CN116806007A

CN116806007A - Communication method, device and system

Info

Publication number: CN116806007A
Application number: CN202211031104.XA
Authority: CN
Inventors: 王康; 王伟; 于茜
Original assignee: Huawei Technologies Co Ltd
Current assignee: Huawei Technologies Co Ltd
Priority date: 2022-03-25
Filing date: 2022-08-26
Publication date: 2023-09-26
Also published as: WO2023179430A1

Abstract

The application provides a communication method, a communication device and a communication system. In the method, the ranging equipment determines corresponding ranging parameters according to the current communication environment, and performs ranging according to the ranging parameters. The method can timely replace the ranging parameters matched with the current communication environment, improves the ranging accuracy when the communication environment changes, has flexible and reliable scheme and strong self-adaptability, and improves the ranging performance and the ranging efficiency.

Description

Communication method, device and system

The present application claims priority from the chinese patent office, application number 202210300252.0, application name "communication method, apparatus and system," filed 25 at 2022, 03, the entire contents of which are incorporated herein by reference.

Technical Field

The present application relates to the field of communications. And more particularly to a communication method, apparatus and system.

Background

With the development of technology, ultra Wide Band (UWB) ranging and positioning technologies are increasingly used. The UWB communication system adopts the pulse with the pulse width of nanosecond level as the basic signal, has the characteristics of large occupied bandwidth, high transmission rate, large system capacity and the like, can still realize ranging and positioning in a complex multipath environment, has better multipath resistance, and becomes a research hot spot at present. However, the current UWB ranging cannot flexibly adapt to the change of the communication environment, and the ranging or positioning accuracy is seriously affected.

Therefore, how to improve the ranging or positioning accuracy and the ranging performance is a problem to be solved.

Disclosure of Invention

The application provides a communication method, a communication device and a communication system, which can improve the ranging accuracy and the ranging performance.

In a first aspect, a communication method is provided, which may include: the first equipment acquires a first ranging parameter through a first bandwidth system, the first ranging parameter is determined according to the communication quality between the first equipment and the second equipment, the first equipment executes first ranging through a second bandwidth system and the second equipment according to the first ranging parameter to obtain a first distance, the first distance represents the distance between the first equipment and the second equipment, and the bandwidth corresponding to the first bandwidth system is smaller than the bandwidth corresponding to the second bandwidth system.

In the scheme, the first equipment evaluates the communication quality, further precisely matches the ranging parameters applicable to the current scene of the broadband system according to the communication quality, is flexible and reliable, has strong self-adaptability, and can effectively improve the ranging performance and the ranging efficiency.

With reference to the first aspect, in certain implementations of the first aspect, the first ranging parameter is determined according to a communication quality between the first device and the second device, including: the first ranging parameter is determined from at least one ranging parameter according to a communication quality between the first device and the second device and a first correspondence, wherein the first correspondence is a correspondence between at least one communication quality and at least one ranging parameter, the at least one communication quality comprises the communication quality between the first device and the second device, and the at least one ranging parameter comprises the first ranging parameter.

It should be understood that the first correspondence may be preconfigured, may be indicated, and the embodiment of the present application is not limited thereto. It should also be understood that the network device may also indicate to the ranging device the ranging parameters corresponding to the range information.

With reference to the first aspect, in some implementations of the first aspect, before the first device performs the first ranging with the second device through the second bandwidth system according to the first ranging parameter, the first device determines to update the second ranging parameter to the first ranging parameter according to the communication quality between the first device and the second device, and the first correspondence relation, where the second ranging parameter is used for the second ranging, and the second ranging is a ranging before the first ranging.

In this scheme, the first device (i.e. the transmitting device) may determine in advance whether to update the ranging parameter, and update the ranging parameter again under the condition of the communication quality change, so as to save power consumption of the device and further improve the ranging efficiency.

With reference to the first aspect, in certain implementations of the first aspect, the first ranging parameter and/or the second ranging parameter includes at least one of: the preamble, the number of synchronization codes, the length of the kronetime product, the frame header type of the ranging frame, the frame header length, or the number of ranging rounds.

With reference to the first aspect, in certain implementations of the first aspect, when the first ranging parameter includes a number of the synchronization codes, a length of a kronetime product, a frame header length, or a number of ranging rounds, the method further includes: the first device determines that a difference between the second ranging parameter and the first ranging parameter is less than or equal to a first threshold, the second ranging parameter is used for a second ranging, the second ranging is a ranging before the first ranging, and the second ranging parameter includes a number of the synchronization codes, a length of a kronetime product, a frame head length, or a number of ranging rounds.

In other words, the ranging parameters may be updated when the change in the ranging parameters is within an acceptable range (first threshold range). The first threshold may be preset, may be preconfigured, or may be indicated by the network device, which is not limited by the embodiment of the present application.

With reference to the first aspect, in certain implementations of the first aspect, the second ranging parameters are preset.

It should be understood that the first ranging parameter may also be determined by coarse estimation by the transmitting device and the receiving device, which is not determined by the embodiment of the present application.

In a second aspect, a communication method is provided, which may include: the second equipment obtains a first ranging parameter through a first bandwidth system, the first ranging parameter is determined according to the communication quality between the first equipment and the second equipment, the second equipment executes first ranging through the first bandwidth system and the first equipment according to the first ranging parameter to obtain a first distance, the first distance represents the distance between the first equipment and the second equipment, and the bandwidth corresponding to the first bandwidth system is smaller than the bandwidth corresponding to the second bandwidth system.

With reference to the second aspect, in certain implementations of the second aspect, the first ranging parameter is determined according to a communication quality between the first device and the second device, including: the first ranging parameter is determined from at least one ranging parameter according to a communication quality between the first device and the second device and a first correspondence, wherein the first correspondence is a correspondence between at least one communication quality and at least one ranging parameter, the at least one communication quality comprises the communication quality between the first device and the second device, and the at least one ranging parameter comprises the first ranging parameter.

With reference to the second aspect, in some implementations of the second aspect, the second device obtaining, by the first bandwidth system, a first ranging parameter includes: the second device receives the first ranging parameters from the first device over a first bandwidth system.

With reference to the second aspect, in certain implementations of the second aspect, the first ranging parameters include at least one of: the preamble, the number of synchronization codes, the length of the kronetime product, the frame header type of the ranging frame, the frame header length, or the number of ranging rounds.

With reference to the second aspect, in some implementations of the second aspect, when the first ranging parameter includes a number of the synchronization codes, a length of a kronetime product, a frame header length, or a number of ranging rounds, the method further includes: the second device determines that a difference between the first ranging parameter and a second ranging parameter is less than or equal to a first threshold, the second ranging parameter being used for a second ranging, the second ranging being a ranging before the first ranging, the second ranging parameter including a number of the synchronization codes, a length of a kronetime product, a frame head length, or a number of ranging rounds.

With reference to the second aspect, in certain implementations of the second aspect, the second ranging parameters are preset.

It should be understood that the second aspect is a method embodiment corresponding to the first aspect, and the explanation, supplement and description of the beneficial effects of the first aspect are equally applicable to the second aspect, and are not repeated here.

In a third aspect, a communication apparatus is provided, where the apparatus may include a transceiver unit and a processing unit, where the processing unit may be configured to obtain a first ranging parameter through a first bandwidth system, where the first ranging parameter is determined according to a communication quality between the first device and the second device, and perform a first ranging through a second bandwidth system and the second device according to the first ranging parameter, to obtain a first distance, where the first distance represents a distance between the first device and the second device, and where a bandwidth corresponding to the first bandwidth system is smaller than a bandwidth corresponding to the second bandwidth system.

With reference to the third aspect, in certain implementations of the third aspect, the first ranging parameter is determined according to a communication quality between the first device and the second device, including: the first ranging parameter is determined from at least one ranging parameter according to a communication quality between the first device and the second device and a first correspondence, wherein the first correspondence is a correspondence between at least one communication quality and at least one ranging parameter, the at least one communication quality comprises the communication quality between the first device and the second device, and the at least one ranging parameter comprises the first ranging parameter.

With reference to the third aspect, in some implementations of the third aspect, the processing unit is further configured to, before the first device performs the first ranging with the second device through the second bandwidth system according to the first ranging parameter, determine, according to a communication quality between the first device and the second device, and the first correspondence relation, update a second ranging parameter to the first ranging parameter, where the second ranging parameter is used for the second ranging, and the second ranging is a ranging before the first ranging

With reference to the third aspect, in certain implementations of the third aspect, the first ranging parameter and/or the first ranging parameter includes at least one of: the preamble, the number of synchronization codes, the length of the kronetime product, the frame header type of the ranging frame, the frame header length, or the number of ranging rounds.

With reference to the third aspect, in some implementations of the third aspect, when the first ranging parameter includes the number of synchronization codes, a length of a kronetime product, a frame header length, or a number of ranging rounds, the processing unit is further configured to determine that a difference between the first ranging parameter and the second ranging parameter is less than or equal to a first threshold, where the second ranging parameter is used for a second ranging, where the second ranging is a ranging before the first ranging, and the second ranging parameter includes the number of synchronization codes, the length of the kronetime product, the frame header length, or the number of ranging rounds.

