Base Transceiver Station, BTS), radio base station, radio transceiver, basic service set (Basic Service Set, BSS), extended service set (Extended Service Set, ESS), home B node, home evolved B node, transmitting and receiving point (Transmitting Receiving Point, TRP) or other appropriate terms in the field, as long as the same technical effect is achieved, the base station is not limited to specific technical vocabulary. It should be noted that in the embodiments of the present application, only the base station in the NR system is used as an example for introduction, and the specific type of the base station is not limited.

The core network equipment may include but is not limited to at least one of the following: core network nodes, core network functions, mobility management entity (Mobility Management Entity, MME), access mobility management function (Access and Mobility Management Function, AMF), session management function (Session Management Function, SMF), user plane function (User Plane Function, UPF), policy control function (Policy Control Function, PCF), policy and charging rules function unit (Policy and Charging Rules Function, PCRF), edge application service discovery function (Edge Application Server Discovery ... user plane function (User Plane Function, UPF), user plane function (User Plane Function, UPF), user plane function (User Plane Function, UPF), user plane function (User Plane Function, UPF), user plane function (User Plane Function, UPF), user plane function (User Plane Function, UPF), user plane function (User Plane Function, UPF), user plane function (User Plane Function, UPF), user plane function (User Plane Function, UPF), user plane function (User Plane Function, UPF), user ion, EASDF), Unified Data Management (UDM), Unified Data Repository (UDR), Home Subscriber Server (HSS), Centralized network configuration (CNC), Network Repository Function (NRF), Network Exposure Function (NEF), Local NEF (L-NEF), Binding Support Function (BSF), Application Function (AF), etc. It should be noted that in the embodiments of the present application, only the core network device in the NR system is taken as an example for introduction, and the specific type of the core network device is not limited.

To facilitate understanding, the application scenarios of the embodiments of the present application, as well as the related technologies and concepts involved, are first introduced.

The technical solution provided in the embodiments of the present application can be applied to backscatter communication scenarios, such as item counting, logistics inventory, fire warning and other scenarios.

For example, the target communication device is a reader, and the first communication device is a tag device, such as a passive tag device, a semi-passive tag device or an active tag device. The reader can send a first information and a first signal. The first information includes an energy storage parameter and a backscattering parameter. The energy storage parameter can be used to indicate the energy storage operation of the tag device, and the backscattering parameter can be used to indicate the generation operation of the backscattering signal of the tag device. The first signal can be used for both energy storage of the tag device and generation of the backscattering signal. The tag device stores energy and generates a third-order intermodulation (IM3) signal. After the IM3 signal is modulated to generate a backscattering signal, the backscattering signal can be sent to the reader.

That is to say, the first signal received by the first communication device can be used for energy storage of the first communication device and for generating backscattered signals by the first communication device. There is no need to send an additional modulated carrier signal to the first communication device, which can reduce the additional power required for sending the additional modulated carrier signal and effectively save network resources.

As mentioned above, backscatter communication refers to the backscatter communication device using the radio frequency signals in other devices or the environment to perform signal modulation to transmit its own information.

In traditional radio frequency identification (RFID) technology, a backscatter communication device can be a tag device belonging to a passive Internet of Things (IoT) device (Passive-IoT), a semi-passive tag device, or an active tag device (active tag).

The first communication device in the embodiment of the present application may be a backscatter communication device, specifically a passive tag device, a semi-passive tag device or an active tag device.

As shown in Figure 2, it is a schematic diagram of a backscatter communication process. This process has two links. One is the link from the reader to the tag device. The reader can send a control command (command)/carrier signal to the tag device. The carrier signal can be a continuous wave. The other is the link from the tag device to the reader. The tag device can return a backscatter signal to the reader.

A simple implementation method is that the tag device reflects the incident carrier signal when it needs to send "1", and does not reflect it when it needs to send "0".

FIG3 is a schematic diagram of a backscatter communication principle in the related art. The transmitter of the reader sends a carrier signal through a power amplifier (PA), and the tag device modulates the signal through an RF harvester, a demodulator (Demod), a logic circuit, a clock circuit, etc., and outputs a backscatter signal. The receiver of the reader receives the backscatter signal through a low noise amplifier (LNA) and performs corresponding processing. Among them, TX BB represents the baseband module of the reader transmitter, and RX BB represents the baseband processing module of the reader receiver.

The tag device can control the reflection coefficient Γ of the circuit by adjusting its internal impedance, thereby changing the amplitude, frequency, phase, etc. of the incident carrier signal to achieve signal modulation. The reflection coefficient of the signal can be characterized as:

Where _Z0 is the antenna characteristic impedance and _Z1 is the load impedance. Assuming the incident carrier signal is S _in (t), the output reflected signal is Therefore, corresponding amplitude modulation, frequency modulation or phase modulation can be achieved by properly controlling the reflection coefficient.

In addition, the maximum power of normal terminal communication is at least 23dBm. When the maximum power is much lower than this value, such as -20dBm, it belongs to extremely low power communication. In this case, it may be necessary to use a modulation method different from Orthogonal Frequency Division Multiplexing (OFDM), such as Binary Amplitude Shift Keying (OOK) modulation method.

An application scenario of backscatter communication is shown in FIG4 , where a base station (e.g., gNB) sends a carrier signal and control signaling to a tag device; wherein the type of control signaling, i.e., control type, may include at least one of the following: selection, inventory, and access. Then, the tag device may send a backscatter signal.

Next, the self-interference elimination/suppression technology on the reader side in RFID is introduced.

The reader can realize the RFID frequency division duplex (FDD) communication mode by connecting a single antenna to a circulator or a directional coupler, or it can realize the frequency division duplex communication mode by using dual antennas. When a single antenna is used, the transmitting end carrier leakage, when dual antennas are used, the coupling effect of the transmitting antenna, the coupling between circuits, the signal reflection caused by the mismatch of the transmitting antenna, the reflection of the environmental signal, etc., interfere with the backscattered signal. It is necessary to eliminate or suppress the above interference through RFID self-interference elimination technology. Several possible methods include:

Antenna domain interference elimination/suppression: Mainly used in scenarios where multiple antennas are used to implement frequency division duplex. Specific methods include isolating the transmitting and receiving antennas by increasing the distance between them, and physically isolating the transmitting and receiving antennas by using baffles.

Analog domain interference elimination/suppression: Eliminate/suppress RFID self-interference by adding RF circuits;

Digital domain interference elimination/suppression: Similar to the analog domain, RFID self-interference is eliminated/suppressed by adding baseband circuits;

Nonlinear interference elimination/suppression: Nonlinear interference caused by nonlinear devices and phase noise can be eliminated/suppressed in the baseband domain by constructing a polarization mismatch matrix/polarization signal by taking advantage of the fact that the polarization state of the signal is insensitive to the nonlinearity and phase noise of the nonlinear devices;

Others: including the use of filters to filter out out-of-band noise, sending control signals to the tag device to maintain silence for a fixed period of time, spatial modulation, power control, etc.

The above introduces the possible application scenarios, related technologies and concepts of the embodiments of the present application. The following, in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, describes in detail the signal transmission method provided by the embodiments of the present application through some embodiments and their application scenarios.

Referring to FIG. 5 , which is a flowchart of an implementation of a signal transmission method provided in an embodiment of the present application, the method may include the following steps:

S510: The first communication device receives first information and a first signal, the first information including an energy storage parameter and a backscattering parameter, the energy storage parameter is used to indicate the energy storage operation of the first communication device, the backscattering parameter is used to indicate the backscattering signal generation operation of the first communication device, and the first signal is used for energy storage of the first communication device and generation of a backscattering signal.

The signal transmission method provided in the embodiment of the present application can be applied to the backscatter communication scenario, and the first communication device can be a tag device. For the relevant introduction of backscatter communication, please refer to the above description, which will not be repeated. Here, the tag device can be an active tag device, a passive tag device, or a semi-passive tag device.

The first communication device can receive the first information and the first signal. If a goods count or inventory count is required, the first information and the first signal can be received. The first information may include energy storage parameters and backscatter parameters. Among them, the energy storage parameters can be used to indicate the energy storage operation of the first communication device. Optionally, the energy storage parameters can be used to indicate the specific manner in which the first communication device performs energy storage operations. The backscatter parameters can be used to indicate the generation operation of the backscatter signal of the first communication device. Optionally, the backscatter parameters can be used to indicate the specific manner in which the first communication device generates a backscatter signal. The first signal can be used for energy storage of the first communication device, as well as for the generation of backscatter signals. In other words, the first communication device can perform both energy storage operations and backscatter signal generation operations through the first signal.

S520: The first communication device stores energy based on the first information and the first signal, generates a third-order intermodulation IM3 signal, and generates a backscatter signal based on the IM3 signal modulation.

After receiving the first information and the first signal, the first communication device may perform corresponding energy storage operations according to the energy storage parameters and the first signal, and may perform corresponding backscatter signal generation operations according to the backscatter parameters and the first signal.

Optionally, the first communication device may input the first signal into a nonlinear device of the first communication device to store energy and generate an IM3 signal, and modulate the designated IM3 signal to generate a backscatter signal.

Optionally, the first communication device may receive the first information sent by the target communication device. It should be noted that, when the target communication device is a reader and the first communication device is a tag device, the first information may also include the reader inventory tag. The inventory signaling is used for the tag device to access the backscatter communication system. Of course, the inventory signaling can also be sent independently of the first information.

S530: The first communication device sends a backscatter signal.

In an embodiment of the present application, the first communication device stores energy based on the first information and the first signal, and generates an IM3 signal. After a backscatter signal is generated based on modulation of the IM3 signal, the backscatter signal can be sent out.

Optionally, after receiving the first information and the first signal, the first communication device can generate an IM3 signal while storing energy. The IM3 signal can be used as a carrier signal for modulating bit data of the first communication device. The IM3 signal is then modulated on the indicated IM3 signal according to modulation indication information such as backscatter parameters to generate a backscatter signal, and the backscatter signal is sent.

In this way, the communication device that receives the backscatter signal can demodulate it to obtain relevant information carried by the backscatter signal, such as cargo information, various measurement information, etc. In addition, after receiving the backscatter signal, the communication device that receives the backscatter signal can perform filtering processing to filter out unnecessary signals in the backscatter signal, and then demodulate the signal obtained after filtering.

Optionally, the first information and the first signal received by the first communication device may come from the same communication device or from different communication devices.

Optionally, the first communication device may send a backscatter signal to another communication device that is different from the one that sends the first information and/or the first signal. That is, the communication device that sends the first information and/or the first signal to the first communication device and the communication device that receives the backscatter signal of the first communication device may be the same or different.

