US-12628136-B2 - Method and apparatus for integrating wireless communication and wireless sensing

US12628136B2US 12628136 B2US12628136 B2US 12628136B2US-12628136-B2

Abstract

Provided are a method and an apparatus for integrating wireless communication and wireless sensing. The method includes: transmitting, by a communication device, a wireless sensing signal in a target slot position related to a switching point between signal transmission and signal reception of a wireless communication signal; and receiving an echo signal corresponding to the wireless sensing signal in the case that a signal transmission slot of the wireless communication signal is ended.

Inventors

Shiqiang Suo
Qiusha GONG
Xin Su

Assignees

DATANG MOBILE COMMUNICATIONS EQUIPMENT CO., LTD.

Dates

Publication Date: 20260512
Application Date: 20211210
Priority Date: 20210120

Claims (16)

1 . A method for integrating wireless communication and wireless sensing, comprising: transmitting, by a communication device, a wireless sensing signal in a target slot position related to a switching point between signal transmission and signal reception of a wireless communication signal; and receiving an echo signal corresponding to the wireless sensing signal after a signal transmission slot of the wireless communication signal is ended; wherein the target slot position comprises one of: a slot position with a duration of τ before an end time point of a first slot, the first slot being a last signal transmission slot of the wireless communication signal; a slot position with a duration of τ after a start time point of a second slot, the second slot being a slot after and adjacent to the last signal transmission slot of the wireless communication signal; a slot position with a duration of τ started before the end time point of the first slot and ended after the start time point of the second slot, wherein τ represents a duration of each transmission of the wireless sensing signal; wherein in the case that the communication device is a base station, the first slot is a downlink slot, and the second slot is an idle slot or an uplink slot after the last signal transmission slot of the wireless communication signal; and in the case that the communication device is a terminal, the first slot is an uplink slot, and the second slot is an idle slot or a downlink slot after the last signal transmission slot of the wireless communication signal.
2 . The method according to claim 1 , wherein the wireless sensing signal occupies an entire operating frequency band or a part of the operating frequency band corresponding to the target slot position.
3 . The method according to claim 1 , wherein the transmitting the wireless sensing signal in the target slot position related to the switching point between the signal transmission and the signal reception of the wireless communication signal comprises: transmitting, within a sensing detection period, the wireless sensing signal for N times with a target period, where N×T1<T, T1 represents the target period and is an integral multiple of a duration of a subframe for transmitting the wireless communication signal, and T represents the sensing detection period.
4 . The method according to claim 3 , wherein in the case that the communication device operates in a full duplexing mode, a time for receiving the echo signal corresponding to the wireless sensing signal is Tr1=T1−τ, where Tr1 represents the time for receiving the echo signal, and τ represents a duration of each transmission of the wireless sensing signal; or, in the case that the communication device operates in a time-division multiplexing mode, a time for receiving the echo signal corresponding to the wireless sensing signal is Tr2=T1−τ−Td1−T0, where Tr2 represents the time for receiving the echo signal, τ represents a duration of each transmission of the wireless sensing signal, Td1 represents a duration of the signal transmission slot of the wireless communication signal, and T0 represents a switching time between the signal transmission and the signal reception of the wireless communication signal.
5 . The method according to claim 1 , further comprising: generating a first transmission control signal for transmitting the wireless sensing signal, the first transmission control signal being used to control a first transmission channel to transmit the wireless sensing signal; and generating a first reception control signal for receiving the echo signal corresponding to the wireless sensing signal, after the signal transmission slot of the wireless communication signal is ended, the first reception control signal being used to control a first reception channel to receive the echo signal, wherein the transmitting the wireless sensing signal in the target slot position related to the switching point between the signal transmission and the signal reception of the wireless communication signal comprises: transmitting the wireless sensing signal through the first transmission channel in the target slot position related to the switching point between the signal transmission and the signal reception of the wireless communication signal in accordance with the first transmission control signal, wherein the receiving the echo signal corresponding to the wireless sensing signal after the signal transmission slot of the wireless communication signal is ended comprises: receiving the echo signal corresponding to the wireless sensing signal through the first reception channel in accordance with the first reception control signal, in the case that the first reception channel is enabled.
