KR102594360B1 - A method and apparatus for performing ranging in a wireless communication system - Google Patents

Abstract

According to an embodiment of the present disclosure, in a method of operating an electronic device that performs ranging through UWB (Ultra Wideband) in a wireless communication system, a first message to start the ranging is broadcast or Multicasting; and transmitting a third message based on whether a second message to respond to the first message is received within a predetermined period of time from another electronic device that received the first message. .

Description

{A method and apparatus for performing ranging in a wireless communication system}

The present disclosure discloses a method and device for performing ranging in a wireless communication system.

The Internet is evolving from a human-centered network where humans create and consume information to an IoT (Internet of Things) network that exchanges and processes information between distributed components such as objects. IoE (Internet of Everything) technology, which combines IoT technology with big data processing technology through connection to cloud servers, etc., is also emerging. In order to implement IoT, technological elements such as sensing technology, wired and wireless communication and network infrastructure, service interface technology, and security technology are required. Recently, sensor networks for connection between things, and machine to machine communication (Machine to Machine) are required to implement IoT. , M2M), and MTC (Machine Type Communication) are being researched. In the IoT environment, intelligent IT (Internet Technology) services that create new value in human life can be provided by collecting and analyzing data generated from connected objects. IoT is used in fields such as smart home, smart building, smart city, smart car or connected car, smart grid, healthcare, smart home appliances, and advanced medical services through the convergence and combination of existing IT (information technology) technology and various industries. It can be applied to .

As wireless communication systems develop, various services can be provided, and methods for effectively providing these services are required. Additionally, there is a need for a method to effectively perform ranging between a plurality of electronic devices.

Embodiments of the present disclosure relate to a method and device for performing ranging through ultra wideband (UWB).

According to an embodiment of the present disclosure, in a method of operating an electronic device that performs ranging through UWB (ultra wideband) in a wireless communication system, broadcasting a first message to start the ranging or Multicasting; and transmitting a third message based on whether a second message to respond to the first message is received within a predetermined period of time from another electronic device that received the first message. .

According to an embodiment of the present disclosure, an electronic device that performs ranging through UWB (Ultra Wideband) in a wireless communication system includes: at least one transceiver; at least one memory storing a program; and broadcasting or multicasting a first message for starting the ranging by executing the program, and, from another electronic device receiving the first message, a device for responding to the first message within a predetermined period of time. An electronic device including at least one processor that transmits a third message based on whether two messages are received is disclosed.

1 is a diagram illustrating a general Device-to-Device (D2D) communication procedure.
Figure 2 is a diagram illustrating a communication process between a plurality of electronic devices.
Figure 3 is a diagram showing the ultra wideband (UWB) PHY frame structure.
FIG. 4 is a diagram schematically illustrating a single-sided two-way (SS-TWR) ranging operation of electronic devices.
Figure 5 is a sequence diagram schematically explaining the single-sided bidirectional ranging operation of electronic devices.
FIG. 6 is a diagram schematically illustrating a double-sided two-way (DS-TWR) ranging operation of electronic devices.
FIG. 7 is a sequence diagram schematically explaining a double-sided bidirectional ranging operation of electronic devices.
Figure 8 is a diagram schematically illustrating the two-sided bidirectional ranging process of electronic devices.
Figure 9 is a diagram showing a UWB superframe structure.
Figure 10 is a diagram illustrating the process of setting a network allocation vector (NAV) based on ready to send (RTS) and clear to send (CTS).
Figure 11 is a diagram illustrating the process of setting NAV based on RTS, CTS, data, and acknowledgment (ACK).
FIG. 12 is a diagram illustrating an environment in which a collision occurs during the operation of electronic devices according to embodiments of the present disclosure.
FIG. 13 is a diagram illustrating an environment in which collisions do not occur when electronic devices operate according to embodiments of the present disclosure.
FIG. 14 is a diagram illustrating a flowchart of an operation process of an electronic device according to embodiments of the present disclosure.
FIG. 15A is a diagram illustrating the frame structure of a message according to an embodiment of the present disclosure.
FIG. 15B is a diagram illustrating the frame structure of a message according to another embodiment of the present disclosure.
FIG. 16A is a diagram schematically illustrating a NAV setting operation of electronic devices according to an embodiment of the present disclosure.
FIG. 16B is a diagram schematically illustrating a NAV setting operation of electronic devices according to another embodiment of the present disclosure.
FIG. 17 is a diagram schematically illustrating a NAV setting operation of electronic devices according to embodiments of the present disclosure.
FIG. 18 is a flowchart illustrating a message transmission and reception operation process of an electronic device according to embodiments of the present disclosure.
FIG. 19A is a diagram schematically illustrating an operation of setting the NAV of electronic devices based on transmission of an intermediate (I) Poll (I-Poll) message according to embodiments of the present disclosure.
FIG. 19B is a diagram schematically illustrating an operation of setting the NAV of electronic devices based on transmission of an intermediate Poll message according to embodiments of the present disclosure.
FIG. 20 is a diagram illustrating the structures of an acknowledgment (Ack) message and a data message frame according to embodiments of the present disclosure.
FIG. 21 is a diagram illustrating occupancy time (Duration) IE (information element) according to embodiments of the present disclosure.
FIG. 22 is a diagram schematically illustrating an operation in which collision in a channel is avoided based on Ack message transmission according to embodiments of the present disclosure.
FIG. 23 is a flowchart illustrating an operation process of a third or fourth electronic device according to embodiments of the present disclosure.
FIG. 24 is a diagram illustrating the configuration of an electronic device according to embodiments of the present disclosure.

Below, with reference to the attached drawings, embodiments of the present disclosure will be described in detail so that those skilled in the art can easily implement the present disclosure. However, the present disclosure may be implemented in many different forms and is not limited to the embodiments described herein. In addition, in order to clearly explain the present disclosure in the drawings, parts that are not related to the description are omitted, and similar parts are given similar reference numerals throughout the specification.

The terms used in this disclosure are described as general terms currently used in consideration of the functions mentioned in this disclosure, but may mean various other terms depending on the intention or precedents of those skilled in the art, the emergence of new technologies, etc. You can. Accordingly, the terms used in this disclosure should not be interpreted only by the name of the term, but should be interpreted based on the meaning of the term and the overall content of this disclosure.

Additionally, terms such as first, second, etc. may be used to describe various components, but the components should not be limited by these terms. These terms are used for the purpose of distinguishing one component from another.

Additionally, the terms used in the present disclosure are merely used to describe specific embodiments and are not intended to limit the present disclosure. Singular expressions include plural meanings, unless the context clearly indicates singularity. In addition, throughout the specification, when a part is said to be "connected" to another part, this refers not only to the case where it is "directly connected" but also to the case where it is "electrically connected" with another element in between. Includes. Additionally, when a part is said to “include” a certain component, this means that it can further include other components rather than excluding other components, unless specifically stated to the contrary.

As used throughout this specification, “the” and similar referents may refer to both singular and plural numbers. Additionally, unless there is a description clearly designating the order of steps describing the method according to the present disclosure, the steps described may be performed in any suitable order. The present disclosure is not limited by the order of description of the steps described.

Phrases such as “in some embodiments” or “in one embodiment” that appear in various places in this specification do not necessarily all refer to the same embodiment.

An embodiment of the present disclosure may be represented by functional block configurations and various processing steps. Some or all of these functional blocks may be implemented in various numbers of hardware and/or software configurations that perform specific functions. For example, the functional blocks of the present disclosure may be implemented by one or more microprocessors, or may be implemented by circuit configurations for certain functions. Additionally, for example, functional blocks of the present disclosure may be implemented in various programming or scripting languages. Functional blocks may be implemented as algorithms running on one or more processors. Additionally, the present disclosure may employ conventional technologies for electronic environment setup, signal processing, and/or data processing. Terms such as “mechanism,” “element,” “means,” and “configuration” may be used broadly and are not limited to mechanical and physical components.

Additionally, connection lines or connection members between components shown in the drawings merely exemplify functional connections and/or physical or circuit connections. In an actual device, connections between components may be represented by various replaceable or additional functional connections, physical connections, or circuit connections.

In general, wireless sensor network technology is largely divided into wireless LAN (WLAN) technology and wireless personal area network (WPAN) technology depending on the recognition distance. At this time, wireless LAN is a technology based on IEEE 802.11 and is a technology that allows access to the backbone network within a radius of about 100m. And wireless private networks are technologies based on IEEE 802.15, including Bluetooth, ZigBee, and ultra-wide band (UWB). The wireless sensor network in which this wireless sensor network technology is implemented is composed of multiple communication electronic devices. At this time, multiple communication electronic devices perform communication in an active period using a single channel. That is, communication electronic devices can collect packets in the active section and transmit the collected packets.

UWB can refer to a short-range, high-speed wireless communication technology using a wide frequency band of several GHz or more in the baseband state, low spectral density, and short pulse width (1 to 4 nsec). UWB may also refer to the band itself to which UWB communication is applied. Below, the communication method of electronic devices is explained based on UWB, but this is only an example and can actually be applied to various wireless communication technologies.

Electronic devices according to embodiments of the present disclosure include mobile phones, smart phones, mobile terminals, laptop computers, digital broadcasting terminals, personal digital assistants (PDAs), portable multimedia players (PMPs), navigation, and slates. It may include PCs (slate PCs), tablet PCs, ultrabooks, telematics terminals, digital TVs, desktop computers, refrigerators, projectors, cars, smart cars, printers, etc.

Hereinafter, the present disclosure will be described in detail with reference to the attached drawings.

Figure 1 is a diagram explaining a general D2D communication procedure.

D2D (Device-to-Device) communication refers to a method in which geographically adjacent electronic devices communicate directly without going through infrastructure such as a base station. D2D communication can use unlicensed frequency bands such as Wi-Fi Direct and Bluetooth. Alternatively, D2D communication may utilize licensed frequency bands to improve the frequency use efficiency of the cellular system. D2D communication is sometimes used limitedly as a term referring to communication between objects or object intelligence communication, but D2D communication in the present disclosure is not only a simple device equipped with a communication function, but also a communication function such as a smartphone or personal computer. It can include communication between various types of devices.

Figure 2 is a diagram illustrating a communication process between a plurality of electronic devices.

The first electronic device 210 and the second electronic device 220 may communicate with each other through a device discovery process 230, a link creation process 240, and a data communication process 250.

In the device discovery process 230, each of the first electronic device 210 and the second electronic device 220 may search for other electronic devices capable of D2D communication among electronic devices around the device. Through this, each of the first electronic device 210 and the second electronic device 220 can determine whether to create a link for D2D communication. For example, the first electronic device 210 may transmit a search signal so that the second electronic device 220 can search for the first electronic device 210. Additionally, the first electronic device 210 can receive a search signal transmitted by the second electronic device 220 and confirm that other electronic devices capable of D2D communication are within the D2D communication range.