Using the method provided in the embodiment of the present application, the first communication device receives the first information and the first signal, the first information includes an energy storage parameter and a backscattering parameter, the energy storage parameter can indicate the energy storage operation of the first communication device, the backscattering parameter can indicate the backscattering signal generation operation of the first communication device, the first signal can be used for both energy storage of the first communication device and generation of backscattering signals, the first communication device can store energy and generate IM3 signals based on the first information and the first signal, can modulate and generate backscattering signals based on the IM3 signals, and send backscattering signals. That is, the first signal received by the first communication device can be used for both energy storage of the first communication device and generation of backscattering signals by the first communication device, and there is no need to send additional modulated carrier signals to the first communication device, which can reduce the additional power required for additionally sending modulated carrier signals, and can effectively save network resources.

In one embodiment of the present application, the energy storage parameter may include at least one of the following:

Indication of energy storage time;

Indication information of energy storage mode;

The energy storage mode may include at least one of the following:

Continuous energy storage mode or intermittent energy storage mode;

Single carrier energy storage mode or multi-carrier energy storage mode;

Original signal energy storage mode or signal amplified energy storage mode.

In an embodiment of the present application, the first information received by the first communication device may include an energy storage parameter, which can be used to indicate the energy storage operation of the first communication device. The energy storage parameter may include indication information of the energy storage time and/or indication information of the energy storage mode. Among them, the indication information of the energy storage time can indicate the time for the first communication device to perform the energy storage operation. For example, from the time of receiving the energy storage parameter to the end after thirty minutes. For another example, if the energy storage time indication information indicates that the energy storage time is 0, the first communication device can be used immediately after storage. The indication information of the energy storage mode can indicate the specific mode of the energy storage operation of the first communication device.

The energy storage mode may include a continuous energy storage mode or an intermittent energy storage mode. If the energy storage mode includes a continuous energy storage mode, the energy storage mode may be used to instruct the first communication device to perform a continuous energy storage operation. If the energy storage mode includes an intermittent energy storage mode, the energy storage mode may be used to instruct the first communication device to perform an intermittent energy storage operation, such as performing an energy storage operation at a set time interval, or performing an energy storage operation when energy is insufficient.

The energy storage mode may include a single-carrier energy storage mode or a multi-carrier energy storage mode. If the energy storage mode includes a single-carrier energy storage mode, the energy storage mode may be used to instruct the first communication device to perform energy storage operations based on a single carrier. If the energy storage mode includes a multi-carrier energy storage mode, the energy storage mode may be used to instruct the first communication device to perform energy storage operations based on multiple carriers.

The energy storage mode may include the original signal energy storage mode or the energy storage mode after signal amplification. If the energy storage mode includes the original signal energy storage mode, the energy storage mode may be used to instruct the first communication device to directly use the received first signal for energy storage operations. If the energy storage mode includes the energy storage mode after signal amplification, the energy storage mode may be used to instruct the first communication device to amplify the received first signal and then perform energy storage operations. Optionally, it may be determined based on the capability information of the first communication device whether the energy storage mode includes the original signal energy storage mode or the energy storage mode after signal amplification, that is, the energy storage of the original signal or the energy storage after signal amplification is related to the capability of the first communication device.

In the absence of conflict, the energy storage mode may include multiple of the above contents, such as the energy storage mode includes a continuous energy storage mode and an original signal energy storage mode, or the energy storage mode includes an intermittent energy storage mode, a multi-carrier energy storage mode and a signal amplified energy storage mode.

The energy storage parameters can be used to clearly indicate the energy storage operation of the first communication device, which helps to smoothly carry out the energy storage operation of the first communication device.

In one embodiment of the present application, the backscatter parameter may include at least one of the following:

Indicative information of the transmit power of the backscatter signal;

Indicative information of the modulation mode of the backscatter signal;

Indicative information of frequency deviation of the backscattered signal;

Configuration information of time domain resources of backscatter signals;

Configuration information of frequency domain resources of backscattered signals.

In an embodiment of the present application, the first information received by the first communication device may include a backscatter parameter, and the backscatter parameter may be used to indicate a generation operation of a backscatter signal of the first communication device. The backscatter parameter may include at least one of the following:

(1) Indication information of the transmission power of the backscatter signal. The indication information of the transmission power of the backscatter signal may indicate the transmission power of the backscatter signal generated by the first communication device;

(2) Indication information of the modulation mode of the backscatter signal. The modulation mode of the backscatter signal may include at least one of amplitude modulation, phase modulation, and frequency modulation. The indication information of the modulation mode of the backscatter signal may indicate the modulation mode based on which the first communication device modulates and generates the backscatter signal;

(3) Indication information of the frequency deviation of the backscatter signal. The indication information of the frequency deviation of the backscatter signal may indicate the frequency deviation between the backscatter signal generated by the first communication device and the IM3 signal used for modulation;

(4) Configuration information of the time domain resources of the backscatter signal. The configuration information of the time domain resources of the backscatter signal can be used to configure the time domain resources of the backscatter signal generated by the first communication device;

(5) Configuration information of frequency domain resources of backscatter signals: The frequency domain resources of the backscatter signals generated by the first communication device can be configured through the configuration information of frequency domain resources of the backscatter signals.

The backscattering parameters can be used to clearly indicate the backscattering signal generation operation of the first communication device, which helps the backscattering signal generation operation of the first communication device to proceed smoothly.

It should be noted that the backscatter parameter in the embodiment of the present application is associated with other parameters, such as the first signal parameter, and the path loss between the first communication device and the communication device receiving the backscatter signal.

In one embodiment of the present application, before the first communication device receives the first information and the first signal, the method may include the following steps:

Step 1: The first communication device receives a first reference signal sent by the target communication device;

Step 2: The first communication device sends a second reference signal to the target communication device, where the second reference signal is a reflected signal of the first reference signal. The first reference signal and the second reference signal are used to determine a first path loss between the first communication device and the target communication device, where the first path loss is used by the target communication device to determine a first signal parameter, and the target communication device is the communication device that sends the first signal.

For the convenience of description, the above two steps are combined for explanation.

Based on the principle of electromagnetic induction, the tag device can collect electromagnetic wave energy in the environment through the energy collection unit. As shown in Figure 6, the energy collection unit mainly includes a rectifier module, a boost module and a voltage regulator module. Among them, the rectifier module includes a receiving antenna, a matching network and a rectifier circuit. The receiving antenna collects electromagnetic wave energy from the environment and converts it into an AC signal; the matching network is used to match the antenna impedance with the load impedance to ensure that energy collection does not produce reflection and improve the energy collection efficiency; the rectifier circuit is used to receive high-frequency AC signals from the receiving antenna and convert the AC signals into DC; since the rectifier only outputs a weak forward voltage, which is far from the starting voltage of the controller, the boost module is required to increase the input voltage by a certain order of magnitude to reach the starting voltage of the tag device; the voltage regulator module mainly solves the problem that the unstable input signal affects the working state of the tag device controller. Among them, the receiving antenna, matching network and rectifier circuit contained in the rectifier module are the core of the energy collection unit, which determines the efficiency of the tag device in collecting energy.

Generally speaking, when the ambient RF signal strength is lower than -10dBm, the energy conversion efficiency of the tag device shows a significant downward trend. For example, when the signal strength is -20dBm, the energy conversion efficiency of the tag device is 18.2%; if the signal strength drops to -40dBm, the energy conversion efficiency of the tag device is only 0.4%. Using special devices and processes, such as a rectifier circuit designed with a complementary metal oxide semiconductor (CMOS) process, a rectification efficiency of 40% can be achieved when the input power is -20dBm. Therefore, by measuring the path loss power between communication devices in advance, the transmission signal power of the communication device sending the first signal, such as the target communication device, can be adjusted to reach the signal power of the first communication device, such as the tag device, to meet the demand for high rectification efficiency.

In an embodiment of the present application, before the target communication device sends the first information and/or the first signal to the first communication device, the target communication device may send the first reference signal to the first communication device. After the first communication device receives the first reference signal, the reflected signal of the first reference signal, i.e., the second reference signal, may be sent to the target communication device. The first communication device may transmit the second reference signal to the target communication device in reverse based on one of the predefined rules or network configuration.

Here, the target communication device is the communication device that sends the first signal. If the first signal includes a first carrier signal and a second carrier signal, and the frequency of the first carrier signal is different from the frequency of the second carrier signal, then the target communication device may be the communication device that sends the first carrier signal and the second carrier signal, or may be the second communication device that sends the first carrier signal, or may be the third communication device that sends the second carrier signal. That is, the first carrier signal and the second carrier signal may be sent by the same communication device or by different communication devices.

If the first carrier signal and the second carrier signal are sent by different communication devices, such as the first carrier signal is sent by the second communication device and the second carrier signal is sent by the third communication device, the second communication device may send a first reference signal to the first communication device before sending the first carrier signal, and receive the second reference signal reflected by the first communication device, determine the first path loss based on the first reference signal and the second reference signal, and further determine the first signal parameters based on the first path loss including the first carrier signal related parameters. Similarly, the third communication device may send a first reference signal to the first communication device before sending the second carrier signal, and receive the second reference signal reflected by the first communication device, determine the first path loss based on the first reference signal and the second reference signal, and further determine the first signal parameters based on the first path loss including the second carrier signal related parameters. The first reference signals sent by different communication devices may be the same or different.

In this way, the target communication device can determine the first path loss between the target communication device and the first communication device according to the first reference signal sent and the second reference signal received and reflected by the first communication device. Then the target communication device can determine the first signal parameter according to the first path loss.

The first signal parameter may include at least one of the following:

Indicative information of the transmit power of the first signal;

Indicative information of a carrier frequency of the first signal;

Configuration information of frequency domain resources of the first signal;

Configuration information of time domain resources of the first signal.

In an embodiment of the present application, by measuring the first path loss between the target communication device and the first communication device before sending the first signal, and determining the first signal parameter based on the first path loss, the first signal sent by the target communication device based on at least one of the above-mentioned first signal parameters can better meet the high rectification efficiency requirements of the first communication device.

It should be noted that when the first signal parameter includes the first carrier signal related parameter, the first signal parameter may include at least one of the following:

Indicative information of the transmit power of the first carrier signal;

Indicative information of a carrier frequency of the first carrier signal;

Configuration information of frequency domain resources of the first carrier signal;

Configuration information of time domain resources of the first carrier signal.

When the first signal parameter includes the second carrier signal related parameter, the first signal parameter may include at least one of the following:

Indicative information of the transmission power of the second carrier signal;

Indicative information of the carrier frequency of the second carrier signal;

Configuration information of frequency domain resources of the second carrier signal;

Configuration information of the time domain resources of the second carrier signal.

It should also be noted that the first information and the first signal received by the first communication device may come from different communication devices. For example, the first signal comes from the target communication device, and the first information comes from the seventh communication device. The target communication device can determine the first signal parameters based on the first path loss, and can also determine the first information based on the first path loss, the first signal parameters, the capability information of the first communication device, etc., and then the first information can be sent to the seventh communication device, which will be forwarded to the first communication device by the seventh communication device.