6 . The method according to claim 1 , further comprising: generating a second transmission control signal for transmitting the wireless communication signal, the second transmission control signal being used to control a second transmission channel to transmit the wireless communication signal; after the transmission of the wireless communication signal, generating a second reception control signal for receiving the wireless communication signal, the second reception control signal being used to control a second reception channel to receive the wireless communication signal; before the transmission of the wireless sensing signal, generating a third transmission control signal for transmitting the wireless sensing signal, the third transmission control signal being used to control a third transmission channel to transmit the wireless sensing signal; and in the case that the wireless sensing signal has been transmitted and the signal transmission slot of the wireless communication signal is ended, generating a third reception control signal for receiving the echo signal corresponding to the wireless sensing signal, the third reception control signal being used to control a third reception channel to receive the echo signal.
7 . The method according to claim 6 , further comprising: in the case that the second transmission channel is enabled, transmitting the wireless communication signal through the second transmission channel in accordance with the second transmission control signal; and in the case that the second reception channel is enabled, receiving the wireless communication signal through the second reception channel in accordance with the second reception control signal, wherein the transmitting the wireless sensing signal in the target slot position related to the switching point between the signal transmission and the signal reception of the wireless communication signal comprises: in the case that the third transmission channel is enabled, transmitting the wireless sensing signal through the third transmission channel in the target slot position related to the switching point between the signal transmission and the signal reception of the wireless communication signal in accordance with the third transmission control signal, wherein the receiving the echo signal corresponding to the wireless sensing signal after the signal transmission slot of the wireless communication signal is ended comprises: in the case that the third reception channel is enabled, receiving the echo signal corresponding to the wireless sensing signal through the third reception channel in accordance with the third reception control signal.
8 . The method according to claim 1 , wherein prior to transmitting the wireless sensing signal in the target slot position related to the switching point between the signal transmission and the signal reception of the wireless communication signal, the method further comprises: generating the wireless sensing signal; and/or, generating the wireless communication signal.
9 . An apparatus for integrating wireless communication and wireless sensing, comprising a transceiver, a memory, a processor, and a computer program that is stored in the memory and executable by the processor, wherein when executing the computer program, the processor is configured to: transmit a wireless sensing signal in a target slot position related to a switching point between signal transmission and signal reception of a wireless communication signal; and receive an echo signal corresponding to the wireless sensing signal after a signal transmission slot of the wireless communication signal is ended; wherein the target slot position comprises one of: a slot position with a duration of τ before an end time point of a first slot, the first slot being a last signal transmission slot of the wireless communication signal; a slot position with a duration of τ after a start time point of a second slot, the second slot being a slot after and adjacent to the last signal transmission slot of the wireless communication signal; a slot position with a duration of τ started before the end time point of the first slot and ended after the start time point of the second slot, wherein τ represents a duration of each transmission of the wireless sensing signal; wherein in the case that the apparatus is a base station, the first slot is a downlink slot, and the second slot is an idle slot or an uplink slot after the last signal transmission slot of the wireless communication signal; and in the case that the apparatus is a terminal, the first slot is an uplink slot, and the second slot is an idle slot or a downlink slot after the last signal transmission slot of the wireless communication signal.
10 . The apparatus according to claim 9 , wherein the wireless sensing signal occupies an entire operating frequency band or a part of the operating frequency band corresponding to the target slot position, wherein the transmitting the wireless sensing signal in the target slot position related to the switching point between the signal transmission and the signal reception of the wireless communication signal comprises: transmitting, within a sensing detection period, the wireless sensing signal for N times with a target period, where N×T1<T, T1 represents the target period and is an integral multiple of a duration of a subframe for transmitting the wireless communication signal, and T represents the sensing detection period.
11 . The apparatus according to claim 10 , wherein in the case that the communication device operates in a full duplexing mode, a time for receiving the echo signal corresponding to the wireless sensing signal is Tr1=T1−τ, where Tr1 represents the time for receiving the echo signal, and τ represents a duration of each transmission of the wireless sensing signal; or, wherein in the case that the communication device operates in a time-division multiplexing mode, a time for receiving the echo signal corresponding to the wireless sensing signal is Tr2=T1−τ−Td1−T0, where Tr2 represents the time for receiving the echo signal, τ represents a duration of each transmission of the wireless sensing signal, Td1 represents a duration of the signal transmission slot of the wireless communication signal, and T0 represents a switching time between the signal transmission and the signal reception of the wireless communication signal.