In the link creation process 240, the first electronic device 210 and the second electronic device 220 each use an electronic device to transmit data among the electronic devices discovered in the device search process 230 and a data transmission terminal. You can create links. For example, the first electronic device 210 may create a link for data transmission with the second electronic device 220 discovered in the device discovery process 230.

In the data communication process 250, each of the first electronic device 210 and the second electronic device 220 can transmit and receive data with the devices that created the link in the link creation process 240. For example, the first electronic device 210 may transmit and receive data with the second electronic device 220 through the link created in the link creation process 240. Hereinafter, the first electronic device 210 may be referred to as an initiator, and the second electronic device 220 may be referred to as a responder.

Figure 3 is a diagram showing the UWB PHY frame structure.

The UWB PHY frame 300 may include a SHR Preamble (310), a PHY Header (PHR, 320), and a Data field (330).

The SHR preamble (Synchronization header preamble, 310) can be used for automatic gain control (AGC), signal acquisition, frequency offset estimation, packet synchronization, channel estimation, and especially ranging. Specifically, the SHR Preamble 310 performs Automatic Gain Control setting (AGC setting), antenna diversity selection, timing acquisition, frequency recovery, packet and frame synchronization ( For receiver algorithms related to packet and frame synchronization, channel estimation, and leading-edge signal tracking for ranging, it can be added before the PHR 320. SHR Preamble 310 may be referred to as a Preamble code.

The PHR 320 may include the contents of a PHY protocol data unit (PPDU) and information about the protocol used to transmit the PPDU.

Data field 330 may include data to be transmitted and received.

In UWB communication, an SHR preamble may be transmitted at the beginning of the frame to obtain synchronization between the transmitter and the receiver. The SHR preamble may be a signal promised between the transmitter and the receiver. In a wireless communication system, an SHR preamble can be determined so that the transmitter and receiver can be quickly synchronized through the start point of the frame. Although the UWB PHY frame structure is shown in FIG. 3, the UWB PHY frame structure according to various embodiments of the present disclosure is not limited to the content shown in FIG. 3.

Various embodiments of the present disclosure relate to medium access control (MAC), and when packets are exchanged during the medium access control process in UWB, techniques for avoiding collisions between electronic devices may be discussed. . For media access control in UWB, the distance between electronic devices needs to be measured. At this time, ranging technology may be used to measure the distance between electronic devices. Ranging technology using UWB can utilize a wider band compared to technologies that measure distance based on Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, BLE (Bluetooth low energy), or ultrasonic waves, so it can provide high accuracy. there is. For example, ranging technology using UWB is approximately It can provide an error accuracy of 10cm. On the other hand, distance measurement technology using Wi-Fi is approximately It can provide an error accuracy of 1m. In general, if the ranging technology using UWB is always activated, battery energy consumption of mobile devices may accelerate, so the ranging technology using UWB is not always activated and is not activated as needed by the user. If so, it can be activated or deactivated. For example, in the case of a door opening and closing scenario, the user may not be located near the door at all times, so when the user approaches the door when going out or after going out, the mobile device and the door are connected without the user's intervention. Distances between embedded electronic devices can be measured. At this time, if the measured distance between electronic devices satisfies the threshold, the locking device inherent in the door may be locked or unlocked. In the door opening and closing scenario described above, UWB activation by the user or UWB activation technique through out-of-band technology (eg, BLE) may be required. As in the scenario described above, when UWB of electronic devices is temporarily activated and distance measurement is performed only when necessary, electronic devices do not continuously participate in and monitor the UWB network, so scanning for a certain period of time is generally required. It can be. At this time, if the scan time is long, distance measurement may start later than necessary due to the scan time. On the other hand, when the scan time is short, it is difficult for the electronic device to determine whether the wireless communication channel is currently occupied, so a packet for distance measurement may be transmitted during packet exchange between nearby electronic devices. Therefore, the electronic device may fail to measure the distance. Additionally, UWB technology may have transmission power similar to or lower than noise as signals are spread over a wide band. Therefore, a method of determining whether a wireless communication channel is occupied based on energy detection, such as Wi-Fi, may not be applied. Therefore, in a scenario where ranging technology using UWB is performed, whether the channel is occupied can be determined through the minimum scan time. Additionally, whether or not a wireless communication channel is occupied may be determined based on information obtained through packet decoding rather than energy detection. Through this, collisions between packets transmitted by different electronic devices within the same wireless communication channel can be avoided.

4 and 5 below explain a single-sided two-way (SS-TWR) ranging technology using UWB.

FIG. 4 is a diagram schematically illustrating a single-sided bidirectional ranging operation of electronic devices.

Referring to FIG. 4, RMARKER may refer to information within a frame for defining a reference point. Electronic devices can measure time intervals through RMARKER.

The first electronic device 210 transmits (TX) a ranging frame (Poll) including a ranging request reply time (RRRT) IE (information element) to the second electronic device 220 to establish a lane. You can start the gong. The second electronic device 220, which has received the ranging frame, sends a ranging frame (Response) including a ranging reply time instantaneous (RRTI) IE including T _reply information to the first electronic device ( 210).

Specifically, the first electronic device 210 includes the 1-1 RMARKER 411 included in the frame transmitted to the second electronic device 220 and the frame received (RX) from the second electronic device 220. The time between the included 1st and 2nd RMARKERs 412 can be measured as T _round . The second electronic device 220 includes the 2-1 RMARKER 421 included in the frame received from the first electronic device 210, and the 2-2 RMARKER 421 included in the frame transmitted to the first electronic device 210. The time between RMARKER(422) can be measured with T _reply . ToF (time of flight) time T _prop can be calculated by <Equation 1> below.

In <Equation 1>, T _round is the time between the 1-1 RMARKER (411) and the 1-2 RMARKER (412), and T _reply is the time between the 2-1 RMARKER (421) and the 2-2 RMARKER (422) ) represents the time between. The speed of light (e.g. 3) is added to T _prop calculated through <Equation 1> The distance between the first electronic device 210 and the second electronic device 220 can be measured by multiplying m/s).

FIG. 5 is a sequence diagram schematically explaining the single-sided bidirectional ranging operation of electronic devices.

Referring to FIG. 5, in step 501, the first electronic device 210 sends a second ranging frame (Poll) including a Ranging Request Reply Time (RRRT) IE, which is an Information Element (IE) for requesting a T _reply . It can be transmitted to the electronic device 220. Through this, a ranging operation can be started (ranging poll).

In step 503, the second electronic device 220 may transmit a ranging frame (Response) including a Ranging Reply Time Instantaneous (RRTI) IE for providing a T _reply to the first electronic device 210. At this time, the first electronic device 210 is the time T between the RMARKER included in the ranging frame transmitted to the second electronic device 220 and the RMARKER included in the ranging frame received from the second electronic device 220. _round can be measured. In addition, the second electronic device 220 controls the time T between the RMARKER included in the ranging frame received from the first electronic device 210 and the RMARKER included in the ranging frame transmitted to the first electronic device 210. _Reply can be measured.

Hereinafter, Figures 6 and 7 explain double-sided two-way (DS-TWR) ranging technology as a ranging technology using UWB. Hereinafter, a ranging frame may be referred to as a frame, packet, or ranging message. Additionally, Poll may be referred to as either a Poll packet or a Poll message. Additionally, Response may be referred to as one of response packet, response message, response packet, and response message.

FIG. 6 is a diagram schematically illustrating a double-sided bidirectional ranging operation of electronic devices.

Referring to FIG. 6, RMARKER may refer to data within a frame for defining a reference point. Electronic devices can measure time intervals through RMARKER.

The first electronic device 210 is a second electronic device 220 and sends a ranging frame (ranging control double-sided two-way ranging (TWR) (RCDT) IE) with a value of 0. Ranging can be started by sending a Poll. The second electronic device 220, which has received the ranging frame, transmits a ranging frame (Response) as a response including an RCDT(2) IE with a value of 2 and an RRRT IE to the first electronic device 210. You can. At this time, the second electronic device 220 can measure T _reply1 . The first electronic device 210, which has received the ranging frame as a response, sends a ranging frame (including a RRTI IE including T _reply2 and a ranging round trip measurement (RRTM) IE including T _round1 ) 2 ^nd poll) can be transmitted to the second electronic device 220. The second electronic device 220 that receives this can measure the value of T _ronud2 .

Specifically, the first electronic device 210 includes the 1-1 RMARKER 611 included in the frame transmitted to the second electronic device 220, and the 1-1 RMARKER 611 included in the frame received from the second electronic device 220. The time between 1-2 RMARKER (612) can be measured as T _round1 .

The second electronic device 220 includes the 2-1 RMARKER 621 included in the frame received from the first electronic device 210, and the 2-2 RMARKER 621 included in the frame transmitted to the first electronic device 210. The time between RMARKER(622) can be measured with T _reply1 .

The first electronic device 210 includes the 1-2 RMARKER 612 included in the frame received from the second electronic device 220, and the 1-3 RMARKER 612 included in the frame transmitted to the first electronic device 210. The time between RMARKER(613) can be measured with T _reply2 .

The first electronic device 210 includes the 2-2 RMARKER 622 included in the frame transmitted to the second electronic device 220, and the 2-3 RMARKER 622 included in the frame received from the second electronic device 220. The time between RMARKER(623) can be measured as T _round2 . The ToF time T _prop can be calculated by <Equation 2> below.

In <Equation 2>, T _round1 is the time between the 1-1 RMARKER (611) and the 1-2 RMARKER (612), and T _reply1 is the time between the 2-1 RMARKER (621) and the 2-2 RMARKER The time between (622), T _reply2 is the time between the 1-2 RMARKER (612) and the 1-3 RMARKER (613), T _round2 is the time between the 2-2 RMARKER (622), and the 2-3 RMARKER (623) Indicates the time between. The speed of light (e.g. 3) is added to T _prop calculated through <Equation 2> The distance between the first electronic device 210 and the second electronic device 220 can be measured by multiplying by 10 ⁶ m/s).

FIG. 7 is a sequence diagram schematically explaining a double-sided bidirectional ranging operation of electronic devices.

Referring to FIG. 7, in step 701, the first electronic device 210 may transmit a ranging frame (Poll) including the RCDT(0) IE to the second electronic device 220. Through this, a ranging operation can be started (ranging poll).

In step 703, the second electronic device 220 may transmit a ranging frame (Response) including the RCDT 2 IE and the RRRT IE to the first electronic device 210. At this time, the second electronic device 220 can measure T _reply1 . As described above, T _reply1 is RMARKER included in the ranging frame received by the second electronic device 220 from the first electronic device 210, and the ranging signal transmitted (TX) to the first electronic device 210. This may mean the time between RMARKERs included in the frame. Hereinafter, the measurement principle of the time interval described with reference to FIG. 6 may be equally applied to T _reply2 , T _round1 , and T _round2 .