In one embodiment of the present application, when the bit data to be modulated is all 1 bits, the first communication device may send the second reference signal to the target communication device by amplitude modulation, phase modulation, or frequency modulation;

Alternatively, when the bit data to be modulated is not all 1 bits, the first communication device may send the second reference signal to the target communication device by phase modulation or frequency modulation.

The reflection coefficient corresponding to the second reference signal can be maximized in the above manner. Of course, the reflection coefficient corresponding to the second reference signal can also be maximized in other ways. That is, in the embodiment of the present application, the reflection coefficient corresponding to the second reference signal is maximized. In this way, the absorption of the first reference signal by the first communication device can be minimized, and the increase of measurement errors can be effectively avoided.

It should be noted that, in the case where the first communication device does not have an amplifier, the maximum reflection coefficient corresponding to the second reference signal means that the absolute value of the reflection coefficient is as close to 1 as possible.

In one embodiment of the present application, the first signal may include a first carrier signal and a second carrier signal, and the frequency of the first carrier signal is different from the frequency of the second carrier signal.

In an embodiment of the present application, the first signal may include a first carrier signal and a second carrier signal. The frequency of the first carrier signal is different from the frequency of the second carrier signal. The energy storage efficiency of the first communication device may be improved by using a dual-frequency signal.

In one embodiment of the present application, the first communication device receives the first information and the first signal, which may include the following steps:

The first communication device receives the first information and the first signal sent by the second communication device.

In an embodiment of the present application, the first signal received by the first communication device may come from the same communication device, such as the second communication device. Optionally, the second communication device may send the first carrier signal and the second carrier signal at the same time, or the second communication device may send the first carrier signal at a first time and send the second carrier signal at a second time. The first communication device stores energy and generates an IM3 signal. After modulating the IM3 signal to generate a backscatter signal, the backscatter signal may be sent to the second communication device or to other communication devices different from the second communication device, such as a fourth communication device.

The first communication device receives energy storage parameters and backscattering parameters sent by the second communication device and/or the third communication device;

The first communication device receives a first carrier signal sent by the second communication device;

The first communication device receives the second carrier signal sent by the third communication device.

In an embodiment of the present application, the first signal received by the first communication device may come from different communication devices, such as a second communication device and a third communication device. The second communication device and/or the third communication device may send energy storage parameters and backscattering parameters to the first communication device, or the second communication device and/or the third communication device may send the energy storage parameters and backscattering parameters to the sixth communication device, and the energy storage parameters and backscattering parameters may be forwarded to the first communication device through the sixth communication device. Optionally, the second communication device may send the energy storage parameters and the third communication device may send the backscattering parameters; the second communication device may send the backscattering parameters and the third communication device may send the energy storage parameters; the second communication device may send the energy storage parameters and the backscattering parameters; the third communication device may send the energy storage parameters and the backscattering parameters.

In addition, the second communication device may send a first carrier signal, and the third communication device may send a second carrier signal. Optionally, the second communication device may send a first carrier signal while the third communication device sends a second carrier signal, that is, the first communication device may receive the first carrier signal sent by the second communication device and the second carrier signal sent by the third communication device at the same time. Optionally, the second communication device may send a first carrier signal at a third time, and the third communication device may send a second carrier signal at a fourth time, that is, the first communication device may receive the first carrier signal sent by the second communication device at the third time, and receive the second carrier signal sent by the third communication device at the fourth time.

The first communication device stores energy and generates an IM3 signal based on the first information and the first signal. After modulating the IM3 signal to generate a backscatter signal, the backscatter signal can be sent to the second communication device and/or the third communication device, or the backscatter signal can be sent to other communication devices other than the second communication device and the third communication device, such as a fourth communication device.

It can be seen from this that the first carrier signal and the second carrier signal can be sent by the same communication device or by different communication devices.

In one embodiment of the present application, when a first communication device receives a second carrier signal sent by a third communication device, the second carrier signal may be generated based on second information, and the second information may be indicated by the second communication device to the third communication device, or may be specified by the protocol, or may be configured by the first network side device.

In an embodiment of the present application, the first signal includes a first carrier signal and a second carrier signal, the first carrier signal comes from the second communication device, and the third carrier signal comes from the third communication device. The second carrier signal may be generated by the third communication device based on the second information. The second communication device may indicate the second information to the third communication device so that the third communication device generates the second carrier signal based on the second information. Alternatively, the second information may be specified by a protocol, and the third communication device generates the second carrier signal according to the second information specified by the protocol. Alternatively, the first network side device may configure the second information for the third communication device, and the third communication device generates the second carrier signal according to the second information configured by the first network side device.

The second information may include at least one of the following:

The second communication device is synchronized or asynchronous with the third communication device;

transmit power of the second carrier signal;

a carrier frequency of the second carrier signal;

frequency domain resources of a second carrier signal;

The time domain resource of the second carrier signal.

The third communication device can effectively generate a second carrier signal based on at least one item of the above-mentioned second information, so that the generated second carrier signal can better meet the energy storage and modulation requirements of the first communication device.

In one embodiment of the present application, the frequency domain resources of the backscattered signal may include the frequency domain resources of the first IM3 signal, or the frequency domain resources of the second IM3 signal, or the frequency domain resources of the first IM3 signal and the second IM3 signal;

The first IM3 signal and the second IM3 signal are third-order intermodulation signals generated by energy storage of the first carrier signal and the second carrier signal after passing through the nonlinear device of the first communication device.

In an embodiment of the present application, the first signal may include a first carrier signal and a second carrier signal, and the frequency of the first carrier signal is different from the frequency of the second carrier signal. After the first communication device receives the first information and the first signal, the first carrier signal and the second carrier signal may be input into a nonlinear device, and after energy storage, a first IM3 signal and a second IM3 signal may be generated. The first IM3 signal and the second IM3 signal are third-order intermodulation signals.

For ease of understanding, the third-order intermodulation signal is first explained here.

Assuming that the angular frequencies of the first carrier signal and the second carrier signal are _w1 and _w2 , and the two carrier frequencies are close to each other, the input signal _vi before passing through the nonlinear device can be expressed as: _vi = _V0 ( _cosw1t + _cosw2t ), where _V0 is the amplitude of the signal.

The output signal after the nonlinear device can be expressed as:

Wherein, a ₀ , a ₁ , a ₂ , and a ₃ represent coefficients of different orders. The above formula includes the fundamental wave, the second-order intermodulation product and the second harmonic, the third-order intermodulation product and the third harmonic, and the specific spectrum distribution diagram is shown in FIG7 .

It can be seen that after the first communication device receives the first carrier signal and the second carrier signal, the first carrier signal and the second carrier signal are respectively input into the nonlinear device of the first communication device, and energy storage can be performed, and the first IM3 signal and the second IM3 signal are generated. The first communication device can modulate the first IM3 signal and/or the second IM3 signal to obtain a backscattered signal. The frequency domain resources of the backscattered signal may include the frequency domain resources of the first IM3 signal, or the frequency domain resources of the second IM3 signal, or the frequency domain resources of the first IM3 signal and the second IM3 signal.

It should be noted that when the first IM3 signal is used as a modulated carrier signal, the frequency deviation of the backscatter signal may include: the offset between the first IM3 signal and the frequency of the backscatter signal obtained after modulating the first IM3 signal; when the second IM3 signal is used as a modulated carrier signal, the frequency deviation of the backscatter signal may include: the offset between the second IM3 signal and the frequency of the backscatter signal obtained after modulating the second IM3 signal.

In addition, it can be seen from Figure 7 that the 2nd-order intermodulation products, 2nd harmonics and 3rd harmonics are far away from the fundamental wave, while the 3rd-order intermodulation signals (2w ₁ -w ₂ and 2w ₂ -w ₁ ) are close to the fundamental wave. If the interval is too small, it is easy to interfere with the fundamental wave signal. The energy difference between the 3rd-order intermodulation signal and the fundamental wave useful signal can be expressed by the third-order intermodulation distortion (IMD):
IMD=P ₀ ( w ₂ )-P ₀ ( 2w ₂ -w ₁ ).

The above formula can be expressed by Figure 8. In general, the larger the IMD, the smaller the influence of the third-order intermodulation signal on the fundamental signal. Therefore, the interference of the third-order intermodulation signal on the fundamental signal can be suppressed by enhancing the third-order intermodulation distortion.

In the case where the energy storage mode included in the first information includes the energy storage mode after signal amplification, the first information may also include the third-order intermodulation distortion after passing through the amplifier. In the case of not considering the interference to the adjacent channel, the third-order intermodulation distortion can be made as small as possible, and in the case of considering the interference to the adjacent channel, the third-order intermodulation distortion can be made as large as possible.

In one embodiment of the present application, the first signal may further include a third carrier signal and/or a fourth carrier signal; wherein the frequency of the third carrier signal is the same as the frequency of the first IM3 signal, and the frequency of the fourth carrier signal is the same as the frequency of the second IM3 signal; the third carrier signal and/or the fourth carrier signal is in a time division relationship, a frequency division relationship, or a time-frequency division relationship with the first carrier signal and the second carrier signal.

In this embodiment of the present application, the first signal received by the first communication device may include a first carrier signal and a second carrier signal, and may also include a third carrier signal and/or a fourth carrier signal.

Optionally, the third carrier signal and/or the fourth carrier signal may be in a time-division relationship with the first carrier signal and the second carrier signal. For example, the target communication device may first send the first carrier signal and the second carrier signal, and then send the third carrier signal and/or the fourth carrier signal.

Optionally, the third carrier signal and/or the fourth carrier signal can be in a frequency division relationship with the first carrier signal and the second carrier signal, such as the target communication device can send the first carrier signal at the first frequency, send the second carrier signal at the second frequency, send the third carrier signal at the third frequency, and send the fourth carrier signal at the fourth frequency, and the first frequency, the second frequency, the third frequency and the fourth frequency are all different.

Optionally, the third carrier signal and/or the fourth carrier signal have a time-frequency division relationship with the first carrier signal and the second carrier signal. For example, the target communication device may send a first carrier signal at a first frequency at a first time, send a second carrier signal at a second frequency at a first time, and send a third carrier signal at a third frequency at a second time. The first time and the second time are different, and the first frequency, the second frequency and the third frequency are all different.

After receiving the first carrier signal and the second carrier signal, the first communication device inputs the first carrier signal and the second carrier signal into the nonlinear device of the first communication device to store energy and generate IM3 signals, such as generating the first IM3 signal and the second IM3 signal.

The first communication device may also receive a third carrier signal and/or a fourth carrier signal, wherein the frequency of the third carrier signal is the same as the frequency of the first IM3 signal, and the frequency of the fourth carrier signal is the same as the frequency of the second IM3 signal. In this way, when the first communication device modulates the first IM3 signal and/or the second IM3 signal to generate a backscatter signal, the third carrier signal and/or the fourth carrier signal may enhance the first IM3 signal and/or the second IM3 signal.

