CN117319920A

CN117319920A - Distance measurement method and communication device

Info

Publication number: CN117319920A
Application number: CN202210726824.1A
Authority: CN
Inventors: 许胜锋; 李濛; 应江威
Original assignee: Huawei Technologies Co Ltd
Current assignee: Huawei Technologies Co Ltd
Priority date: 2022-06-24
Filing date: 2022-06-24
Publication date: 2023-12-29
Also published as: WO2023246427A1; TW202402071A

Abstract

The application provides a ranging method and a communication device, in the method, an access layer of a first terminal generates and transmits a first signal for ranging according to ranging information of a first layer, receives a second signal responding to the first signal, acquires a first duration between the moment when the first terminal transmits the first signal and the moment when the first terminal receives the second signal and a second duration between the moment when the second terminal receives the first signal and the moment when the second terminal transmits the second signal by the first layer, and determines the distance between the first terminal and the second terminal according to the first duration and the second duration. This allows measuring the distance between the first terminal and the second terminal.

Description

Distance measurement method and communication device

Technical Field

The embodiments of the present application relate to the field of communications, and more particularly, to a ranging method and a communication apparatus.

Background

With the rapid development of mobile communication, the widespread use of new service types (e.g., video chat, virtual Reality (VR)/augmented reality (augmented reality, AR) and the like data services) has increased the demand of users for bandwidth. Many communication scenarios, such as a device-to-device (D2D) communication scenario, a vehicle-to-device (V2X) communication scenario, and a proximity-based services (ProSe) communication scenario, allow for direct communication between terminals.

If two terminals are in a close range, the two terminals can directly communicate after mutual discovery, and information transmission of a data plane and a control plane can be performed. In theory, the terminals can also perform ranging based on direct communication to obtain the relative distance between the terminals. However, it is not yet specified how to perform ranging based on direct communication between terminals.

Disclosure of Invention

The present application provides a ranging method and a communication apparatus, which can measure a distance between terminals based on direct communication between the terminals.

In a first aspect, a ranging method is provided, which may be performed by a first terminal, or by a module or unit in the first terminal.

The method comprises the following steps: a first layer of a first terminal sends ranging information to an access layer of the first terminal, wherein the ranging information is used for indicating to measure the distance between the first terminal and a second terminal; the access layer of the first terminal sends a first signal to the second terminal according to the ranging information, wherein the first signal is used for measuring the distance between the first terminal and the second terminal; the access layer of the first terminal receives a second signal from the second terminal, wherein the second signal is used for responding to the first signal; a first layer of the first terminal acquires a first time length, wherein the first time length is a time length between the moment when the first terminal transmits the first signal and the moment when the first terminal receives the second signal; the first layer of the first terminal obtains a second time length, wherein the second time length is the time length between the moment when the second terminal receives the first signal and the moment when the second terminal sends the second signal; and the first layer of the first terminal determines the distance between the first terminal and the second terminal according to the first time length and the second time length.

In the above technical solution, an access layer of a first terminal generates and transmits a first signal for ranging according to ranging information of the first layer, and receives a second signal in response to the first signal; the first layer of the first terminal obtains a first time length and a second time length, and the distance between the first terminal and the second terminal is determined according to the first time length and the second time length. In this way, a measurement of the distance between the first terminal and the second terminal may be achieved.

In addition, the technical scheme considers the layering architecture in the terminal, and the functions of the first layer and the access layer in the terminal are clarified. In addition, since the first layer determines the distance between the first terminal and the second terminal, the distance is not easy to be exposed or acquired by other entities, so that the technical scheme is helpful to ensure the safety of the ranging result (namely, the distance between the first terminal and the second terminal).

With reference to the first aspect, in one possible implementation manner, the ranging information includes: a ranging indication and an identification of the second terminal, the ranging indication being used to indicate a ranging operation.

Wherein the relative distance between the terminals can be obtained through a ranging operation. The identity of the second terminal is used to indicate the object of ranging. In this way, the access layer of the first terminal can determine to measure the distance between the first terminal and the second terminal based on the ranging information.

With reference to the first aspect or any implementation manner thereof, in another possible implementation manner, the ranging information includes: and the first ranging period information is used for indicating a first period of ranging and identifying the second terminal. The period of ranging may also be referred to as a time interval of ranging, for example, the first period may also be referred to as a first time interval, and for convenience of description, the term "period" is used in this application.

With reference to the first aspect or any implementation manner thereof, in another possible implementation manner, the ranging information includes: a ranging indication for indicating a ranging operation, first ranging period information for indicating a first period of ranging, and an identification of the second terminal.

With reference to the first aspect or any implementation manner thereof, in another possible implementation manner, the method further includes: the access layer of the first terminal determines the first duration; the first layer of the first terminal obtains a first time length, including: and the first layer of the first terminal acquires the first duration from the access layer of the first terminal.

In the above technical solution, the access layer of the first terminal determines the first time length, so that the first layer of the first terminal can obtain the first time length from the access layer of the first terminal. Because the first signal is sent by the access layer of the first terminal and the second signal is received by the access layer of the first terminal, the access layer of the first terminal knows the time of sending the first signal and the time of receiving the second signal, and further the time length between the time of sending the first signal and the time of receiving the second signal can be determined, and the scheme is easy to realize.

With reference to the first aspect or any implementation manner thereof, in another possible implementation manner, the method further includes: the access layer of the first terminal stores a first corresponding relation between a first identifier and the moment when the first terminal transmits the first signal, wherein the first identifier corresponds to the second terminal; the access layer of the first terminal determines the first duration, including: the access layer of the first terminal determines the moment when the first terminal receives the second signal; the access layer of the first terminal obtains the moment when the first terminal sends the first signal according to the first identifier and the first corresponding relation included in the second signal; and the access layer of the first terminal determines the first duration according to the moment when the first terminal transmits the first signal and the moment when the first terminal receives the second signal.

In the above technical solution, because there is a correspondence between the first identifier and the time when the first terminal transmits the first signal, the access layer of the first terminal may obtain, according to the first identifier included in the second signal, the time when the first signal corresponding to the second signal is transmitted, thereby ensuring accuracy of ranging.

With reference to the first aspect or any implementation manner thereof, in another possible implementation manner, the first identifier includes an identifier of the first terminal and/or an identifier of the second terminal, where the identifier of the first terminal is used to identify communication between the first terminal and the second terminal.

The identifier of the first terminal is used to identify the communication between the first terminal and the second terminal, which is understood that the identifier of the first terminal is not used to communicate with other terminals, or the opposite end of the communication can be determined to be the second terminal through the identifier of the first terminal. For example, when a first terminal communicates with a plurality of terminals including a second terminal at the same time, the first terminal may communicate with it using different identifications for different terminals, in which case the identification of the first terminal may also distinguish between the plurality of terminals communicating with the first terminal.

With reference to the first aspect or any implementation manner of the first aspect, in another possible implementation manner, the obtaining, by a first layer of the first terminal, a second duration includes: a first layer of the first terminal receives a first message from a first layer of the second terminal, wherein the first message comprises the second duration; the first layer of the first terminal obtains the second duration from the first message.

With reference to the first aspect or any implementation manner thereof, in another possible implementation manner, the first message includes a proximity-based service communication 5-signaling (ProSe communication, pc 5-S) message.

In other words, the second message is signaling of the first layer.

With reference to the first aspect or any implementation manner of the first aspect, in another possible implementation manner, the obtaining, by a first layer of the first terminal, a second duration includes: the first layer of the first terminal receives data from the first layer of the second terminal, wherein the data comprises the second duration; the first layer of the first terminal acquires the second duration from the data.

In other words, the first layer of the second terminal transmits the second duration as data to the first layer of the first terminal.

With reference to the first aspect or any implementation manner thereof, in another possible implementation manner, the data is proximity-based service communication 5-user plane (ProSe communication user plane, pc 5-U) data.

With reference to the first aspect or any implementation manner of the first aspect, in another possible implementation manner, the obtaining, by a first layer of the first terminal, a second duration includes: the access layer of the first terminal receives a second message from the access layer of the second terminal, wherein the second message comprises the second duration; the access layer of the first terminal obtains the second duration from the second message; and the first layer of the first terminal acquires the second duration from the access layer of the first terminal.

With reference to the first aspect or any implementation manner thereof, in another possible implementation manner, the second message includes a proximity-based service communication 5-radio resource control (ProSe communication 5radio resource control,PC5-RRC) message.

In other words, the second message is signaling of the access layer.

With reference to the first aspect or any implementation manner thereof, in another possible implementation manner, the method further includes: a first layer of the first terminal determines whether a distance between the first terminal and the second terminal meets a threshold condition; and when the distance between the first terminal and the second terminal meets the threshold condition, the first layer of the first terminal sends the distance between the first terminal and the second terminal to the application layer of the first terminal.

With reference to the first aspect or any implementation manner thereof, in another possible implementation manner, the threshold condition is from an application layer of the first terminal.

With reference to the first aspect or any implementation manner thereof, in another possible implementation manner, a distance between the first terminal and the second terminal satisfies:

D＝c×(T _round -T _reply )/2

wherein D is the distance between the first terminal and the second terminal, c is the speed of light, T _round For the first time period, T _reply For the second duration.

With reference to the first aspect or any implementation manner thereof, in another possible implementation manner, the first layer is between an application layer and the access layer.

With reference to the first aspect or any implementation manner thereof, in another possible implementation manner, the first layer is a ranging layer (ranging layer), a ProSe layer, or a V2X layer. It should be noted that, in different communication scenarios, names and division manners of layers inside the terminal may be different, and thus, in different communication scenarios, the first layer may be different, and only several possible layers are listed here.

With reference to the first aspect or any implementation manner of the first aspect, in another possible implementation manner, after determining a distance between the first terminal and the second terminal, the first layer of the first terminal further determines a second period of ranging according to the distance between the first terminal and the second terminal, and then sends second ranging period information to an access layer of the first terminal, where the second ranging period information is used to indicate the second period. Subsequently, the access layer of the first terminal may perform a ranging operation according to the second period.

For example, the first layer of the first terminal obtains a correspondence between a distance and a ranging period from an application layer or a core network element of the first terminal, and the first layer of the first terminal determines second ranging period information according to the distance between the first terminal and the second terminal and the obtained correspondence.

In this way, the first layer of the first terminal may update the ranging period information according to the distance between the first terminal and the second terminal, for example, it may be possible to use a larger period when the distance between the terminals is longer and use a smaller period when the distance between the terminals is smaller.

In a second aspect, a ranging method is provided, which may be performed by a first terminal or by a module or unit in the first terminal.

The method comprises the following steps: a first layer of a first terminal sends ranging information to an access layer of the first terminal, wherein the ranging information is used for indicating to measure the distance between the first terminal and a second terminal; the access layer of the first terminal sends a first signal to the second terminal according to the ranging information, wherein the first signal is used for measuring the distance between the first terminal and the second terminal; the access layer of the first terminal receives a second signal from the second terminal, wherein the second signal is used for responding to the first signal; the access layer of the first terminal determines a first time length, wherein the first time length is a time length between the moment when the first terminal transmits the first signal and the moment when the first terminal receives the second signal; the access layer of the first terminal obtains a second time length, wherein the second time length is the time length between the moment when the second terminal receives the first signal and the moment when the second terminal sends the second signal; the access layer of the first terminal determines the distance between the first terminal and the second terminal according to the first time length and the second time length; the access layer of the first terminal sends the distance between the first terminal and the second terminal to the first layer of the first terminal.

In the above technical solution, an access layer of a first terminal generates and transmits a first signal for ranging according to ranging information of the first layer, receives a second signal in response to the first signal, determines a first duration, acquires a second duration, and determines a distance between the first terminal and the second terminal according to the first duration and the second duration. In this way, a measurement of the distance between the first terminal and the second terminal may be achieved. In addition, the technical scheme considers the layering architecture in the terminal, and the functions of the first layer and the access layer in the terminal are clarified.

With reference to the second aspect, in one possible implementation manner, the ranging information includes: a ranging indication and an identification of the second terminal, the ranging indication being used to indicate a ranging operation.

With reference to the second aspect or any implementation manner thereof, in another possible implementation manner, the ranging information includes: and the first ranging period information is used for indicating a first period of ranging and identifying the second terminal.

With reference to the second aspect or any implementation manner thereof, in another possible implementation manner, the ranging information includes: a ranging indication for indicating a ranging operation, first ranging period information for indicating a first period of ranging, and an identification of the second terminal.

With reference to the second aspect or any implementation manner thereof, in another possible implementation manner, the method further includes: the access layer of the first terminal stores a first corresponding relation between a first identifier and the moment when the first terminal transmits the first signal, wherein the first identifier corresponds to the second terminal; the access layer of the first terminal determining a first time length includes: the access layer of the first terminal determines the moment when the first terminal receives the second signal; the access layer of the first terminal obtains the moment when the first terminal sends the first signal according to the first identifier and the first corresponding relation included in the second signal; and the access layer of the first terminal determines the first duration according to the moment when the first terminal transmits the first signal and the moment when the first terminal receives the second signal.

With reference to the second aspect or any implementation manner thereof, in another possible implementation manner, the first identifier includes an identifier of the first terminal and/or an identifier of the second terminal, where the identifier of the first terminal is used to identify communication between the first terminal and the second terminal.

With reference to the second aspect or any implementation manner of the second aspect, in another possible implementation manner, the acquiring, by an access layer of the first terminal, a second duration includes: the access layer of the first terminal receives a second message from the second terminal, wherein the second message comprises the second duration; the access layer of the first terminal obtains a second duration, including: the access layer of the first terminal obtains the second duration from the second message.

With reference to the second aspect or any implementation manner thereof, in another possible implementation manner, the second message includes a PC5-RRC message.

In other words, the second message is signaling of the first layer.