In step 705, the first electronic device 210 transmits (ranging) a ranging frame including timestamp information, RRTI IE (T _reply2 ) and RRTM IE (T _round1 ), to the second electronic device 220. final) can be done.

The control information values of the above-described RCDT IE and the meanings corresponding to each value are shown in <Table 1> below.

Below, FIG. 8 explains a multicast or broadcast ranging technology based on two-sided bidirectional ranging.

Figure 8 is a diagram schematically illustrating the two-sided bidirectional ranging process of electronic devices.

Referring to FIG. 8, the first electronic device 210 can transmit a ranging message (Poll) to each of the second electronic device 220, the third electronic device 810, and the N-th electronic device 820. there is. The ranging message (Poll) may include RCDT(0) IE and ranging control (RC) IE. RC IE is an IE for controlling the multicast ranging process, and types of ranging (e.g. unicast, multicast-scheduled, multicast-contention, and broadcast). A field representing a group ID or device ID (e.g. device B, device C - device N) that is the target of ranging, a list field, and a time slot for receiving a response message. It may include a field indicating the number of , a field indicating the length of a time slot for receiving a response, etc. If the RC IE indicates scheduled multicast or multicast competition or broadcast rather than unicast, a plurality of electronic devices may transmit a response message to the electronic device transmitting the Poll. When the RC IE includes a group ID or device ID list field, such as scheduled multicast or multicast contention, unlike in the case of broadcast, the target for transmitting the response message may be limited to some electronic devices. For example, in the case of scheduled multicast, electronic devices transmitting a response message may be limited to electronic devices included in the device ID list included in the Poll. At this time, the number of time slots in RC IE may be equal to the number of electronic devices included in the device ID list. In this case, electronic devices can sequentially transmit response messages from each slot (using the order included in the device ID list, etc.). In the case of multicast competition, electronic devices transmitting a response message may be limited to electronic devices included in the group ID list included in the Poll. At this time, the number of time slots in RC IE can be arbitrarily determined by the electronic device transmitting the Poll. In this case, electronic devices can select a random slot and transmit a response message in the selected slot. Additionally, in the case of broadcast, electronic devices transmitting a response message may not be specified. At this time, the number of time slots in RC IE can be arbitrarily determined by the electronic device transmitting the Poll. In this case, electronic devices can select a random slot and transmit a response message in the selected slot. The second electronic device 220, the third electronic device 810, and the N-th electronic device 820 each send a ranging message (Response) including the RCDT (2) IE and the RRRT IE to the first electronic device 210. It can be sent to . The first electronic device 210 sends a ranging frame including timestamp information, RRTI IE (T _reply2 ) and RRTM IE (T _round1 ), to the second electronic device 220 and the third electronic device 810. and can be transmitted (Ranging final or 2 ^nd Poll) to each of the fourth electronic devices 820. At this time, the ^2nd Poll may include multiple RRTI IEs and RRTM IEs. When exchanging packets for ranging in UWB, multiple methods can be considered to avoid collisions between electronic devices. For example, a non-competition transmission method using synchronized superframes can be used, as shown in FIG. 9 below.

Figure 9 is a diagram showing a UWB superframe structure.

Referring to FIG. 9, the superframe 910 includes a synchronization period (sync period) 920, a contention access period (CAP) 930, and a contention free period (CFP) 940. It can be included. The synchronization section 920 and the non-competition transmission section 940 may be composed of slots with a certain time length. For example, the synchronization period 920 may be composed of 8 slots with a time length of 0.5 ms. Additionally, the contention-free transmission section 940 may be composed of 32 slots with a time length of 2.25 ms. Electronic devices can transmit a synchronization packet in the synchronization period 920, and the starting point of the superframe between electronic devices can be synchronized through the transmitted synchronization packet. Additionally, electronic devices can determine a slot to use in the contention-free transmission section 940 through contention-free section usage information (CFP usage) included in the synchronization packet. When UWB is activated, electronic devices can synchronize to the network by receiving synchronization packets for a specific number of superframes. Additionally, electronic devices can determine a slot to use in the contention-free transmission section 940 by transmitting and receiving synchronization packets. Electronic devices may determine or secure a slot within the non-competition transmission section 940 in the synchronization section 920 and then perform distance measurement. When the above-described superframe is used, it may be assumed that electronic devices continuously perform synchronous packet transmission and reception operations. Therefore, it may not be suitable for ranging scenarios using UWB including mobile devices. When the above-described superframe is used in a ranging scenario using UWB, time and energy may be consumed by scanning the network for UWB, so distance measurement may be delayed or fail. As a result, battery consumption of mobile devices may accelerate.

When exchanging packets for ranging in UWB, an energy detection method may be considered to avoid collisions between electronic devices. For example, if energy above a certain threshold is detected through energy detection, the electronic device may not attempt to transmit a packet for ranging. However, in the case of UWB, as signals are spread over a wide frequency band, transmission power similar to or lower than noise is used, so it may not be easy for electronic devices to detect energy above the threshold. Therefore, the energy sensing method may not be suitable for the UWB environment.

When exchanging packets for ranging in UWB, multiple methods can be considered to avoid collisions between electronic devices. For example, in the above-described collision avoidance method, duration information included in a packet for ranging can be utilized. That is, the ranging packet transmitted by the electronic device may include information related to the occupancy time (duration). Through this, another electronic device that has received the packet can calculate the time the electronic device is expected to occupy the channel. At this time, the time value calculated through information related to the occupancy time may mean a network allocation vector (NAV) value, and other electronic devices may not transmit packets for ranging for a time equal to the NAV value. Since the electronic device does not perform energy detection for a time equal to the NAV value, energy consumption can be reduced by using a sleep mode or disabling transmission and reception. Figures 10 and 11 below explain a method of avoiding collisions through NAV settings.

Figure 10 is a diagram illustrating the process of setting NAV based on RTS (ready to send) and CTS (clear to send).

Referring to FIG. 10, the first electronic device 210 and the second electronic device 220 may exchange RTS and CTS to occupy a channel. At this time, the occupation time information in the RTS packet may include information related to the period required to transmit CTS, data, and acknowledgment (ACK). The third electronic device 1010 that receives the CTS packet can set or update the NAV using the occupation time information in the CTS packet. The third electronic device 1010 may not perform packet transmission for ranging for a period equal to the NAV value.

Figure 11 is a diagram illustrating the process of setting NAV based on RTS, CTS, data, and acknowledgment (ACK).

Figure 11 shows an example in which the NAV is continuously updated through the possession time information included in the divided and transmitted data (Fragments 0 to 2) and the possession time information included in the ACK. Referring to FIG. 11, the first electronic device 210 and the second electronic device 220 may exchange RTS and CTS to occupy a channel. Additionally, the first electronic device 210 can multicast or broadcast packets Fragments 0 to 2 as data. At this time, the occupation time of the Fragment 0 packet may include information related to the time required to transmit ACK, Fragment 1, and ACK. The ACK for Fragment 0 packet may include information on the time required to transmit Fragment 1 and ACK. The third electronic device 1110 can update the NAV using the fragment packet received from the first electronic device 210 and the ACK received from the second electronic device 220. The third electronic device 1110 may not perform packet transmission for ranging for a period equal to the updated NAV value.

When ranging is performed in UWB, even if the information related to the above-described occupancy time is included in all ranging packets, collisions between ranging packets may occur because ranging packets are not exchanged between electronic devices for a specific time. . Figure 12 explains an example in which a collision occurs between such ranging packets.

FIG. 12 is a diagram illustrating an environment in which a collision occurs during the operation of electronic devices according to embodiments of the present disclosure.

Referring to FIG. 12, in step 1201, the first electronic device 210 may transmit a Poll packet to perform ranging with the second electronic device 220 and the N-th electronic device 1210. Through this, a ranging operation can begin. In various embodiments, the above-described Poll packet may be broadcast or multicast.

In step 1203, the second electronic device 220 may transmit a response packet to the first electronic device 210.

In step 1205, the third electronic device 1220 is activated and can scan channels. That is, the electronic devices that perform ranging with the first electronic device 210 (e.g., the second electronic device 220 and the N-th electronic device 1210) specify a response packet to the first electronic device 210. While not transmitting for a period of time, the third electronic device 1220 may be activated (wake up). For example, in FIG. 12, the first electronic device 210 receives a response packet from the second electronic device 220, but receives a response packet from the N-th electronic device 1210 during the first set period 1202. You may not be able to receive. The activated third electronic device 1220 can scan channels for ranging in UWB.

In step 1207, the third electronic device 1220 may transmit a Poll packet to the M electronic device 1230. Since no Poll packet or response packet is transmitted to the third electronic device 1220 during the first set period 1202, the activated third electronic device 1220 performs ranging for other electronic devices when performing a channel scan. It is not known whether Accordingly, the third electronic device 1220 may scan the channel, determine that the channel is not in use, and transmit a Poll packet to the M electronic device 1230. In various embodiments, Poll packets may be broadcast or multicast.

In step 1209, the first electronic device 210 may receive a Poll packet transmitted by the third electronic device 1220. For example, the first electronic device 210 may receive a Poll packet transmitted by the third electronic device 1220 to the M electronic device 1230.

In step 1211, the M-th electronic device 1230 may transmit a response packet to the third electronic device 1220. That is, the M electronic device 1230 may transmit a response packet to the third electronic device 1220 in response to the Poll packet transmitted by the third electronic device 1220.

In step 1213, the first electronic device 210 can detect the response packet transmitted by the M-th electronic device 1230. For example, the first electronic device 210 may receive a response packet sent by the M-th electronic device 1230 to the third electronic device 1220.

In step 1215, the N-th electronic device 1210 may transmit a response packet to the first electronic device 210. That is, the Nth electronic device 1210 may transmit a response packet to the first electronic device 210 in response to the Poll packet from the first electronic device 210 received in step 1201. Steps 1213 and 1215 may be performed simultaneously. If steps 1213 and 1215 are performed simultaneously, a collision may occur between the response packet transmitted by the M-th electronic device 1230 in the first electronic device 210 and the response packet transmitted by the N-th electronic device 1210. You can. At this time, a collision that occurs in the first electronic device 210 occurs when different electrical signals (e.g., a response packet of the M-th electronic device 1230 and a response packet of the N-th electronic device 1210) overlap, causing the first electronic device to By being received by the device 210, it may mean that they interfere with each other.

In step 1217, the first electronic device 210 may transmit a ^2nd Poll packet to the second electronic device 220 and the Nth electronic device 1210. That is, the first electronic device 210 may transmit a ^2nd Poll packet to the second electronic device 220 and the Nth electronic device 1210 in response to the response packet.