In one embodiment of the present application, before the first communication device receives the first information and the first signal, the method may further include the following steps:

The first communication device sends capability information of the first communication device;

The capability information includes at least one of the following:

Whether there are nonlinear devices;

Capabilities of nonlinear devices.

In an embodiment of the present application, before the first communication device receives the first information and the first signal, the first communication device may send the capability information of the first communication device. Optionally, the first communication device may send the capability information of the first communication device to a target communication device, which may be a second communication device or a third communication device. Optionally, the first communication device may send the capability information of the first communication device to a fourth communication device, which then forwards it to the target communication device.

The target communication device receives the capability information of the first communication device, and can better determine relevant information such as energy storage parameters and backscatter parameters based on the capability information of the first communication device, so that the first information sent to the first communication device can be more targeted and better utilized by the first communication device.

The capability information of the first communication device may include whether the first communication device has a nonlinear device and, if the first communication device has a nonlinear device, the capability of the nonlinear device. The nonlinear device may include a rectifier and/or an amplifier. The capability of the nonlinear device may include at least one of the following:

The corresponding maximum power back-off of the rectifier and/or amplifier;

The corresponding third-order intermodulation distortion of the rectifier and/or amplifier;

The corresponding bandwidth of the rectifier and/or amplifier.

The first communication device may include as much of the above information as possible when sending the capability information of the first communication device, which helps the target communication device obtain more comprehensive capability information of the first communication device and helps the target communication device determine the energy storage parameters and backscatter parameters more accurately.

In one embodiment of the present application, the target communication device receives the capability information of the first communication device, which may include the following steps:

The target communication device receives the capability information sent by the first communication device;

or,

The target communication device receives the capability information of the first communication device sent by the fifth communication device, and the first communication device is integrated into the fifth communication device.

In an embodiment of the present application, the first communication device can actively report its own capability information, or report its own capability information when receiving a capability information reporting instruction from the target communication device, that is, the target communication device can receive the capability information sent by the first communication device.

If the first communication device is integrated into the fifth communication device, the fifth communication device may send the capability information of the first communication device to the target communication device, that is, the target communication device may receive the capability information of the first communication device sent by the fifth communication device.

Optionally, when the fifth communication device is in working state, the fifth communication device may actively report the capability information of the first communication device, or the fifth communication device may report the capability information of the first communication device according to the capability information reporting indication of the target communication device.

Optionally, when the fifth communication device is in a non-working state, such as an idle state or a sleep state, the first communication device integrated in the fifth communication device can actively report its own capability information, or the first communication device integrated in the fifth communication device can report its own capability information according to the capability information reporting indication of the target communication device.

By sending the capability information of the first communication device to the target communication device in different ways, the success rate of information transmission can be improved.

In one embodiment of the present application, before the first communication device sends a backscatter signal, the first communication device may determine the frequency of the backscatter signal and/or the modulation mode of the backscatter signal according to the backscatter parameter.

In an embodiment of the present application, if the first communication device has a strong capability, after receiving the first information and the first signal, inputting the first carrier signal and the second carrier signal into the nonlinear device, and generating the first IM3 signal and the second IM3 signal, it can determine whether the first IM3 signal or the second IM3 signal is to be used for modulation according to the backscattering parameters, thereby determining the frequency of the backscattering signal. In addition, the first communication device can also determine the modulation method of the backscattering signal according to the backscattering parameters. Of course, the modulation method of the backscattering signal can also be predefined, or indicated to the first communication device through the backscattering parameters.

The above mainly describes the technical solution provided by the embodiment of the present application when the communication device that sends the first information and/or the first signal is the same as the communication device that receives the backscattered signal. This architecture can be called a single-base architecture, as shown in FIG9 .

The first communication device receives the first information and/or the first signal sent by the target communication device;

The first communication device sending a backscatter signal may include the following steps:

The first communication device sends a backscatter signal to the fourth communication device.

In the embodiment of the present application, the first communication device can receive the first information and/or the first signal sent by the target communication device. The target communication device can be the second communication device or the third communication device. For example, if the target communication device is the second communication device, the first communication device can receive the first information and the first signal sent by the second communication device, or the first communication device can receive the first information sent by the second communication device and the first signal sent by the third communication device, or the first communication device can receive the first information sent by the second communication device and the first signal sent by the third communication device. The device can receive the first carrier signal sent by the second communication device, and receive the first information and the second carrier signal sent by the third communication device.

When a first communication device receives a first carrier signal sent by a second communication device, and receives first information and a second carrier signal sent by a third communication device, the first carrier signal may be generated based on the third information, and the third information may be indicated by the third communication device, or specified by the protocol, or configured by a network side device.

The third information may include at least one of the following:

The transmission power of the first carrier signal;

a carrier frequency of the first carrier signal;

Frequency domain resources of a first carrier signal;

The time domain resource of the first carrier signal.

The first communication device stores energy based on the first information and the first signal and generates an IM3 signal. After modulating the IM3 signal to generate a backscatter signal, the backscatter signal can be sent to a fourth communication device. Optionally, the first communication device can send a backscatter signal to the fourth communication device according to a predefined rule. Optionally, the first communication device can send a backscatter signal to the fourth communication device according to an instruction of the second communication device and/or the third communication device. The fourth communication device can receive the backscatter signal sent by the first communication device.

That is, the communication device that sends the first information and/or the first signal to the first communication device is different from the communication device that receives the backscattered signal of the first communication device. This architecture can be called a dual-base architecture, as shown in FIG10 .

In an embodiment of the present application, after the first communication device generates a backscatter signal, it sends the backscatter signal to a fourth communication device that is different from the second communication device and/or the third communication device that sends the first information and/or the first signal, which helps to eliminate direct link interference and can improve the success rate of demodulating the backscatter signal by the fourth communication device.

In one embodiment of the present application, when the target communication device is a communication device that sends a first signal, before the first communication device receives the first information and/or the first signal sent by the target communication device, the method may further include the following steps:

The first communication device receives a third reference signal sent by the fourth communication device;

The first communication device sends a fourth reference signal to the fourth communication device, where the fourth reference signal is a reflected signal of the third reference signal. The third reference signal and the fourth reference signal are used to determine a second path loss between the first communication device and the fourth communication device, and the second path loss is used by the target communication device to determine a first signal parameter.

In the embodiment of the present application, the target communication device may be a communication device that sends a first signal. In this case, before the first communication device receives the first information and/or the first signal sent by the target communication device, the fourth communication device may send a third reference signal to the first communication device. The third reference signal may be configured by the second network side device, or may be sent according to the instruction of the target communication device.

After receiving the third reference signal, the first communication device can send a reflection signal of the third reference signal, that is, a fourth reference signal, to the fourth communication device. The first communication device can transmit the fourth reference signal to the fourth communication device in reverse based on one of the predefined rules or network configuration.

Optionally, when the bit data to be modulated is all 1 bits, the first communication device may send the second reference signal to the fourth communication device by amplitude modulation, phase modulation or frequency modulation;

Optionally, when the bit data to be modulated is not all 1 bits, the first communication device may send the second reference signal to the fourth communication device by phase modulation or frequency modulation.

After receiving the fourth reference signal, the fourth communication device may determine the second path loss between the fourth communication device and the first communication device based on the third reference signal and the fourth reference signal. Further, the fourth communication device may send the second path loss to the target communication device. The target communication device may determine the first signal parameter according to the second path loss.

The first signal parameter may include at least one of the following:

Indicative information of the transmit power of the first signal;

Indicative information of a carrier frequency of the first signal;

Configuration information of frequency domain resources of the first signal;

Configuration information of time domain resources of the first signal.

After the fourth communication device determines the second path loss between itself and the first communication device, it sends the second path loss to the target communication device. The target communication device determines the first signal parameter based on the second path loss. The first signal sent based on at least one of the above-mentioned first signal parameters can better meet the high rectification efficiency requirements of the first communication device.

In one embodiment of the present application, before the first communication device receives the first information and the first signal sent by the target communication device, the method further includes:

The first communication device sends capability information of the first communication device to the fourth communication device;

The capability information of the first communication device includes at least one of the following:

Whether nonlinear devices are integrated;

Capabilities of nonlinear devices.

In the embodiment of the present application, after the first communication device receives the first information and the first signal sent by the target communication device, Before, the first communication device may send the capability information of the first communication device to the fourth communication device. Optionally, the capability information of the first communication device may be sent by the first communication device, or may be sent by a fifth communication device integrated with the first communication device.

The first communication device can actively report its capability information to the fourth communication device, or report its capability information to the fourth communication device upon receiving a capability information reporting instruction from the target communication device, that is, the fourth communication device can receive the capability information sent by the first communication device.

If the first communication device is integrated into the fifth communication device, the fifth communication device may send the capability information of the first communication device to the fourth communication device, that is, the fourth communication device may receive the capability information of the first communication device sent by the fifth communication device.

Optionally, when the fifth communication device is in working state, the fifth communication device can actively report the capability information of the first communication device to the fourth communication device, or the fifth communication device can report the capability information of the first communication device to the fourth communication device according to the capability information reporting indication of the target communication device.

Optionally, when the fifth communication device is in a non-working state, such as an idle state or a sleep state, the first communication device integrated in the fifth communication device can actively report its capability information to the fourth communication device, or the first communication device integrated in the fifth communication device can report its capability information to the fourth communication device according to the capability information reporting indication of the target communication device.

By sending the capability information of the first communication device to the fourth communication device in different ways, the success rate of information transmission can be improved.

After receiving the capability information of the first communication device, the fourth communication device can send the capability information of the first communication device to the target communication device. The target communication device can better determine relevant information such as energy storage parameters and backscatter parameters according to the capability information of the first communication device, so that the first information sent to the first communication device can be more targeted and better used by the first communication device.

The capability information of the first communication device may include whether the first communication device has a nonlinear device and, if the first communication device has a nonlinear device, the capability of the nonlinear device. The nonlinear device may include a rectifier and/or an amplifier. The capability of the nonlinear device may include:

The corresponding maximum power back-off of the rectifier and/or amplifier;

The corresponding bandwidth of the rectifier and/or amplifier.

The first communication device includes as much of the above information as possible in the capability information reported, which helps the target communication device obtain more comprehensive capability information of the first communication device and helps the target communication device determine the energy storage parameters and backscatter parameters more accurately.

For ease of understanding, the embodiments of the present application are further described below in a specific example manner. In the following example, the first signal is taken as an energy supply signal.

Example 1: The energy supply signal is not stored in the amplifier.

In this example, the target communication device sends an energy supply signal, which is not passed through a low noise amplifier (LNA), but is rectified by a rectifier and stores energy/communication. For example, the target communication device is a reader and the first communication device is a tag.