With reference to the third aspect, in certain implementations of the third aspect, the second ranging parameter is preset.

It should be understood that the third aspect is a device-side aspect corresponding to the first aspect, and the explanation, supplement, and description of the advantageous effects of the first aspect are equally applicable to the third aspect, and are not repeated here.

In a fourth aspect, a communication apparatus is provided, where the apparatus may include a transceiver unit and a processing unit, where the processing unit is configured to obtain a first ranging parameter through a first bandwidth system, where the first ranging parameter is determined according to a communication quality between the first device and the second device, and where the processing unit is further configured to perform, according to the first ranging parameter, a first ranging through the first bandwidth system and the first device, to obtain a first distance, where the first distance represents a distance between the first device and the second device, and where a bandwidth corresponding to the first bandwidth system is smaller than a bandwidth corresponding to the second bandwidth system.

With reference to the fourth aspect, in some implementations of the fourth aspect, the first ranging parameter is determined according to a communication quality between the first device and the second device, including: the first ranging parameter is determined from at least one ranging parameter according to a communication quality between the first device and the second device and a first correspondence, wherein the first correspondence is a correspondence between at least one communication quality and at least one ranging parameter, the at least one communication quality comprises the communication quality between the first device and the second device, and the at least one ranging parameter comprises the first ranging parameter.

With reference to the fourth aspect, in some implementations of the fourth aspect, the transceiver unit is configured to receive the first ranging parameter from the first device through a first bandwidth system.

With reference to the fourth aspect, in certain implementations of the fourth aspect, the first ranging parameters include at least one of: the preamble, the number of synchronization codes, the length of the kronetime product, the frame header type of the ranging frame, the frame header length, or the number of ranging rounds.

With reference to the fourth aspect, in some implementations of the fourth aspect, when the first ranging parameter includes the number of synchronization codes, the length of the kronetime product, the length of the frame header, or the number of ranging rounds, the processing unit is further configured to determine that a difference between the first ranging parameter and a second ranging parameter is less than or equal to a first threshold, where the second ranging parameter is used for a second ranging, where the second ranging is a ranging before the first ranging, and the second ranging parameter includes the number of synchronization codes, the length of the kronetime product, the length of the frame header, or the number of ranging rounds.

With reference to the fourth aspect, in certain implementations of the fourth aspect, the second ranging parameters are preset.

It should be understood that the fourth aspect is a method embodiment corresponding to the second aspect, and the explanation, supplement and description of the beneficial effects of the second aspect are equally applicable to the fourth aspect, and are not repeated here.

In a fifth aspect, the present application provides a processor configured to perform the method provided in the above aspects.

The operations such as transmitting and acquiring/receiving, etc. related to the processor may be understood as operations such as outputting and receiving, inputting, etc. by the processor, or may be understood as operations such as transmitting and receiving by the radio frequency circuit and the antenna, if not specifically stated, or if not contradicted by actual function or inherent logic in the related description, which is not limited by the present application.

In a sixth aspect, a computer readable storage medium is provided, the computer readable storage medium storing program code for execution by a device, the program code comprising instructions for performing the method provided by any one of the implementations of the first and/or second aspects described above.

In a seventh aspect, there is provided a computer program product comprising instructions which, when run on a computer, cause the computer to perform the method provided by any one of the implementations of the first and/or second aspects described above.

In an eighth aspect, a chip is provided, the chip including a processor and a communication interface, the processor reading instructions stored on a memory through the communication interface, and performing the method provided by any implementation manner of the first aspect and/or the second aspect.

Optionally, as an implementation manner, the chip further includes a memory, where a computer program or an instruction is stored in the memory, and the processor is configured to execute the computer program or the instruction stored in the memory, and when the computer program or the instruction is executed, the processor is configured to perform a method provided by any implementation manner of the first aspect and/or the second aspect.

A ninth aspect provides a communication system comprising the communication apparatus of the third aspect and the communication apparatus of the fourth aspect.

In a tenth aspect, a communication method is provided, the method may include: the method comprises the steps that first equipment obtains distance information between the first equipment and second equipment, and the first equipment determines a first ranging parameter according to the distance information; the first device initiates ranging according to the first ranging parameter.

With reference to the tenth aspect, in some implementations of the tenth aspect, the first device evaluates a ranging link quality synchronously, and determines the second ranging parameter according to the ranging link quality.

Drawings

Fig. 1 shows a system architecture to which an embodiment of the present application is applied.

Fig. 2 is a schematic diagram of a ranging positioning system according to an embodiment of the present application.

Fig. 3 is a schematic diagram of a UWB ranging method according to an embodiment of the present application.

Fig. 4 is a schematic diagram of a UWB system signaling flow.

Fig. 5 shows a flow chart of a communication method according to an embodiment of the present application.

Fig. 6 is a schematic flow chart of another communication method according to an embodiment of the present application.

Fig. 7 shows a schematic block diagram of a communication device according to an embodiment of the present application.

Fig. 8 shows a schematic block diagram of yet another communication device provided by an embodiment of the present application.

Fig. 9 is a schematic diagram of a communication method according to an embodiment of the present application.

Fig. 10 is a schematic diagram of still another communication method according to an embodiment of the present application.

Fig. 11 is a schematic flow chart of another communication method according to an embodiment of the present application.

Detailed Description

The technical solutions in the embodiments of the present application will be described below with reference to the accompanying drawings.

The technical scheme of the application can be applied to wireless personal area networks (wireless personal area network, WPAN), and the standard adopted by the WPAN at present is the institute of Electrical and electronics Engineers (institute of electrical and electronics engineer, IEEE) 802.15 series. WPAN can be used for communication between digital auxiliary devices in a small range of telephones, computers, accessory devices, etc. Technologies supporting wireless personal area networks include bluetooth (blue), zigBee (zigBee), ultra Wideband (UWB), infrared data association (infrared data association, irDA) connection technologies, home radio frequency (home radio frequency, homeRF), and the like. From a network configuration perspective, WPAN is located at the bottom layer of the overall network architecture, and wireless connection between devices in a small range, i.e., point-to-point short-range connection, can be regarded as a short-range wireless communication network. Depending on the application scenario, WPANs are further divided into High Rate (HR) -WPANs and Low Rate (LR) -WPANs, wherein HR-WPANs can be used to support various high rate multimedia applications including high quality audio-visual distribution, multi-megabyte music, and image document delivery, among others. LR-WPAN can be used for general business of daily life.

In WPAN, full-function devices (FFDs) and reduced-function devices (RFDs) can be classified according to communication capabilities possessed by the devices. Communication can be made between the FFDs as well as between the FFDs and the RFDs. The RFDs cannot communicate directly with each other, but can communicate with the FFD, or forward data out through one FFD. This FFD associated with the RFD is referred to as the coordinator of the RFD. The RFD device is mainly used for simple control applications, such as switching of a lamp, a passive infrared sensor and the like, has less transmitted data volume, occupies less transmission resources and communication resources, and has lower cost. Among other things, the coordinator may also be referred to as a personal area network (personal area network, PAN) coordinator or a central control node, etc. The PAN coordinator is a master control node of the whole network, and each ad hoc network generally has only one PAN coordinator and has membership management, link information management and packet forwarding functions.

Alternatively, the device (e.g., a transmitting device or a receiving device) in the embodiments of the present application may be a device supporting the 802.15 family, e.g., a device supporting 802.15.4a and 802.15.4z, as well as various WPAN systems now under discussion or later.

In the embodiment of the application, the equipment can be a communication server, a router, a switch, a network bridge, a computer or a mobile phone, a household intelligent device, a vehicle-mounted communication device and the like.

In the embodiment of the application, the device comprises a hardware layer, an operating system layer running on the hardware layer and an application layer running on the operating system layer. The hardware layer includes hardware such as a central processing unit (central processing unit, CPU), a memory management unit (memory management unit, MMU), and a memory (also referred to as a main memory). The operating system may be any one or more computer operating systems that implement business processes through processes (processes), such as a Linux operating system, a Unix operating system, an Android operating system, an iOS operating system, or a windows operating system. The application layer comprises applications such as a browser, an address book, word processing software, instant messaging software and the like. Further, the embodiment of the present application is not particularly limited to the specific structure of the execution body of the method provided by the embodiment of the present application, as long as the communication can be performed by the method provided according to the embodiment of the present application by running the program recorded with the code of the method provided by the embodiment of the present application, and for example, the execution body of the method provided by the embodiment of the present application may be an FFD or an RFD, or a functional module in the FFD or the RFD that can call the program and execute the program.