In UWB communications, a data decoding method can be used instead of an energy sensing method to determine whether the wireless communication channel is occupied. For example, before exchanging packets for ranging with another electronic device, the electronic device may scan the channel for the sum of the maximum packet occupancy time and the maximum ACK section time. When an electronic device receives a packet from another electronic device during a channel scan, that is, when it receives a preamble symbol or signal, it may determine that the channel is occupied. At this time, the preamble symbol or signal may mean a symbol or signal for UWB. If the electronic device determines that the channel is occupied, it may not perform packet exchange for ranging with other electronic devices. In the above-described scenario, continuous channel scanning may be required.

Various embodiments of the present disclosure can provide a method of avoiding packet collisions based on information related to occupancy time in a ranging environment using one-to-many (1:N) UWB.

Various embodiments of the present disclosure may not use a superframe. In other words, operations for continuous synchronization between electronic devices in the UWB network may not be performed.

In various embodiments of the present disclosure, an electronic device may determine whether a wireless communication channel is occupied based on data decoding, that is, whether a preamble symbol or signal is received from other electronic devices. For example, before transmitting a packet for ranging, the electronic device may determine whether the channel is occupied through data decoding, and if the channel is not occupied, the electronic device may transmit the packet to another electronic device. The scan time that the electronic device determines whether the channel is occupied can be assumed to be the sum of the maximum packet occupancy time and the maximum ACK section time.

Various embodiments of the present disclosure may use occupancy time information and NAV information. For example, packets exchanged between electronic devices during the ranging process may include occupation time information. At this time, electronic devices that have received packets for ranging can set the NAV. Through this, collisions between electronic devices can be avoided in the one-to-one (1:1) UWB ranging process. Electronic devices can perform energy saving operations such as sleep mode until the ranging process ends.

Additionally, in various embodiments of the present disclosure, an electronic device that transmits a Poll to start ranging, that is, an electronic device that receives response messages from multiple electronic devices, receives responses from multiple electronic devices during a specific time. If the message is not received, a packet indicating that ranging is in progress can be transmitted. These packets may contain information related to occupancy time to update the NAV settings of neighboring electronic devices, and may be transmitted to other electronic devices. Additionally, the above-mentioned packet may be referred to differently from the conventional packet name, such as intermediate Poll, and may also be composed of packets such as Poll, data, Ack, response, etc. Hereinafter, intermediate Poll, intermediate Poll message, intermediate Poll packet, etc. may mean Ack (Acknowledge). The destination address of the above-described packet may be configured as the address of the electronic device transmitting the above-described packet. FIG. 13 below explains an example in which a ranging operation is performed between electronic devices when an intermediate poll is used.

FIG. 13 is a diagram illustrating an environment in which collisions do not occur when electronic devices operate according to embodiments of the present disclosure.

Referring to FIG. 13, in step 1301, the first electronic device 210 may transmit a Poll packet to perform ranging with the second electronic device 220 and the N-th electronic device 1310. Through this, a ranging operation can begin. In various embodiments, the above-described Poll packet may be broadcast or multicast.

In step 1303, the second electronic device 220 may transmit a response packet to the first electronic device 210.

In step 1305, the third electronic device 1320 is activated and can scan channels. That is, the electronic devices that perform ranging with the first electronic device 210 (e.g., the second electronic device 220 and the N-th electronic device 1310) specify a response packet to the first electronic device 210. While not transmitting for a period of time, the third electronic device 1320 may be activated (wake up). For example, in FIG. 13, the first electronic device 210 receives a response packet from the second electronic device 220, but receives a response packet from the N-th electronic device 1310 during the second set period 1302. You may not be able to receive. The activated third electronic device 1320 can scan channels for ranging in UWB.

In step 1307, the first electronic device 210 may transmit an intermediate Poll to the second electronic device 220, the N-th electronic device 1310, and the third electronic device 1320. That is, when the first electronic device 210 does not receive a response packet to the Poll packet from the N-th electronic device 1310 during the second set period 1302, it may transmit an intermediate Poll packet. By transmitting an intermediate Poll packet, collisions due to packet transmission and reception between different electronic devices in the UWB channel can be prevented. The third electronic device 1320, which has received the intermediate Poll packet, determines that the channel for ranging is occupied by the first electronic device 210, and sends a Poll packet for ranging to the M electronic device 1330. You may not send it.

In step 1309, the Nth electronic device 1310 may transmit a response packet to the first electronic device 210. That is, the N-th electronic device 1310 can transmit a response packet in response to the Poll packet of the first electronic device 210.

In step 1311, the first electronic device 210 may transmit a ^2nd Poll packet to the second electronic device 220 and the Nth electronic device 1310. That is, the first electronic device 210 may transmit a ^2nd Poll packet to the second electronic device 220 and the Nth electronic device 1310 in response to the response packet.

In step 1313, the third electronic device 1320 can scan the channel. That is, after the ranging process between the first electronic device 210, the second electronic device 220, and the N-th electronic device 1310 is completed, the third electronic device 1320 is used for ranging in UWB. You can scan channels.

In step 1315, the third electronic device 1320 may transmit a Poll packet to the M electronic device 1330. That is, the third electronic device 1320 may scan the channel, determine that the channel is not in use, and transmit a Poll packet to the M electronic device 1330. At this time, since the ranging process between the first electronic device 210, the second electronic device 220, and the N-th electronic device 1310 has already been completed, the third electronic device 1320 and the M-th electronic device 1330 A conflict may not occur between the ranging operation between the first electronic device 210, the second electronic device 220, and the N-th electronic device 1310. For example, a collision does not occur between the response packet sent by the M-th electronic device 1330 to the third electronic device 1320 and the response packet received by the first electronic device 210 from the N-th electronic device 1310. It may not be possible. 12 and 13 are explained using DS-TWR as an example, but it is not limited thereto and can also be applied to SS-TWR.

FIG. 14 is a diagram illustrating a flowchart of an operation process of an electronic device according to embodiments of the present disclosure.

Referring to FIG. 14, in step S1410, the electronic device may broadcast or multicast a first message to start ranging. For example, an electronic device may broadcast or multicast a Poll packet to start a ranging operation. In various embodiments, the first message may mean a Poll packet or a ranging frame. As the first message is broadcast or multicast, a ranging operation with other electronic devices that have received the first message may begin (ranging poll).

In step S1420, the electronic device may transmit a third message based on whether it receives a second message in response to the first message within a predetermined period from another electronic device that received the first message. At this time, the second message may mean a response packet or response message transmitted by another electronic device that received the first message. Additionally, the third message may refer to an intermediate Poll packet or an intermediate Poll message transmitted by the electronic device when the electronic device does not receive the above-described second message for a predetermined period of time. The electronic device may transmit a third message when a second message to respond to the first message is not received from another electronic device that received the first message within a predetermined period of time. For example, after broadcasting or multicasting a first message, the electronic device may transmit an intermediate Poll if a second message in response to the first message is not received for a specific period of time. In addition to other electronic devices that received the first message and the intermediate Poll, another electronic device that received the intermediate Poll may determine that the channel is occupied and may not broadcast or multicast Poll packets for ranging. In various embodiments of the present disclosure, intermediate Poll may mean Ack.

At least one of the above-described first message, second message, and third message may include information related to the time that the electronic device occupies a channel used to perform ranging using UWB. Figures 15A and 15B below explain the frame structure of the above-described messages.

FIG. 15A is a diagram illustrating the frame structure of a message according to an embodiment of the present disclosure.

Referring to FIG. 15A, the medium access control (MAC) frame format of a packet (or message) for ranging in UWB may include a Duration field. For example, in FIG. 15A, the frame of the message may include a Duration (1510) field. The length of the Duration (1510) field may be 2 octets or 3 octets, but is not limited thereto. The remaining fields in FIG. 15A can be used as definitions for the fields of the MAC frame format for UWB in IEEE 802.15.8.

FIG. 15B is a diagram illustrating the frame structure of a message according to another embodiment of the present disclosure.

Referring to FIG. 15b, the medium access control (MAC) frame format of a packet (or message) for ranging in UWB may include a Duration field. For example, in Figure 15b, the frame of the message may include a Duration (1520) field. The length of the Duration (1520) field may be 2 octets or 3 octets, but is not limited thereto. The remaining fields in FIG. 15B can be used as definitions for the fields of the MAC frame format for UWB in IEEE 802.15.4. In various embodiments of the present disclosure, information related to the occupancy time of the channel described in FIGS. 15A and 15B may be used to reserve message transmission in the corresponding channel. That is, electronic devices can set a period during which messages are not transmitted for a specific time using information related to the occupancy time included in the received message. At this time, the period during which a message is not transmitted may mean a network allocation vector (NAV). Figures 16a and 16b below explain how NAV is set in electronic devices.

FIG. 16A is a diagram schematically illustrating a NAV setting operation of electronic devices according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. Figure 16a explains that NAV is set during scheduled multicast ranging.