12 . The apparatus according to claim 9 , wherein the processor is further configured to execute the computer program, so as to: generate a first transmission control signal for transmitting the wireless sensing signal, the first transmission control signal being used to control a first transmission channel to transmit the wireless sensing signal; and generate a first reception control signal for receiving the echo signal corresponding to the wireless sensing signal, after the signal transmission slot of the wireless communication signal is ended, the first reception control signal being used to control a first reception channel to receive the echo signal, wherein the transmitting the wireless sensing signal in the target slot position related to the switching point between the signal transmission and the signal reception of the wireless communication signal comprises: transmitting the wireless sensing signal through the first transmission channel in the target slot position related to the switching point between the signal transmission and the signal reception of the wireless communication signal in accordance with the first transmission control signal, wherein the receiving the echo signal corresponding to the wireless sensing signal after the signal transmission slot of the wireless communication signal is ended comprises: receiving the echo signal corresponding to the wireless sensing signal through the first reception channel in accordance with the first reception control signal, in the case that the first reception channel is enabled.
13 . The apparatus according to claim 9 , wherein the processor is further configured to execute the computer program, so as to: generate a second transmission control signal for transmitting the wireless communication signal, the second transmission control signal being used to control a second transmission channel to transmit the wireless communication signal; after the transmission of the wireless communication signal, generate a second reception control signal for receiving the wireless communication signal, the second reception control signal being used to control a second reception channel to receive the wireless communication signal; before the transmission of the wireless sensing signal, generate a third transmission control signal for transmitting the wireless sensing signal, the third transmission control signal being used to control a third transmission channel to transmit the wireless sensing signal; and in the case that the wireless sensing signal has been transmitted and the signal transmission slot of the wireless communication signal is ended, generate a third reception control signal for receiving the echo signal corresponding to the wireless sensing signal, the third reception control signal being used to control a third reception channel to receive the echo signal.
14 . The apparatus according to claim 13 , wherein the processor is further configured to execute the computer program, so as to: in the case that the second transmission channel is enabled, transmit the wireless communication signal through the second transmission channel in accordance with the second transmission control signal; and in the case that the second reception channel is enabled, receive the wireless communication signal through the second reception channel in accordance with the second reception control signal, wherein the transmitting the wireless sensing signal in the target slot position related to the switching point between the signal transmission and the signal reception of the wireless communication signal comprises: in the case that the third transmission channel is enabled, transmitting the wireless sensing signal through the third transmission channel within the target slot position related to the switching point between the signal transmission and the signal reception of the wireless communication signal in accordance with the third transmission control signal, wherein the receiving the echo signal corresponding to the wireless sensing signal after the signal transmission slot of the wireless communication signal is ended comprises: in the case that the third reception channel is enabled, receiving the echo signal corresponding to the wireless sensing signal through the third reception channel in accordance with the third reception control signal.
15 . The apparatus according to claim 9 , wherein prior to transmitting the wireless sensing signal in the target slot position related to the switching point between the signal transmission and the signal reception of the wireless communication signal, the processor is further configured to execute the computer program so as to: generate the wireless sensing signal; and/or, generate the wireless communication signal.
16 . A non-transitory processor-readable storage medium, storing therein a computer program, wherein the computer program, when executed by a processor, causes the processor to implement the following steps: transmitting a wireless sensing signal in a target slot position related to a switching point between signal transmission and signal reception of a wireless communication signal; and receiving an echo signal corresponding to the wireless sensing signal after a signal transmission slot of the wireless communication signal is ended; wherein the target slot position comprises one of: a slot position with a duration of τ before an end time point of a first slot, the first slot being a last signal transmission slot of the wireless communication signal; a slot position with a duration of τ after a start time point of a second slot, the second slot being a slot after and adjacent to the last signal transmission slot of the wireless communication signal; a slot position with a duration of τ started before the end time point of the first slot and ended after the start time point of the second slot, wherein τ represents a duration of each transmission of the wireless sensing signal; wherein in the case that the processor is a processor of a base station, the first slot is a downlink slot, and the second slot is an idle slot or an uplink slot after the last signal transmission slot of the wireless communication signal; and in the case that the processor is a processor of a terminal, the first slot is an uplink slot, and the second slot is an idle slot or a downlink slot after the last signal transmission slot of the wireless communication signal.