With reference to the second aspect or any implementation manner thereof, in another possible implementation manner, the method further includes: the access layer of the first terminal determines whether the distance between the first terminal and the second terminal meets a threshold condition; the access layer of the first terminal sending the distance between the first terminal and the second terminal to the first layer of the first terminal, including: and when the distance between the first terminal and the second terminal meets the threshold condition, the access layer of the first terminal sends the distance between the first terminal and the second terminal to the first layer of the first terminal.

With reference to the second aspect or any implementation manner thereof, in another possible implementation manner, the ranging information includes the threshold condition.

With reference to the second aspect or any implementation manner thereof, in another possible implementation manner, the method further includes: a first layer of the first terminal determines whether a distance between the first terminal and the second terminal meets a threshold condition; and when the distance between the first terminal and the second terminal meets the threshold condition, the first layer of the first terminal sends the distance between the first terminal and the second terminal to the application layer of the first terminal.

For example, when the access layer of the first terminal does not determine whether the distance between the first terminal and the second terminal satisfies the threshold condition, it may be further determined by the first layer of the first terminal whether the distance between the first terminal and the second terminal satisfies the threshold condition.

With reference to the second aspect or any implementation manner thereof, in another possible implementation manner, the threshold condition is from an application layer of the first terminal.

With reference to the second aspect or any implementation manner thereof, in another possible implementation manner, a distance between the first terminal and the second terminal satisfies:

D＝c×(T _round -T _reply )/2

With reference to the second aspect or any implementation manner thereof, in another possible implementation manner, the first layer is between an application layer and the access layer.

With reference to the second aspect or any implementation manner thereof, in another possible implementation manner, the first layer is a ranging layer, a ProSe layer, or a V2X layer. It should be noted that, in different communication scenarios, names and division manners of layers inside the terminal may be different, and thus, in different communication scenarios, the first layer may be different, and only several possible layers are listed here.

With reference to the second aspect or any implementation manner thereof, in another possible implementation manner, after determining a distance between the first terminal and the second terminal, the access layer of the first terminal further determines a second period of ranging according to the distance between the first terminal and the second terminal. Subsequently, the access layer of the first terminal may perform a ranging operation according to the second period.

For example, the access layer of the first terminal obtains a correspondence between a distance and a ranging period from an application layer of the first terminal or the first layer of the first terminal, and the access layer of the first terminal determines a second period according to the distance between the first terminal and the second terminal and the obtained correspondence.

In this way, the access layer of the first terminal may update the ranging period information according to the distance between the first terminal and the second terminal, for example, may implement a larger period when the distance between the terminals is longer and a smaller period when the distance between the terminals is smaller.

In a third aspect, a ranging method is provided, which may be performed by a second terminal, or by a module or unit in the second terminal.

The method comprises the following steps: an access layer of a second terminal receives a first signal from a first terminal, wherein the first signal is used for measuring the distance between the first terminal and the second terminal; the access layer of the second terminal sends a second signal to the first terminal, wherein the second signal is used for responding to the first signal; the access layer of the second terminal determines a second duration, wherein the second duration is a duration between the time when the second terminal receives the first signal and the time when the second terminal sends the second signal; and the second terminal sends the second duration to the first terminal.

In the above technical solution, the access layer of the second terminal receives the first signal from the first terminal, sends the second signal for responding to the first signal to the first terminal, determines the second duration according to the time of receiving the first signal and the time of sending the second signal, and sends the determined second duration to the first terminal, so that the first terminal can complete the ranging operation, and the distance between the first terminal and the second terminal is obtained. Therefore, the technical scheme can realize the measurement of the distance between the first terminal and the second terminal. In addition, the technical scheme considers the layering architecture in the terminal, and the function of an access layer in the terminal is clarified.

With reference to the third aspect, in one possible implementation manner, the sending, by the second terminal, the second duration to the first terminal includes: the first layer of the second terminal sends a first message to the first layer of the first terminal, wherein the first message comprises the second duration.

With reference to the third aspect or any implementation manner thereof, in another possible implementation manner, the first message includes a PC5-S message.

In other words, the second message is signaling of the first layer.

With reference to the third aspect or any implementation manner thereof, in another possible implementation manner, the sending, by the second terminal, the second duration to the first terminal includes: and the first layer of the second terminal sends data to the first layer of the first terminal, wherein the data comprises the second duration.

With reference to the third aspect or any implementation manner thereof, in another possible implementation manner, the data is PC5-U data.

With reference to the third aspect or any implementation manner thereof, in another possible implementation manner, the sending, by the second terminal, the second duration to the first terminal includes: the access layer of the second terminal sends a second message to the access layer of the first terminal, wherein the second message comprises the second duration.

With reference to the third aspect or any implementation manner thereof, in another possible implementation manner, the second message includes a PC5-RRC message.

In other words, the second message is signaling of the access layer.

With reference to the third aspect or any implementation manner thereof, in another possible implementation manner, the method further includes: the access layer of the second terminal stores a second corresponding relation between a second identifier and the moment when the second terminal receives the first signal, wherein the second identifier corresponds to the first terminal; the access layer of the second terminal determines a second duration, including: the access layer of the second terminal determines the moment when the second terminal transmits the second signal; the access layer of the second terminal obtains the moment when the second terminal receives the first signal according to the second identifier and the second corresponding relation included in the second signal; and the access layer of the second terminal determines the second duration according to the time when the second terminal receives the first signal and the time when the second terminal transmits the second signal.

In the above technical solution, since the second identifier has a correspondence with the time when the second terminal receives the first signal, the access layer of the second terminal may obtain, according to the second identifier included in the second signal, the time when the first signal corresponding to the second signal is received, thereby ensuring accuracy of ranging.

With reference to the third aspect or any implementation manner thereof, in another possible implementation manner, the second identifier includes an identifier of the first terminal and/or an identifier of the second terminal, where the identifier of the second terminal is used to identify communication between the second terminal and the first terminal.

The identifier of the second terminal is used to identify the communication between the second terminal and the first terminal, which is understood that the identifier of the second terminal is not used to communicate with other terminals, or the opposite end of the communication can be determined to be the first terminal through the identifier of the second terminal. For example, when the second terminal communicates with a plurality of terminals including the first terminal at the same time, the second terminal may communicate with it using different identifications for different terminals, in which case the identification of the second terminal may also distinguish between the plurality of terminals communicating with the second terminal.

With reference to the third aspect or any implementation manner thereof, in another possible implementation manner, the first layer is between an application layer and the access layer.

With reference to the third aspect or any implementation manner thereof, in another possible implementation manner, the first layer is a ranging layer, a ProSe layer, or a V2X layer. It should be noted that, in different communication scenarios, names and division manners of layers inside the terminal may be different, and thus, in different communication scenarios, the first layer may be different, and only several possible layers are listed here.

In a fourth aspect, a ranging method is provided, which may be performed by a first terminal or by a module or unit in the first terminal.

The method comprises the following steps: a first terminal sends a first signal to a second terminal, wherein the first signal is used for measuring the distance between the first terminal and the second terminal; the first terminal receives a second signal from the second terminal, the second signal being used to respond to the first signal; the first terminal determines a first time length, wherein the first time length is the time length between the moment when the first terminal transmits the first signal and the moment when the first terminal receives the second signal; the first terminal receives a first message, a second message or data from the second terminal, wherein the first message, the second message and the data comprise a second duration, the second duration is a duration between the moment when the second terminal receives the first signal and the moment when the second terminal sends the second signal, the first message comprises a PC5-S message, the second message comprises a PC5-RRC message, and the data are PC5-U data; and the first terminal determines the distance between the first terminal and the second terminal according to the first time length and the second time length.

In the above technical solution, the first terminal sends a first signal for ranging, receives a second signal in response to the first signal, determines a first duration between a time when the first terminal sends the first signal and a time when the second signal is received, and receives a second duration from the second terminal through a PC5-S message, a PC5-RRC message or data, and further determines a distance between the first terminal and the second terminal according to the first duration and the second duration. This allows measuring the distance between the first terminal and the second terminal.

With reference to the fourth aspect, the method further includes: the first terminal stores a first corresponding relation between a first identifier and the moment when the first terminal transmits the first signal, wherein the first identifier corresponds to the second terminal; the first terminal determining a first time length includes: the first terminal determines the moment when the first terminal receives the second signal; the first terminal obtains the moment when the first terminal sends the first signal according to the first identifier and the first corresponding relation included in the second signal; the first terminal determines the first duration according to the time when the first terminal transmits the first signal and the time when the first terminal receives the second signal.

In the above technical solution, because there is a correspondence between the first identifier and the time when the first terminal transmits the first signal, the first terminal may obtain, according to the first identifier included in the second signal, the time when the first signal corresponding to the second signal is transmitted, thereby ensuring accuracy of ranging.

With reference to the fourth aspect or any implementation manner thereof, in another possible implementation manner, the first identifier includes an identifier of the first terminal and/or an identifier of the second terminal, where the identifier of the first terminal is used to identify communication between the first terminal and the second terminal.

With reference to the fourth aspect or any implementation manner thereof, in another possible implementation manner, the method further includes: the first terminal obtains ranging information, and the ranging information is used for indicating to measure the distance between the first terminal and the second terminal. In this case, the first terminal transmits a first signal to the second terminal according to the ranging information.

With reference to the fourth aspect or any implementation manner thereof, in another possible implementation manner, the ranging information includes a ranging indication and an identification of the second terminal. Wherein the ranging indication is used to indicate a ranging operation.

With reference to the fourth aspect or any implementation manner thereof, in another possible implementation manner, the ranging information includes first ranging period information and an identification of the second terminal. The first ranging period information is used for indicating a first period of ranging.

With reference to the fourth aspect or any implementation manner thereof, in another possible implementation manner, the ranging information includes a ranging indication, first ranging period information, and an identification of the second terminal. The first ranging period information is used for indicating a first period of ranging.

With reference to the fourth aspect or any implementation manner thereof, in another possible implementation manner, after determining a distance between the first terminal and the second terminal, the first terminal further determines a second period of ranging according to the distance between the first terminal and the second terminal. Subsequently, the first terminal may perform a ranging operation according to the second period.

For example, the first terminal acquires a correspondence between the distance and the ranging period, and after determining the distance between the first terminal and the second terminal, the first terminal determines the second period according to the distance between the first terminal and the second terminal and the acquired correspondence.

In this way, the first terminal can update the ranging period information according to the distance between the first terminal and the second terminal, for example, a larger period can be used when the distance between the terminals is longer and a smaller period can be used when the distance between the terminals is smaller.

With reference to the fourth aspect or any implementation manner thereof, in another possible implementation manner, the acquiring, by the first terminal, ranging information includes: the first terminal receives the ranging information from the second terminal; the method further comprises the steps of: the first terminal sends the distance between the first terminal and the second terminal to the second terminal.

In other words, the first terminal initiates ranging when receiving the ranging request of the second terminal, and feeds back the measured distance between the first terminal and the second terminal to the second terminal.

With reference to the fourth aspect or any implementation manner thereof, in another possible implementation manner, the first terminal includes an application layer and a network layer. In this case, the method in the fourth aspect or any implementation thereof may be performed by a network layer of the first terminal, including: the network layer of the first terminal sends a first signal to the second terminal; the network layer of the first terminal receives a second signal from the second terminal; the network layer of the first terminal determines a first time length according to the time of sending the first signal and the time of receiving the second signal; the network layer of the second terminal determines a second duration according to the moment of receiving the first signal and the moment of transmitting the second signal; the network layer of the first terminal receives a first message, a second message or data from the second terminal, wherein the first message, the second message and the data comprise a second duration; the network layer of the first terminal determines the distance between the first terminal and the second terminal according to the first time length and the second time length. For more details, reference may be made to the fourth aspect above or to any implementation of the fourth aspect, which is not described here.

Optionally, the first terminal acquires ranging information, including: the application layer of the first terminal generates the ranging information; the method further comprises the steps of: and the application layer of the first terminal sends the ranging information to the network layer of the first terminal.

It should be noted that in some implementations, the network layer may include an access function and a ranging function.

As one example, the access function may perform: the transmission and reception of signals (e.g., transmitting a first signal, receiving a second signal, etc.), calculation based on the transmission and reception time of signals (e.g., determining a first time length), etc. The ranging function may perform: receiving information from the application layer, calculating a distance between the terminals (e.g., determining a distance between the first terminal and the second terminal based on the first time period and the second time period), and so forth. In addition, depending on the deployment requirements, the access layer may be referred to as an access layer, the ranging function may be referred to as a first layer, and communication may be performed between the access layer and the first layer, in which case the access layer and the first layer may implement the method as in the first aspect or any implementation of the first aspect.

As another example, the access function may perform: the method may include transmitting and receiving signals (e.g., transmitting a first signal, receiving a second signal, etc.), calculating based on a transmission and reception time of the signals (e.g., determining a first time period), calculating a distance between terminals (e.g., determining a distance between the first terminal and the second terminal based on the first time period and the second time period), and the like. The ranging function may perform: information from an application layer is received. In addition, depending on the requirements of the deployment, the access layer may be referred to as an access layer, the ranging function may be referred to as a first layer, and communication may be performed between the access layer and the first layer, in which case the access layer and the first layer may implement the method as in the second aspect or any implementation of the second aspect.

With reference to the fourth aspect or any implementation manner thereof, in another possible implementation manner, the first terminal includes an application layer, a first layer, and an access layer. In this case, the first layer of the first terminal and the access layer may cooperate to perform the method of the fourth aspect or any implementation thereof. The more detailed description may refer to the first aspect or any implementation thereof, or may refer to the second aspect or any implementation thereof, which are not described here again.

Optionally, the first terminal acquires ranging information, including: the application layer of the first terminal generates the ranging information; the method further comprises the steps of: the application layer of the first terminal sends ranging information to the first layer of the first terminal; and the first layer of the first terminal sends the ranging information to the access layer of the first terminal.