Referring to FIG. 16A, the first electronic device 210 can transmit a Poll message 1601 to the second electronic device 220, the third electronic device 1610, and the fourth electronic device 1620. At this time, the fifth electronic device 1630 can also receive the Poll message 1601. In FIG. 16A, an inter frame space (IFS) 1603-1 may be set between the completion of transmission of the Poll message 1601 of the first electronic device 210 and the transmission slot. In addition, an IFS (1603-2) is installed between transmission slot 0 (1605-1) and transmission slot 1 (1605-2), and an IFS (1603-2) is installed between transmission slot 1 (1605-2) and transmission slot 2 (1605-3). 1603-3) can be set. Additionally, IFS (1603-4) can be set between transmission slot 2 (1605-3) and the ^2nd Poll message (1609). The Poll message 1601 transmitted by the first electronic device 210 may include occupation time information. At this time, the occupation time information is stored until the multicast ranging scheduled between the first electronic device 210, the second electronic device 220, the third electronic device 1610, and the fourth electronic device 1620 ends. It may mean channel occupation time information. In various embodiments, the Poll message 1601 may additionally include information related to the number of transmission slots and the length of transmission slots. Additionally, the Poll message 1601 may include the second electronic device 220, the third electronic device 1610, and the fourth electronic device 1620 in the device ID list, and each electronic device may be expressed as a MAC address. You can. At this time, the order in which electronic devices are included in the device ID list may indicate the order in which each electronic device uses transmission slots. In FIG. 16A, three transmission slots may be allocated for the first electronic device 210. In addition, the device ID list included in the Poll message 1601 transmitted by the first electronic device 210 includes the second electronic device 220, the third electronic device 1610, and the fourth electronic device 1620 sequentially. may be included. The second electronic device 220 uses transmission slot 0 (1605-1), the third electronic device 1610 uses transmission slot 1 (1605-2), and the fourth electronic device 1620 uses transmission slot 2 (1605-2). 3) can be used. For example, the second electronic device 220 may transmit a response message 1607-1 to the Poll message 1601 in transmission slot 0 1605-1. Additionally, the third electronic device 1610 may transmit a response message 1607-2 to the Poll message 1601 in transmission slot 1 1605-2. Additionally, the fourth electronic device 1620 may transmit a response message 1607-3 to the Poll message 1601 in transmission slot 2 1605-3. The first electronic device 210 may transmit a ^2nd Poll message 1609 in response to the received response message. In various embodiments, the fifth electronic device 1630, which has received the Poll message 1601 from the first electronic device 210, uses the information related to the occupancy time included in the Poll message 1601 to send a Poll message ( You can set the NAV (1611) for 1601). In addition, the response message 1607-1 transmitted by the second electronic device 220, the response message 1607-2 transmitted by the third electronic device 1610, and the response message 1607-2 transmitted by the fourth electronic device 1620 The response message 1607-3 may include information related to each occupancy time. At this time, the information related to the occupancy time included in the response message can be set based on the information related to the occupancy time included in the Poll message 1601. Additionally, information related to occupancy time included in the response message may mean occupancy time information up to the point when scheduling multicast ranging ends. The fifth electronic device 1630 that receives the response message can set the NAV using the information related to the occupancy time included in the response message. For example, the fifth electronic device 1630 uses the occupation time information included in the response message 1607-1 transmitted by the second electronic device 220 to provide a NAV (NAV) for the response message 1607-1. 1613) can be set. Additionally, the fifth electronic device 1630 uses the occupation time information included in the response message 1607-2 transmitted by the third electronic device 1610 to determine the NAV 1615 for the response message 1607-2. can be set. In addition, the fifth electronic device 1630 uses the occupation time information included in the response message 1607-3 transmitted by the fourth electronic device 1620 to determine the NAV 1617 for the response message 1607-3. can be set. The transmission slot described above in FIG. 16A may be referred to as a slot. Additionally, the length of the slot can be set variably.

FIG. 16B is a diagram schematically illustrating a NAV setting operation of electronic devices according to another embodiment of the present disclosure. Figure 16b explains that NAV is set during scheduled multicast ranging.

Referring to FIG. 16b, the first electronic device 210 can transmit a Poll message 1601 to the second electronic device 220, the third electronic device 1610, and the fourth electronic device 1620. At this time, the fifth electronic device 1630 can also receive the Poll message 1601. In FIG. 16b, an inter frame space (IFS) 1603-1 may be set between the completion of transmission of the Poll message 1601 of the first electronic device 210 and the transmission slot. In addition, an IFS (1603-2) is installed between transmission slot 0 (1605-1) and transmission slot 1 (1605-2), and an IFS (1603-2) is installed between transmission slot 1 (1605-2) and transmission slot 2 (1605-3). 1603-3) can be set. Additionally, IFS (1603-4) can be set between transmission slot 2 (1605-3) and the ^2nd Poll message (1609). The Poll message 1601 transmitted by the first electronic device 210 may include occupation time information. At this time, the occupation time information may include information related to the occupation time until the next response message transmission ends. For example, the occupation time information included in the Poll message (1601) is from the time the Poll message (1601) transmission is completed to the end of transmission slot 0 (1605-1) where the response message (1607-1) is transmitted. It may mean information related to channel occupation time. The fifth electronic device 1630 that receives the Poll message 1601 can set the NAV 1619 for the Poll message 1601 using information related to the occupancy time.

The response message 1607-1 transmitted by the second electronic device 220 and the response message 1607-2 transmitted by the third electronic device 1610 may each include information related to the occupation time. At this time, the information related to the occupancy time may mean information related to the occupancy time until the next response message transmission ends. For example, the occupation time information included in the response message (1607-1) is from the time when transmission of the response message (1607-1) is completed, transmission slot 1 (1605-2) where the response message (1607-2) is transmitted. This may refer to information related to channel occupation time until termination. The fifth electronic device 1630 that receives this response message 1607-1 can set the NAV 1621 for the response message 1607-1. In addition, the occupation time information included in the response message (1607-2) is from the time when transmission of the response message (1607-2) is completed and the end of transmission slot 2 (1605-3) where the response message (1607-3) is transmitted. It may mean information related to the channel occupancy time up to the point in time. The fifth electronic device 1630 that receives this response message 1607-2 can set the NAV 1623 for the response message 1607-2.

The response message 1607-3 transmitted by the fourth electronic device 1620 may include information related to occupancy time. At this time, the information related to the occupancy time may mean information related to the occupancy time until the end of transmission of the ^2nd Poll message (1609). The fifth electronic device 1630, which has received this response message 1607-3, uses the information related to the occupancy time included in the response message 1607-3 to determine the NAV 1625 for the response message 1607-3. can be set. As described above, even if the messages transmitted and received between each electronic device include information related to channel occupation time, collisions may occur due to other electronic devices activated during ranging of the electronic device. Figure 17 below explains an example when such a collision occurs.

FIG. 17 is a diagram schematically illustrating a NAV setting operation of electronic devices according to embodiments of the present disclosure.

Referring to FIG. 17, the first electronic device 210 can transmit a Poll message 1701. At this time, it may be assumed that the first electronic device 210 transmits a Poll message for multicast competition or broadcast in order to perform ranging. At this time, the Poll message 1701 may not include a device ID list. In case of multicast competition, a multicast group ID may be included in the Poll message 1701 as a ranging target. In the case of broadcast, the Poll message 1701 may not include information related to the ranging target. The fourth electronic device 1720 that receives this Poll message 1701 can set the NAV 1711 for the Poll message 1701.

The second electronic device 220 receives the Poll message 1701 from the first electronic device 210, and transmits transmission slot 0 (1703-1), transmission slot 1 (1703-2), and transmission slot 2 (1703-1703-1). 3) A response message can be transmitted by selecting a random slot. For example, the second electronic device 220 may transmit the response message 1707 in transmission slot 2 (1703-3).

Since the third electronic device 1710 may be activated at the first time point 1705-1 after the first electronic device 210 transmits the Poll message 1701, the third electronic device 1710 The Poll message 1701 may not be received from the electronic device 210. Accordingly, the third electronic device 1710 may not be able to set the NAV for the Poll message 1701. At this time, the first time point 1705-1 is not limited to the matter shown in FIG. 17 and may mean any time point after the Poll message 1701 is transmitted. The activated third electronic device 1710 can scan the channel during the second time point 1705-2. The third electronic device 1710 may scan a channel for ranging and then transmit a Poll message 1709. At this time, since the response message 1707 transmitted by the second electronic device 220 and the Poll message 1709 transmitted by the third electronic device 1710 may be transmitted simultaneously, the first electronic device 210 may respond Message 1707 and Poll message 1709 can be received simultaneously. Because of this, a collision may occur in a channel for ranging, and the first electronic device 210 may not be able to successfully decode the data. As described above, in order to prevent collisions in the ranging channel, the operation of the first electronic device 210 as shown in FIG. 18 below may be performed.

FIG. 18 is a flowchart illustrating a message transmission and reception operation process of an electronic device according to embodiments of the present disclosure.

Referring to FIG. 18, in step S1810, the electronic device may broadcast or multicast a first message to start ranging. For example, an electronic device may broadcast or multicast a Poll packet to start a ranging operation. In various embodiments, the first message may mean a Poll packet or a ranging frame. As the first message is broadcast or multicast, a ranging operation with other electronic devices that have received the first message may begin (ranging poll). In various embodiments, the electronic device may identify whether a channel is occupied based on a preamble signal in order to broadcast or multicast the first message. The electronic device may broadcast or multicast the first message based on whether the channel is occupied or not determined based on the preamble signal. In one embodiment, when the first message is multicast, the first message may be transmitted through a multicast contention-based ranging method.

In step S1820, the electronic device can determine whether to receive the second message within a predetermined period of time from another electronic device that received the first message. The electronic device may end the step when it receives a second message to respond to the first message within a predetermined period of time from another electronic device that received the first message. If the electronic device does not receive a second message to respond to the first message within a predetermined period from another electronic device that received the first message, the electronic device may perform step S1830. The above-mentioned predetermined period may mean a period during which the second message is estimated to be received from another electronic device. At this time, the predetermined period may be set on a slot basis. Additionally, the above-mentioned predetermined period may mean the period required for the activated electronic device to scan the channel after the first message is broadcast or multicast. In addition, the above-mentioned predetermined period may be determined based on the period during which the second message is estimated to be received from another electronic device and the period required for the activated electronic device to scan the channel after the first message is broadcast or multicast. You can.

In step S1830, the electronic device may transmit a third message. At this time, the third message may be referred to as an intermediate Poll. In various embodiments, when the electronic device that is activated after the first message is broadcast or multicast receives the third message, it may determine that the channel is occupied and may not transmit the Poll message. In one embodiment, the third message may be transmitted regardless of whether the activated electronic device broadcasts or multicasts a Poll message for ranging after the first message is broadcast or multicast. By transmitting the third message, collisions due to packet transmission and reception between different electronic devices in the UWB channel can be prevented. Figures 19a and 19b below explain embodiments in which the NAV of electronic devices is set based on transmission of the third message described above. In FIGS. 19A and 19B, the intermediate (I) Poll (I-Poll) message may refer to the third message of FIG. 18. In Figures 18, 19a, and 19b, the third message or intermediate Poll message may mean Ack.

FIG. 19A is a diagram schematically illustrating an operation of setting the NAV of electronic devices based on transmission of an intermediate Poll message according to embodiments of the present disclosure.

Referring to FIG. 19A, the first electronic device 210 may broadcast or multicast a Poll message 1901 for ranging. If a response message is not received from the second electronic device 220 for a predetermined period of time, the first electronic device 210 may transmit an intermediate Poll message. At this time, the predetermined period may mean a period during which it is estimated that a response message will be received from the second electronic device 220. The first electronic device 210 can transmit an intermediate Poll message on a slot basis. At this time, the first electronic device 210 may wait until the maximum time expected to receive a response message after the slot starts and then transmit an intermediate Poll message. For example, after transmission slot 0 (1903-1) starts, the first electronic device 210 waits for a period (1902) during which it is estimated that a response message from the second electronic device 220 will be received, and the second electronic device 220 If a response message is not received from the electronic device 220, an intermediate Poll message 1905-1 may be transmitted. The period 1902 during which the above-described response message is estimated to be received may mean a period after a specific time interval from an arbitrary starting point where reception of the response message is estimated to begin. In addition, after transmission slot 1 (1903-2) starts, the first electronic device 210 waits for a period (1904) during which it is estimated that a response message from the second electronic device 220 will be received, and the second electronic device 220 If a response message from (220) is not received, an intermediate Poll message (1905-2) can be transmitted. The second electronic device 220, which has received the Poll message 1901, may transmit the corresponding response message 1909 in slot 2 (1903-3). The first electronic device 210 may receive a response message 1909 and transmit a ^2nd Poll message 1925 corresponding thereto.