Description

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS This application is the U.S. national phase of PCT Application No. PCT/CN2021/137069 filed on Dec. 10, 2021, which claims a priority of the Chinese patent application No. 202110076227.4 filed on Jan. 20, 2021, disclosures of which are incorporated herein by reference in their entireties. TECHNICAL FIELD The present disclosure relates to the field of communication technology, in particular to a method and an apparatus for integrating wireless communication and wireless sensing. BACKGROUND Radar-based wireless sensing technology includes two modes, i.e., a passive sensing mode and an active sensing mode. In the passive sensing mode, a sensor obtains electromagnetic waves (e.g., infrared rays) emitted by a target object or reflected by the target object for sensing. In the active sensing mode, the sensor transmits electromagnetic waves and receives the electromagnetic waves reflected by the target object for sensing. A distance between the sensed target object and the sensor is unknown, so the sensor needs to receive a reflected signal corresponding to a sensing signal in real time. Currently, the integrating between the wireless sensing and the wireless communication mainly in an inter-frequency fusion mode, i.e., the wireless sensing and the wireless communication operate at different operating frequency bands so as to reduce an interference therebetween. Generally, the wireless sensing operates at a high frequency band, while the wireless communication operates at a low frequency band. Along with a decrease in frequency resources, the operating frequency of the wireless communication system becomes higher and higher, and there is an obvious trend for the wireless sensing and the wireless communication to operate at a same frequency band. When the wireless sensing and the wireless communication are simply arranged to operate at a same frequency band, because an echo signal is required to be received in real time in the radar-based wireless sensing technology, a transceiver of the sensor is highly demanded, and the communication system is adversely affected. SUMMARY The present disclosure provides a method and an apparatus for integrating wireless communication and wireless sensing, so as to prevent the communication function from being adversely affected after the introduction of the sensing function into a system. The present disclosure provides in embodiments a method for integrating wireless communication and wireless sensing, including: transmitting, by a communication device, a wireless sensing signal in a target slot position related to a switching point between signal transmission and signal reception of a wireless communication signal; and receiving an echo signal corresponding to the wireless sensing signal in the case that a signal transmission slot of the wireless communication signal is ended. In a possible embodiment of the present disclosure, the target slot position includes one of: a slot position with a duration of τ before an end time point of a first slot, the first slot being a last signal transmission slot of the wireless communication signal; a slot position with a duration of τ after a start time point of a second slot, the second slot being a slot after and adjacent to the last signal transmission slot of the wireless communication signal; or a slot position with a duration of τ started before the end time point of the first slot and ended after the start time point of the second slot, where τ represents a duration of each transmission of the wireless sensing signal. In a possible embodiment of the present disclosure, in the case that the communication device is a base station, the first slot is a downlink slot, and the second slot is an idle slot or an uplink slot after the last signal transmission slot of the wireless communication signal; and in the case that the communication device is a terminal, the first slot is an uplink slot, and the second slot is an idle slot or a downlink slot after the last signal transmission slot of the wireless communication signal. In a possible embodiment of the present disclosure, the wireless sensing signal occupies an entire operating frequency band or a part of the operating frequency band corresponding to the target slot position. In a possible embodiment of the present disclosure, the transmitting the wireless sensing signal in the target slot position related to the switching point between the signal transmission and the signal reception of the wireless communication signal includes transmitting, within a sensing detection period, the wireless sensing signal for N times with a target period, where N×T1<T, T1 represents the target period and is an integral multiple of a duration of a subframe for transmitting the wireless communication signal, and τ represents the sensing detection period. In a possible embodiment of the present disclosure, in the case that the communication device operates in a full dupl