In a fifth aspect, a ranging method is provided, which may be performed by a second terminal or by a module or unit in the second terminal.

The method comprises the following steps: a second terminal receives a first signal from a first terminal, wherein the first signal is used for measuring the distance between the first terminal and the second terminal; the second terminal sends the second signal to the first terminal, wherein the second signal is used for responding to the first signal; the second terminal determines a second duration, wherein the second duration is the duration between the moment when the second terminal receives the first signal and the moment when the second terminal sends the second signal; the second terminal sends a first message, a second message or data to the first terminal, wherein the first message, the second message and the data comprise the second duration, the first message comprises a PC5-S message, the second message comprises a PC5-RRC message, and the data can be PC5-U data.

In the above technical solution, the second terminal receives the first signal for ranging from the first terminal, sends the second signal in response to the first signal to the first terminal, determines a second duration between a time when the second terminal receives the first signal and a time when the second signal is sent, and sends the second duration to the first terminal through the PC5-S message, the PC5-RRC message, or the PC5-U data, so that the first terminal can determine a distance between the first terminal and the second terminal according to the first duration and the second duration. This allows measuring the distance between the first terminal and the second terminal.

With reference to the fifth aspect, in a possible implementation manner, the method further includes: the second terminal stores a second corresponding relation between a second identifier and the moment when the second terminal receives the first signal, wherein the second identifier corresponds to the first terminal; the second terminal determines a second duration, including: the second terminal determines the moment when the second terminal transmits the second signal; the second terminal obtains the moment when the second terminal receives the first signal according to the second identifier and the second corresponding relation included in the second signal; and the second terminal determines the second duration according to the moment when the second terminal receives the first signal and the moment when the second terminal transmits the second signal.

In the above technical solution, since the second identifier has a correspondence with the time when the second terminal receives the first signal, the second terminal may obtain, according to the second identifier included in the second signal, the time when the first signal corresponding to the second signal is received, thereby ensuring accuracy of ranging.

With reference to the fifth aspect or any implementation manner thereof, in another possible implementation manner, the second identifier includes an identifier of the first terminal and/or an identifier of the second terminal, where the identifier of the second terminal is used to identify communication between the second terminal and the first terminal.

With reference to the fifth aspect or any implementation manner thereof, in another possible implementation manner, the method further includes: the second terminal sends ranging information to the first terminal, wherein the ranging information is used for indicating to measure the distance between the first terminal and the second terminal; the second terminal receives a distance between the first terminal and the second terminal from the first terminal.

In other words, the second terminal transmits ranging information to the first terminal when there is a ranging requirement to request the first terminal to initiate ranging, and receives a distance between the first terminal and the second terminal from the first terminal.

With reference to the fifth aspect or any implementation manner thereof, in another possible implementation manner, the ranging information includes a ranging indication and an identification of the second terminal. Wherein the ranging indication is used to indicate a ranging operation.

With reference to the fifth aspect or any implementation manner thereof, in another possible implementation manner, the ranging information includes first ranging period information and an identification of the second terminal. The first ranging period information is used for indicating a first period of ranging.

With reference to the fifth aspect or any implementation manner thereof, in another possible implementation manner, the ranging information includes a ranging indication, first ranging period information, and an identification of the second terminal. The first ranging period information is used for indicating a first period of ranging.

With reference to the fifth aspect or any implementation manner thereof, in another possible implementation manner, the second terminal includes a network layer, and the method is performed by the network layer of the second terminal, including: the network layer of the second terminal receives a first signal from the first terminal; the network layer of the second terminal sends a second signal to the first terminal; the network layer of the second terminal determines a second duration; the network layer of the second terminal sends a first message, a second message or data to the first terminal. For more details, reference may be made to the fifth aspect above or to any implementation of the fifth aspect, which is not described here.

As one example, the access function may perform: the transmission and reception of signals (e.g., receiving a first signal, transmitting a second signal, etc.), calculation based on the transmission and reception time of signals (e.g., determining a second time period), etc. The ranging function may perform: messaging, and the like. In addition, depending on the requirements of the deployment, the access layer may be referred to as an access layer, the ranging function may be referred to as a first layer, and communication may be performed between the access layer and the first layer, in which case the access layer and the first layer may implement the method as in the third aspect or any implementation of the third aspect.

With reference to the fifth aspect or any implementation manner thereof, in another possible implementation manner, the second terminal includes an application layer, a first layer, and an access layer. In this case, the first layer of the second terminal and the access layer may cooperate to perform the method of the fifth aspect or any implementation thereof. The more detailed description may refer to the third aspect or any implementation thereof, and will not be repeated here.

In a sixth aspect, a communications device is provided for performing the method provided by any one of the aspects or implementations thereof. In particular, the apparatus may comprise means and/or modules, such as a processing unit and/or a communication unit, for performing the method provided in any of the above aspects or implementations thereof.

In one implementation, the apparatus is a first terminal or a second terminal. When the apparatus is a first terminal or a second terminal, the communication unit may be a transceiver, or an input/output interface, or a communication interface; the processing unit may be at least one processor. Optionally, the transceiver is a transceiver circuit. Optionally, the input/output interface is an input/output circuit.

In another implementation, the apparatus is a chip, a system-on-chip, or a circuit for use in a first terminal or a second terminal. When the apparatus is a chip, a system-on-chip or a circuit for use in a first terminal or a second terminal, the communication unit may be an input/output interface, an interface circuit, an output circuit, an input circuit, a pin or related circuit or the like on the chip, the system-on-chip or the circuit; the processing unit may be at least one processor, processing circuit or logic circuit, etc.

In a seventh aspect, there is provided a communication apparatus comprising: a memory for storing a program; at least one processor configured to execute a computer program or instructions stored in a memory to perform the method provided by any one of the aspects or implementations thereof.

In one implementation, the apparatus is a first terminal or a second terminal.

In another implementation, the apparatus is a chip, a system-on-chip, or a circuit for use in a first terminal or a second terminal.

In an eighth aspect, there is provided a communication apparatus comprising: at least one processor and a communication interface through which the at least one processor obtains computer programs or instructions stored in a memory to perform the methods provided by any one of the above aspects or implementations thereof. The communication interface may be implemented in hardware or software.

In one implementation, the apparatus further includes the memory.

In a ninth aspect, a processor is provided for performing 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, and 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 in this application.

In a tenth aspect, there is provided a computer readable storage medium storing program code for execution by a device, the program code comprising instructions for performing the method provided in any one of the above aspects or implementations thereof.

In an eleventh 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 aspects or implementations thereof.

In a twelfth aspect, a chip is provided, where the chip includes a processor and a communication interface, and the processor reads instructions stored on the memory through the communication interface, and performs the method provided in any one of the above aspects or implementation manner. The communication interface may be implemented in hardware or software.

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, where the processor is configured to execute the method provided in any one of the above aspects or implementation manner.

In a thirteenth aspect, a communication system is provided comprising the above first terminal and/or second terminal.

Drawings

Fig. 1 is a schematic diagram of a network architecture.

Fig. 2 is a schematic diagram of a ranging principle between terminals.

Fig. 3 is a schematic flow chart of a ranging method 300 provided herein.

Fig. 4 is a schematic flow chart of a ranging method 400 provided herein.

Fig. 5 is a schematic flow chart of a ranging method 500 provided herein.

Fig. 6 is an example of a ranging method of the present application.

Fig. 7 is another example of a ranging method of the present application.

Fig. 8 is a schematic structural view of a device according to an embodiment of the present application.

Fig. 9 is another schematic structural view of a device provided in an embodiment of the present application.

Fig. 10 is a schematic view of still another structure of the device provided in the embodiment of the present application.

Detailed Description

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

Before describing embodiments of the present application, the following description is made.

In this application, "for indicating" or "indicating" may include both for direct indication and for indirect indication, or "for indicating" or "indicating" may be explicitly and/or implicitly indicated. For example, when describing certain information for indicating information I, the information may be included to indicate I directly or indirectly, and not to represent that I must be carried in the information. As another example, the implicit indication may be based on a location and/or a resource used for the transmission; the explicit indication may be based on one or more parameters, and/or one or more indices, and/or one or more bit patterns it represents.

The definitions of many of the features set forth in this application are provided solely for the purpose of illustrating the function of the features by way of example and reference is made to the prior art for details thereof.

In the embodiments shown below, the first, second, third, fourth, and various numerical numbers are merely for convenience of description and are not intended to limit the scope of the embodiments of the present application. For example, different fields, different information, etc. are distinguished.

The "pre-defining" may be implemented by pre-storing corresponding codes, tables, or other means that may be used to indicate relevant information in a device (e.g., a terminal), and the application is not limited to a specific implementation thereof. Where "save" may refer to saving in one or more memories. The type of memory may be any form of storage medium, and this application is not limited in this regard.

The "protocol" referred to in the embodiments of the present application may refer to a standard protocol in the field of communications, and may include, for example, a long term evolution (long term evolution, LTE) protocol, a New Radio (NR) protocol, and related protocols applied in future communication systems, which are not limited in this application.

The present application will present various aspects, embodiments, or features about a system comprising a plurality of devices, components, modules, etc. It is to be understood and appreciated that the various systems may include additional devices, components, modules, etc. and/or may not include all of the devices, components, modules etc. discussed in connection with the figures. Furthermore, combinations of these schemes may also be used.

In the embodiments of the present application, words such as "as an example," "for example," and the like are used to indicate an example, instance, or illustration. Any embodiment or design described herein as "exemplary" is not necessarily to be construed as preferred or advantageous over other embodiments or designs. Rather, the term use of an example is intended to present concepts in a concrete fashion.

The terms "comprising," "including," "having," and variations thereof mean "including but not limited to," unless expressly specified otherwise.

"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. The character "/" generally indicates that the context-dependent object is an "or" relationship. "at least one of" or the like means any combination of these items, including any combination of single item(s) or plural items(s). For example, at least one (one) of a, b, and c may represent: a, or b, or c, or a and b, or a and c, or b and c, or a, b and c. Wherein a, b and c can be single or multiple respectively.

In order to facilitate understanding of the technical solutions of the present application, a description will first be given of a communication system to which the technical solutions of the present application can be applied.

The technical scheme provided by the application can be applied to various communication systems. For example, a wireless mobile cellular communication system comprising a fifth generation (5 ^th generation, 5G) or NR systems, LTE frequency division duplex (frequency division duplex, FDD) systems, LTE time division duplex (time division duplex, TDD) systems, etc. The technical scheme provided by the application can also be applied to non-terrestrial communication network (non-terrestrial network, NTN) communication systems such as satellite communication systems and the like. The technical solutions provided herein may also be applied to a device-to-device (D2D) communication system, a vehicle-to-everything (V2X) communication system, a machine-to-machine (machine to machine, M2M) communication system, a machine type communication (machine type communication, MTC) system, and an internet of things (internet of things, ioT) communication system or other communication systems. The technical scheme provided by the application can also be applied to future communication systems, such as a sixth generation mobile communication system.

As an example, fig. 1 shows a schematic diagram of a network architecture.

As shown in fig. 1, the network architecture is implemented in a 5G system (the 5 ^th generation system,5 GS) are examples. The network architecture may include three parts, namely a User Equipment (UE) part, a Data Network (DN) part, and an operator network part. Wherein the operator network may comprise one or more of the following network elements: a (radio) access network (R) AN device, a user plane function (user plane function, UPF) network element, AN authentication server function (authentication server function, AUSF) network element, AN access and mobility management function (access and mobility management function, AMF) network element, a session management function (session management function, SMF) network element, a network slice selection function (network slice selection function, NSSF) network element, a network opening function (network exposure function, NEF) network element, a network function library function (network repository function, NRF) network element, a policy control function (policy control function, PCF) network element, a unified data management (unified data management, UDM) network element, and AN application function (application function, AF) network element. In the above-described operator network, the portion other than the RAN portion may be referred to as a core network portion.

In the present application, the user equipment, (radio) access network equipment, UPF network element, AUSF network element, AMF network element, SMF network element, NSSF network element, NEF network element, NRF network element, PCF network element, UDM network element, and AF network element are respectively abbreviated as UE, (R) AN, UPF, AUSF, UDR, AMF, SMF, NSSF, NEF, NRF, PCF, UDM, AF.

The network elements referred to in fig. 1 are briefly described below.

1、UE

The UE in the present application may also be referred to as a terminal, a user, an access terminal, a subscriber unit, a subscriber station, a mobile station, a remote terminal, a mobile device, a user terminal, a terminal device, a wireless communication device, a user agent, or a user equipment, etc., and for convenience of description, will hereinafter be collectively referred to as a terminal.

A terminal is a device that can access a network. The terminal and the (R) AN may communicate with each other using some air interface technology (such as NR or LTE technology). The terminals can also communicate with each other using some air interface technology (such as NR or LTE technology). The terminals may be mobile phones (mobile phones), tablet computers (pad), computers with wireless transceiving functions, virtual Reality (VR) terminals, augmented reality (augmented reality, AR) terminals, terminals in satellite communications, terminals in access backhaul (integrated access and backhaul, IAB) systems, terminals in WiFi communication systems, terminals in industrial control (industrial control), terminals in self driving (self driving), terminals in remote medical (remote medical), terminals in smart grid (smart grid), terminals in transportation security (transportation safety), terminals in smart city (smart city), terminals in smart home (smart home), etc.

The embodiment of the application does not limit the specific technology and the specific equipment morphology adopted by the UE.

2、(R)AN

The (R) AN in the present application may be a device for communicating with a terminal, or may be a device for accessing a terminal to a wireless network.