When the third electronic device 1910, which is activated after the Poll message 1901 is broadcast or multicast, receives an intermediate Poll message, it may determine that the channel is occupied and may not transmit the Poll message. For example, the third electronic device 1910 may be activated at the first time point 1907-1 and scan the channel until the second time point 1907-2. At this time, the first time point (1907-1) is not limited to the matter shown in FIG. 19A and may mean any time point after the Poll message (1901) is transmitted. The third electronic device 1910 may receive the intermediate Poll message 1905-1 from the first electronic device 210 and set the NAV 1911 for the intermediate Poll message 1905-1. The third electronic device 1910 may receive the intermediate Poll message 1905-2 from the first electronic device 210 and set the NAV 1913 for the intermediate Poll message 1905-2. The third electronic device 1910 can also set the NAV 1915 for the response message 1909 received from the second electronic device 220. That is, after the Poll message 1901 is broadcast or multicast, the activated third electronic device 1910 may not transmit a ranging message for a period equal to the set NAV value. Through this, a collision due to the transmission of a ranging message by the third electronic device 1910 may not occur in the ranging channel of the first electronic device 210 and the second electronic device 220.

The fourth electronic device 1920 may receive the Poll message 1901 from the first electronic device 210 and set the NAV 1917 for the Poll message 1901. Additionally, the fourth electronic device 1920 may receive the intermediate Poll message 1905-1 from the first electronic device 210 and set the NAV 1919 for the intermediate Poll message 1905-1. Additionally, the fourth electronic device 1920 may receive the intermediate Poll message 1905-2 from the first electronic device 210 and set the NAV 1921 for the intermediate Poll message 1905-2. Additionally, the fourth electronic device 1920 may receive a response message 1909 from the second electronic device 220 and set the NAV 1923 for the response message 1909. At this time, the NAV can be set based on each occupation time information included in the Poll message, intermediate Poll message, or response message.

FIG. 19B is a diagram schematically illustrating an operation of setting the NAV of electronic devices based on transmission of an intermediate Poll message according to embodiments of the present disclosure.

Referring to FIG. 19b, the first electronic device 210 may broadcast or multicast a Poll message 1901 for ranging. If a response message is not received from the second electronic device 220 for a predetermined period of time, the first electronic device 210 may transmit an intermediate Poll message. At this time, the predetermined period may mean the period required for the activated electronic device to scan the channel after the Poll message is broadcast or multicast. For example, immediately after broadcasting or multicasting the Poll message 1901, the first electronic device 210 takes into account the possibility of the presence of an activated electronic device and determines the number estimated to be necessary for the activated electronic device to scan the channel. Within period 1906, an intermediate Poll message 1905 may be transmitted. More specifically, the first electronic device 210 responds to the response message transmission of the second electronic device 220 in the next slot before the completion of the period 1906 estimated for the activated electronic device to scan the channel. You can wait until a period in which the intermediate Poll message (1905) can be transmitted without influence, and then transmit the intermediate Poll message (1905). At this time, the period in which the intermediate Poll message 1905 can be transmitted without affecting the transmission of the response message of the second electronic device 220 in the next slot is after slot 1 (1903-2) starts, and the second electronic device (220) This may refer to the period (1908) during which it is estimated that a response message will be received from 220). After the intermediate Poll message 1905 is transmitted, the second electronic device 220 may transmit a response message 1929 to the Poll message 1901. The first electronic device 210 may receive a response message 1929 and transmit a ^2nd Poll message 1941. The third electronic device 1910 may receive the intermediate Poll message 1905 from the first electronic device 210 and set the NAV 1931 for the intermediate Poll message 1905. The third electronic device 1910 can also set the NAV 1933 for the response message 1929 received from the second electronic device 220. That is, after the Poll message 1901 is broadcast or multicast, the activated third electronic device 1910 may not transmit a ranging message for a period equal to the set NAV value. Through this, a collision due to the transmission of a ranging message by the third electronic device 1910 may not occur in the ranging channel of the first electronic device 210 and the second electronic device 220.

The fourth electronic device 1920 may receive the Poll message 1901 from the first electronic device 210 and set the NAV 1935 for the Poll message 1901. Additionally, the fourth electronic device 1920 may receive an intermediate Poll message 1905 from the first electronic device 210 and set a NAV 1937 for the intermediate Poll message 1905. Additionally, the fourth electronic device 1920 may receive a response message 1929 from the second electronic device 220 and set the NAV 1939 for the response message 1929. At this time, the NAV can be set based on each occupation time information included in the Poll message, intermediate Poll message, or response message.

According to various embodiments of the present disclosure, an electronic device performs ranging by transmitting an intermediate Poll message based on whether a response message is received within a predetermined period from another electronic device that has received a message to start ranging. After the message to start is broadcast or multicast, packet collisions between activated electronic devices and channels can be prevented.

According to various embodiments of the present disclosure, the above-described intermediate Poll message may be transmitted as an acknowledgment (Ack) message. Figure 20 below explains the structure of the Ack message and data message frame.

FIG. 20 is a diagram illustrating the structures of an acknowledgment (Ack) message and a data message frame according to embodiments of the present disclosure.

Referring to FIG. 20, the structure of the Ack message frame 2010 and the structure of the data message frame 2020 can be defined as the Enhance Ack frame format and data frame format in IEEE 802.15.4, respectively. At this time, the header IE (information element) 2011 included in the Ack message frame 2010 may include information related to the occupancy time (Duration). Additionally, header IE 2021 included in data message frame 2020 may include information related to occupation time. In various embodiments, information related to occupancy time may include information related to the time that an electronic device occupies a channel. In one embodiment, header IE 2011 of the Ack message and header IE 2021 of the data message may not include information related to possession time. In this case, the electronic device that received the Ack message or data message may not set the NAV. In Figure 20, the length of the frame check sequence (FCS) field included in the frame of the message may vary depending on the frame type. For example, in the case of Ack message frame 2010, the length of the FCS field may be 2 octets. Additionally, for data message frame 2020, the length of the FCS field may be 2 or 4 octets. The remaining fields in FIG. 20 can be defined through the definition of the fields of the MAC frame format for UWB in IEEE 802.15.4. Figure 21 below explains the occupancy time IE that may be included in the header IE described above.

FIG. 21 is a diagram illustrating occupancy time (Duration) IE (information element) according to embodiments of the present disclosure.

Referring to FIG. 21, the occupation time IE 2100 can provide time information used to exchange packets for ranging between electronic devices. For example, the occupancy time IE 2100 may have an occupancy time content field to indicate the channel occupancy time of the electronic device. At this time, the length of the occupancy time content field may be 2 octets or 3 octats. In Figure 21, it is shown as a 3-octat, but it is not limited to this. In various embodiments, the above-described occupation time IE 2100 may be included in the header IE described in FIG. 20. For example, the header IE 2011 of the Ack message frame 2010 may include the occupation time IE 2100, and the header IE 2021 of the data message frame 2020 may also include the occupation time IE 2100. In various embodiments of the present disclosure, information related to the occupancy time described in FIG. 21 may be used by the electronic device to suspend message transmission in the corresponding channel. That is, electronic devices can set a period during which messages are not transmitted for a specific time using information related to the occupancy time included in the received message. At this time, the period during which a message is not transmitted may mean a network allocation vector (NAV). However, in one embodiment of the present disclosure, if the message received by the electronic devices does not include information related to the occupancy time, the electronic device receiving the message does not set the NAV and performs a channel scan at arbitrarily determined time intervals. By performing this, channel collisions due to message transmission can be avoided. Figure 22 below explains this channel collision avoidance method.

FIG. 22 is a diagram schematically illustrating an operation in which collision in a channel is avoided based on Ack message transmission according to embodiments of the present disclosure.

Referring to FIG. 22, the first electronic device 210 may transmit a Poll message 2201-1 for ranging to the second electronic device 220. In various embodiments, the first electronic device 210 may be referred to as an initiator and the second electronic device 220 may be referred to as a responder. In FIG. 22, an inter frame space (IFS) may be set between the transmission completion point of the Poll message of the first electronic device 210 and the transmission slot. For example, the IFS 2205-1 may be set between the completion of transmission of the Poll message 2201-1 of the first electronic device 210 and transmission slot 0 2209-1. Additionally, the IFS 2205-2 may be set between transmission slot 0 (2209-1) and transmission slot 1 (2209-2). Additionally, the IFS 2205-3 may be set between transmission slot 1 (2209-2) and transmission slot 2 (2209-3). Additionally, the IFS (2205-4) can be set between transmission slot 2 (2209-3) and the time of transmitting the Poll message (2201-2). In various embodiments, the Poll message 2201-1 or Poll message 2201-2 transmitted by the first electronic device 210 may not include information related to the above-described occupancy time. In various embodiments, the Poll message 2201-1 or Poll message 2201-2 transmitted by the first electronic device 210 may additionally include information related to the number of transmission slots and the length of the transmission slot. . Additionally, the Poll message 2201-1 or Poll message 2201-2 may not include information related to the ranging target. In various embodiments, the second electronic device 220 that receives the Poll message 2201-1 may use transmission slot 0 (2209-1), transmission slot 1 (2209-2), or transmission slot 2 (2209-3). A response message can be sent. For example, the second electronic device 220 randomly selects transmission slot 2 (2209-3) among transmission slot 0 (2209-1), transmission slot 1 (2209-2), and transmission slot 2 (2209-3). And, a response message (2211) can be transmitted in transmission slot 2 (2209-3). At this time, transmission slot 0 (2209-1), transmission slot 1 (2209-2), or transmission slot 2 (2209-3) may be allocated by the first electronic device 210. In various embodiments, a transmission slot may be referred to as a slot. Additionally, the length of the slot can be set variably.

In various embodiments, when a response message is not received from the second electronic device 220 for a predetermined period of time, the first electronic device 210 may transmit an Ack message. At this time, the predetermined period may mean a period during which it is estimated that a response message will be received from the second electronic device 220. That is, the first electronic device 210 may wait until the maximum time expected to receive a response message after the slot starts and then transmit the Ack message. For example, after transmission slot 0 (2209-1) starts, the first electronic device 210 waits for a period (2207-1) during which it is estimated that a response message from the second electronic device 220 will be received, If a response message is not received from the second electronic device 220, an Ack message 2203-1 may be transmitted. The period 2207-1 during which the above-described response message is estimated to be received may mean a period after a specific time interval from an arbitrary starting point where reception of the response message is estimated to begin. In addition, after transmission slot 1 (2209-2) starts, the first electronic device 210 waits for a period (2207-2) during which it is estimated that a response message from the second electronic device 220 will be received, and the second electronic device 220 If a response message is not received from the electronic device 220, an Ack message 2203-2 may be transmitted. The second electronic device 220, which has received the Poll message 2201-1, may transmit the corresponding response message 2211 in slot 2 (2209-3). The first electronic device 210 may receive the response message 2211 and transmit the corresponding Poll message 2201-2. In various embodiments, the Poll message 2201-2 may refer to the ^2nd Poll message described above. In various embodiments, the above-described Ack message may have the frame structure described in FIG. 20. At this time, the intermediate Poll message described above can be replaced with an Ack message.