The tag reports its capability information to the reader. If the tag is an independent device, possible reporting methods include: autonomous reporting, or reporting according to instructions sent by the reader. If the tag is integrated into other devices, such as UE, when the UE is in a connected state, the UE's main communication module can actively report the tag's capability information, or report the tag's capability information according to instructions sent by the reader; when the UE is in an idle state, the UE's main communication module is in a sleep state to save energy. At this time, the tag's communication module is turned on, and the capability reporting method can be the tag's active reporting, or reporting according to instructions sent by the reader. The tag's capability information may include:

Rectifier, rectification efficiency mapping table (i.e. different incident power and bias correspond to different rectification efficiencies), bias voltage amplitude modulation capability, bandwidth and other information;

No LNA.

The reader sends a synchronization signal block (SSB) to the tag, which modulates the all-1 sequence through OOK and reflects it back to the reader. The reader measures the reference signal receiving power (RSRP) of the reference signal and obtains a one-way path loss, for example, 20 dB, and determines the first signal parameters based on the path loss. The first signal parameters include:

The same reader sends two carrier signals, the frequencies of which are 900MHz and 920MHz respectively;

The transmission power of the two carrier signals, such as 36dBm;

Time-frequency resources of two carrier signals.

wherein, r indicates the storage parameters including storage parameters and backscattering parameters.

Continuous energy storage;

Multi-carrier energy storage;

Original signal energy storage;

The energy is stored and used immediately, that is, the energy storage time is 0, and the stored energy does not pass through the capacitor but is directly used to supply energy to the tag.

Backscatter parameters include:

Indication information of the backscatter carrier frequency, such as indicating that the backscatter carrier frequency is 940 MHz;

Frequency deviation indication information, such as indicating that the frequency deviation is ±5MHz;

Indicative information of the modulation mode, such as indicating that the modulation mode is Double Side Band-Amplitude Shift Keying (DSB-ASK) modulation;

Indicative information of the transmit power of the backscatter signal, such as indicating that the transmit power of the backscatter signal is not less than -50 dBm;

Configuration information of time-frequency resources.

The specific process of the signal transmission can be seen in Figure 11. In Figure 11, the nonlinear device in the reader includes a PA and two bandpass filters, and the nonlinear device in the tag includes a rectifier (Rectifier) as an example for explanation, but it does not mean that the signal transmission method of the embodiment of the present application is only applicable to readers and tags of this structure.

The reader generates two carrier signals, CW1: 900MHz and CW2: 920MHz. After passing through the PA in the reader, as shown at point A, the power of the two carrier signals is 36dBm, and two IM3 signals are generated. The frequencies of the two IM3 signals are 880MHz and 940MHz, respectively, with powers of 16dBm, and the third-order intermodulation distortion is IMD _A.

The signal shown at point A passes through the 890-930MHz bandpass filter in the reader and reaches the antenna, and is transmitted from the antenna, as shown at point B. Since the bandpass filter may have insertion loss, the signal will be weakened, the power of the carrier signal at 900MHz and 920MHz will drop to 30dBm, and the power of the IM3 signal at 880MHz and 940MHz will drop to -20dBm, and the third-order intermodulation distortion will be IMD _B.

The path loss between the reader and the tag is 20dB. The tag only receives the carrier signals at 900MHz and 920MHz, as shown at point C. The power of these two carrier signals is 10dBm.

After the signal shown at point C passes through the rectifier in the tag, it is energy harvested to power the microcontroller unit (MCU) MCU and generate two IM3 signals at 880MHz and 940MHz respectively. According to the instruction of the reader, the tag modulates the IM3 signal only at 940MHz, and the modulation mode is DSB-ASK with a frequency deviation of 5MHz. The bias voltage (Vbias) of the rectifier is controlled by the MCU. For example, when the bias voltage is 0V, it means that the tag sends bit 0, and when the bias voltage is 2V, it means that the tag sends bit 1, and the modulation frequency is 5MHz, thereby realizing DSB-ASK modulation, as shown at point D, and the third-order intermodulation distortion is IMD _D. It can be seen that the power of the modulated IM3 signal at 940MHz is -45 to -35dBm, which is greater than the power of the IM3 signal at 880MHz. This is because the power contribution of the modulation itself meets the requirements of the backscattering parameters.

The modulated backscattered signal is attenuated by 50dB in the uplink wireless channel and received by the reader's receiving antenna, as shown at point E. At this time, the carrier signal power and its modulated data power are about -50dBm, and the IM3 signal power and its modulated data power are -65 to -55dBm. After passing through the >940MHz bandpass filter and LNA in the reader, only the backscattered signal at 945MHz remains, as shown at point F.

From the above process, it can be seen that by generating an IM3 signal on the tag side and performing bit data modulation on the IM3 signal, other unnecessary signals in the backscatter signal can be filtered out by a filter, including two carrier signals and unnecessary IM3 signals, to achieve the purpose of interference elimination. In addition, the process does not need to send an additional carrier signal for tag modulation, and only needs to send an energy supply signal to achieve the effect of energy storage + backscatter modulation.

The above process describes the case where the tag receives two carrier signals sent by the same reader. In addition, there is also a case where the tag receives carrier signals of different frequencies sent by different readers, which will not be repeated here.

Example 2: The energy supply signal is stored in the amplifier.

In this example, the target communication device sends an energy supply signal, which is rectified by a rectifier after low noise amplification and stores energy/communication. Except for the indication information of the energy storage mode and the indication information of the transmission power of the backscattered signal, the parameters configured in Example 2 are basically the same as those in Example 1.

As can be seen from Figure 12, the energy storage mode is energy storage after signal amplification. From point C to point D, the power gain of the carrier signal is 15dB. At the same time, two IM3 signals are generated at 880MHz and 940MHz, and their power is -35dBm. The amplified signal passes through the rectifier and is modulated. It can be seen from point E that due to the four signals with different frequencies and different energies passing through the nonlinear device in the rectifier, two new IM3 signals will be generated again, and their frequencies are 860MHz and 960MHz respectively, but the energy of these two IM3 signals is very small. In addition, the signal energy of the original IM3 signals (880MHz and 940MHz) is enhanced. When the 940MHz signal is modulated by DSB-ASK, its signal energy is -20dBm.

The above process shows the situation where the energy supply signal passes through the LNA and then stores energy. It can be seen that the use of LNA helps to enhance the uplink coverage and improve the downlink receiving sensitivity.

It should be noted that, in Figure 12, the nonlinear device in the reader includes a PA and two bandpass filters, and the nonlinear device in the tag includes an LNA and a rectifier. However, it does not mean that the signal transmission method of the embodiment of the present application is only applied to readers and tags of this structure.

The above examples 1 and 2 provide scenarios of a single-base architecture, that is, the sender of the power supply signal also receives the backscattered signal. The technical solution provided in the embodiments of the present application is also applicable to scenarios of a dual-base architecture, such as example 3.

Example 3: Dual-base architecture for wireless power transmission.

In this example, the target communication device sends a power supply signal, which is not subjected to a low noise amplifier, but is rectified and stored by a rectifier. The backscattered signal is sent to the fourth communication device. For example, the target communication device is a reader, the first communication device is a tag, and the fourth communication device is UE1.

The tag reports its capability information to UE1. If the tag is an independent device, possible reporting methods include: autonomous reporting, or reporting according to instructions sent by UE1. If the tag is integrated into other devices, such as UE2, when UE2 is in a connected state, the capability information of the tag can be actively reported through the main communication module of UE2, or the capability information of the tag can be reported according to the instructions sent by UE1; when UE2 is in an idle state, the main communication module of UE2 is in a sleep state to save energy. At this time, the communication module of the tag is turned on, and the capability reporting method can be active reporting by the tag, or reporting according to the instructions sent by UE1. Among them, UE1 is a receiving device for backscattered signals. When UE2 needs to instruct the tag to report capability information, it will be instructed by the reader, a device sending power signals. The capability information of the tag may include:

No LNA.

After receiving the tag's capability information, UE1 reports it to the reader. UE1 sends SSB to the tag, which modulates the all-one sequence through OOK and reflects it back to UE1. UE1 measures the RSRP of the reference signal and obtains a one-way path loss, such as 20 dB, and reports the path loss to the reader. The reader determines the first signal parameters. The first signal parameters include:

The transmission power of the two carrier signals, such as 36dBm;

Time-frequency resources of two carrier signals.

The reader instructs the tag on energy storage parameters and backscattering parameters.

Among them, energy storage parameters include:

Indicative information for continuous energy storage;

Indication information of multi-carrier energy storage;

Indicative information of energy storage of the original signal;

Backscatter parameters include:

Modulation mode indication information, such as indicating that the modulation mode is DSB-ASK modulation;

Configuration information of time-frequency resources.

As shown in FIG. 13 , the backscattered signal of the tag is sent to UE1 , and the remaining steps are similar to those in Example 1 and Example 2 and will not be described again here.

In general, in the related art, the backscatter communication device is limited by the circuit capacity and energy storage capacity of the backscatter modulation. It may be necessary to obtain energy from the environment for the communication of the backscatter communication device, which will cause the communication device as a reader to send the power supply carrier signal and the modulated carrier signal separately. When the power supply carrier signal strength is less than -10dBm, the rectification efficiency of the backscatter communication device will drop sharply, further reducing the energy collection efficiency and the quality of backscatter communication. Secondly, since the backscatter signal energy is weak and the leakage/coupled carrier signal energy is strong, when the frequency of the backscatter signal is basically the same as the carrier signal frequency, it is necessary to add an additional isolation board or antenna spacing, or configure an additional analog interference elimination/suppression circuit or baseband circuit. The additional interference elimination/suppression circuit will reduce the energy efficiency of the RF front end and increase the hardware design cost.

In contrast, the embodiments of the present application do not need to send additional modulated carrier signals, and only need to send power supply carrier signals, that is, backscatter communication can be completed without sending additional carrier signals; no additional RF circuits/baseband circuits are used to achieve self-interference elimination under a single-base architecture/direct link interference elimination under a dual-base architecture, that is, self-interference/direct link interference elimination or suppression can be achieved without adding additional hardware circuits; the backscatter communication device can generate a carrier signal for modulation while storing energy; low noise amplification is considered before the backscatter communication device stores energy, which can effectively increase the uplink coverage range and downlink receiving sensitivity.

The signal transmission method provided in the embodiment of the present application can be executed by a signal transmission device. In the embodiment of the present application, the signal transmission device provided in the embodiment of the present application is described by taking the signal transmission method executed by the signal transmission device as an example.

As shown in FIG. 14 , the signal transmission device 1400 may include the following modules:

The first sending module 1410 is used to receive first information and a first signal, where the first information includes an energy storage parameter and a backscattering parameter, where the energy storage parameter is used to indicate an energy storage operation of the first communication device, and the backscattering parameter is used to indicate a backscattering signal generation operation of the first communication device, and the first signal is used for energy storage of the first communication device and generation of a backscattering signal;

The first operation module 1420 is used to store energy based on the first information and the first signal, generate a third-order intermodulation IM3 signal, and generate a backscatter signal based on the IM3 signal modulation;

The first sending module 1430 is configured to send a backscattered signal.