The (R) AN may be a node in a radio access network. The (R) AN may be a base station (base station), AN evolved NodeB (eNodeB), a transmitting/receiving point (transmission reception point, TRP), a home base station (e.g., home evolved NodeB, or home Node B, HNB), a Wi-Fi Access Point (AP), a mobile switching center, a next generation base station (gNB) in a 5G mobile communication system, a sixth generation (6 ^th generation, 6G) of a next generation base station in a mobile communication system, a base station in a future mobile communication system, or the like. The network device may also be a module or unit that performs part of the function of the base station, for example, a Centralized Unit (CU), a Distributed Unit (DU), a remote radio unit (remote radio unit, RRU), or a baseband unit (BBU), etc. The (R) AN may also be a device in the D2D communication system, the V2X communication system, the M2M communication system, the IoT communication system that assumes the functionality of a base station, etc. The (R) AN may also be a network device in the NTN, i.e. the (R) AN may be deployed on AN aerial platform or satellite. The (R) AN may be a macro base station, also The base station may be a micro base station or an indoor station, or may be a relay node or a donor node.

The specific technology, device configuration, and names employed by the (R) AN are not limited in the embodiments of the present application.

3、UPF

The UPF is mainly responsible for forwarding and receiving user data in the terminal. For example, the UPF may receive user plane data from the DN and send the user plane data to the terminal through the access network device. The UPF may also receive user plane data from the terminal through the access network device and forward to the DN. The transmission resources and scheduling functions in the UPF network element that serve the terminal are controlled by the SMF management.

4、DN

DN is mainly used for an operator network providing data services for terminals. Such as the Internet, a third party's service network, or an IP Multimedia Services (IMS) network, etc.

5、AUSF

Third generation partnership project (3rd generation partnership project,3GPP) and non-3 GPP access authentication are supported.

6、AMF

The AMF is mainly responsible for the signaling processing part, for example: access control, mobility management, attach and detach, gateway selection, etc. In the case of providing services for a session in a terminal, the AMF may provide a storage resource of a control plane for the session to store a session identity, an SMF network element identity associated with the session identity, etc.

7、SMF

SMF is mainly responsible for user plane element selection, user plane element redirection, internet protocol (internet protocol, IP) address assignment, bearer establishment, modification and release, quality of service (quality of service, qoS) control, etc.

8、NSSF

NSSF is mainly responsible for network slice selection, and determines network slice examples which are allowed to be accessed by the terminal according to slice selection auxiliary information, subscription information and the like of the terminal.

9、NEF

NEF mainly supports the interaction of 3GPP networks and third party application security.

10、NRF

NRF is mainly used for storing network function entities, description information of services provided by the network function entities, and the like.

11、PCF

The PCF is mainly responsible for policy control decisions, policy rules providing control plane functions, traffic based charging control functions, etc.

12、UDM

The UDM is mainly responsible for subscription data management of the terminal, including storage and management of terminal identification, access authorization of the terminal, and the like.

13、AF

AF mainly supports interactions with the 3GPP core network to provide services, such as influencing data routing decisions, policy control functions, or providing services to third parties to the network. The AF can be an AF deployed by an operator network, or can be a third party AF.

In the network architecture shown in fig. 1, the network elements may communicate with each other via interfaces. The interfaces between the network elements may be point-to-point interfaces or service interfaces, which are not limited in this application.

It should be understood that the network architecture shown above is merely an exemplary illustration, and the network architecture to which the embodiments of the present application apply is not limited, and any network architecture capable of implementing the functions of the various network elements described above is applicable to the embodiments of the present application.

It should also be understood that the functions or network elements shown in fig. 1, AMF, SMF, UPF, PCF, UDM, AUSF, NSSF, NEF, NRF, AF, etc., may be understood as network elements for implementing different functions, for example, may be combined into network slices as needed. The network elements may be independent devices, may be integrated in the same device to implement different functions, or may be network elements in hardware devices, or may be software functions running on dedicated hardware, or be virtualized functions instantiated on a platform (for example, a cloud platform), which is not limited to the specific form of the network elements.

It should also be understood that the above designations are merely defined to facilitate distinguishing between different functions and should not be construed as limiting the present application in any way. The present application does not exclude the possibility of using other designations in 6G networks as well as other networks in the future. For example, in a 6G network, some or all of the individual network elements may follow the terminology in 5G, possibly by other names, etc.

The technical scheme of the application can be applied to ranging between terminals in a direct communication scene between terminals, for example, D2D, V2X, proSe, wiFi, wiFi direct connection (WiFi direct), bluetooth (blue), zigbee (zigbee), radio frequency identification (radio frequency identification devices, RFID), infrared data transmission (infrared data association, irDA), ultra Wideband (UWB), or ranging between terminals in a communication scene such as near-field communication (near-field communication, NFC).

The ranging principle between terminals is described below.

As an example, fig. 2 shows a schematic diagram of a ranging principle between terminals.

Determining the relative position between the terminals may be accomplished by relative positioning. The relative positioning may be to determine a relative distance and/or a relative angle between the terminals. The relative distance can be obtained by ranging, and the relative angle can be obtained by angle measurement. The present application focuses on determining the relative distance between terminals.

As shown in fig. 2, a terminal 1 (or an initiating terminal) transmits an initial ranging signal, and the terminal 1 (or a feedback terminal) transmits a feedback ranging signal for feedback to the terminal 1 after receiving the initial ranging signal. Specifically, the relative distance between terminal 1 and terminal 2=time of flight×speed of light, wherein the determination of time of flight (TOF) may include:

Step 1, the terminal 1 calculates a time length T between a time point of transmitting the initial ranging signal and a time point of receiving the feedback ranging signal _round ；

Step 2, the terminal 2 calculates a time length T between the time of receiving the initial ranging signal and the time of transmitting the feedback ranging signal _reply ；

Step 3, the terminal 2 stores the duration T _reply To the terminal 1;

step 4, the terminal 1 calculates the time of flight: tof=t _prop ＝(T _round -T _reply )/2。

The specific manner of selecting the timing of transmitting the initial ranging signal, the timing of receiving the feedback ranging signal, the timing of receiving the initial ranging signal, and the timing of transmitting the feedback ranging signal is not limited to the ranging principle shown in fig. 2. The time of transmitting the initial ranging signal may be any time during the transmission of the initial ranging signal, the time of receiving the feedback ranging signal may be any time during the reception of the feedback ranging signal, the time of receiving the initial ranging signal may be any time during the reception of the initial ranging signal, and the time of transmitting the feedback ranging signal may be any time during the transmission of the feedback ranging signal.

The above method for determining the relative distance between terminals does not consider the hierarchical architecture inside the terminal, and does not specify the functions of the layers (e.g., ranging layer (ranging layer) and access layer (AS)), parameters of layer-to-layer interaction, and T _reply Is transmitted by the base station.

The ranging method provided in the present application is described below.

Fig. 3 is a schematic flow chart of a ranging method 300 provided herein.

In fig. 3, an example is given in which a terminal includes an application layer, a first layer, and an access layer. It should be noted that, in different communication scenarios, names and division manners of layers inside the terminal may be different, for example, in a D2D communication scenario, the terminal may include an application layer, a ranging layer, and an access layer, in a V2X communication scenario, the terminal may include an application layer, a V2X layer, and an access layer, and in a ProSe communication scenario, the terminal may include an application layer, a ProSe layer, and an access layer. Thus, in different communication scenarios, the first layer may be different, e.g. a ranging layer, a V2X layer, a ProSe layer, etc., which may also be referred to as upper layer. For convenience of description, hereinafter, collectively referred to as a first layer.

Alternatively, the first layer may be between the application layer and the access layer.

The method 300 includes at least some of the following.

In step 301, a first layer of a first terminal transmits ranging information to an access layer of the first terminal.

The ranging information is used for indicating to measure the distance between the first terminal and the second terminal.

One possible implementation, the ranging information includes a ranging indication and an identification of the second terminal. Wherein the ranging indication is used to indicate a ranging operation. The identity of the second terminal is used to indicate the object of ranging so that the access layer of the first terminal can determine to measure the distance between the first terminal and the second terminal based on the ranging information.

In another possible implementation, the ranging information includes first ranging period information and an identification of the second terminal. The first ranging period information is used for indicating a first period of ranging.

In yet another possible implementation, the ranging information includes a ranging indication, first ranging period information, and an identification of the second terminal. The first ranging period information is used for indicating a first period of ranging.

Alternatively, the identity of the second terminal may be a layer 2 (L2) identity of the second terminal.

In a possible implementation, before step 301, the first layer of the first terminal acquires ranging information.

Mode 1: the first layer of the first terminal acquires ranging information from the application layer of the first terminal, i.e. the ranging information originates from the application layer of the first terminal. For example, when the application layer of the first terminal has a ranging requirement, the application layer of the first terminal may generate ranging information and transmit the ranging information to the first layer of the first terminal.

Alternatively, the identifier of the second terminal included in the ranging information generated by the application layer may be an application layer identifier of the second terminal. In this case, after the first layer of the first terminal receives the ranging information, the layer 2 identifier of the second terminal may be obtained according to the application layer identifier of the second terminal. For example, the first layer of the first terminal may be the layer 2 identity of the second terminal obtained from the terminal 2 during discovery with the terminal 2, or may also be the layer 2 identity of the second terminal obtained from the terminal 2 during establishment of a proximity-based service communication 5 (ProSe communication, PC 5) connection with the terminal 2, or may also be the layer 2 identity of the second terminal obtained from the terminal 2 after establishment of a PC5 connection with the terminal 2.

Mode 2: the first layer of the first terminal acquires ranging information from the second terminal, i.e. the ranging information originates from the second terminal. For example, when the second terminal has a ranging requirement, the second terminal may transmit ranging information to the first terminal in order to request the first terminal to measure a distance with the second terminal.

Optionally, the first layer of the first terminal acquires ranging information from the first layer of the second terminal, and the first layer of the second terminal transmits the ranging information to the first layer of the first terminal. For example, the first layer of the second terminal transmits ranging information to the first layer of the first terminal through a PC5-S message or PC 5-U. The first layer of the second terminal sends the ranging information to the first layer of the first terminal through the PC5-U, which can be understood that the first layer of the second terminal sends the ranging information as data to the first layer of the first terminal.

Optionally, the application layer of the first terminal acquires the ranging information from the application layer of the second terminal, the application layer of the second terminal sends the ranging information to the application layer of the first terminal through the PC5-U, and then the first layer of the first terminal acquires the ranging information from the application layer of the first terminal.

In a possible implementation, before step 301, the first layer of the first terminal further determines that the ranging result (i.e. the distance between the first terminal and the second terminal) is calculated by the first terminal. That is, when it is determined that the ranging result is calculated by the first terminal, the first layer of the first terminal transmits ranging information to the access layer of the first terminal, and the ranging result is calculated by the first terminal. Alternatively, the first terminal and the second terminal may interact with the ranging calculation capability information to determine which terminal calculates the ranging result.

In a possible implementation, before step 301, the first layer of the first terminal further determines that the signal for ranging is sent by the first terminal first. I.e. when the first layer of the first terminal determines that the signal for ranging is first transmitted by the first terminal, the first layer of the first terminal transmits ranging information to the access layer of the first terminal and the signal for ranging is first transmitted by the access layer of the first terminal. Alternatively, the first terminal and the second terminal may exchange information to determine which terminal previously transmitted the signal for ranging.

In step 302, the access layer of the first terminal sends a first signal to the second terminal according to the ranging information.

Accordingly, the access layer of the second terminal receives the first signal from the first terminal.

Wherein the first signal is used to measure a distance between the first terminal and the second terminal.

Alternatively, the first signal may be a ranging signal (ranging signaling), a ranging reference signal (ranging referencesignaling), a positioning reference signal (positioning reference signaling), or an initial ranging signal as shown in fig. 2.

In a possible implementation manner, when the ranging information includes a ranging indication and an identifier of the second terminal, the access layer of the first terminal determines to transmit the first signal according to the ranging indication, and uses the identifier of the first terminal and the identifier of the second terminal to transmit the first signal to the second terminal.

In another possible implementation, when the ranging information includes the first ranging period information and the identifier of the second terminal, the access layer of the first terminal sends the first signal to the second terminal according to the first period indicated by the first ranging period information, using the identifier of the first terminal and the identifier of the second terminal.

In yet another possible implementation manner, when the ranging information includes a ranging indication, first ranging period information, and an identifier of the second terminal, the access layer of the first terminal determines to transmit the first signal according to the ranging indication, and uses the identifier of the first terminal and the identifier of the second terminal according to the first period indicated by the first ranging period information to transmit the first signal to the second terminal.

Illustratively, the access layer of the first terminal sends the first signal to the second terminal using the identity of the first terminal and the identity of the second terminal, which may be: the first terminal uses the identification of the first terminal as the source address of the first signal, uses the identification of the second terminal as the destination address of the first signal, and sends the first signal to the second terminal. In other words, the source address of the first signal is the identity of the first terminal and the destination address is the identity of the second terminal.

Optionally, the identifier of the first terminal is a layer 2 identifier of the first terminal, and the identifier of the second terminal is a layer 2 identifier of the second terminal. Wherein the identity of the first terminal is used to identify the communication between the first terminal and the second terminal.

If the source address and the destination address are regarded as a part of the first signal, the first signal includes the identifier of the first terminal and the identifier of the second terminal.

In one possible implementation, when the ranging result is calculated by the first terminal, the access layer of the first terminal transmits a first signal to the second terminal according to the ranging information.

In one possible implementation, when a signal for ranging is first transmitted by a first terminal, an access layer of the first terminal transmits the first signal to a second terminal according to ranging information.

Step 303, after receiving the first signal, the access layer of the second terminal sends a second signal to the first terminal.

Accordingly, the access layer of the first terminal receives the second signal from the second terminal.

The second signal is a response signal of the first signal, and in another description, the second signal is used for responding to the first signal.