In various embodiments, the third electronic device 2210 or the fourth electronic device 2220 scans the channel to determine whether the channel is in use by the first electronic device 210 or the second electronic device 220. You can perform the following actions. At this time, the time interval during which the third electronic device 2210 or the fourth electronic device 2220 performs scanning may be arbitrarily set by each electronic device. Additionally, in one embodiment, the time interval during which the third electronic device 2210 or the fourth electronic device 2220 performs scanning may be determined in advance and stored in the memory of each electronic device. In various embodiments, when a preamble transmitted by another electronic device (e.g., the first electronic device 210 or the second electronic device 220) is detected through scanning, the third electronic device 2210 or the fourth electronic device 2210 The electronic device 2220 may perform scanning again after a predetermined period of time without transmitting the message. At this time, the predetermined period may mean a period arbitrarily set by the third electronic device 2210 or the fourth electronic device 2220 to perform scanning. In various embodiments, the above-described preamble may be included in a message transmitted by the first electronic device 210 or the second electronic device 220.

For example, in FIG. 22 , the third electronic device 2210 may be activated at the first activation time 2213-1 while the Poll message 2201-1 of the first electronic device 210 is being transmitted. The activated third electronic device 2210 may perform a scan to check whether the channel for UWB is in use. The third electronic device 2210 may perform a scan from the first activation time (2213-1) to the first scan end time (2215-1). If the third electronic device 2210 determines that the channel is in use by detecting the preamble associated with the Poll message 2201-1, the third electronic device 2210 may not transmit the message. Thereafter, the third electronic device 2210 may wait for the time interval required to perform the scan and then perform the scan again. In the specified embodiments, the preamble associated with the Poll message 2201-1 may refer to the preamble included in the Poll message 2201-1. In various embodiments, a time interval for performing a scan may mean a predetermined period of time for the scan. For example, the time interval for performing the scan is the period between the first activation time point (2213-1) and the second activation time point (2213-2), or the period between the first scan end time point (2215-1) and the second activation time point (2213-1). It may refer to the period between activation (2213-2). The third electronic device 2210 can be activated again at the second activation time 2213-2 and perform scanning until the second scan end time 2215-2. At this time, the third electronic device 2210 may perform scanning in slot 1 (2209-2). In slot 1 (2209-2), the third electronic device 2210 can detect the preamble associated with the Ack message 2203-2 transmitted by the first electronic device 210. When the preamble associated with the Ack message 2203-2 is detected, the third electronic device 2210 may determine that the channel is occupied by the first electronic device 210 and may not perform message transmission. In various embodiments, the preamble associated with the Ack message 2203-3 may refer to the preamble included in the Ack message 2203-3. Thereafter, the third electronic device 2210 may wait for the time interval to perform the scan and then perform the scan again. At this time, the time interval for performing the scan is the period between the second activation time (2213-2) and the third activation time (2213-3), or the period between the second scan end time (2215-2) and the third activation time ( It can refer to the period between 2213-3). The third electronic device 2210 can be activated again at the third activation time 2213-3 and perform scanning until the third scan end time 2215-3. In one embodiment, the first electronic device 210 may transmit a Poll message 2201-2 while the third electronic device 2210 performs scanning. At this time, the third electronic device 2210 can detect the preamble associated with the Poll message 2201-2. When the preamble associated with the Poll message 2201-2 is detected, the third electronic device 2210 may determine that the channel is occupied by the first electronic device 210 and may not perform message transmission. Afterwards, the third electronic device 2210 may wait for the time interval required to perform scanning. In various embodiments, the preamble associated with the Poll message 2201-2 may refer to the preamble included in the Poll message 2201-2.

In various embodiments, the fourth electronic device 2220 may be activated at the fourth activation point 2213-4 in slot 0 2209-1. The activated fourth electronic device 2220 can perform scanning until the fourth scan end point 2215-4. In various embodiments, the first electronic device 210 may determine that a response message from the second electronic device 220 is not received in slot 0 (2209-1) and transmit an Ack message (2203-1). there is. The fourth electronic device 2220 can detect a preamble related to the Ack message 2203-1 in slot 0 2209-1. When a preamble related to the Ack message 2203-1 is detected, the fourth electronic device 2220 may determine that the channel is occupied by the first electronic device 210 and may not perform message transmission. In various embodiments, the preamble related to the Ack message 2203-1 may refer to the preamble included in the Ack message 2203-1. Thereafter, the fourth electronic device 2220 may wait for the time interval required to perform the scan and then perform the scan again. At this time, the time interval for performing the scan is the period between the fourth activation time (2213-4) and the fifth activation time (2213-5), or the fourth scan end time (2215-4) to the fifth activation time ( It can refer to the period between 2213-5). The fourth electronic device 2220 can be activated again at the fifth activation time and perform scanning until the fifth scan end time 2215-5. In one embodiment, the first electronic device 210 may transmit a Poll message 2201-2 while the fourth electronic device 2220 performs scanning. The third electronic device 2210 can detect the preamble associated with the Poll message 2201-2. When the preamble associated with the Poll message 2201-2 is detected, the fourth electronic device 2220 may determine that the channel is occupied by the first electronic device 210 and may not perform message transmission. In various embodiments, the preamble associated with the Poll message 2201-2 may refer to the preamble included in the Poll message 2201-2. Afterwards, the fourth electronic device 2220 may wait for the time interval required to perform scanning. Although not shown in FIG. 22, when the response message 2211 transmitted by the second electronic device 220 or a preamble associated with the response message 2211 is detected during channel scanning, the third electronic device 2210 or the 4 The electronic device 2220 may not perform message transmission. At this time, the third electronic device 2210 or the fourth electronic device 2220 may perform the scan again after waiting for the time interval required to perform the scan. FIG. 23 below explains the operation method of the third electronic device 2210 or the fourth electronic device 2220 described above.

FIG. 23 is a flowchart illustrating an operation process of the third electronic device 2210 or the fourth electronic device 2220 according to embodiments of the present disclosure.

Referring to FIG. 23, in step S2310, the third electronic device 2210 or the fourth electronic device 2220 may detect at least one of the first message, the second message, and the third message through the first scan. . In various embodiments, the first scan may refer to an operation in which the third electronic device 2210 or the fourth electronic device 2220 scans a channel to check whether the channel is being used by another electronic device. there is. In one embodiment, the other electronic device may mean the first electronic device 210 or the second electronic device 220. In various embodiments, the first message may include a Poll message transmitted by the first electronic device 210 or a preamble associated therewith. The second message may include a response message transmitted by the second electronic device 220 or a preamble associated therewith. Additionally, the third message may include an Ack message transmitted by the first electronic device 210 or a preamble associated therewith.

In step S2320, when at least one of the first message, the second message, or the third message is detected, the third electronic device 2210 or the fourth electronic device 2220 may perform the second scan after a predetermined period of time. there is. For example, when at least one of the first message, second message, or third message is detected, the third electronic device 2210 or the fourth electronic device 2220 may not transmit the message. Thereafter, the third electronic device 2210 or the fourth electronic device 2220 may wait for the time interval to perform scanning and then perform scanning again. In various embodiments, the predetermined period may mean a period arbitrarily set by the third electronic device 2210 or the fourth electronic device 2220 to perform a scan operation. Through this, the third electronic device 2210 or the fourth electronic device 2220 can avoid channel collisions caused by message transmission from other electronic devices without setting the NAV. In various embodiments, the other electronic device may refer to the first electronic device 210 or the second electronic device 220.

According to various embodiments of the present disclosure, when the electronic device does not receive a response message within a predetermined period from another electronic device that received a message to start ranging, the electronic device may transmit an ACK message. . Through this, packet collision in the channel with the electronic device activated after the message to start ranging can be prevented. Additionally, according to various embodiments of the present disclosure, an activated electronic device may detect a message to start ranging, a response message, or an Ack message through scanning. The activated electronic device that detects the above-described message may not transmit the message and may perform scanning again after a predetermined period of time. At this time, NAV may not be set.

FIG. 24 is a diagram illustrating the configuration of an electronic device according to embodiments of the present disclosure.

Electronic devices according to embodiments of the present disclosure may include a processor 2401, a transceiver 2402, and a memory 2403. The processor 2401 may be one or more processors, the transceiver 2402 may be one or more transceivers, and the memory 2403 may be one or more memories.

In the present disclosure, a processor may be defined as a circuit or application-specific integrated circuit or at least one processor.

The processor 2401 according to an embodiment of the present disclosure can control the overall operation of the electronic device. For example, the processor 2401 may control signal flow between each block to perform operations according to the above-described flowchart. Additionally, the processor 2401 can write and read data to and from the memory 2403. Additionally, the processor 2401 can perform the functions of the protocol stack required by communication standards. To this end, the processor 2401 may include at least one processor or microprocessor, or the processor 2401 may be part of a processor. Additionally, a portion of the transceiver 2402 and the processor 2401 may be referred to as a communication processor (CP).

According to an embodiment of the present disclosure, the processor 2401 may control the operations of the electronic device described with reference to FIGS. 1 to 19B.

The transceiver 2402 according to an embodiment of the present disclosure may perform functions for transmitting and receiving signals through a wireless channel. For example, the transceiver 2402 may perform a conversion function between a baseband signal and a bit string according to the physical layer standard of the system. For example, when transmitting data, the transceiver 2402 may generate complex symbols by encoding and modulating the transmission bit stream. Additionally, when receiving data, the transceiver 2402 can restore the received bit stream by demodulating and decoding the baseband signal. Additionally, the transceiver 2402 can up-convert the baseband signal into an RF band signal and transmit it through an antenna, and can down-convert the RF band signal received through the antenna into a baseband signal. For example, the transmitting and receiving unit 2402 may include a transmitting filter, a receiving filter, an amplifier, a mixer, an oscillator, a DAC, an ADC, etc. Additionally, the transceiver 2402 may include multiple transceiver paths. Furthermore, the transceiver 2402 may include at least one antenna array composed of multiple antenna elements. In terms of hardware, the transceiver 2402 may be composed of a digital circuit and an analog circuit (eg, radio frequency integrated circuit (RFIC)). Here, the digital circuit and analog circuit can be implemented in one package. Additionally, the transceiver 2402 may include multiple RF chains. The transceiver unit 2402 may include a first transceiver unit (not shown) and a second transceiver unit (not shown). The first transceiver unit may support first communication and the second transceiver unit may support second communication.