Furthermore, various aspects or features of the application may be implemented as a method, apparatus, or article of manufacture using standard programming and/or engineering techniques. The term "article of manufacture" as used herein encompasses a computer program accessible from any computer-readable device, carrier, or media. For example, computer-readable media may include, but are not limited to: magnetic storage devices (e.g., hard disk, floppy disk, or magnetic tape, etc.), optical disks (e.g., compact Disk (CD), digital versatile disk (digital versatile disc, DVD), etc.), smart cards, and flash memory devices (e.g., erasable programmable read-only memory (EPROM), cards, sticks, key drives, etc.). Additionally, various storage media described herein can represent one or more devices and/or other machine-readable media for storing information. The term "machine-readable medium" can include, without being limited to, wireless channels and various other media capable of storing, containing, and/or carrying instruction(s) and/or data.

The technical scheme of the application can be also applied to wireless local area network systems such as an internet of things (internet of things, ioT) network or an internet of vehicles (V2X). Of course, embodiments of the present application may also be applicable to other possible communication systems, such as long term evolution (long term evolution, LTE) systems, LTE frequency division duplex (frequency division duplex, FDD) systems, LTE time division duplex (time division duplex, TDD), universal mobile telecommunications system (universal mobile telecommunication system, UMTS), worldwide interoperability for microwave access (worldwideinteroperability for microwave access, wiMAX) communication systems, fifth generation (5 th generation, 5G) communication systems, and future sixth generation (6 th generation, 6G) communication systems, etc. Fig. 1 illustrates an exemplary communication system to which the present application is applicable.

The above-mentioned communication system to which the present application is applied is merely illustrative, and the communication system to which the present application is applied is not limited thereto, and is generally described herein, and will not be described in detail. In the embodiments of the present application, the term "wireless communication" may also be simply referred to as "communication", and the term "communication" may also be described as "data transmission", "information transmission" or "transmission".

With the development of technology, UWB ranging and positioning technologies are increasingly used. UWB is an ultra-wideband communication system, which adopts the pulse with the pulse width of nanosecond level as the basic signal, and has the characteristics of extremely large occupied bandwidth, high transmission rate, large system capacity and the like, and the power spectrum density of the ultra-wideband communication system is extremely low, reaching-41.25 dBm/MHz, and can coexist with the existing communication system. Based on the characteristics, UWB can realize higher distance measurement and positioning precision than the existing wireless positioning technology, and can reach centimeter-level positioning precision; the time resolution is high, so that the device has better multipath resistance, can still realize ranging and positioning in a complex multipath environment, and is a research hot spot at present. Currently, UWB technology has been written in the IEEE 802 series wireless standard, the WPAN standard IEEE 802.15.4a based on UWB technology has been released, and its evolution IEEE 802.15.4z, and the formulation of the next generation WPAN standard 802.15.4ab of UWB technology has also been proposed.

In order to facilitate understanding of the technical solution of the embodiments of the present application, some terms or concepts related to the embodiments of the present application will be first briefly described.

1. UWB technology: the wireless carrier communication technology utilizes nanosecond non-sinusoidal narrow pulses to transmit data, so that the occupied frequency spectrum is wide. The UWB system has the advantages of strong multipath resolution capability, low power consumption, strong confidentiality and the like, and is beneficial to coexistence with other systems, thereby improving the frequency spectrum utilization rate and the system capacity.

With the approval of UWB technology by the federal communications commission (Federal Communications Commission, FCC) in 2002 into the civilian field, ultra wideband wireless communications became one of the popular physical layer technologies for short-range, high-speed wireless networks. Many world-well-known large companies, research institutions and standardization organizations are actively involved in the research, development and standardization work of ultra-wideband wireless communication technologies, and the institute of electrical and electronics engineers (Institute of Electrical and Electronic Engineers, IEEE) has incorporated UWB technology into its IEEE 802 series wireless standard, has issued WPAN standard IEEE 802.15.4a based on UWB technology, and its evolution IEEE 802.15.4z, and the formulation of the WPAN standard 802.15.4ab of the next generation UWB technology has also been currently on schedule.

2. Time division multiple access (time division multiple access, TDMA): is a communication technique for implementing a shared transmission medium or network. Allowing multiple users to use the same frequency in different time slices (e.g., time slots, symbols, frames, etc.). Users transmit quickly, one after the other, each using their own time slices. TDMA technology allows multiple users to share the same transmission medium (e.g., radio frequency).

3. TDMA slot allocation: the condition that the network accesses the channel in a TDMA mode is that each node in the network keeps time slot synchronization. After the full network achieves slot synchronization, consideration needs to be given to how to efficiently allocate slots so that the system obtains better performance. Specifically, in the TDMA frame structure, one TDMA frame is composed of a plurality of subframes, and one subframe is composed of a plurality of slots. All or part of time slots in the TDMA frame structure can be distributed to a plurality of users according to the data flow required by the users, so that the time slots of each user are different, and the signals among the users are ensured not to interfere with each other.

In addition, the TDMA method also enables uplink and downlink to be performed simultaneously on the time slot of each user.

It should be understood that the method for TDMA slot allocation in the embodiment of the present application is not limited, and reference may be made to the existing allocation algorithm or the TDMA slot allocation method proposed in the future communication technology.

4. Personal area network: a personal area network (personal area network, PAN) is a "personal small area" information network that is formed using short-range radio technology, where "personal small area" includes, but is not limited to, between information devices carried by a user's personal home, office, or individual.

The personal area network can be regarded as a wireless local area network with a smaller coverage area than a wireless personal area network (wireless personal area network, WPAN), and the core idea is to replace the conventional cable with radio transmission, thereby realizing intelligent interconnection of personal information terminals, and constructing a personalized information network, such as a wireless connection between home entertainment equipment, a wireless connection between a computer and its peripheral, a connection between a cellular phone and a headset, and the like.

5. UWB ranging and/or positioning: with the development of indoor positioning technology, UWB ranging and/or positioning technology is increasingly applied. UWB adopts pulse with pulse width of nanosecond level as its basic signal, and has the advantages of high transmission rate, large system capacity, wide spectrum bandwidth, etc., and extremely low power spectral density, and can coexist with existing short-distance communication system. The characteristics of UWB make it have very high time resolution, and the anti multipath ability is strong, and range finding, positioning accuracy are high, can reach the centimetre level. Achieving ranging, positioning in complex multipath environments has become a research hotspot.

6. Ranging and positioning system: for ease of understanding, a range location system to which the above-described range finding technique is applied will be briefly described in connection with fig. 2. Fig. 2 is a schematic diagram of a ranging positioning system according to an embodiment of the present application. As shown in fig. 2, the ranging positioning system includes a plurality of devices (such as device 1 and device 2 in fig. 2), which may be apparatuses according to an embodiment of the present application, where each device includes at least a UWB module and a narrowband communication module. The UWB modules of the device 1 and the device 2 may perform positioning and/or ranging, and the narrowband communication modules of the device 1 and the device 2 may perform data transmission through a wireless link.

In the present application, UWB modules may be understood as devices, chips, systems, etc. implementing UWB wireless communication technology; accordingly, a narrowband communication module may be understood as a device, chip, system, etc. implementing narrowband communication technologies, such as Wi-Fi, bluetooth, or Zigbee (Zigbee protocol), etc. In one device (device), the UWB module and the narrowband communication module may be different devices or chips, and of course, the UWB module and the narrowband communication module may also be integrated on one device or chip. UWB technology enables communication devices with high data throughput and high accuracy in device positioning.

The device related to the application can be a wireless communication chip, a wireless sensor or a wireless communication terminal. Such as a user terminal, user equipment, access device, subscriber station, subscriber unit, mobile station, user agent, user equipment supporting Wi-Fi communication functions, where the user terminal may include various handheld devices, in-vehicle devices, wearable devices, internet of things (internet of things, ioT) devices, computing devices, or other processing devices connected to a wireless modem, as well as various forms of User Equipment (UE), mobile Station (MS), terminal device (terminal equipment), portable communication device, handset, portable computing device, entertainment device, gaming device or system, global positioning system device, or any other suitable device configured to communicate over a network via a wireless medium, etc. In addition, the device may support 802.15.4ab system or 802.15.4ab next generation system. The device can also support multiple systems such as 802.15.4a, 802.15.4-2011, 802.15.4-2015, 802.15.4z and the like. The device may also support a variety of wireless local area network (wireless local area networks, WLAN) standards of 802.11 families, such as 802.11ax, 802.11ac, 802.11n, 802.11g, 802.11b, 802.11a, 802.11be next generation, etc.

7. Ranging process: for ease of understanding, a UWB ranging method is briefly described below in conjunction with fig. 3.

As can be seen from fig. 3, the UWB Ranging procedure includes two processes, such as the UWB operation Period and Ranging process (Ranging Period) shown in fig. 3.

The UWB working time period comprises a Ranging Beacon (Ranging Beacon) time period, a Ranging contention access period (Ranging contention access period, RCAP) time period and a Ranging contention idle period (Ranging contention free period, RCFP) time period, wherein the Ranging Beacon is used for time synchronization of the UWB personal area network and parameter broadcasting of the network; RCAP is a competition period, and can realize network access (such as access to personal area network) of equipment; RCFP is a non-competitive period, and realizes the time slot allocation required by the interaction between devices.