The device provided in the embodiment of the present application is used to receive first information and a first signal, wherein the first information includes energy storage parameters, Backscattering parameters and energy storage parameters can indicate the energy storage operation of the first communication device, and the backscattering parameters can indicate the generation operation of the backscattering signal of the first communication device. The first signal can be used for both energy storage of the first communication device and generation of the backscattering signal. Energy can be stored and an IM3 signal can be generated based on the first information and the first signal. The backscattering signal can be modulated and generated based on the IM3 signal, and then the backscattering signal can be sent out. That is, the received first signal can be used for both energy storage of the first communication device and generation of the backscattering signal of the first communication device, and there is no need to send an additional modulated carrier signal to the first communication device, which can reduce the additional power required for the additional transmission of the modulated carrier signal, and can effectively save network resources.

In a specific implementation of the present application, the energy storage parameter includes at least one of the following:

Indication of energy storage time;

Indication of energy storage mode.

In a specific implementation of the present application, the energy storage mode includes at least one of the following:

Continuous energy storage mode or intermittent energy storage mode;

Single carrier energy storage mode or multi-carrier energy storage mode;

Original signal energy storage mode or signal amplified energy storage mode.

In a specific implementation manner of the present application, when the energy storage mode includes the energy storage mode after signal amplification, the first information also includes the third-order intermodulation distortion after passing through the amplifier.

In a specific embodiment of the present application, the backscattering parameter includes at least one of the following:

Indicative information of the transmit power of the backscatter signal;

Indicative information of the modulation mode of the backscatter signal;

Indicative information of frequency deviation of the backscattered signal;

Configuration information of time domain resources of backscatter signals;

In a specific implementation of the present application, the first receiving module 1410 is further configured to:

Before receiving the first information and the first signal, receiving a first reference signal sent by the target communication device;

The first sending module 1430 is also used to send a second reference signal to the target communication device, where the second reference signal is a reflected signal of the first reference signal. The first reference signal and the second reference signal are used to determine a first path loss between the first communication device and the target communication device. The first path loss is used by the target communication device to determine a first signal parameter. The target communication device is the communication device that sends the first signal.

In a specific implementation of the present application, the first signal parameter includes at least one of the following:

Indicative information of the transmit power of the first signal;

Indicative information of a carrier frequency of the first signal;

Configuration information of frequency domain resources of the first signal;

Configuration information of time domain resources of the first signal.

In a specific implementation of the present application, the reflection coefficient corresponding to the second reference signal is the largest.

In a specific implementation of the present application, the first sending module 1430 is used to:

When the bit data to be modulated is all 1 bits, sending a second reference signal to the target communication device by amplitude modulation, phase modulation or frequency modulation;

or,

When the bit data to be modulated is not all 1 bits, a second reference signal is sent to the target communication device by phase modulation or frequency modulation.

In a specific implementation of the present application, the first sending module 1430 is further configured to:

Before receiving the first information and the first signal, sending capability information of the first communication device;

The capability information includes at least one of the following:

Whether there are nonlinear devices;

Capabilities of nonlinear devices.

In a specific embodiment of the present application, the nonlinear device includes a rectifier and/or an amplifier, and the capabilities of the nonlinear device include at least one of the following:

The corresponding maximum power back-off of the rectifier and/or amplifier;

The corresponding bandwidth of the rectifier and/or amplifier.

In a specific implementation of the present application, the signal transmission device 1400 further includes a first determination module, which is used to:

Before sending the backscatter signal, the frequency of the backscatter signal and/or the modulation mode of the backscatter signal are determined according to the backscatter parameter.

In a specific implementation of the present application, the first signal includes a first carrier signal and a second carrier signal, and the frequency of the first carrier signal is different from the frequency of the second carrier signal.

In a specific implementation of the present application, the first receiving module 1410 is used to:

receiving first information and a first signal sent by a second communication device;

or,

Receiving energy storage parameters and backscattering parameters sent by the second communication device and/or the third communication device;

receiving a first carrier signal sent by a second communication device;

A second carrier signal sent by a third communication device is received.

In a specific embodiment of the present application, when a first communication device receives a second carrier signal sent by a third communication device, the second carrier signal is generated based on second information, and the second information is indicated by the second communication device to the third communication device, or is stipulated by the protocol, or is configured by the first network side device.

In a specific implementation of the present application, the second information includes at least one of the following:

transmit power of the second carrier signal;

a carrier frequency of the second carrier signal;

frequency domain resources of a second carrier signal;

The time domain resource of the second carrier signal.

In a specific implementation manner of the present application, the frequency domain resources of the backscattered signal include the frequency domain resources of the first IM3 signal, or the frequency domain resources of the second IM3 signal, or the frequency domain resources of the first IM3 signal and the second IM3 signal;

In a specific implementation of the present application, the first signal further includes a third carrier signal and/or a fourth carrier signal;

Wherein, the frequency of the third carrier signal is the same as the frequency of the first IM3 signal, and the frequency of the fourth carrier signal is the same as the frequency of the second IM3 signal;

The third carrier signal and/or the fourth carrier signal are in a time division relationship, a frequency division relationship, or a time-frequency division relationship with the first carrier signal and the second carrier signal.

Receiving first information and/or a first signal sent by a target communication device;

The first sending module 1430 is configured to:

A backscatter signal is sent to a fourth communication device.

In a specific implementation of the present application, when the target communication device is a communication device that sends the first signal, the first receiving module 1410 is further configured to:

Before receiving the first information and/or the first signal sent by the target communication device, receiving a third reference signal sent by the fourth communication device;

The first sending module 1430 is also used to send a fourth reference signal to the fourth communication device, where the fourth reference signal is a reflected signal of the third reference signal. The third reference signal and the fourth reference signal are used to determine a second path loss between the first communication device and the fourth communication device, and the second path loss is used by the target communication device to determine the first signal parameters.

In a specific implementation manner of the present application, the third reference signal is configured by the second network side device, or is sent according to an instruction of the target communication device.

Before receiving the first information and the first signal sent by the target communication device, sending the capability information of the first communication device to the fourth communication device;

Whether nonlinear devices are integrated;

Capabilities of nonlinear devices.

sending a backscatter signal to a fourth communication device according to a predefined rule;

or,

According to the instruction of the target communication device, a backscatter signal is sent to the fourth communication device.

The signal transmission device 1400 provided in the embodiment of the present application can implement the various processes implemented by the method embodiments shown in Figures 5 to 13 and achieve the same technical effects. To avoid repetition, they will not be described here.

Corresponding to the method embodiment shown in FIG5 , the embodiment of the present application further provides a signal transmission method, as shown in FIG15 , the method may include the following steps:

S1510: The target communication device sends first information and/or a first signal to the first communication device. The first information includes an energy storage parameter and a backscattering parameter. The energy storage parameter is used to indicate the energy storage operation of the first communication device. The backscattering parameter is used to indicate the backscattering signal generation operation of the first communication device. The first signal is used for energy storage of the first communication device and generation of a backscattering signal.

Using the method provided in the embodiment of the present application, the target communication device sends the first information and/or the first signal to the first communication device. The first information includes energy storage parameters and backscattering parameters. The energy storage parameters can indicate the energy storage operation of the first communication device. The backscattering parameters can indicate the generation operation of the backscattering signal of the first communication device. The first signal can be used for both energy storage of the first communication device and generation of the backscattering signal. That is, the first information sent to the first communication device A signal can be used for both energy storage of the first communication device and generation of backscattered signals. The target communication device does not need to send additional modulated carrier signals, which can reduce the additional power required for sending additional modulated carrier signals and effectively save network resources.

Indication of energy storage time;

Indication of energy storage mode.

Continuous energy storage mode or intermittent energy storage mode;

Single carrier energy storage mode or multi-carrier energy storage mode;

Original signal energy storage mode or signal amplified energy storage mode.

Indicative information of the transmit power of the backscatter signal;

Indicative information of the modulation mode of the backscatter signal;

Indicative information of frequency deviation of the backscattered signal;

Configuration information of time domain resources of backscatter signals;

In a specific implementation of the present application, in the case where the target communication device sends a first signal to the first communication device, before the target communication device sends the first signal to the first communication device, it further includes:

The target communication device sends a first reference signal to the first communication device;

The target communication device receives a second reference signal sent by the first communication device, where the second reference signal is a reflected signal of the first reference signal;

The target communication device determines a first path loss between the first communication device and the target communication device based on the first reference signal and the second reference signal;

The target communication device determines a first signal parameter according to the first path loss.

Indicative information of the transmit power of the first signal;

Indicative information of a carrier frequency of the first signal;

Configuration information of frequency domain resources of the first signal;

Configuration information of time domain resources of the first signal.

In a specific implementation manner of the present application, before the target communication device sends the first information and the first signal to the first communication device, the method further includes:

The target communication device receives the capability information of the first communication device;

The capability information includes at least one of the following:

Whether there are nonlinear devices;

Capabilities of nonlinear devices.

The corresponding maximum power back-off of the rectifier and/or amplifier;

The corresponding bandwidth of the rectifier and/or amplifier.

In a specific implementation of the present application, the target communication device receives the capability information of the first communication device, including:

or,

In a specific implementation manner of the present application, the frequency domain resources of the backscattered signal include the frequency domain resources of the first third-order intermodulation IM3 signal, or the frequency domain resources of the second IM3 signal, or the frequency domain resources of the first IM3 signal and the second IM3 signal;

As shown in FIG. 16 , the signal transmission device 1600 may include the following modules:

The second sending module 1610 is used to send first information and/or a first signal to the first communication device, where the first information includes energy storage parameters and backscattering parameters. The energy storage parameters are used to indicate the energy storage operation of the first communication device, and the backscattering parameters are used to indicate the generation operation of the backscattering signal of the first communication device. The first signal is used for energy storage of the first communication device and generation of the backscattering signal.

Using the device provided in the embodiment of the present application, the first information and/or the first signal are sent to the first communication device. The first information includes energy storage parameters and backscattering parameters. The energy storage parameters can indicate the energy storage operation of the first communication device, and the backscattering parameters can indicate the backscattering signal generation operation of the first communication device. The first signal can be used for both energy storage of the first communication device and generation of backscattering signals. That is, the first signal sent to the first communication device can be used for both energy storage of the first communication device and generation of backscattering signals. There is no need to send additional modulated carrier signals to the first communication device, which can reduce the additional power required for additionally sending modulated carrier signals, and can effectively save network resources.

Indication of energy storage time;

Indication of energy storage mode.

Continuous energy storage mode or intermittent energy storage mode;

Single carrier energy storage mode or multi-carrier energy storage mode;

Original signal energy storage mode or signal amplified energy storage mode.