Alternatively, although only one transceiver unit 2402 is shown in FIG. 24, the first transceiver unit supporting the first communication and the second transceiver unit supporting the second communication may exist as separate transceiver units.

The memory 2403 according to an embodiment of the present disclosure may store data such as basic programs, application programs, and setting information for the operation of the electronic device. The memory 2403 may be comprised of volatile memory, non-volatile memory, or a combination of volatile memory and non-volatile memory. Additionally, the memory 2403 may provide stored data according to the request of the processor 2401. The memory 2403 may store at least one of information transmitted and received through the transceiver 2402 and information generated through the processor 2401.

The processor 2401 according to an embodiment of the present disclosure executes a program stored in the memory 2403 to broadcast or multicast a first message to start ranging, and to another electronic device that receives the first message. A third message may be sent from the device based on whether a second message is received to reply to the first message within a predetermined period of time.

At least one of the first message, second message, and third message according to embodiments of the present disclosure may include information related to the period during which the electronic device occupies the channel used to perform ranging using UWB. there is.

Information related to the period of occupying a channel according to embodiments of the present disclosure may be used to suspend message transmission in the channel.

The processor 2401 according to an embodiment of the present disclosure sends a third message when a second message to respond to the first message is not received from another electronic device that has received the first message within a predetermined period of time. Can be sent.

The predetermined period according to an embodiment of the present disclosure may represent a period during which the second message is estimated to be received from another electronic device, and the estimated period may be set on a slot basis.

The predetermined period according to an embodiment of the present disclosure may represent a period required for an activated electronic device to scan a channel after the first message is broadcast or multicast.

The predetermined period according to an embodiment of the present disclosure includes the period during which the second message is estimated to be received from another electronic device, and the period required for the activated electronic device to scan the channel after the first message is broadcast or multicast. It may be determined based on the period, and the period during which the second message is estimated to be received may be set on a slot basis.

The processor 2401 according to an embodiment of the present disclosure may identify whether the channel is occupied based on the preamble signal and broadcast or multicast the first message based on whether the channel is occupied.

In one embodiment of the present disclosure, when the first message is multicast, the first message may be transmitted through a multicast contention-based ranging method.

If a second message to respond to the first message is not received within a predetermined period from another electronic device that received the first message, the processor 2401 according to an embodiment of the present disclosure sends an acknowledgment (acknowledgement, A third message including ACK) may be transmitted.

Methods according to embodiments described in the claims or specification of the present disclosure may be implemented in the form of hardware, software, or a combination of hardware and software.

When implemented as software, a computer-readable storage medium that stores one or more programs (software modules) may be provided. One or more programs stored in a computer-readable storage medium are configured to be executable by one or more processors in an electronic device (configured for execution). One or more programs may include instructions that cause the electronic device to execute methods according to embodiments described in the claims or specification of the present disclosure.

These programs (software modules, software) include random access memory, non-volatile memory including flash memory, read only memory (ROM), and electrically erasable programmable ROM. (EEPROM: Electrically Erasable Programmable Read Only Memory), magnetic disc storage device, Compact Disc-ROM (CD-ROM: Compact Disc-ROM), Digital Versatile Discs (DVDs), or other types of It can be stored in an optical storage device or magnetic cassette. Alternatively, it may be stored in a memory consisting of a combination of some or all of these. Additionally, multiple configuration memories may be included.

In addition, the program can be accessed through a communication network such as the Internet, Intranet, LAN (Local Area Network), WLAN (Wide LAN), or SAN (Storage Area Network), or a combination of these. It may be stored in an attachable storage device that can be accessed. This storage device can be connected to a device performing an embodiment of the present disclosure through an external port. Additionally, a separate storage device on a communication network may be connected to the device performing an embodiment of the present disclosure.

Meanwhile, in the detailed description of the present disclosure, specific embodiments have been described, but of course, various modifications are possible without departing from the scope of the present disclosure. Therefore, the scope of the present disclosure should not be limited to the described embodiments, but should be determined not only by the scope of the patent claims described later, but also by the scope of the claims and their equivalents.

The block diagrams disclosed in this disclosure may be interpreted by those skilled in the art as a conceptual representation of a circuit for implementing the principles of this disclosure. Similarly, any flow chart, flowchart, state transition diagram, pseudocode, etc. may be substantially represented in a computer-readable medium to describe various types of data executable by a computer or processor, whether or not explicitly shown. It will be appreciated by those skilled in the art that it represents a process. Accordingly, the above-described embodiments of the present disclosure can be written as a program that can be executed on a computer, and can be implemented in a general-purpose digital computer that operates the program using a computer-readable recording medium. The computer-readable recording media includes storage media such as magnetic storage media (eg, ROM, floppy disk, hard disk, etc.) and optical read media (eg, CD-ROM, DVD, etc.).

The functions of the various elements shown in the drawings can be provided through the use of dedicated hardware as well as hardware capable of executing software in conjunction with appropriate software. When provided by a processor, these functions may be provided by a single dedicated processor, a single shared processor, or multiple separate processors, some of which may be shared. Additionally, explicit use of the terms "processor" or "control section" should not be construed to refer exclusively to hardware capable of executing the software, including, without limitation, digital signal processor (DSP) hardware, read-only for storing the software. Memory (ROM), random access memory (RAM), and non-volatile storage may be implicitly included.

In the claims of this specification, an element expressed as a means for performing a specific function encompasses any manner of performing the specific function, and such element is a combination of circuit elements that perform the specific function, or a combination of circuit elements that perform the specific function. It may include any form of software, including firmware, microcode, etc., coupled with suitable circuitry to execute the software.

Reference herein to “one embodiment” of the principles of the disclosure and various variations of such expressions refers to this embodiment to indicate that a particular feature, structure, characteristic, etc. is included in at least one embodiment of the principles of the disclosure. it means. Accordingly, the expression 'in one embodiment' and any other variations disclosed throughout this specification are not necessarily all referring to the same embodiment.

In this specification, the expression 'at least one of' in the case of 'at least one of A and B' means only the selection of the first option (A), or only the selection of the second listed option (B), or both. It is used to encompass the choice of options (A and B). A further example is 'at least one of A, B, and C': only the first listed option (A), or only the second listed option (B), or only the third listed option (C). ), or only the first and second listed options (A and B), or only the second and third listed options (B and C), or only the selection of all three options ( A, B, and C) can be included. Even if more items are listed, an expanded interpretation may be apparent to those skilled in the art.

So far, the present disclosure has been examined focusing on its preferred embodiments.

All embodiments and conditional examples disclosed throughout this specification are described with the intention of helping the reader understand the principles and concepts of the present disclosure by a person skilled in the art. It will be understood that may be implemented in a modified form without departing from the essential characteristics of the present disclosure. Therefore, the disclosed embodiments should be considered from an illustrative rather than a restrictive perspective. The scope of the present disclosure is indicated in the claims rather than the foregoing description, and all differences within the equivalent scope should be construed as being included in the present disclosure.

Claims (20)

In a method of operating an electronic device that performs ranging through UWB (Ultra Wideband) in a wireless communication system,
Decoding the received preamble signal to identify whether the channel is occupied;
broadcasting or multicasting a first message to start the ranging when it is determined that the channel is not occupied based on whether the channel is occupied; and
Transmitting a third message based on whether a second message in response to the first message is received from another electronic device that received the first message within a predetermined period of time,
The first message includes information related to the number of transmission slots, the length of transmission slots, a list of other electronic devices that perform ranging with the electronic device, and information about the order in which the other electronic devices use the transmission slots. And
The first message, the second message, and the third message include information related to a period of occupying a channel used to perform the ranging.
delete According to paragraph 1,
Information related to the period of occupying the channel is used to reserve message transmission in the channel.
According to paragraph 1,
The step of transmitting the third message is,
A method of transmitting the third message when the second message to respond to the first message is not received from the other electronic device that received the first message within the predetermined period.
According to paragraph 1,
The predetermined period is,
Indicates a period during which the second message is estimated to be received from the other electronic device,
The method wherein the estimated period is set on a slot basis.
delete According to paragraph 1,
The predetermined period is,
It is determined based on a period during which the second message is estimated to be received from the other electronic device and a period required for the activated electronic device to scan the channel after the first message is broadcast or multicast,
The period during which the second message is estimated to be received is set on a slot basis.
delete According to paragraph 1,
When the first message is multicast,
The first message is transmitted for a multicast contention based ranging scheme.
According to paragraph 1,
The step of transmitting the third message is,
If the second message to respond to the first message is not received from the other electronic device that received the first message within the predetermined period, the third message including an acknowledgment (ACK) A method comprising sending a message.
In an electronic device that performs ranging through UWB (Ultra Wideband) in a wireless communication system,
At least one transmitter and receiver;
at least one memory storing a program; and
By running the above program,
Decode the received preamble signal to identify whether the channel is occupied,
If it is determined that the channel is not occupied based on whether the channel is occupied, broadcasting or multicasting a first message to start the ranging,
Transmitting a third message based on whether a second message in response to the first message is received from another electronic device that has received the first message within a predetermined period of time,
Contains at least one processor,
The first message includes information related to the number of transmission slots, the length of transmission slots, a list of other electronic devices that perform ranging with the electronic device, and information about the order in which the other electronic devices use the transmission slots. And
The first message, the second message, and the third message include information related to the period of occupying the channel used to perform the ranging.
delete According to clause 11,
Information related to the period of occupying the channel is used to reserve message transmission in the channel.
According to clause 11,
The at least one processor,
An electronic device that transmits the third message when the second message to respond to the first message is not received from the other electronic device that received the first message within the predetermined period.
According to clause 11,
The predetermined period is,
Indicates a period during which the second message is estimated to be received from the other electronic device,
The estimated period is set on a slot basis.
According to clause 11,
The predetermined period is,
Indicating a period of time required for an activated electronic device to scan a channel after the first message is broadcast or multicast.
According to clause 11,
The predetermined period is,
It is determined based on a period during which the second message is estimated to be received from the other electronic device and a period required for the activated electronic device to scan the channel after the first message is broadcast or multicast,
The electronic device wherein the period during which the second message is estimated to be received is set on a slot basis.
delete According to clause 11,
When the first message is multicast,
The first message is transmitted through a multicast contention-based ranging method.
According to clause 11,
The at least one processor,
If the second message to respond to the first message is not received from the other electronic device that received the first message within the predetermined period, the third message including an acknowledgment (ACK) An electronic device that transmits messages.

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