The ranging process is a process that each device performs ranging according to ranging control message (ranging control message, RCM) information, wherein RCM is a ranging control frame and is responsible for managing a ranging process time period.

In fig. 3, it is assumed that, in the Beacon period, the device 1 is defined as a coordinator and is responsible for transmitting Beacon frames, so as to implement broadcasting and time synchronization of parameters in the personal area network; after receiving the Beacon frame, the device 2 joins the personal area network of the device 1 as required.

In the contention and non-contention phase, the device 1 may indicate whether this contention and non-contention phase is required by means of Beacon. If this stage is required, other devices can access to the personal area network built by the device 1 at this stage; if this stage is not required, the relevant devices in the current and personal area networks are maintained.

In the ranging procedure, a total of 4 characters are defined: the device 1 acts as both a controller (controller) and a ranging initiator (initiator); the device 2 acts as both a controlled and ranging Responder (Responder). Device 1 implements ranging with device 2, where the controller is responsible for sending ranging control frames, including role definition and slot allocation control, i.e. which devices act as initiators and which devices act as responders. The ranging process is to allocate time slices of each period through a ranging control frame based on TDMA.

The UWB ranging procedure comprises the following steps:

step (a) and (3) a step of: and in the Beacon stage, beacon frames are sent, so that personal domain network definition, time synchronization and the like are realized. The time synchronization is shown in fig. 4. Fig. 4 is a schematic diagram of a UWB system signaling flow.

As can be seen from fig. 4, after the signal encoding and modulation are completed at the transmitting end, the signal is broadcast; the method comprises the steps of firstly carrying out rough synchronization on a preamble at a receiving end, and then carrying out fine synchronization on a frame head part; the synchronized signals can be subjected to corresponding signal processing such as tracking, demodulation, decoding and the like.

Step two: the competition and non-competition stage is used for completing network access of equipment and interaction of appointed equipment;

step three: in the ranging process, firstly transmitting a ranging control frame, distributing time based on TDMA, and defining a role; then initiating an initial ranging frame through an initiator; after receiving the initial ranging frame, the response feeds back the ranging frame to the initiator; finally, each device calculates the flight time of the ranging frame to finish ranging between the devices; the broadcasting of the ranging result is accomplished by UWB.

The new ranging wheel is repeatedly executed according to the steps.

In the above steps, all the processes related to the signal receiving process of the receiving end need to be performed with the processes of coarse synchronization, fine synchronization, tracking, etc. The signal synchronization mainly related to the present application is not limited to other steps, and reference may be made to the description in the related art at present, and details thereof are not repeated here.

In the above scheme, reasonable application of the channel information completion parameters cannot be applied in advance in the ranging process, the ranging performance may be limited, the equipment environment information before ranging is unknown, the application of the ranging parameters is single, and the ranging performance is affected. In addition, the flexibility during ranging is poor, and as one rate communication is always used, the power consumption is possibly high, and the change of the communication environment cannot be flexibly adapted, so that the ranging result is inaccurate and the ranging performance is poor.

In view of the above problems, the present application provides a communication method, which can improve the ranging accuracy and the ranging performance. As shown in fig. 5, the method comprises the steps of:

step 501: device #a acquires ranging parameter a through bandwidth system 1.

Step 502: device #b acquires ranging parameter a through bandwidth system 1.

It will be appreciated that device #a may be an initiator (also referred to as a sender) and device #b may be a receiver (also referred to as a responder). Alternatively, the device #b may be an initiator, and the device #a may be a receiver. The embodiment of the present application is not limited thereto.

The bandwidth system 1 may be a broadband system, for example.

One possible implementation may be that the ranging parameter a is determined according to the distance a, for example, the device #a and the device #b estimate the distance a, and the ranging parameter a is determined according to the estimated distance a.

The distance a may be a distance between the device #a and the device #b. It should be appreciated that device #a and device #b may also estimate the environment, such as the communication environment. In one possible manner, the device #a and the device #b may estimate the distance a by the communication quality. For example, the device #a and the device #b may find each other through a narrowband system and establish a link, determine distance information and/or communication environment between each other through strength indication (received signal strength indicator, RSSI) of received signals, thereby evaluating the environment in which each other is located. It should be understood that this method is only an example of estimating distance information between devices, and other methods that may be used to estimate distance information may also be applicable and are within the scope of the embodiments of the present application.

It should be understood that the methods by which device #a and device #b determine ranging parameters may be the same or different. The same examples will be described below.

In one possible manner, the device #a and/or the device #b may determine the ranging parameter a according to the correspondence between the distance information (also referred to as ranging information) and the ranging parameter, and the distance a. For example, the correspondence of the distance information and the ranging parameters may be as shown in table 1.

TABLE 1 correspondence of distance information and ranging parameters

Ranging information	Distance measurement evaluation parameter
		First ranging information interval	First parameter
Second ranging information interval	Second parameter
		……	……
Nth ranging information interval	Nth parameter

The ranging information interval in table 1 may represent a distance interval. For example, 1 km-2 km,2km-5km, etc. may be used as a ranging information interval, and ranging information in the ranging information interval may correspond to the same ranging parameter. For example, the estimated distance between the device #a and the device #b is 1.2km, or the estimated distance between the device #a and the device #b is 1.5km, where both the estimated distances are in the first ranging information interval (for example, 1 km-2 km), and the ranging parameters corresponding to both the two cases may be the same, for example, may correspond to the ranging first parameter.

The ranging parameters in table 1 may include at least one of the following: the preamble, the number of synchronization codes, the length of the kronetime product, the frame header type of the ranging frame, the frame header length, or the number of ranging rounds. The values of the ranging parameters corresponding to different ranging information may be different. For example, the first ranging information interval in table 1 corresponds to a first ranging parameter, where the first ranging parameter may be the number of ranging rounds and has a value of 7; the second ranging information interval in table 1 corresponds to a second ranging parameter, which may be the number of ranging rounds, and has a value of 12. It should be understood that the above parameters and their values are by way of example only and not by way of limitation.

The device #a and the device #b may determine a ranging information section according to the distance information between each other, and determine a corresponding ranging parameter according to the ranging information section according to table 1.

Step 503: device #a and device #b perform ranging according to ranging parameter a.

Optionally, device #a and/or device #b may wake up the broadband system through the narrowband system, and the broadband system of device #a initiates ranging according to the narrowband system configuration or recommended parameters. The broadband systems of the equipment # A and the equipment # B can transmit the information after the distance measurement interaction back to the narrowband systems, and the narrowband systems broadcast the distance information after collecting the observed value so as to complete the distance calculation among the equipment.

In the scheme, before the distance measurement is executed, the two side devices synchronously acquire a rough distance measurement result through the narrow-band system in the link establishment process so as to match the distance measurement parameters of the possibly optimal broadband system, thereby improving the distance measurement accuracy and the distance measurement performance.

The present application proposes yet another embodiment, which can further improve ranging accuracy, as shown in fig. 6, and includes the following steps:

step 601: device #C obtains a first ranging parameter through a first bandwidth system.

The device #c is one example of the first device. The bandwidth corresponding to the first bandwidth system may be a narrow band or a wide band.

Step 602: device #D obtains a first ranging parameter through a first bandwidth system.

The device #d is one example of a second device. The bandwidth corresponding to the first bandwidth system may be a narrow band or a wide band.

It should be understood that the first bandwidth system and the second bandwidth system are only used as a distinction of the types of bandwidth systems, and the bandwidths are not limited, for example, the first bandwidth system may represent a narrowband system, the second bandwidth system may represent a wideband system, and the device #c and the device #d each have the first bandwidth system and the second bandwidth system, respectively, but do not represent the bandwidths corresponding to the first bandwidth system of the device #c, and the values of the bandwidths corresponding to the first bandwidth system of the device #d are the same. For example, the bandwidth corresponding to the first bandwidth system of the device #c may be 10, and the bandwidth corresponding to the second bandwidth system may be 5; the bandwidth corresponding to the first bandwidth system of the device #d may be 8, and the bandwidth corresponding to the second bandwidth system may be 3. It should be understood that the above values are by way of example only and are not limiting.

The device #c may be an initiator or a responder, and the device #d may be an initiator or a responder, which is not limited in the embodiment of the present application.

In one possible manner, the first ranging parameter is determined according to the communication quality between the device #c and the device #d. For example, the device #c evaluates the communication quality between the current two devices, for example, the device #c evaluates the link quality between the two devices, and determines the ranging parameter according to the link quality.

An example of this communication quality may be the quality of the communication link between device #c and device #d, such as measuring the RSSI of the communication link. For example, the device #c may determine the ranging parameter by a correspondence relationship (e.g., a first correspondence relationship) of the link quality and the ranging parameter, and the estimated current link quality. The correspondence between link quality and ranging parameters may be shown in table 2.