Alternatively, the second signal may be ranging signaling, ranging reference signaling, positioning reference signaling or a feedback ranging signal as shown in fig. 2.

One possible implementation way, the access layer of the second terminal sends the second signal to the first terminal using the identity of the first terminal and the identity of the second terminal. For example, the first terminal uses the identifier of the second terminal as the source address of the second signal, uses the identifier of the first terminal as the destination address of the second signal, and transmits the second signal to the first terminal, in other words, the source address of the second signal is the identifier of the second terminal, and the destination address is the identifier of the first terminal.

Optionally, the identifier of the first terminal is a layer 2 identifier of the first terminal, and the identifier of the second terminal is a layer 2 identifier of the second terminal. Wherein the identity of the second terminal is used to identify the communication between the second terminal and the first terminal.

Also, if the source address and the destination address are considered as part of the second signal, the second signal includes an identification of the first terminal and an identification of the second terminal.

In step 304, a first layer of the first terminal obtains a first duration.

The first duration is a duration between a time when the access layer of the first terminal transmits the first signal and a time when the access layer of the first terminal receives the second signal.

One possible implementation manner, the first layer of the first terminal obtains a first duration from the access layer of the first terminal, or the access layer of the first terminal sends the first duration to the first layer of the first terminal. In this case, the access layer of the first terminal performs an operation of determining the first duration.

The application is not limited to a specific implementation manner in which the access layer of the first terminal determines the first time length. One possible implementation manner, after the access layer of the first terminal sends the first signal, the access layer of the first terminal stores a first corresponding relation between a first identifier and a time when the access layer of the first terminal sends the first signal, wherein the first identifier corresponds to the second terminal; the access layer of the first terminal determines the moment of receiving the second signal; the access layer of the first terminal obtains the moment of sending the first signal corresponding to the first identifier according to the first identifier included in the second signal and the first corresponding relation stored in the access layer of the first terminal; the access layer of the first terminal determines the first time length according to the acquired time when the access layer of the first terminal transmits the first signal and the determined time when the access layer of the first terminal receives the second signal.

Optionally, the first identifier is an identifier of the first terminal and/or an identifier of the second terminal. Wherein the identity of the first terminal is used to identify the communication between the first terminal and the second terminal.

As one example, the first identity is an identity of the second terminal. In this way, the identifier of the second terminal used by the access layer of the first terminal transmits the first signal (for example, the identifier of the second terminal is used as the destination address of the first signal), and the identifier of the second terminal has a correspondence with the time when the access layer of the first terminal transmits the first signal, so that the access layer of the first terminal can acquire the transmission time of the first signal corresponding to the second signal according to the identifier of the second terminal included in the second signal, thereby ensuring the accuracy of ranging.

The first signal corresponding to the second signal may be understood as a first signal to which the second signal is responsive, or a first signal triggering the second signal. The identifier of the second terminal included in the second signal may be replaced by the source address of the second signal.

As another example, the first identity is an identity of a first terminal that is used to identify communications between the first terminal and a second terminal. At this time, since the identifier of the first terminal is used to identify the communication between the first terminal and the second terminal, the sending time of the first signal corresponding to the second signal can also be obtained by the identifier of the first terminal, thereby ensuring the accuracy of ranging. For example, when a first terminal communicates with a plurality of terminals including a second terminal at the same time, the first terminal may communicate with it using different identifications for different terminals, in which case the identification of the first terminal may also distinguish between the plurality of terminals communicating with the first terminal.

Optionally, when the access layer of the first terminal sends the first duration to the first layer of the first terminal, the access layer of the first terminal further sends a first identifier corresponding to the first duration to the first layer of the first terminal, so that the first duration explicitly received by the first layer of the first terminal is used for determining the distance between the first terminal and the second terminal.

In step 305, the access layer of the second terminal determines a second duration.

The second duration is a duration between a time when the access layer of the second terminal receives the first signal and a time when the access layer of the second terminal transmits the second signal.

One possible implementation manner, after the access layer of the second terminal receives the first signal, the access layer of the second terminal stores a second corresponding relation between a second identifier and a moment when the access layer of the second terminal receives the first signal, wherein the second identifier corresponds to the first terminal; the access layer of the second terminal determines the moment of sending the second signal; the access layer of the second terminal obtains the moment corresponding to the second identifier and used for receiving the first signal according to the second identifier included in the second signal and the second corresponding relation stored in the access layer of the second terminal; and the access layer of the second terminal determines a second duration according to the acquired time when the access layer of the second terminal receives the first signal and the determined time when the access layer of the second terminal transmits the second signal.

Optionally, the second identifier is an identifier of the first terminal and/or an identifier of the second terminal. Wherein the identity of the second terminal is used to identify the communication between the second terminal and the first terminal.

As an example, the second identity is an identity of the first terminal. In this way, the identifier of the first terminal used by the access layer of the second terminal transmits the second signal (for example, the identifier of the first terminal is used as the destination address of the second signal), and the identifier of the first terminal has a correspondence with the moment when the access layer of the second terminal receives the first signal, so that the access layer of the second terminal can obtain the transmitting moment of receiving the first signal corresponding to the second signal according to the identifier of the first terminal included in the second signal, thereby ensuring the accuracy of ranging.

The first signal corresponding to the second signal may be understood as a first signal to which the second signal is responsive, or a first signal triggering the second signal. The identification of the first terminal included in the second signal may be replaced by the destination address of the second signal.

As another example, the second identity is an identity of a second terminal, the identity of the second terminal being used to identify a communication between the second terminal and the first terminal. At this time, since the identifier of the second terminal is used to identify the communication between the second terminal and the first terminal, the sending time of the first signal corresponding to the second signal can be obtained by the identifier of the second terminal, so that the accuracy of ranging is ensured. For example, when the second terminal communicates with a plurality of terminals including the first terminal at the same time, the second terminal may communicate with it using different identifications for different terminals, in which case the identification of the second terminal may also distinguish between the plurality of terminals communicating with the second terminal.

The first mark and the second mark may be the same or different.

It should be noted that, the present application does not limit the sequence of step 305 and step 303, and does not limit the sequence of step 305 and step 304. If step 305 is performed before step 303, the time when the access layer of the second terminal transmits the second signal in step 305 may be an estimated time when the access layer of the second terminal transmits the second signal. If step 305 is performed after step 303, the time when the access layer of the second terminal transmits the second signal in step 305 may be an estimated time when the access layer of the second terminal transmits the second signal, or may be an actual time when the access layer of the second terminal transmits the second signal.

Step 306, the second terminal sends the second duration to the first terminal.

Accordingly, the first terminal receives the second duration from the second terminal.

In the present application, there are many ways for the second terminal to send the second duration to the first terminal, which is not limited.

One possible implementation manner, the second terminal sends the second duration to the first terminal through the signaling of the first layer.

As one example, the first layer of the second terminal sends a first message to the first layer of the first terminal, the first message including the second duration. Specifically, the access layer of the second terminal sends the second duration and the identifier of the first terminal to the first layer of the second terminal so as to instruct the first layer of the second terminal to send the second duration to the first terminal; after receiving the second duration and the identification of the first terminal, the first layer of the second terminal generates a first message according to the second duration and sends the first message and the identification of the first terminal to the access layer of the second terminal; after receiving the first message and the identifier of the first terminal, the access layer of the second terminal sends the first message to the access layer of the first terminal by using the received identifier of the first terminal and the received identifier of the second terminal; after receiving the first message, the access layer of the first terminal sends the first message to the first layer of the first terminal.

The access layer of the second terminal uses the received identifier of the first terminal and the identifier of the second terminal to send the first message to the access layer of the first terminal, for example, the access layer of the second terminal may send the first message to the access layer of the first terminal by using the received identifier of the first terminal as a destination address and the identifier of the second terminal as a source address. The source address of the first message is the identification of the second terminal, and the destination address is the identification of the first terminal.

Optionally, the first message comprises a PC5-S message.

In another possible implementation manner, the second terminal sends the second duration to the first terminal through signaling of the access layer.

As one example, the access layer of the second terminal sends a second message to the access layer of the first terminal, the second message including a second duration. Specifically, the access layer of the second terminal generates a second message according to the second duration, and sends the second message to the access layer of the first terminal by using the identifier of the first terminal and the identifier of the second terminal.

The access layer of the second terminal uses the identifier of the first terminal and the identifier of the second terminal to send the second message to the access layer of the first terminal, for example, the access layer of the second terminal may send the second message to the access layer of the first terminal by using the identifier of the first terminal as a destination address and the identifier of the second terminal as a source address. The source address of the second message is the identifier of the second terminal, and the destination address is the identifier of the first terminal.

Optionally, the second message comprises a PC5-RRC message.

In yet another possible implementation, the second terminal sends the second duration to the first terminal through the PC 5-U. It is understood that the second duration is data transmitted by the second terminal to the first terminal.

As an example, the first layer of the second terminal transmits the second duration to the first layer of the first terminal, the second duration being the data. Specifically, the access layer of the second terminal sends the second duration and the identifier of the first terminal to the first layer of the second terminal so as to instruct the first layer of the second terminal to send the second duration to the first terminal; after receiving the second duration and the identifier of the first terminal, the first layer of the second terminal generates data (the data comprises the second duration) according to the second duration, and sends the data and the identifier of the first terminal to the access layer of the second terminal; after receiving the data and the identifier of the first terminal, the access layer of the second terminal sends the data to the access layer of the first terminal by using the received identifier of the first terminal and the received identifier of the second terminal; after receiving the data, the access layer of the first terminal sends the data to the first layer of the first terminal.

In step 307, the first layer of the first terminal acquires the second duration.

One possible implementation manner, when the second terminal sends the second duration to the first terminal through the signaling of the first layer, the first layer of the first terminal acquires the second duration from the signaling of the first layer. Specifically, an access layer of a first terminal receives a first message from a second terminal; the access layer of the first terminal sends a first message to the first layer of the first terminal; the first layer of the first terminal obtains a second duration from the first message.

In another possible implementation manner, when the second terminal sends the second duration to the first terminal through signaling of the access layer, the first layer of the first terminal obtains the second duration from the access layer of the first terminal. Specifically, the access layer of the first terminal receives a second message from the access layer of the second terminal; the access layer of the first terminal acquires the second duration from the second message and sends the acquired second duration to the first layer of the first terminal.

In yet another possible implementation, when the second terminal sends the second duration to the first terminal through the PC5-U, the first layer of the first terminal obtains the second duration from the received PC 5-U. Specifically, an access layer of a first terminal receives data from a second terminal; the access layer of the first terminal sends the data to the first layer of the first terminal; the first layer of the first terminal obtains a second duration from the data.

Optionally, when the access layer of the first terminal sends the first message, the second duration, or the data to the first layer of the first terminal, the access layer of the first terminal further sends a first identifier corresponding to the first message, the second duration, or the data to the first layer of the first terminal, so that the second duration explicitly obtained by the first layer of the first terminal is used for determining the distance between the first terminal and the second terminal.

In step 308, the first layer of the first terminal determines a distance between the first terminal and the second terminal according to the first duration and the second duration.

One possible implementation manner, the distance between the first terminal and the second terminal satisfies:

D＝c×(T _round -T _reply )/2

wherein D is the distance between the first terminal and the second terminal, c is the speed of light, T _round For a first duration, T _reply For a second duration.

It should be noted that, the present application is not limited to the manner in which the first layer of the first terminal associates the first duration and the second duration.

One possible implementation manner is that a dedicated channel of a second terminal is established between layers inside the first terminal, the dedicated channel of the second terminal has a corresponding relationship with a first identifier, and the first identifier corresponds to the second terminal. The access layer of the first terminal determines the first layer transmission leading to the first terminal through the special channel of the second terminal according to the corresponding relation between the special channel of the second terminal and the first identifier: the first identification is used as the first duration determined by the association information, the second duration from the second terminal and the first message or data carrying the second duration from the second terminal. The first layer of the first terminal determines a distance between the first terminal and the second terminal according to a first time length and a second time length of a dedicated channel from the second terminal, or a first message including the first time length and the second time length, or data including the first time length and the second time length.

In another possible implementation manner, when the access layer of the first terminal sends the first duration, the first message, the data and the second duration to the first layer of the first terminal, the access layer of the first terminal also sends a first identifier corresponding to the first duration, the first message, the data or the second duration to the first layer of the first terminal, and the first layer of the first terminal determines the distance between the first terminal and the second terminal according to the first duration and the second duration, or the first duration and the first message including the second duration, or the first duration and the data including the second duration, which are sent simultaneously with the first identifier. Wherein the first identity corresponds to the second terminal.

In other embodiments of the present application, after determining the distance between the first terminal and the second terminal, the first layer of the first terminal may further send the distance between the first terminal and the second terminal to the application layer of the first terminal. For example, when the ranging information of the first layer of the first terminal is from the application layer of the first terminal, the first layer of the first terminal may also transmit the distance between the first terminal and the second terminal to the application layer of the first terminal.

Optionally, before sending the distance between the first terminal and the second terminal to the application layer of the first terminal, the first layer of the first terminal further determines whether the distance between the first terminal and the second terminal meets a threshold condition; when the distance between the first terminal and the second terminal meets a threshold condition, the first layer of the first terminal sends the distance between the first terminal and the second terminal to the application layer of the first terminal.

Alternatively, the above threshold condition may come from an application layer of the first terminal.

In other embodiments of the present application, after determining the distance between the first terminal and the second terminal, the first layer of the first terminal further determines a second period of ranging according to the distance between the first terminal and the second terminal, and then transmits second ranging period information to the access layer of the first terminal, where the second ranging period information is used to indicate the second period. For example, the first layer of the first terminal obtains a correspondence between a distance and a ranging period from an application layer or a core network element (such as PCF or AMF) of the first terminal, and the first layer of the first terminal determines second ranging period information according to the distance between the first terminal and the second terminal and the obtained correspondence. Subsequently, the first terminal may perform ranging according to the second period, and the manner is similar to that according to the first period, which is not described again. In this way, the first layer of the first terminal may update the ranging period information according to the distance between the first terminal and the second terminal, for example, it may be possible to use a larger period when the distance between the terminals is longer and use a smaller period when the distance between the terminals is smaller.