Indicative information of the transmit power of the backscatter signal;

Indicative information of the modulation mode of the backscatter signal;

Indicative information of frequency deviation of the backscattered signal;

Configuration information of time domain resources of backscatter signals;

In a specific implementation of the present application, in the case where the target communication device sends the first signal to the first communication device, the signal transmission apparatus 1600 further includes a second receiving module and a second determining module;

The second sending module 1610 is further configured to, before sending the first signal to the first communication device, the target communication device sends a first reference signal to the first communication device;

A second receiving module, configured to receive a second reference signal sent by the first communication device, where the second reference signal is a reflected signal of the first reference signal;

The second determination module is configured to determine a first path loss between the first communication device and the target communication device based on the first reference signal and the second reference signal; and determine a first signal parameter according to the first path loss.

Indicative information of the transmit power of the first signal;

Indicative information of a carrier frequency of the first signal;

Configuration information of frequency domain resources of the first signal;

Configuration information of time domain resources of the first signal.

In a specific implementation of the present application, the signal transmission device 1600 further includes a third receiving module, which is used to:

Before sending the first information and the first signal to the first communication device, receiving capability information of the first communication device;

The capability information includes at least one of the following:

Whether there are nonlinear devices;

Capabilities of nonlinear devices.

The corresponding maximum power back-off of the rectifier and/or amplifier;

The corresponding bandwidth of the rectifier and/or amplifier.

In a specific implementation of the present application, the third receiving module is used to:

Receiving capability information sent by the first communication device;

or,

The capability information of the first communication device sent by the fifth communication device is received, and the first communication device is integrated into the fifth communication device.

The signal transmission device 1600 provided in the embodiment of the present application can implement the various processes implemented by the method embodiments shown in Figures 6-13 and 15, and achieve the same technical effect. To avoid repetition, it will not be repeated here.

As shown in FIG17 , the embodiment of the present application further provides a communication device 1700, including a processor 1701 and a memory 1702, wherein the memory 1702 stores a program or instruction that can be run on the processor 1701, and when the program or instruction is executed by the processor 1701, each step of the above-mentioned signal transmission method related embodiment is implemented, and the same technical effect can be achieved. The communication device 1700 can be a network side device, a terminal device, or a tag device, and the tag device can be integrated into the terminal device.

Specifically, Figure 18 is a structural diagram of a terminal device that implements an embodiment of the present application.

The terminal device 1800 includes but is not limited to: a radio frequency unit 1801, a network module 1802, an audio output unit 1803, an input unit 1804, a sensor 1805, a display unit 1806, a user input unit 1807, an interface unit 1808, a memory 1809 and at least some of the components of the processor 1810.

Those skilled in the art will appreciate that the terminal device 1800 may also include a power source (such as a battery) for supplying power to each component, and the power source may be logically connected to the processor 1810 through a power management system, so as to implement functions such as charging, discharging, and power consumption management through the power management system. The terminal device structure shown in FIG18 does not constitute a limitation on the terminal device, and the terminal device may include more or fewer components than shown in the figure, or combine certain components, or arrange components differently, which will not be described in detail here.

It should be understood that in the embodiment of the present application, the input unit 1804 may include a graphics processing unit (GPU) 18041 and a microphone 18042, and the graphics processor 18041 processes the image data of the static picture or video obtained by the image capture device (such as a camera) in the video capture mode or the image capture mode. The display unit 1806 may include a display panel 18061, and the display panel 18061 may be configured in the form of a liquid crystal display, an organic light emitting diode, etc. The user input unit 1807 includes a touch panel 18071 and at least one of other input devices 18072. The touch panel 18071 is also called a touch screen. The touch panel 18071 may include two parts: a touch detection device and a touch controller. Other input devices 18072 may include, but are not limited to, a physical keyboard, function keys (such as a volume control key, a switch key, etc.), a trackball, a mouse, and a joystick, which will not be repeated here.

In the embodiment of the present application, after receiving downlink data from the network side device, the RF unit 1801 can transmit the data to the processor 1810 for processing; in addition, the RF unit 1801 can send uplink data to the network side device. Generally, the RF unit 1801 includes but is not limited to an antenna, an amplifier, a transceiver, a coupler, a low noise amplifier, a duplexer, etc.

The memory 1809 can be used to store software programs or instructions and various data. The memory 1809 may mainly include a first storage area for storing programs or instructions and a second storage area for storing data, wherein the first storage area may store an operating system, an application program or instruction required for at least one function (such as a sound playback function, an image playback function, etc.), etc. In addition, the memory 1809 may include a volatile memory or a non-volatile memory, or the memory 1809 may include both volatile and non-volatile memories. Among them, the non-volatile memory may be a read-only memory (ROM), a programmable read-only memory (PROM), an erasable programmable read-only memory (EPROM), an electrically erasable programmable read-only memory (EEPROM), or a flash memory. The volatile memory may be a random access memory (RAM), a static random access memory (SRAM), a dynamic random access memory (DRAM), a synchronous dynamic random access memory (SDRAM), a double data rate synchronous dynamic random access memory (DDRSDRAM), an enhanced synchronous dynamic random access memory (ESDRAM), a synchronous link dynamic random access memory (SLDRAM) and a direct memory bus random access memory (DRRAM). The memory 1809 in the embodiment of the present application includes but is not limited to these and any other suitable types of memory.

The processor 1810 may include one or more processing units; optionally, the processor 1810 integrates an application processor and a modem processor, wherein the application processor mainly processes operations related to an operating system, a user interface, and application programs, etc. The modem processor mainly processes wireless communication signals, such as a baseband processor. It is understandable that the modem processor may not be integrated into the processor 1810.

Specifically, Figure 19 is a structural diagram of a network-side device for implementing an embodiment of the present application.

The network side device 1900 includes: an antenna 1901, a radio frequency device 1902, a baseband device 1903, a processor 1904 and a memory 1905. The antenna 1901 is connected to the radio frequency device 1902. In the uplink direction, the radio frequency device 1902 receives information through the antenna 1901 and sends the received information to the baseband device 1903 for processing. In the downlink direction, the baseband device 1903 processes the information to be sent and sends it to the radio frequency device 1902. The radio frequency device 1902 processes the received information and sends it out through the antenna 1901.

The method executed by the network-side device in the above embodiment may be implemented in the baseband device 1903, which includes a baseband processor.

The baseband device 1903 may include, for example, at least one baseband board, on which multiple chips are arranged, as shown in Figure 190, one of which is, for example, a baseband processor, which is connected to the memory 1905 through a bus interface to call the program in the memory 1905 and execute the network device operations shown in the above method embodiment.

The network side device may also include a network interface 1906, which is, for example, a common public radio interface (CPRI).

Specifically, the network side device 1900 of an embodiment of the present invention also includes: instructions or programs stored in the memory 1905 and executable on the processor 1904. The processor 1904 calls the instructions or programs in the memory 1905 to execute the methods executed by each module in the above-mentioned network side device-related embodiments and achieve the same technical effect. To avoid repetition, they will not be described here.

An embodiment of the present application also provides a readable storage medium, on which a program or instruction is stored. When the program or instruction is executed by a processor, it implements the method embodiments shown in the above-mentioned Figures 5-13 or implements the various processes of the method embodiments shown in Figures 6-13 and 15, and can achieve the same technical effect. To avoid repetition, it will not be repeated here.

The processor is the processor in the terminal described in the above embodiment. The readable storage medium includes a computer readable storage medium, such as a computer read-only memory ROM, a random access memory RAM, a magnetic disk or an optical disk.

The embodiments of the present application further provide a computer program/program product, which is stored in a storage medium, and is executed by at least one processor to implement the method embodiments shown in the above-mentioned Figures 5-13 or to implement the various processes of the method embodiments shown in Figures 6-13 and 15, and can achieve the same technical effect. To avoid repetition, it will not be repeated here.

An embodiment of the present application also provides a communication system, including: a first communication device and a target communication device, wherein the first target communication device can be used to execute the steps of the method embodiments shown in Figures 5-13 as described above, and the target communication device can be used to execute the steps of the method embodiments shown in Figures 6-13 and 15 as described above.

It should be noted that, in this article, the terms "comprise", "include" or any other variants thereof are intended to cover non-exclusive inclusion, so that a process, method, article or device including a series of elements includes not only those elements, but also other elements not explicitly listed, or also includes elements inherent to such process, method, article or device. In the absence of further restrictions, an element defined by the sentence "comprises one..." does not exclude the presence of other identical elements in the process, method, article or device including the element. In addition, it should be noted that the scope of the methods and devices in the embodiments of the present application is not limited to performing functions in the order shown or discussed, and may also include performing functions in a substantially simultaneous manner or in reverse order according to the functions involved, for example, the described method may be performed in an order different from that described, and various steps may also be added, omitted, or combined. In addition, the features described with reference to certain examples may be combined in other examples.

Through the description of the above implementation methods, those skilled in the art can clearly understand that the above-mentioned embodiment methods can be implemented by means of software plus a necessary general hardware platform, and of course by hardware, but in many cases the former is a better implementation method. Based on such an understanding, the technical solution of the present application, or the part that contributes to the prior art, can be embodied in the form of a computer software product, which is stored in a storage medium (such as ROM/RAM, a magnetic disk, or an optical disk), and includes a number of instructions for enabling a terminal (which can be a mobile phone, a computer, a server, an air conditioner, or a network device, etc.) to execute the methods described in each embodiment of the present application.

The embodiments of the present application are described above in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, but the present application is not limited to the above-mentioned specific implementation methods. The above-mentioned specific implementation methods are merely illustrative and not restrictive. Under the guidance of the present application, ordinary technicians in this field can also make many forms without departing from the purpose of the present application and the scope of protection of the claims, all of which are within the protection of the present application.