TABLE 2 correspondence between link quality and ranging parameters

Link quality	Ranging parameter assessment
		First link quality	First parameter
Second link quality	Second parameter
		……	……
Mth link quality	Mth parameter

It should be understood that table 2 is by way of example only and not limitation. The ranging parameters in table 2 may refer to the description of the ranging parameters in step 501, and will not be described herein.

It should be understood that the communication quality may be a communication quality for a certain period of time or a communication quality at a certain time of data transmission. That is, the device can measure the communication quality, determine the ranging parameters according to the communication quality, and adapt to the change of the communication environment in time. As to when the measurement of the communication quality is performed, it may be predefined, may be configured, or may be indicated, which is not limited by the embodiment of the present application.

In one possible manner, the device #c may acquire the first ranging parameter through a first bandwidth system, and the bandwidth corresponding to the first bandwidth system may be a narrowband. For example, device #c receives the first ranging parameter through the narrowband system. For example, the device #c may determine a first ranging parameter according to the first correspondence and the link quality through the broadband system and transmit the first ranging parameter back to the narrowband system.

It should be appreciated that the bandwidth corresponding to the first bandwidth system is different from the bandwidth corresponding to the second bandwidth system, e.g., the bandwidth corresponding to the first bandwidth system may be a wideband and the bandwidth corresponding to the second bandwidth system may be a narrowband. Alternatively, the bandwidth corresponding to the first bandwidth system may be a narrowband, and the bandwidth corresponding to the second bandwidth system may be a wideband. The embodiments of the present application are described by way of example, but not limitation, with respect to wideband ranging, narrowband communication.

Alternatively, before the device #c determines the first ranging parameter, it may be determined whether to update the second ranging parameter, or the device #c may determine whether to update the second ranging parameter to the first ranging parameter. The second ranging parameters are used for second ranging, the first ranging parameters are used for first ranging, and the second ranging is the ranging before the first ranging.

One possible implementation, device #c may make a determination based on the quality of communication between device #c and device #d. For example, when the device #c evaluates that the change in link quality between the device #c and the device #d is less than or equal to a certain threshold, it may be determined that the second ranging parameter does not need to be updated; when the device #c evaluates that the change in link quality between the device #c and the device #d is greater than a certain threshold, it may be determined that the second ranging parameter needs to be updated.

Optionally, after device #c determines that the second ranging parameter needs to be updated and determines the first ranging parameter, it may further determine whether the first ranging parameter is suitable. For example, the device #c may determine whether the difference between the second ranging parameter and the first ranging parameter is within a preset range. Specifically, the device #c determines whether the difference between the second ranging parameter and the first ranging parameter is less than or equal to the first threshold, and if so, it may be determined that the first ranging parameter may be used for the next ranging; if not, it may be determined that the first ranging parameter is not suitable for the next ranging, and device #C may find other ranging parameters according to the link quality. The first threshold may be preset, may be preconfigured, or may be indicated by the network device, which is not limited by the embodiment of the present application.

The second ranging parameters may be the following two cases:

case 1: the second ranging parameters are preset. For example, the second ranging parameters may be preconfigured in the device #c and the device #d. Alternatively, the second ranging parameter may be one of a device #c and a device #d, which are preconfigured to know ranging parameters required for the ranging through communication between the devices. Still alternatively, the second ranging parameters may be indicated by the network device to device #c and/or device #d. The embodiment of the present application is not limited thereto.

Case 2: the second ranging parameters are determined by the device #C and the device #D according to rough estimation. For example, the device #c and the device #d may estimate distance information between each other in advance through the narrowband system, and determine corresponding ranging parameters according to the estimated distance information. Specifically, reference may be made to the method shown in fig. 5, and no further description is given here.

The device #d obtains the first ranging parameters through the first bandwidth system may be: and the device #D determines a first ranging parameter according to the communication quality and the first corresponding relation through the second bandwidth system and then returns to the first bandwidth system.

The device #d may acquire the first ranging parameter through the first bandwidth system as follows: device #c transmits a first ranging parameter to device #d, which receives the first ranging parameter. For example, device #d may receive the first ranging parameter through the narrowband system. For example, device #c transmits a first ranging parameter to device #d through the narrowband system, and device #d receives the first ranging parameter through the narrowband system.

It should be understood that, the device #d may also evaluate the first ranging parameter to determine whether the first ranging parameter is applicable to the next ranging, and the specific evaluation method may refer to the description of the foregoing determining manner of the device #c, which is not repeated herein.

Optionally, when the device #d determines that the difference between the first ranging parameter and the second ranging parameter is too large, such as greater than the first threshold, the ranging parameter satisfying the threshold condition may be reselected, and the ranging parameter satisfying the threshold condition is sent to the device #c through the narrowband system, so as to complete negotiation and selection of the ranging parameter (i.e., the first ranging parameter) of the wideband system in the next round. For example, the parameter used to calculate the difference between the first ranging parameter and the second ranging parameter may be the number of synchronization codes, the length of the kronet inner product, the frame head length, the number of ranging rounds, or the like.

The first threshold may be preset, may be preconfigured, or may be indicated by the network device, which is not limited by the embodiment of the present application.

The second ranging is a ranging after the first ranging. For example, the second ranging may be a next round of ranging adjacent to the first ranging. Alternatively, the second ranging may be a certain time or several times after the first ranging. The embodiment of the present application is not limited thereto.

The above-mentioned apparatus determines whether to update the ranging parameter, which may be determined by a wideband system or a narrowband system, which is not limited in the embodiment of the present application.

Optionally, before the first ranging parameters are acquired, the device #c and the device #d may establish a communication link, and specifically, reference may be made to the description related to the link establishment in step 502, which is not repeated.

Step 603: and the device #C executes the first ranging with the device #D through the second bandwidth system according to the first ranging parameters to obtain the first distance.

The first distance represents a distance between device #c and device #d.

The second range in step 602 corresponds to a second distance, which may or may not be the same value as the first distance.

It should be understood that, in the above-mentioned scheme, the device #c is taken as an example of the ranging initiator, or the narrowband system role in the device #c is defined as the controller, the narrowband system in the device #d is defined as the controlled, the wideband system in the device #c is defined as the ranging initiator, and the wideband system in the device #d is defined as the ranging responder, which describes the scheme, but the application is not limited thereto, for example, the device #d may also be taken as the ranging initiator, and in this case, the steps performed by the device #c may also be performed by the device #d.

In the ranging process of the broadband system, the method evaluates the link quality at the same time to further accurately match the optimal ranging parameters used in the current scene of the broadband system, so as to meet the application requirements of multipath resistance, coverage increase and the like.

It should be understood that the sequence numbers of the above processes do not mean the order of execution, and the execution order of the processes should be determined by the functions and internal logic of the processes, and should not be construed as limiting the implementation process of the embodiments of the present application.

It is also to be understood that in the various embodiments of the application, where no special description or logic conflict exists, the terms and/or descriptions between the various embodiments are consistent and may reference each other, and features of the various embodiments may be combined to form new embodiments in accordance with their inherent logic relationships. For example, the foregoing embodiments mainly describe that ranging is implemented between a transmitting device and a receiving device, and the scheme can also be applied to ranging between one-to-many and/or many-to-many devices, that is, the foregoing scheme can be extended to multiple devices to complete ranging requirements between different devices.

It should also be understood that in some of the foregoing embodiments, the devices in the existing network architecture are mainly described as examples (such as the sending end device, the receiving end device, etc.), and it should be understood that the embodiments of the present application are not limited to specific forms of the devices. For example, devices that can achieve the same functions in the future are applicable to the embodiments of the present application.

It will be appreciated that in the various method embodiments described above, the methods and operations performed by a device (e.g., a transmitting device, a receiving device, etc.) may also be performed by a component of the device (e.g., a chip or circuit).

The ranging method provided by the embodiment of the application is described in detail above with reference to fig. 6. The ranging method is mainly described from the aspect of interaction between the transmitting end device and the receiving end device. It will be appreciated that the transmitting device and the receiving device, in order to implement the above-mentioned functions, comprise corresponding hardware structures and/or software modules for performing the respective functions.

Those of skill in the art will appreciate that the various illustrative elements and algorithm steps described in connection with the embodiments disclosed herein may be implemented as hardware or combinations of hardware and computer software. Whether a function is implemented as hardware or computer software driven hardware depends upon the particular application and design constraints imposed on the solution. Skilled artisans may implement the described functionality in varying ways for each particular application, but such implementation decisions should not be interpreted as causing a departure from the scope of the present application.

The ranging apparatus provided by the embodiment of the present application is described in detail below with reference to fig. 7 and 8. It should be understood that the descriptions of the apparatus embodiments and the descriptions of the method embodiments correspond to each other, and thus, descriptions of details not shown may be referred to the above method embodiments, and for the sake of brevity, some parts of the descriptions are omitted.