In the method 300, an access layer of a first terminal generates and transmits a first signal for ranging according to ranging information of the first layer, receives a second signal in response to the first signal, and determines a first duration between a time when the first terminal transmits the first signal and a time when the second signal is received; the first layer of the first terminal acquires a first duration from the access layer of the first terminal, receives a second duration from the second terminal, and determines a distance between the first terminal and the second terminal according to the first duration and the second duration. In this way, a measurement of the distance between the first terminal and the second terminal may be achieved.

In addition, the method 300 considers the layering architecture inside the terminal, and defines the functions of each layer inside the terminal, the parameters of interaction between layers and T _reply Is transmitted by the base station. In addition, compared to the access layer, since the first layer calculates the distance between the first terminal and the second terminal, the calculation result is not easily exposed or easily acquired by other entities, so the method 300 helps to ensure the security of the ranging result (i.e., the distance between the first terminal and the second terminal).

Fig. 4 is a schematic flow chart of a ranging method 400 provided herein.

Also, in method 400, the terminal includes an application layer, a first layer, and an access layer, for example. The first layer may be different in different communication scenarios, for example, the first layer may be a ranging layer, a V2X layer, a ProSe layer, or the like, and the first layer may also be referred to as an upper layer (upper layer). For convenience of description, hereinafter, collectively referred to as a first layer.

Unlike the method 300, in the method 400, a distance between the first terminal and the second terminal is determined by the access stratum of the first terminal according to the first duration and the second duration.

The method 400 includes at least some of the following.

In step 401, a first layer of a first terminal transmits ranging information to an access layer of the first terminal.

In step 402, the access layer of the first terminal sends a first signal to the second terminal according to the ranging information.

Step 403, after receiving the first signal, the access layer of the second terminal sends a second signal to the first terminal.

The detailed description of steps 401-403 may refer to steps 301-303, and are not described in detail herein.

In step 404, the access layer of the first terminal determines a first time length.

The application is not limited to a specific implementation manner in which the access layer of the first terminal determines the first time length.

One possible implementation manner, after the access layer of the first terminal sends the first signal, the access layer of the first terminal stores a first corresponding relation between a first identifier and a time when the access layer of the first terminal sends the first signal, wherein the first identifier corresponds to the second terminal; the access layer of the first terminal determines the moment of receiving the second signal; the access layer of the first terminal obtains the moment of sending the first signal corresponding to the first identifier according to the first identifier included in the second signal and the first corresponding relation stored in the access layer of the first terminal; the access layer of the first terminal determines the first time length according to the acquired time when the access layer of the first terminal transmits the first signal and the determined time when the access layer of the first terminal receives the second signal.

In step 405, the access layer of the second terminal determines a second duration.

The detailed description of step 405 may refer to step 305, and will not be described herein.

In step 406, the second terminal sends the second duration to the first terminal.

One possible implementation manner, the second terminal sends the second duration to the first terminal through signaling of the access layer.

Optionally, the second message comprises a PC5-RRC message.

In step 407, the access layer of the first terminal obtains the second duration.

One possible implementation manner, when the second terminal sends the second duration to the first terminal through the signaling of the access layer, the access layer of the first terminal obtains the second duration from the signaling of the access layer. Specifically, the access layer of the first terminal receives a second message from the access layer of the second terminal; the access layer of the first terminal obtains a second duration from the second message.

In step 408, the access layer of the first terminal determines a distance between the first terminal and the second terminal according to the first duration and the second duration.

D＝c×(T _round -T _reply )/2

In step 409, the access layer of the first terminal sends the distance between the first terminal and the second terminal to the first layer of the first terminal.

Optionally, before sending the distance between the first terminal and the second terminal to the first layer of the first terminal, the access layer of the first terminal further determines whether the distance between the first terminal and the second terminal meets a threshold condition; when the distance between the first terminal and the second terminal meets a threshold condition, the access layer of the first terminal sends the distance between the first terminal and the second terminal to the first layer of the first terminal.

Optionally, when the access layer of the first terminal sends the distance between the first terminal and the second terminal to the first layer of the first terminal, the access layer of the first terminal also sends a first identifier corresponding to the distance to the first layer of the first terminal, so that the first layer of the first terminal determines that the distance is the distance between the first terminal and the second terminal. Wherein the first identity corresponds to the second terminal.

In other embodiments of the present application, after receiving the distance between the first terminal and the second terminal, the first layer of the first terminal may further send the distance between the first terminal and the second terminal to the application layer of the first terminal. For example, when the ranging information of the first layer of the first terminal is from the application layer of the first terminal, the first layer of the first terminal may also transmit the distance between the first terminal and the second terminal to the application layer of the first terminal.

Optionally, before sending the distance between the first terminal and the second terminal to the application layer of the first terminal, the first layer of the first terminal further determines whether the distance between the first terminal and the second terminal meets a threshold condition; when the distance between the first terminal and the second terminal meets a threshold condition, the first layer of the first terminal sends the distance between the first terminal and the second terminal to the application layer of the first terminal. For example, when the access layer of the first terminal does not determine whether the distance between the first terminal and the second terminal satisfies the threshold condition, it may be further determined by the first layer of the first terminal whether the distance between the first terminal and the second terminal satisfies the threshold condition.

Optionally, when the first layer of the first terminal sends the distance between the first terminal and the second terminal to the application layer of the first terminal, the first layer of the first terminal also sends a first identifier corresponding to the distance to the application layer of the first terminal, so that the application layer of the first terminal determines that the distance is the distance between the first terminal and the second terminal. Wherein the first identity corresponds to the second terminal.

Alternatively, the above threshold condition may come from an application layer of the first terminal. When it is determined by the access layer of the first terminal whether the distance between the first terminal and the second terminal satisfies the threshold condition, the threshold condition may be included in the ranging information transmitted to the access layer of the first terminal by the first layer of the first terminal. When it is determined by the first layer of the first terminal whether the distance between the first terminal and the second terminal satisfies the threshold condition, the non-threshold condition may be included in the ranging information transmitted to the access layer of the first terminal by the first layer of the first terminal.

In other embodiments of the present application, after determining the distance between the first terminal and the second terminal, the access layer of the first terminal determines a second period of ranging based on the distance between the first terminal and the second terminal. For example, the access layer of the first terminal obtains a correspondence between the distance and the ranging period from the application layer of the first terminal or the first layer of the first terminal, and the access layer of the first terminal determines the second period according to the distance between the first terminal and the second terminal and the obtained correspondence. Subsequently, the first terminal may perform ranging according to the second period, and the manner is similar to that according to the first period, which is not described again. In this way, the first terminal can update the period of ranging according to the distance between the first terminal and the second terminal, for example, a larger period can be used when the distance between the terminals is longer and a smaller period can be used when the distance between the terminals is shorter.

In the method 400, an access layer of a first terminal generates and transmits a first signal for ranging according to ranging information of the first layer, receives a second signal in response to the first signal, determines a first duration between a time when the first terminal transmits the first signal and a time when the second signal is received, acquires a second duration from a second terminal, and determines a distance between the first terminal and the second terminal according to the first duration and the second duration. In this way, a measurement of the distance between the first terminal and the second terminal may be achieved.

In addition, the method 400 considers the layering architecture inside the terminal, and defines the functions of each layer inside the terminal, the parameters of interaction between layers, and the transmission mode of the Treply.

It should be noted that, for convenience of description, the information interaction between the layers of the terminal in the methods 300 and 400 adopts the description modes of "sending" and "receiving", and in fact, the information interaction between the layers of the terminal may not have the actions of sending and receiving, but may be information input and information output between interfaces. "send" may be replaced with "provide", "output", "read", etc., and "receive" may be replaced with "input", "write", etc.

Fig. 5 is a schematic flow chart of a ranging method 500 provided herein.

The method 500 includes at least some of the following.

In step 501, the first terminal sends a first signal to the second terminal.

Accordingly, the second terminal receives the first signal from the first terminal.

Alternatively, the first signal may be ranging signaling, ranging reference signaling, positioning reference signaling or the initial ranging signal shown in fig. 2.

One possible implementation, the first terminal sends a first signal to the second terminal using the identity of the first terminal and the identity of the second terminal. For example, the first terminal uses the identifier of the first terminal as the source address of the first signal, uses the identifier of the second terminal as the destination address of the first signal, and transmits the first signal to the second terminal.

In a possible implementation, before step 501, the first terminal further determines that the ranging result (i.e. the distance between the first terminal and the second terminal) is calculated by the first terminal. Alternatively, the first terminal and the second terminal may interact with the ranging calculation capability information to determine which terminal calculates the ranging result.

In a possible implementation, before step 501, the first terminal further determines that a signal for ranging is sent by the first terminal. I.e. the first terminal transmits the first signal when the first terminal determines that the signal for ranging is first transmitted by the first terminal. Alternatively, the first terminal and the second terminal may exchange information to determine which terminal previously transmitted the signal for ranging.

Step 502, the second terminal sends a second signal to the first terminal.

Accordingly, the first terminal receives the second signal from the second terminal.

One possible implementation, the second terminal sends a second signal to the first terminal using the identity of the first terminal and the identity of the second terminal. For example, the first terminal uses the identifier of the second terminal as the source address of the second signal, uses the identifier of the first terminal as the destination address of the second signal, and transmits the second signal to the first terminal, in other words, the source address of the second signal is the identifier of the second terminal, and the destination address is the identifier of the first terminal.

In step 503, the first terminal determines a first duration.

The first duration is a duration between a time when the first terminal transmits the first signal and a time when the first terminal receives the second signal.

One possible implementation manner, after the first terminal sends the first signal, the first terminal stores a first corresponding relation between a first identifier and a moment when the first terminal sends the first signal, wherein the first identifier corresponds to the second terminal; the first terminal determines the moment of receiving the second signal; the first terminal obtains the moment of sending the first signal corresponding to the first identifier according to the first identifier included in the second signal and the first corresponding relation stored in the first terminal; the first terminal determines a first time length according to the time when the first terminal transmits the first signal and the time when the first terminal receives the second signal.

Optionally, the first identifier is an identifier of the first terminal and/or an identifier of the second terminal. Wherein the identity of the first terminal is used for communication between the first terminal and the second terminal.

In step 504, the second terminal determines a second duration.

The second duration is a duration between a time when the second terminal receives the first signal and a time when the second terminal transmits the second signal.

One possible implementation manner, after the second terminal receives the first signal, the second terminal stores a second corresponding relation between a second identifier and a moment when the second terminal receives the first signal, wherein the second identifier corresponds to the first terminal; the second terminal determines the moment of sending the second signal; the second terminal obtains the moment corresponding to the second identifier and used for receiving the first signal according to the second identifier included in the second signal and the second corresponding relation stored in the second terminal; and the second terminal determines a second duration according to the acquired time when the access layer of the second terminal receives the first signal and the determined time when the second terminal transmits the second signal.

As an example, the second identity is an identity of the first terminal. In this way, the second terminal sends the second signal according to the identifier of the first terminal (for example, the identifier of the first terminal is used as the destination address of the second signal), and the identifier of the first terminal and the time when the second terminal receives the first signal have a correspondence, so that the second terminal can obtain the sending time when the second terminal receives the first signal corresponding to the second signal according to the identifier of the first terminal included in the second signal, thereby ensuring the accuracy of ranging.

The first mark and the second mark may be the same or different.

It should be noted that, the present application does not limit the sequence of step 504 and step 502, nor the sequence of step 504 and step 503. If step 504 is performed before step 502, the time when the second terminal in step 504 transmits the second signal may be an estimated time when the second terminal transmits the second signal. If step 504 is performed after step 502, the time when the second terminal in step 504 transmits the second signal may be an estimated time when the second terminal transmits the second signal, or may be an actual time when the second terminal transmits the second signal.

In step 505, the second terminal sends a first message, a second message or data to the first terminal.

Accordingly, the first terminal receives the first message, the second message or the data from the second terminal.

The first message, the second message and the data comprise a second duration, the first message comprises a PC5-S message, the second message comprises a PC5-RRC message, and the data can be PC5-U data. In other words, the second terminal may send the second duration to the first terminal via a PC5-S message, a PC5-RRC message, or a PC 5-U.

One possible implementation manner, the second terminal sends the first message, the second message or the data to the first terminal by using the identifier of the first terminal and the identifier of the second terminal. For example, the second terminal uses the identifier of the first terminal as a destination address, uses the identifier of the second terminal as a source address, and sends a first message, a second message or data to the first terminal, that is, the source address of the first message, the second message and the data is the identifier of the second terminal, and the destination address is the identifier of the first terminal.

In step 506, the first terminal determines a distance between the first terminal and the second terminal according to the first duration and the second duration.

D＝c×(T _round -T _reply )/2

In the method 500, a first terminal transmits a first signal for ranging, receives a second signal in response to the first signal, determines a first duration between a time when the first terminal transmits the first signal and a time when the second signal is received, and receives a second duration from a second terminal through a PC5-S message, a PC5-RRC message, or data, thereby determining a distance between the first terminal and the second terminal according to the first duration and the second duration. In this way, the method 500 may enable measuring a distance between the first terminal and the second terminal.

In other embodiments of the present application, the method 500 further comprises: the first terminal obtains ranging information, wherein the ranging information is used for indicating and measuring the distance between the first terminal and the second terminal. In this case, the first terminal transmits a first signal to the second terminal according to the ranging information.