Claims

A signal transmission method, comprising:

The first communication device receives first information and a first signal, wherein the first information includes an energy storage parameter and a backscattering parameter, the energy storage parameter is used to indicate an energy storage operation of the first communication device, the backscattering parameter is used to indicate a backscattering signal generation operation of the first communication device, and the first signal is used for energy storage of the first communication device and generation of the backscattering signal;

The first communication device stores energy based on the first information and the first signal, generates a third-order intermodulation IM3 signal, and generates the backscatter signal based on modulation of the IM3 signal;

The first communication device transmits the backscatter signal.
The method according to claim 1, wherein the energy storage parameter includes at least one of the following:

Indication of energy storage time;

Indication of energy storage mode.
The method according to claim 2, wherein the energy storage mode includes at least one of the following:

Continuous energy storage mode or intermittent energy storage mode;

Single carrier energy storage mode or multi-carrier energy storage mode;

Original signal energy storage mode or signal amplified energy storage mode.
The method according to claim 3, wherein, when the energy storage mode includes an energy storage mode after signal amplification, the first information also includes a third-order intermodulation distortion after passing through an amplifier.
The method according to claim 1, wherein the backscatter parameter comprises at least one of the following:

Indicative information of the transmit power of the backscatter signal;

Indicative information of a modulation mode of the backscatter signal;

Indicative information of the frequency deviation of the backscattered signal;

Configuration information of time domain resources of the backscatter signal;

Configuration information of frequency domain resources of the backscatter signal.
The method according to claim 1, wherein before the first communication device receives the first information and the first signal, it further comprises:

The first communication device receives a first reference signal sent by a target communication device;

The first communication device sends a second reference signal to the target communication device, the second reference signal is a reflected signal of the first reference signal, the first reference signal and the second reference signal are used to determine a first path loss between the first communication device and the target communication device, the first path loss is used by the target communication device to determine a first signal parameter, and the target communication device is the communication device that sends the first signal.
The method according to claim 6, wherein the first signal parameter comprises at least one of the following:

information indicating the transmit power of the first signal;

Indicative information of a carrier frequency of the first signal;

Configuration information of frequency domain resources of the first signal;

Configuration information of time domain resources of the first signal.
The method according to claim 7, wherein the reflection coefficient corresponding to the second reference signal is the largest.
The method according to claim 7 or 8, wherein the first communication device sends a second reference signal to the target communication device, comprising:

When the bit data to be modulated is all 1 bits, the first communication device sends a second reference signal to the target communication device by amplitude modulation, phase modulation or frequency modulation;

or,

When the bit data to be modulated is not all 1 bits, the first communication device sends a second reference signal to the target communication device through phase modulation or frequency modulation.
The method according to claim 1, wherein, before the first communication device receives the first information and the first signal, it further comprises:

The first communication device sends capability information of the first communication device;

The capability information includes at least one of the following:

Whether there are nonlinear devices;

capability of the nonlinear device.
The method according to claim 10, wherein the nonlinear device comprises a rectifier and/or an amplifier, and the capability of the nonlinear device comprises at least one of the following:

Maximum power back-off corresponding to the rectifier and/or the amplifier;

The third-order intermodulation distortion degree corresponding to the rectifier and/or the amplifier;

The bandwidth corresponding to the rectifier and/or the amplifier.
The method according to claim 1, wherein before the first communication device sends the backscattered signal Before, it also includes:

The first communication device determines the frequency of the backscatter signal and/or the modulation mode of the backscatter signal according to the backscatter parameter.
The method according to claim 1, wherein the first signal comprises a first carrier signal and a second carrier signal, and a frequency of the first carrier signal is different from a frequency of the second carrier signal.
The method according to claim 13, wherein the first communication device receives the first information and the first signal, comprising:

The first communication device receives the first information and the first signal sent by the second communication device;

or,

The first communication device receives energy storage parameters and backscattering parameters sent by the second communication device and/or the third communication device;

The first communication device receives the first carrier signal sent by the second communication device;

The first communication device receives the second carrier signal sent by the third communication device.
The method according to claim 14, wherein, when the first communication device receives the second carrier signal sent by the third communication device, the second carrier signal is generated based on second information, and the second information is indicated by the second communication device to the third communication device, or is specified by the protocol, or is configured by the first network side device.
The method according to claim 15, wherein the second information includes at least one of the following:

The second communication device is synchronous or asynchronous with the third communication device;

the transmission power of the second carrier signal;

a carrier frequency of the second carrier signal;

frequency domain resources of the second carrier signal;

The time domain resource of the second carrier signal.
The method according to claim 13, wherein the frequency domain resources of the backscattered signal include the frequency domain resources of the first IM3 signal, or the frequency domain resources of the second IM3 signal, or the frequency domain resources of the first IM3 signal and the second IM3 signal;

The first IM3 signal and the second IM3 signal are third-order intermodulation signals generated by energy storage after the first carrier signal and the second carrier signal pass through the nonlinear device of the first communication device.
The method according to claim 17, wherein the first signal further comprises a third carrier signal and/or a fourth carrier signal;

Wherein, the frequency of the third carrier signal is the same as the frequency of the first IM3 signal, and the frequency of the fourth carrier signal is the same as the frequency of the second IM3 signal;

The third carrier signal and/or the fourth carrier signal are in a time division relationship, a frequency division relationship, or a time-frequency division relationship with the first carrier signal and the second carrier signal.
The method according to any one of claims 1 to 5, 12 to 18, wherein the first communication device receives the first information and the first signal, comprising:

The first communication device receives first information and/or a first signal sent by a target communication device;

The first communication device sending the backscatter signal includes:

The first communication device sends the backscatter signal to a fourth communication device.
The method according to claim 19, wherein, in the case where the target communication device is the communication device that sends the first signal, before the first communication device receives the first information and/or the first signal sent by the target communication device, it further comprises:

The first communication device receives a third reference signal sent by the fourth communication device;

The first communication device sends a fourth reference signal to the fourth communication device, where the fourth reference signal is a reflected signal of the third reference signal, and the third reference signal and the fourth reference signal are used to determine a second path loss between the first communication device and the fourth communication device, and the second path loss is used by the target communication device to determine a first signal parameter.
The method according to claim 20, wherein the third reference signal is configured by the second network side device, or is sent according to an instruction of the target communication device.
The method according to claim 19, wherein, before the first communication device receives the first information and the first signal sent by the target communication device, it further comprises:

The first communication device sends the capability information of the first communication device to the fourth communication device;

The capability information of the first communication device includes at least one of the following:

Whether nonlinear devices are integrated;

capability of the nonlinear device.
The method according to claim 19, wherein the first communication device sending the backscatter signal to the fourth communication device comprises:

The first communication device sends the backscatter signal to the fourth communication device according to a predefined rule;

or,

The first communication device sends the backscatter signal to the fourth communication device according to the instruction of the target communication device.
A signal transmission device, comprising:

A first receiving module, configured to receive first information and a first signal, wherein the first information includes an energy storage parameter and a backscattering parameter, wherein the energy storage parameter is used to indicate an energy storage operation of the first communication device, and the backscattering parameter is used to indicate a generation operation of a backscattering signal of the first communication device, and the first signal is used for energy storage of the first communication device and generation of the backscattering signal;

A first operating module, configured to store energy based on the first information and the first signal, and generate a third-order intermodulation IM3 signal, and generate the backscatter signal based on modulation of the IM3 signal;

The first sending module is used to send the backscattered signal.
A signal transmission method, comprising:

The target communication device sends first information and/or a first signal to the first communication device, wherein the first information includes an energy storage parameter and a backscattering parameter, wherein the energy storage parameter is used to indicate an energy storage operation of the first communication device, and the backscattering parameter is used to indicate a backscattering signal generation operation of the first communication device, and the first signal is used for energy storage of the first communication device and generation of the backscattering signal.
The method according to claim 25, wherein the energy storage parameter includes at least one of the following:

Indication of energy storage time;

Indication of energy storage mode.
The method according to claim 26, wherein the energy storage mode includes at least one of the following:

Continuous energy storage mode or intermittent energy storage mode;

Single carrier energy storage mode or multi-carrier energy storage mode;

Original signal energy storage mode or signal amplified energy storage mode.
The method according to claim 27, wherein, when the energy storage mode includes an energy storage mode after signal amplification, the first information also includes a third-order intermodulation distortion after passing through an amplifier.
The method of claim 25, wherein the backscatter parameter comprises at least one of the following:

Indicative information of the transmit power of the backscatter signal;

Indicative information of a modulation mode of the backscatter signal;

Indicative information of the frequency deviation of the backscattered signal;

Configuration information of time domain resources of the backscatter signal;

Configuration information of frequency domain resources of the backscatter signal.
The method according to claim 25, wherein, in the case where the target communication device sends the first signal to the first communication device, before the target communication device sends the first signal to the first communication device, it further comprises:

The target communication device sends a first reference signal to the first communication device;

The target communication device receives a second reference signal sent by the first communication device, where the second reference signal is a reflected signal of the first reference signal;

The target communication device determines a first path loss between the first communication device and the target communication device based on the first reference signal and the second reference signal;

The target communication device determines a first signal parameter according to the first path loss.
The method according to claim 30, wherein the first signal parameter comprises at least one of the following:

information indicating the transmit power of the first signal;

Indicative information of a carrier frequency of the first signal;

Configuration information of frequency domain resources of the first signal;

Configuration information of time domain resources of the first signal.
The method according to claim 25, wherein, before the target communication device sends the first information and the first signal to the first communication device, it further comprises:

The target communication device receives the capability information of the first communication device;

The capability information includes at least one of the following:

Whether there are nonlinear devices;

capability of the nonlinear device.
The method of claim 32, wherein the nonlinear device comprises a rectifier and/or an amplifier, and the capability of the nonlinear device comprises at least one of the following:

Maximum power back-off corresponding to the rectifier and/or the amplifier;

The third-order intermodulation distortion degree corresponding to the rectifier and/or the amplifier;

The bandwidth corresponding to the rectifier and/or the amplifier.
The method according to claim 32, wherein the target communication device receives the capability information of the first communication device, comprising:

The target communication device receives the capability information sent by the first communication device;

or,

The target communication device receives capability information of the first communication device sent by a fifth communication device, where the first communication device is integrated into the fifth communication device.
The method according to any one of claims 25 to 34, wherein the first signal comprises a first carrier signal and a second carrier signal, and the frequency of the first carrier signal is different from the frequency of the second carrier signal.
The method according to claim 35, wherein the frequency domain resources of the backscattered signal include the frequency domain resources of the first third-order intermodulation IM3 signal, or the frequency domain resources of the second IM3 signal, or the frequency domain resources of the first IM3 signal and the second IM3 signal;

The first IM3 signal and the second IM3 signal are third-order intermodulation signals generated by energy storage after the first carrier signal and the second carrier signal pass through the nonlinear device of the first communication device.
The method according to claim 36, wherein the first signal further comprises a third carrier signal and/or a fourth carrier signal;

Wherein, the frequency of the third carrier signal is the same as the frequency of the first IM3 signal, and the frequency of the fourth carrier signal is the same as the frequency of the second IM3 signal;

The third carrier signal and/or the fourth carrier signal are in a time division relationship, a frequency division relationship, or a time-frequency division relationship with the first carrier signal and the second carrier signal.
A signal transmission device, comprising:

A second sending module is used to send first information and/or a first signal to a first communication device, wherein the first information includes an energy storage parameter and a backscattering parameter, the energy storage parameter is used to indicate the energy storage operation of the first communication device, the backscattering parameter is used to indicate the generation operation of the backscattering signal of the first communication device, and the first signal is used for energy storage of the first communication device and generation of the backscattering signal.
A communication device comprises a processor and a memory, wherein the memory stores a program or instruction that can be run on the processor, and when the program or instruction is executed by the processor, it implements the signal transmission method as described in any one of claims 1 to 23, or the steps of the signal transmission method as described in any one of claims 25 to 37.
A readable storage medium storing a program or instruction, wherein the program or instruction, when executed by a processor, implements the signal transmission method as described in any one of claims 1 to 23, or the steps of the signal transmission method as described in any one of claims 25 to 37.