The embodiment of the application can divide the function modules of the sending end device or the receiving end device according to the method example, for example, each function module can be divided corresponding to each function, and two or more functions can be integrated in one processing module. The integrated modules may be implemented in hardware or in software functional modules. It should be noted that, in the embodiment of the present application, the division of the modules is schematic, which is merely a logic function division, and other division manners may be implemented in actual implementation. The following description will take an example of dividing each functional module into corresponding functions.

Fig. 7 is a schematic block diagram of a communication device according to an embodiment of the present application. As shown in fig. 7, the apparatus 700 may include a transceiving unit 701 and a processing unit 702. The transceiver unit 701 may communicate with the outside, and the processing unit 702 is used for data processing. The transceiver unit 701 may also be referred to as a communication interface or a communication unit.

Optionally, the apparatus 700 may further include a storage unit, where the storage unit may be configured to store instructions and/or data, and the processing unit 702 may read the instructions and/or data in the storage unit, so that the apparatus implements the foregoing method embodiments.

The apparatus 700 may be configured to perform actions performed by a transceiver device (e.g., a transmitting device and a receiving device) in the above method embodiment, for example, the device #a or the device #b or the device #c or the device #d, where the apparatus 700 may be a transceiver device or a component configurable in the transceiver device, the transceiver unit 701 is configured to perform operations related to the transceiver device in the above method embodiment, and the processing unit 702 is configured to perform operations related to the processing of the transceiver device in the above method embodiment.

As a design, the apparatus 700 is configured to perform the actions performed by the sending device in the above method embodiment, taking device #c as an example.

A processing unit 702 for performing a first ranging according to a first ranging parameter through a broadband; a transceiver unit 701 for broadcasting a ranging result; the transceiver unit 701 is further configured to receive the second ranging parameter through a narrowband, and the processing unit 702 is further configured to perform the second ranging according to the second ranging parameter and a receiving device, such as device #d.

The apparatus 700 may implement steps or processes corresponding to those performed by a sender device in a method embodiment according to an embodiment of the present application, and the apparatus 700 may include means for performing the method performed by the sender device in the method embodiment. And, each unit in the apparatus 700 and the other operations and/or functions described above are respectively for implementing the corresponding flow of the method embodiment in the transmitting end device in the method embodiment.

When the apparatus 700 is used for performing the method shown in fig. 6, the transceiver unit 701 may be used for performing the transceiver step in the method, as shown in step 602; the processing unit 702 may be configured to perform the processing steps in the method, such as step 601, step 604.

It should be understood that the specific process of each unit performing the corresponding steps has been described in detail in the above method embodiments, and is not described herein for brevity. In addition, the foregoing method embodiments have been described in detail, and will not be described herein again.

As another design, the apparatus 700 is configured to perform the actions performed by the receiving device, such as device #d, in the above method embodiment.

A processing unit 702, configured to perform a first ranging according to the first ranging parameter and the device #c; the transceiver unit 701 is configured to receive a second ranging parameter.

The apparatus 700 may implement steps or processes corresponding to those performed by a receiving end device in a method embodiment according to an embodiment of the present application, and the apparatus 700 may include means for performing the method performed by the receiving end device in the method embodiment. And, each unit in the apparatus 700 and the other operations and/or functions described above are respectively for implementing the corresponding flow of the method embodiment in the receiving end device in the method embodiment.

When the apparatus 700 is used for performing the method shown in fig. 6, the transceiver unit 701 may be configured to perform a transceiver step in the method, such as receiving the first ranging parameter; the processing unit 702 may be configured to perform processing steps in the method, such as step 602, step 603.

The processing unit 702 in the above embodiments may be implemented by at least one processor or processor-related circuits. The transceiver unit 701 may be implemented by a transceiver or transceiver related circuitry. The memory unit may be implemented by at least one memory.

As shown in fig. 8, an embodiment of the present application also provides an apparatus 800. The apparatus 800 includes a processor 810 and may also include one or more memories 820. Processor 810 is coupled to memory 820, memory 820 for storing computer programs or instructions and/or data, and processor 810 is for executing the computer programs or instructions and/or data stored by memory 820, such that the methods in the method embodiments above are performed. Optionally, the apparatus 800 includes one or more processors 810.

Alternatively, the memory 820 may be integrated with the processor 810 or provided separately.

Optionally, as shown in fig. 8, the apparatus 800 may further include a transceiver 830, where the transceiver 830 is configured to receive and/or transmit signals. For example, the processor 810 is configured to control the transceiver 830 to receive and/or transmit signals.

As an aspect, the apparatus 800 is configured to implement operations performed by transceiver devices (e.g., a transmitting device and a receiving device) in the above method embodiments.

The embodiment of the application also provides a computer readable storage medium, on which computer instructions for implementing the method executed by the transceiver device (such as the transmitting device and the receiving device) in the above method embodiment are stored.

For example, the computer program when executed by a computer may enable the computer to implement the method performed by the transceiver device (e.g., the transmitting device and the receiving device) in the above-described method embodiment.

The embodiment of the application also provides a computer program product containing instructions, which when executed by a computer, cause the computer to implement the method executed by the transceiver device (such as the transmitting device and the receiving device) in the above method embodiment.

The embodiment of the application also provides a communication system which comprises the transmitting end equipment and the receiving end equipment in the embodiment.

The explanation and beneficial effects of the related content in any of the above-mentioned devices can refer to the corresponding method embodiments provided above, and are not repeated here.

It should be appreciated that the processors referred to in embodiments of the present application may be central processing units (central processing unit, CPU), but may also be other general purpose processors, digital signal processors (digital signal processor, DSP), application specific integrated circuits (applicationspecific integrated circuit, ASIC), off-the-shelf programmable gate arrays (field programmable gate array, FPGA) or other programmable logic devices, discrete gate or transistor logic devices, discrete hardware components, or the like. A general purpose processor may be a microprocessor or the processor may be any conventional processor or the like.

It should also be understood that the memories mentioned in the embodiments of the present application may be volatile memories and nonvolatile memories. The nonvolatile memory may be a read-only memory (ROM), a programmable read-only memory (programmableROM, PROM), an erasable programmable read-only memory (EPROM), an electrically erasable programmable read-only memory (EEPROM), or a flash memory, among others. The volatile memory may be random access memory (random access memory, RAM). For example, RAM may be used as an external cache. By way of example, and not limitation, RAM may include the following forms: static RAM (SRAM), dynamic RAM (DRAM), synchronous DRAM (SDRAM), double data rate synchronous DRAM (DDR SDRAM), enhanced SDRAM (ESDRAM), synchronous DRAM (SLDRAM), and direct memory bus RAM (DR RAM).

It should be noted that when the processor is a general purpose processor, DSP, ASIC, FPGA or other programmable logic device, discrete gate or transistor logic device, discrete hardware components, the memory (storage module) may be integrated into the processor.

It should also be noted that the memory described herein is intended to comprise, without being limited to, these and any other suitable types of memory.

Those of ordinary skill in the art will appreciate that the elements and steps of the examples described in connection with the embodiments disclosed herein can be implemented as electronic hardware, or as a combination of computer software and electronic hardware. Whether such functionality is implemented as hardware or software depends upon the particular application and design constraints imposed on the solution. Skilled artisans may implement the described functionality in varying ways for each particular application, but such implementation decisions should not be interpreted as causing a departure from the scope of the present application.

It should be understood that the scheme provided by the application can be suitable for ranging in various communication environments, and the communication environments are not limited. For example, ranging between the network device and the terminal may be performed, or ranging between the terminal and the terminal may be performed, but the present application is not limited thereto.

In the several embodiments provided by the present application, it should be understood that the disclosed apparatus and method may be implemented in other manners. For example, the apparatus embodiments described above are merely illustrative, e.g., the division of the units is merely a logical function division, and there may be additional divisions when actually implemented, e.g., multiple units or components may be combined or integrated into another system, or some features may be omitted or not performed. Furthermore, the coupling or direct coupling or communication connection shown or discussed with each other may be through some interface, device or unit indirect coupling or communication connection, which may be in electrical, mechanical or other form.

The units described as separate units may or may not be physically separate, and units shown as units may or may not be physical units, may be located in one place, or may be distributed on a plurality of network units. Some or all of the units can be selected according to actual needs to realize the scheme provided by the application.

In addition, each functional unit in each embodiment of the present application may be integrated in one unit, or each unit may exist alone physically, or two or more units may be integrated in one unit.

In the above embodiments, it may be implemented in whole or in part by software, hardware, firmware, or any combination thereof. When implemented in software, may be implemented in whole or in part in the form of a computer program product. The computer program product includes one or more computer instructions. When loaded and executed on a computer, produces a flow or function in accordance with embodiments of the present application, in whole or in part. The computer may be a general purpose computer, a special purpose computer, a computer network, or other programmable apparatus. For example, the computer may be a personal computer, a server, or a network device, etc. The computer instructions may be stored in or transmitted from one computer-readable storage medium to another, for example, by wired (e.g., coaxial cable, optical fiber, digital Subscriber Line (DSL)), or wireless (e.g., infrared, wireless, microwave, etc.). The computer readable storage medium may be any available medium that can be accessed by a computer or a data storage device such as a server, data center, etc. that contains an integration of one or more available media. For example, the aforementioned usable medium may include, but is not limited to, a U disk, a removable hard disk, a read-only memory (ROM), a random access memory (random access memory, RAM), a magnetic disk or an optical disk, etc. various media that can store program codes.