One possible implementation, the ranging information includes a ranging indication and an identification of the second terminal. Wherein the ranging indication is used to indicate a ranging operation and the identity of the second terminal is used to indicate an object of ranging. In this way, the access layer of the first terminal can determine to measure the distance between the first terminal and the second terminal based on the ranging information.

In another possible implementation, the ranging information includes first ranging period information and an identification of the second terminal. The first ranging period information is used for indicating a first ranging period, and the identifier of the second terminal is used for indicating a ranging object.

In yet another possible implementation, the ranging information includes a ranging indication, first ranging period information, and an identification of the second terminal. Wherein, the ranging indication is used for indicating ranging operation, the first ranging period information is used for indicating the first period of ranging, and the identification of the second terminal is used for indicating the object of ranging.

Alternatively, the identity of the second terminal may be a layer 2 identity of the second terminal.

In one possible implementation, after determining the distance between the first terminal and the second terminal, the first terminal further determines a second period of ranging according to the distance between the first terminal and the second terminal. Subsequently, the first terminal may perform a ranging operation according to the second period. For example, the first terminal acquires a correspondence between the distance and the ranging period, and after determining the distance between the first terminal and the second terminal, the first terminal determines the second period according to the distance between the first terminal and the second terminal and the acquired correspondence. In this way, the first terminal can update the ranging period information according to the distance between the first terminal and the second terminal, for example, a larger period can be used when the distance between the terminals is longer and a smaller period can be used when the distance between the terminals is smaller.

A possible implementation manner, the first terminal obtains ranging information, including: the first terminal acquires ranging information from the second terminal. Specifically, the second terminal sends ranging information to the first terminal, and accordingly, the first terminal receives ranging information from the second terminal, wherein the ranging information is used for indicating to measure the distance between the first terminal and the second terminal. In this case, the method 500 may further include: the first terminal sends the distance between the first terminal and the second terminal to the second terminal. In other words, the first terminal initiates ranging when receiving the ranging request of the second terminal, and feeds back the measured distance between the first terminal and the second terminal to the second terminal.

One possible implementation, the first terminal and the second terminal include an application layer and a network layer. In this case, the method 500 may be performed by a network layer of the first terminal and a network layer of the second terminal, including: the network layer of the first terminal sends a first signal to the second terminal, and correspondingly, the network layer of the second terminal receives the first signal from the first terminal; the network layer of the second terminal sends a second signal to the first terminal, and correspondingly, the network layer of the first terminal receives the second signal from the second terminal; the network layer of the first terminal determines a first time length according to the time of sending the first signal and the time of receiving the second signal; the network layer of the second terminal determines a second duration according to the moment of receiving the first signal and the moment of transmitting the second signal; the network layer of the second terminal sends a second duration to the first terminal through a PC5-S message or a PC5-RRC message, and correspondingly, the network layer of the first terminal receives the second duration from the second terminal; the network layer of the first terminal determines the distance between the first terminal and the second terminal according to the first time length and the second time length. For more details, reference may be made to steps 501 to 506 above, and further description is omitted here.

It should be noted that, in some implementations, the network layer of the first terminal may include an access function and a ranging function.

As one example, the access function may perform: the transmission and reception of signals (e.g., transmitting a first signal, receiving a second signal, etc.), calculation based on the transmission and reception time of signals (e.g., determining a first time length), etc. The ranging function may perform: receiving information from the application layer, calculating a distance between the terminals (e.g., determining a distance between the first terminal and the second terminal based on the first time period and the second time period), and so forth. In addition, according to the deployment requirement, the access layer may be referred to as an access layer, the first layer may be formed to include a ranging function, and communication may be performed between the access layer and the first layer, in which case the access layer and the first layer may implement the function of the first terminal in fig. 3.

As another example, the access function may perform: the method may include transmitting and receiving signals (e.g., transmitting a first signal, receiving a second signal, etc.), calculating based on a transmission and reception time of the signals (e.g., determining a first time period), calculating a distance between terminals (e.g., determining a distance between the first terminal and the second terminal based on the first time period and the second time period), and the like. The ranging function may perform: information from an application layer is received. In addition, according to the deployment requirement, the access layer may be referred to as an access layer, the ranging function may be referred to as a first layer, and communication may be performed between the access layer and the first layer, in which case the access layer and the first layer may implement the function of the first terminal in fig. 4.

Also, in some implementations, an access function and a ranging function may be included in the network layer of the second terminal.

As one example, the access function may perform: the transmission and reception of signals (e.g., receiving a first signal, transmitting a second signal, etc.), calculation based on the transmission and reception time of signals (e.g., determining a second time period), etc. The ranging function may perform: messaging, and the like. In addition, according to the deployment requirement, the access layer may be referred to as an access layer including an access function, the first layer may be referred to as a ranging function, and communication may be performed between the access layer and the first layer, in which case the access layer and the first layer may implement the function of the second terminal in fig. 3 or fig. 4.

Optionally, the first terminal acquires ranging information, including: the application layer of the first terminal generates ranging information. The method 500 further includes: the application layer of the first terminal transmits ranging information to the network layer of the first terminal.

In other embodiments of the present application, the first terminal and the second terminal include an application layer, a first layer, and an access layer. In this case, the method 500 may be performed by the first layer and the access layer of the first terminal, and the first layer and the access layer of the second terminal, and the detailed description may refer to fig. 3 and 4, which are not repeated herein.

The technical solutions of the present application are described below with reference to specific examples. In the following example, taking a D2D communication scenario as an example, ranging is initiated by the terminal 1, and the relative distance between the terminal 1 and the terminal 2 is measured. Wherein the ranging layer may correspond to the first layer above, the ranging signal may correspond to the first signal above, the response signal may correspond to the second signal above, and the distance threshold may correspond to the threshold condition above. For convenience of description, the relative distance between the terminal 1 and the terminal 2 will be simply referred to as a distance result hereinafter.

Example 1

Fig. 6 is an example of a ranging method of the present application. In this example, the ranging signal is generated by the access layer of the terminal 1 and the range result is calculated.

In step 601, the application layer (application layer, APP layer) of the terminal 1 provides ranging requirements to the ranging layer of the terminal 1.

Wherein the ranging requirement may include a ranging indication indicating initiation of a ranging operation.

Optionally, the ranging requirement further comprises a distance threshold (distance threshold). The distance threshold is a distance threshold that needs to be met when the distance result is submitted, i.e., the distance result is submitted to a higher layer when the distance result meets the distance threshold. The distance threshold may include one or more thresholds.

The ranging requirement may also carry an application layer identification (UE 2 app ID) of the terminal 2, for indicating the object of ranging.

In step 602, the ranging layer of terminal 1 requests a measurement of the distance to terminal 2 from the access layer of terminal 1.

One possible implementation is shown in fig. 6, where the ranging layer of terminal 1 provides a ranging indication and a layer 2 identity (UE 2L 2 ID) of terminal 2 to the access layer of terminal 1. The ranging indication is used to indicate a ranging operation. The ranging operation can be understood as measuring the distance between terminals.

In another possible implementation, the ranging layer of the terminal 1 provides the first ranging period information and the layer 2 identification of the terminal 2 to the access layer of the terminal 1. The first ranging period information is used to indicate a first period of ranging.

In yet another possible implementation, the ranging layer of the terminal 1 provides a ranging indication, first ranging period information and a layer 2 identification of the terminal 2 to the access layer of the terminal 1. The ranging indication is used to indicate a ranging operation. The ranging operation can be understood as measuring the distance between terminals. The first ranging period information is used to indicate a first period of ranging.

The layer 2 identifier of the terminal 2 may be obtained from the terminal 2 during discovery with the terminal 2, or may also be obtained from the terminal 2 during establishment of a PC5 connection with the terminal 2, or may also be obtained from the terminal 2 after establishment of a PC5 connection with the terminal 2. For example, after the application layer of the terminal 1 initiates ranging, the terminal 1 may perform a discovery procedure of the terminal 2 and a PC5 connection establishment procedure, and acquire the layer 2 identification of the terminal 2 from the terminal 2 during the discovery procedure, the PC5 connection establishment procedure, or after the PC5 connection establishment.

Optionally, the ranging layer of terminal 1 also provides a distance threshold to the access layer of terminal 1. This may enable the access stratum to determine whether to submit the distance result upwards.

Optionally, the first layer of terminal 1 also determines the distance result calculated by terminal 1. I.e. when it is determined that the distance result is calculated by the terminal 1, the first layer of the terminal 1 requests a measurement from the access layer of the terminal 1 to the distance to the terminal 2 and the distance result is calculated by the access layer of the terminal 1. Alternatively, the terminal 1 and the terminal 2 may exchange ranging calculation capability information, thereby determining a result of calculating the distance by the terminal 1.

Optionally, the first layer of the terminal 1 also determines that the signal for ranging is transmitted by the terminal 1 first. I.e. when the first layer of terminal 1 determines that the signal for ranging is sent by terminal 1 first, the first layer of terminal 1 requests the measurement of the distance to terminal 2 from the access layer of terminal 1 and the signal for ranging is sent by the access layer of terminal 1 first. Alternatively, the terminal 1 and the terminal 2 may exchange information to determine that a signal for ranging is transmitted by the terminal 1 first.

Step 603, the access stratum of the terminal 1 generates and transmits a ranging signal (ranging signaling), and records the transmission time T of the ranging signal ₁ 。

In a possible implementation manner, when the ranging layer of the terminal 1 provides a ranging indication and a layer 2 identifier of the terminal 2 to the access layer of the terminal 1, the access layer of the terminal 1 determines to send a ranging signal according to the ranging indication, and sends the ranging signal by using the layer 2 identifier of the terminal 1 and the layer 2 identifier of the terminal 2, wherein a source address of the ranging signal is the layer 2 identifier of the terminal 1, and a destination address of the ranging signal is the layer 2 identifier of the terminal 2. The access layer of terminal 1 stores the layer 2 identity of terminal 1 and the transmission time T ₁ And/or the access layer of terminal 1 stores the layer 2 identity of terminal 2 and the transmission time T ₁ Corresponding relation of (3).

In another possible implementation manner, when the ranging layer of the terminal 1 provides the first ranging period information and the layer 2 identifier of the terminal 2 to the access layer of the terminal 1, the access layer of the terminal 1 sends a ranging signal according to the first period indicated by the first ranging period information by using the layer 2 identifier of the terminal 1 and the layer 2 identifier of the terminal 2, a source address of the ranging signal is the layer 2 identifier of the terminal 1, and a destination address of the ranging signal is the layer 2 identifier of the terminal 2. The access layer of terminal 1 stores the layer 2 identity of terminal 1 and the transmission time T ₁ And/or the access layer of terminal 1 stores the layer 2 identity of terminal 2 and the transmission time T ₁ Corresponding relation of (3).

In yet another possible implementation, when the ranging layer of the terminal 1 provides the ranging indication, the first ranging period information and the layer 2 index of the terminal 2 to the access layer of the terminal 1When the access layer of the terminal 1 recognizes, the access layer determines to send a ranging signal according to the ranging instruction, and sends the ranging signal by using the layer 2 identifier of the terminal 1 and the layer 2 identifier of the terminal 2 according to the first period indicated by the first ranging period information, the source address of the ranging signal is the layer 2 identifier of the terminal 1, and the destination address of the ranging signal is the layer 2 identifier of the terminal 2. The access layer of terminal 1 stores the layer 2 identity of terminal 1 and the transmission time T ₁ And/or the access layer of terminal 1 stores the layer 2 identity of terminal 2 and the transmission time T ₁ Corresponding relation of (3).

It should be noted that, when the access layer of the terminal 1 stores the layer 2 identifier and the transmission time T of the terminal 1 ₁ For different terminals 2, the terminal 1 may use the layer 2 identity of the different terminal 1.

Step 604, after receiving the ranging signal from the terminal 1, the access layer of the terminal 2 generates and transmits a response signal according to the receiving time T of the ranging signal ₂ With the transmission time T of the response signal ₃ Determining T _reply 。

Specifically, after receiving the ranging signal from the terminal 1, the access layer of the terminal 2 stores the layer 2 identification of the terminal 1 and the reception time T ₂ And/or the access layer of the terminal 2 stores the layer 2 identity of the terminal 2 and the reception time T ₂ Corresponding relation of (3). The access layer of the terminal 2 sends a response signal by using the layer 2 identifier of the terminal 1 and the layer 2 identifier of the terminal 2, the source address of the response signal is the layer 2 identifier of the terminal 2, and the destination address of the response signal is the layer 2 identifier of the terminal 1. The access layer of terminal 2 determines T with the layer 2 identity of terminal 1 as association information _reply Wherein T is _reply ＝T ₃ -T ₂ 。

Wherein, the access layer of the terminal 2 determines T by taking the layer 2 identification of the terminal 1 as the association information _reply One implementation of (a) is: the access layer of the terminal 2 determines the transmission instant T of the response signal ₃ The method comprises the steps of carrying out a first treatment on the surface of the The access layer of the terminal 2 receives the ranging signal according to the destination address of the response signal, namely the layer 2 identifier of the terminal 1, and the layer 2 identifier of the terminal 1 and the receiving time T of the ranging signal ₂ Corresponding relation of the ranging signal corresponding to the response signal is determinedTime T ₂ Further according to the receiving time T of the ranging signal ₂ And a transmission time T of the response signal ₃ Calculate T _reply 。

It should be noted that, when the access layer of the terminal 2 stores the layer 2 identifier and the receiving time T of the terminal 2 ₂ For different terminals 1, the terminal 2 may use the layer 2 identity of the different terminal 2.

Step 605, terminal 2 sends T to terminal 1 _reply 。

A possible implementation manner, the terminal 2 sends T to the terminal 1 through signaling of the access layer _reply . For example, the access layer of terminal 2 may send T to terminal 1 via a PC5-RRC message _reply . In this embodiment, the transmission time T of the response signal ₃ The time at which the response signal is expected to be transmitted may be the time at which the response signal is actually transmitted.