It will be appreciated that, in order to implement the functions in the above embodiments, the transmitting device and the receiving device include corresponding hardware structures and/or software modules that perform the respective functions. Those of skill in the art will readily appreciate that the various illustrative elements and method steps described in connection with the embodiments disclosed herein may be implemented as hardware or combinations of hardware and computer software. Whether a function is implemented as hardware or computer software driven hardware depends upon the particular application scenario and design constraints imposed on the solution.

In the above embodiments, it may be implemented in whole or in part by software, hardware, firmware, or any combination thereof. When implemented in software, may be implemented in whole or in part in the form of a computer program product. The computer program product includes one or more computer programs or instructions. When the computer program or instructions are loaded and executed on a computer, the processes or functions described in the embodiments of the present application are performed in whole or in part. The computer may be a general purpose computer, a special purpose computer, a computer network, a network device, a user device, or other programmable apparatus. The computer program or instructions may be stored in a computer readable storage medium or transmitted from one computer readable storage medium to another computer readable storage medium, for example, the computer program or instructions may be transmitted from one website site, computer, server, or data center to another website site, computer, server, or data center by wired or wireless means. The computer readable storage medium may be any available medium that can be accessed by a computer or a data storage device such as a server, data center, etc. that integrates one or more available media. The usable medium may be a magnetic medium, e.g., floppy disk, hard disk, tape; but also optical media such as digital video discs; but also semiconductor media such as solid state disks. The computer readable storage medium may be volatile or nonvolatile storage medium, or may include both volatile and nonvolatile storage media

Depending on whether the specification applies to the alternatives: in the present application, "at least one" means one or more, and "a plurality" means two or more. "and/or", describes an association relationship of an association object, and indicates that there may be three relationships, for example, a and/or B, and may indicate: a alone, a and B together, and B alone, wherein a, B may be singular or plural. In the text description of the present application, the character "/", generally indicates that the associated objects are an or relationship; in the formula of the present application, the character "/" indicates that the front and rear associated objects are a "division" relationship. "including at least one of A, B and C" may mean: comprises A; comprises B; comprising C; comprises A and B; comprises A and C; comprises B and C; including A, B and C.

The foregoing is merely illustrative of the present application, and the present application is not limited thereto, and any person skilled in the art will readily recognize that variations or substitutions are within the scope of the present application. Therefore, the protection scope of the present application shall be subject to the protection scope of the claims.

For the flow and method application in the ranging process, the technical scheme is as shown in fig. 3 (taking the ranging flow of 1 to 1 as an example):

assume the device role:

in the figure, 2 devices are taken as an example, and in the Beacon stage, the device 1 is defined as a coordinator and is responsible for sending Beacon frames so as to realize the broadcasting and time synchronization of parameters in the personal area network; after receiving the beacon frame, the device 2 joins the personal area network of the device 1 (coordinator) as required.

In the contention and non-contention phase, the device 1 (coordinator) may indicate whether this phase (contention and non-contention phase) is required or not through beacon, and if necessary, other devices (e.g. device n) may intervene in the personal area network built by the device 1 at this phase; if this stage is not required, the relevant devices in the current and personal area networks are maintained.

In the ranging process, 4 roles are defined in total, the device 1 simultaneously makes a controller and an initiator, and the device 2 simultaneously makes a controller and a responder; device 1 achieves ranging with device 2; the controller is responsible for sending a ranging control frame, and comprises role definition, time slot allocation control, namely, which devices are used as an initiator and which devices are used as a responder, and the ranging process is that time slices of each period are allocated through the ranging control frame based on TDMA;

The UWB ranging process implementation steps of the scheme of fig. 3 are as follows:

the UWB is awakened by low-power Bluetooth (bluetooth lowenergy, BLE) before being started, and default parameters (such as channel number, synchronous code preamble, rate and the like defined by initialization) are applied to the UWB after the awakening;

after the UWB is awakened and started, networking and ranging are carried out;

in the Beacon stage, beacon frames are sent, so that personal domain network definition, time synchronization and the like are realized;

the competition and non-competition stage is used for completing network access of equipment and interaction of appointed equipment;

in the ranging process, a ranging control frame is firstly used for distributing time based on TDMA, and roles are well defined;

then initiating an initial ranging frame through an initiator; after receiving the initial ranging frame, the response feeds back the ranging frame to the initiator;

finally, each device calculates the flight time of the ranging frame to finish ranging between the devices;

the new ranging wheel is repeatedly executed according to the steps.

As shown in the technical scheme structure diagram of fig. 3, the technical scheme is single, and after the UWB is awakened by BLE, the UWB is started by using default parameters; the ranging performance may be limited because the reasonable application of the channel information completion parameters cannot be applied in advance in the ranging process, and the disadvantages are as follows:

(1) The equipment environment information before ranging is unknown, the application of the ranging parameters is single, and the ranging performance is affected;

(2) The flexibility during ranging is poor, and the problems of high power consumption, poor ranging performance and the like may be caused by always using one rate communication.

In order to solve the problem, the application provides a broadband GLP system based on narrow-band GLE driving, and GLP ranging parameters are adaptively adjusted before driving according to scene pre-judging conditions, so that better ranging performance is achieved, and self-adaptive and intelligent ranging application is realized. Ranging scheme system architecture the framework is shown in figure 3. The method comprises the following specific steps:

establishing a link between narrowband system devices to perform corresponding communication;

after the communication link is established, if the broadband system is required to perform ranging, waking up the broadband system;

when the narrowband system wakes up the wideband system, the narrowband system needs to initialize the ranging parameters of the wideband system according to the current rough ranging result (from the evaluation of the narrowband system itself);

the broadband system initiates ranging according to the link established by the narrowband system and related ranging parameters;

the ranging result of the broadband system is transmitted back to the narrowband system;

after the narrowband system takes the observed value (ranging result), the observed value is broadcast out through the narrowband system.

The adaptive ranging scheme with the broad and narrow band fusion has an overall structure as shown in fig. 9 (taking one-to-one ranging as an example):

Wherein the narrowband system role in device 1 is defined as a controller; the narrowband system in device 2 is defined as the slave; the broadband system in device 1 is defined as a ranging initiator; the broadband system in device 2 is defined as a ranging responder;

as shown in fig. 10, the specific steps include:

the device 1 and the device 2 find out the respective devices through a narrow-band system and establish a link; after the link is established, the distance information between the two devices can be obtained through RSSI or other modes, so that the environment and the distance of the two devices can be further estimated; and selecting parameters that the same broadband system may employ as device 1 and device 2 according to table 3;

TABLE 3 coarse gauge information and broadband parameter lookup table

Coarse ranging information for narrowband system	Wideband ranging estimation parameters
		First ranging information interval	First parameter of broadband ranging
Second ranging information interval	Second parameter of broadband ranging
		……	……
Nth ranging information interval	Broadband ranging nth parameter

The narrowband system wakes up the wideband system, and the wideband system of the equipment 1 initiates ranging according to the configuration and recommended parameters of the narrowband system;

the information after the distance measurement interaction of the broadband system is transmitted back to the respective narrowband system; after the narrowband system collects the observed value, the ranging information is broadcast out to complete the distance calculation among the devices.

The wideband ranging parameters may need to be prepared to be evaluated in the ranging process, or the scene of the environment change in the ranging process may be expanded as shown in fig. 11, when the wideband system is used for ranging:

in the ranging process, the ranging link quality is synchronously evaluated, and the optimal ranging parameters are searched for the link quality evaluated for the scene according to the following table:

table 4 comparison table of wideband link quality and wideband ranging parameters

Broadband ranging link quality	Broadband ranging parameter assessment
		First link quality	First parameter of broadband ranging
Second link quality	Second parameter of broadband ranging
		……	……
Mth link quality	Wideband ranging Mth parameter

And returning the selection of the parameters to a narrowband system side, broadcasting the observed value, and simultaneously notifying the opposite side according to the ranging parameters selected by the wideband system to finish the negotiation and selection of the ranging parameters of the wideband system in the next round.

The scheme is not limited to 2 devices, can be expanded to n devices, and can finish the ranging requirements among different devices; narrowband systems include, but are not limited to, wifi, bluetooth, BLE, etc., and wideband systems include, but are not limited to, UWB, etc. ultra wideband technology.

In the embodiment of the application, a coarse ranging result is synchronously obtained through a narrow-band system in the process of establishing a link so as to match the ranging parameters of a possible broadband system, thereby improving the ranging performance; in addition, in the ranging process of the broadband system, the estimated link quality is utilized to further accurately match the optimal ranging parameters used in the current scene of the broadband system, so that the application requirements of multipath resistance, coverage increase and the like are met. The scheme is flexible and reliable, has strong self-adaptability, and can effectively improve the ranging performance and the ranging efficiency.

Fig. 7 and 8 are schematic structural diagrams of possible communication devices according to an embodiment of the present application. These communication devices may be used to implement the functions of the terminal device or the network device in the above method embodiments, so that the beneficial effects of the above method embodiments may also be implemented. In the embodiment of the present application, the communication device may be one of the terminals 120a to 120j shown in fig. 1, or may be the base station 110a or 110b shown in fig. 1, or may be a module (such as a chip) applied to a terminal device or a network device.

As shown in fig. 8, the communication apparatus 800 includes a processing unit 810 and a transceiving unit 820. The communication apparatus 800 is configured to implement the functions of the first device or the second device in the method embodiments shown in fig. 9 to 11 described above.

As shown in fig. 8, the communication device 800 includes a processor 810 and an interface circuit 820. Processor 810 and interface circuit 820 are coupled to each other. It is understood that the interface circuit 820 may be a transceiver or an input-output interface. Optionally, the communication device 800 may further comprise a memory 840 for storing instructions executed by the processor 810 or for storing input data required by the processor 810 to execute instructions or for storing data generated after the processor 810 executes instructions.

When the communication device 800 is used to implement the methods shown in fig. 9 to 11, the processor 810 is used to implement the functions of the processing unit 810, and the interface circuit 820 is used to implement the functions of the transceiver unit 820.

When the communication device is a chip applied to the terminal, the terminal chip realizes the functions of the terminal in the embodiment of the method. The terminal chip receives information from other modules (such as a radio frequency module or an antenna) in the terminal, and the information is sent to the terminal by the base station; alternatively, the terminal chip sends information to other modules in the terminal (e.g., radio frequency modules or antennas) that the terminal sends to the base station.

When the communication device is a module applied to a base station, the base station module realizes the functions of the base station in the method embodiment. The base station module receives information from other modules (such as radio frequency modules or antennas) in the base station, the information being transmitted by the terminal to the base station; alternatively, the base station module transmits information to other modules in the base station (e.g., radio frequency modules or antennas) that the base station transmits to the terminal. The base station module may be a baseband chip of a base station, or may be a DU or other module, where the DU may be a DU under an open radio access network (open radio access network, O-RAN) architecture.

It is to be appreciated that the processor in embodiments of the application may be a central processing unit (Central Processing Unit, CPU), other general purpose processor, digital signal processor (Digital Signal Processor, DSP), application specific integrated circuit (Application Specific Integrated Circuit, ASIC), field programmable gate array (FieldProgrammable Gate Array, FPGA) or other programmable logic device, transistor logic device, hardware components, or any combination thereof. The general purpose processor may be a microprocessor, but in the alternative, it may be any conventional processor.

The method steps of the embodiments of the present application may be implemented in hardware or in software instructions executable by a processor. The software instructions may be comprised of corresponding software modules that may be stored in random access memory, flash memory, read only memory, programmable read only memory, erasable programmable read only memory, electrically erasable programmable read only memory, registers, hard disk, removable disk, CD-ROM, or any other form of storage medium known in the art. An exemplary storage medium is coupled to the processor such the processor can read information from, and write information to, the storage medium. The storage medium may be integral to the processor. The processor and the storage medium may reside in an ASIC. In addition, the ASIC may reside in a base station or terminal. The processor and the storage medium may reside as discrete components in a base station or terminal.

In the above embodiments, it may be implemented in whole or in part by software, hardware, firmware, or any combination thereof. When implemented in software, may be implemented in whole or in part in the form of a computer program product. The computer program product includes one or more computer programs or instructions. When the computer program or instructions are loaded and executed on a computer, the processes or functions described in the embodiments of the present application are performed in whole or in part. The computer may be a general purpose computer, a special purpose computer, a computer network, a network device, a user device, or other programmable apparatus. The computer program or instructions may be stored in a computer readable storage medium or transmitted from one computer readable storage medium to another computer readable storage medium, for example, the computer program or instructions may be transmitted from one website site, computer, server, or data center to another website site, computer, server, or data center by wired or wireless means. The computer readable storage medium may be any available medium that can be accessed by a computer or a data storage device such as a server, data center, etc. that integrates one or more available media. The usable medium may be a magnetic medium, e.g., floppy disk, hard disk, tape; but also optical media such as digital video discs; but also semiconductor media such as solid state disks. The computer readable storage medium may be volatile or nonvolatile storage medium, or may include both volatile and nonvolatile types of storage medium.

It will be appreciated that the various numerical numbers referred to in the embodiments of the present application are merely for ease of description and are not intended to limit the scope of the embodiments of the present application. The sequence number of each process does not mean the sequence of the execution sequence, and the execution sequence of each process should be determined according to the function and the internal logic.

Claims

1. A method of communication, comprising:

A first device obtains a first ranging parameter through a first bandwidth system, wherein the first ranging parameter is determined according to the communication quality between the first device and the second device;

and the first equipment executes first ranging through a second bandwidth system according to the first ranging parameters to obtain a first distance, wherein the first distance represents the distance between the first equipment and the second equipment, and the bandwidth corresponding to the first bandwidth system is smaller than the bandwidth corresponding to the second bandwidth system.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein the first ranging parameter is determined based on a quality of communication between the first device and the second device, comprising:

the first ranging parameter is determined from at least one ranging parameter according to communication quality and a first corresponding relation between the first equipment and the second equipment, the first corresponding relation is a corresponding relation between at least one communication quality and at least one ranging parameter, the at least one communication quality comprises the communication quality between the first equipment and the second equipment, and the at least one ranging parameter comprises the first ranging parameter.

3. The method of claim 2, wherein prior to the first device performing a first ranging with a second device over a second bandwidth system according to the first ranging parameters, the method further comprises:

the first device determines to update a second ranging parameter to the first ranging parameter according to the communication quality between the first device and the second device, wherein the second ranging parameter is used for second ranging, and the second ranging is the ranging before the first ranging.

4. A method according to any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein the first ranging parameter and/or the second ranging parameter comprises at least one of: the preamble, the number of synchronization codes, the length of the kronetime product, the frame header type of the ranging frame, the frame header length, or the number of ranging rounds.

5. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 4, wherein when the first ranging parameter includes the number of synchronization codes, a length of a kronetime product, a frame header length, or a number of ranging rounds, the method further comprises:

the first device determines that a difference value between the first ranging parameter and a second ranging parameter is smaller than or equal to a first threshold, the second ranging parameter is used for second ranging, the second ranging is ranging before the first ranging, and the second ranging parameter comprises the number of synchronous codes, the length of a kronetime product, the length of a frame head or the number of ranging wheels.

6. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 5, wherein the second ranging parameters are preset.

7. A method of communication, comprising:

the second equipment acquires a first ranging parameter through a first bandwidth system, wherein the first ranging parameter is determined according to the communication quality between the first equipment and the second equipment;

and the second equipment executes first ranging with the first equipment through the second bandwidth system according to the first ranging parameters to obtain a first distance, wherein the first distance represents the distance between the first equipment and the second equipment, and the bandwidth corresponding to the first bandwidth system is smaller than the bandwidth corresponding to the second bandwidth system.

8. The method of claim 7, wherein the first ranging parameter is determined based on a quality of communication between the first device and the second device, comprising:

9. The method according to claim 7 or 8, wherein the second device obtaining the first ranging parameters through a first bandwidth system, comprising:

the second device receives the first ranging parameters from the first device over a first bandwidth system.

10. The method according to any one of claims 7 to 9, wherein the first ranging parameters comprise at least one of: the preamble, the number of synchronization codes, the length of the kronetime product, the frame header type of the ranging frame, the frame header length, or the number of ranging rounds.

11. The method according to any one of claims 7 to 10, wherein when the first ranging parameter comprises the number of synchronization codes, the length of a kronetime product, a frame header length, or a number of ranging rounds, the method further comprises:

the second device determines that a difference value between the first ranging parameter and a second ranging parameter is smaller than or equal to a first threshold, the second ranging parameter is used for second ranging, the second ranging is ranging before the first ranging, and the second ranging parameter comprises the number of synchronous codes, the length of a kronetime product, the length of a frame head or the number of ranging wheels.

12. The method of claim 11, wherein the second ranging parameters are preset.

13. A communication device comprising means for performing the method of any of claims 1 to 6.

14. A communication device comprising means for performing the method of any of claims 7 to 12.

15. A communication system comprising a communication device as claimed in claim 13 and claim 14.

16. A communication device, comprising:

a processor for executing computer instructions stored in a memory to cause the apparatus to perform: the method of any one of claims 1 to 12.

17. The apparatus of claim 16, further comprising the memory.

18. The apparatus of claim 16 or 17, further comprising a communication interface coupled to the processor,

the communication interface is used for inputting and/or outputting information.

19. The device of any one of claims 16 to 18, wherein the device is a chip.