Step 606, after receiving the response signal from terminal 2, the access layer of terminal 1 transmits a ranging signal according to the transmission time T ₁ And the receiving time T of the response signal ₄ Determining T _round And according to T _round And T obtained in step 605 _reply And calculating a distance result.

Specifically, after receiving the ranging signal from the terminal 1, the access layer of the terminal 1 records the reception time T of the response signal ₄ And uses the layer 2 identification of the terminal 2 as the associated information to determine T _round Wherein T is _round ＝T ₄ -T ₁ . The access layer of terminal 1 is according to T _round And T obtained in step 605 _reply Calculating a distance result, wherein the distance result=light speed× (T _round -T _reply )/2. A detailed description of the manner in which the distance results are calculated may be found in fig. 2, and will not be described in detail herein.

Wherein, the access layer of the terminal 1 determines T by taking the layer 2 identification of the terminal 2 as the association information _round One implementation of (a) is: the access layer of the terminal 1 is based on the source address of the response signal, i.e. the layer 2 identification of the terminal 2, and the layer 2 identification of the terminal 2 and the transmission time T of the ranging signal ₁ Corresponding relation of (a) determining the responseTime T of transmitting ranging signal corresponding to signal ₁ Further, according to the transmission time T of the ranging signal ₁ And a receiving time T of the response signal ₄ Calculate T _round 。

In step 607, the access layer of terminal 1 submits the distance result, and optionally the layer 2 identity of terminal 2 corresponding to the distance result, to the ranging layer of terminal 1.

Optionally, if the ranging layer of the terminal 1 provides the ranging threshold to the access layer of the terminal 1 in step 602, the access layer of the terminal 1 further determines whether the ranging result meets the ranging threshold. If the distance result satisfies the distance threshold, the access layer of the terminal 1 submits the distance result and the layer 2 identification of the terminal 2 corresponding to the distance result to the ranging layer of the terminal 1. If the distance result does not meet the distance threshold, the access layer of the terminal 1 may not submit the distance result and the layer 2 identity of the terminal 2 corresponding to the distance result to the ranging layer of the terminal 1.

Wherein, according to the actual situation, the distance result satisfies the distance threshold value, and may be, for example, that the distance result is greater than the distance threshold value or that the distance result is less than the distance threshold value, etc.

In step 608, the ranging layer of the terminal 1 submits the distance result, and optionally the application layer identification of the terminal 2 corresponding to the distance result, to the application layer of the terminal 1.

Optionally, if in step 607 the access layer of the terminal 1 does not determine whether the distance result meets the distance threshold, the ranging layer of the terminal 1 also determines whether the distance result meets the distance threshold. If the distance result satisfies the distance threshold, the ranging layer of the terminal 1 submits the distance result and the application layer identification of the terminal 2 corresponding to the distance result to the application layer of the terminal 1. If the distance result does not meet the distance threshold, the ranging layer of the terminal 1 may not submit the distance result and the application layer identification of the terminal 2 corresponding to the distance result to the application layer of the terminal 1.

In some implementations, after determining the distance between terminal 1 and terminal 2, the access layer of terminal 1 determines a second period of ranging based on the distance between terminal 1 and terminal 2. For example, the access layer of the terminal 1 acquires a correspondence between a distance and a ranging period from an application layer of the terminal 1 or a first layer of the terminal 1, and the access layer of the terminal 1 determines a second period according to the acquired correspondence and the distance between the terminal 1 and the terminal 2. Subsequently, the terminal 1 may perform ranging according to the second period, and the manner is similar to that according to the first period, and will not be described again. In this way, the terminal 1 can update the period of ranging according to the distance between the terminals 1 and 2, for example, it is possible to realize a larger period when the distance between the terminals is longer and a smaller period when the distance between the terminals is shorter.

Example 2

Fig. 7 is another example of a ranging method of the present application. In this example, the ranging signal is generated by the access layer of the terminal 1, and the ranging result is calculated by the ranging layer.

In step 701, the application layer of terminal 1 provides ranging requirements to the ranging layer of terminal 1.

Optionally, the ranging requirement further comprises a range threshold. The distance threshold is a distance threshold that needs to be met when the distance result is submitted, i.e., the distance result is submitted to a higher layer when the distance result meets the distance threshold. The distance threshold may include one or more thresholds.

The ranging requirements may also carry an application layer identifier of the terminal 2, which is used to indicate the ranging object.

In step 702, the ranging layer of terminal 1 requests a measurement of the distance to terminal 2 from the access layer of terminal 1.

One possible implementation is shown in fig. 7, where the ranging layer of terminal 1 provides a ranging indication and a layer 2 identification of terminal 2 to the access layer of terminal 1. The ranging indication is used to indicate a ranging operation. The ranging operation can be understood as measuring the distance between terminals.

Optionally, the first layer of terminal 1 also determines the distance result calculated by terminal 1. I.e. when it is determined that the distance result is calculated by the terminal 1, the first layer of the terminal 1 requests a measurement from the access layer of the terminal 1 and calculates the distance result. Alternatively, the terminal 1 and the terminal 2 may exchange ranging calculation capability information, thereby determining a result of calculating the distance by the terminal 1.

Optionally, the ranging layer of the terminal 1 provides the first ranging period information to the access layer of the terminal 1. The first ranging period information is used to indicate a first period of ranging.

Step 703, the access layer of the terminal 1 generates and transmits a ranging signal, and records the transmission time T of the ranging signal ₁ 。

In a possible implementation manner, when the ranging layer of the terminal 1 provides a ranging indication and a layer 2 identifier of the terminal 2 to the access layer of the terminal 1, the access layer of the terminal 1 determines to send a ranging signal according to the ranging indication, and sends the ranging signal by using the layer 2 identifier of the terminal 1 and the layer 2 identifier of the terminal 2, wherein a source address of the ranging signal is the layer 2 identifier of the terminal 1, and a destination address of the ranging signal is the layer 2 identifier of the terminal 2. The access layer of terminal 1 stores the layer 2 identity of terminal 1 and the transmission time T ₁ Corresponding relation of (3)And/or the access layer of terminal 1 stores the layer 2 identity of terminal 2 and the transmission time T ₁ Corresponding relation of (3).

In still another possible implementation manner, when the ranging layer of the terminal 1 provides the ranging indication, the first ranging period information and the layer 2 identifier of the terminal 2 to the access layer of the terminal 1, the access layer of the terminal 1 determines to send a ranging signal according to the ranging indication, and sends the ranging signal according to the first period indicated by the first ranging period information by using the layer 2 identifier of the terminal 1 and the layer 2 identifier of the terminal 2, where a source address of the ranging signal is the layer 2 identifier of the terminal 1, and a destination address of the ranging signal is the layer 2 identifier of the terminal 2. The access layer of terminal 1 stores the layer 2 identity of terminal 1 and the transmission time T ₁ And/or the access layer of terminal 1 stores the layer 2 identity of terminal 2 and the transmission time T ₁ Corresponding relation of (3).

Step 704, after receiving the ranging signal from the terminal 1, the access layer of the terminal 2 generates and transmits a response signal according to the receiving time T of the ranging signal ₂ With the transmission time T of the response signal ₃ Determining T _reply 。

Specifically, after receiving the ranging signal from the terminal 1, the access layer of the terminal 2 stores the layer 2 identification of the terminal 1 and the reception time T ₂ Is of (3)The corresponding relation and/or the access layer of the terminal 2 stores the layer 2 identity of the terminal 2 and the reception time T ₂ Corresponding relation of (3). The access layer of the terminal 2 sends a response signal by using the layer 2 identifier of the terminal 1 and the layer 2 identifier of the terminal 2, the source address of the response signal is the layer 2 identifier of the terminal 2, and the destination address of the response signal is the layer 2 identifier of the terminal 1. The access layer of terminal 2 determines T with the layer 2 identity of terminal 1 as association information _reply Wherein T is _reply ＝T ₃ -T ₂ 。

Wherein, the access layer of the terminal 2 determines T by taking the layer 2 identification of the terminal 1 as the association information _reply One implementation of (a) is: the access layer of the terminal 2 determines the transmission instant T of the response signal ₃ The method comprises the steps of carrying out a first treatment on the surface of the The access layer of the terminal 2 receives the ranging signal according to the destination address of the response signal, namely the layer 2 identifier of the terminal 1, and the layer 2 identifier of the terminal 1 and the receiving time T of the ranging signal ₂ Corresponding relation of the ranging signal corresponding to the response signal is determined ₂ Further according to the receiving time T of the ranging signal ₂ And a transmission time T of the response signal ₃ Calculate T _reply 。

Step 705, terminal 2 sends T to terminal 1 _reply 。

One possible implementation is shown in fig. 7, where the terminal 2 sends T to the terminal 1 through the signaling of the ranging layer _reply . For example, the access layer of terminal 2 provides T to the ranging layer of terminal 2 _reply And layer 2 identification of terminal 1, upon receipt of T _reply After the identification of the layer 2 of the terminal 1, the ranging layer of the terminal 2 is identified according to T _reply Generating a PC5-S message and providing the PC5-S message, including T, and the layer 2 identity of terminal 1 to the access layer of terminal 2 _reply The method comprises the steps of carrying out a first treatment on the surface of the The access layer of the terminal 2 further sends a PC5-S message to the terminal 1 according to the received layer 2 identifier of the terminal 1 and the layer 2 identifier of the terminal 2, the source address of the PC5-S message is the layer 2 identifier of the terminal 2, and the destination address of the PC5-S message is the terminalLayer 2 identification of 1.

Another possible implementation way is that the terminal 2 sends T to the terminal 1 through signaling of the access layer _reply . For example, the access layer of terminal 2 may send T to terminal 1 via a PC5-RRC signal _reply 。

Yet another possible implementation, terminal 2 sends T to terminal 1 through PC5-U _reply . For example, the access layer of terminal 2 provides T to the ranging layer of terminal 2 _reply And layer 2 identification of terminal 1, upon receipt of T _reply After the identification of the layer 2 of the terminal 1, the ranging layer of the terminal 2 is identified according to T _reply Generates data and provides the data and the layer 2 identification of the terminal 1 to the access layer of the terminal 2, the data comprising T _reply The method comprises the steps of carrying out a first treatment on the surface of the The access layer of the terminal 2 further transmits data to the terminal 1 according to the received layer 2 identifier of the terminal 1 and the layer 2 identifier of the terminal 2, the source address of the data is the layer 2 identifier of the terminal 2, and the destination address of the data is the layer 2 identifier of the terminal 1.

Transmission time T of response signal in step 705 ₃ The time when the access layer of the terminal 2 predicts the transmission of the response signal may be the time when the access layer of the terminal 2 actually transmits the response signal.

Step 706, after receiving the response signal from terminal 2, the access layer of terminal 1 transmits a ranging signal according to the transmission time T ₁ And the receiving time T of the response signal ₄ Determining T _round 。

Specifically, after receiving the ranging signal from the terminal 1, the access layer of the terminal 1 records the reception time T of the response signal ₄ And uses the layer 2 identification of the terminal 2 as the associated information to determine T _round Wherein T is _round ＝T ₄ -T ₁ 。

Wherein, the access layer of the terminal 1 determines T by taking the layer 2 identification of the terminal 2 as the association information _round One implementation of (a) is: the access layer of the terminal 1 is based on the source address of the response signal, i.e. the layer 2 identification of the terminal 2, and the layer 2 identification of the terminal 2 and the transmission time T of the ranging signal ₁ Corresponding relation of the ranging signal corresponding to the response signal is determined ₁ Further according to distance measurementTime T of signal transmission ₁ And a receiving time T of the response signal ₄ Calculate T _round 。

Step 707, the access layer of terminal 1 submits T to the ranging layer of terminal 1 _round And optionally correspond to the T _round Is identified by layer 2 of terminal 2.

Step 708, ranging layer of terminal 1 according to T _round And T obtained in step 705 _reply And calculating a distance result.

Where distance result=speed of light× (T _round -T _reply ) The details of the way in which the distance results are calculated may be referred to in FIG. 2 and will not be described in detail here.

In step 709, the ranging layer of the terminal 1 submits the distance result, and optionally the application layer identification of the terminal 2 corresponding to the distance result, to the application layer of the terminal 1.

Optionally, if the application layer of the terminal 1 provides the ranging layer of the terminal 1 with the ranging threshold in step 701, the ranging layer of the terminal 1 further determines whether the ranging result meets the ranging threshold. If the distance result satisfies the distance threshold, the ranging layer of the terminal 1 submits the distance result and the application layer identification of the terminal 2 corresponding to the distance result to the application layer of the terminal 1. If the distance result does not meet the distance threshold, the ranging layer of the terminal 1 may not submit the distance result and the application layer identification of the terminal 2 corresponding to the distance result to the application layer of the terminal 1.

In some implementations, the first layer of the terminal 1 further determines a second period of ranging according to the distance between the terminal 1 and the terminal 2 after determining the distance between the terminal 1 and the terminal 2, and then transmits second ranging period information to the access layer of the terminal 1, the second ranging period information being used to indicate the second period. For example, the first layer of the terminal 1 acquires a correspondence between a distance and a ranging period from an application layer or a core network element (such as PCF or AMF) of the terminal 1, and the first layer of the terminal 1 determines second ranging period information according to the distance between the terminal 1 and the terminal 2 and the acquired correspondence. Subsequently, the terminal 1 may perform ranging according to the second period, and the manner is similar to that according to the first period, and will not be described again. In this way, the first layer of the terminal 1 can update the ranging period information according to the distance between the terminals 1 and 2, for example, it is possible to realize a larger period when the distance between the terminals is longer and a smaller period when the distance between the terminals is smaller.

In this application, the layer a of the terminal performs the operation B, which may also be described as the terminal performs the operation B at the layer a or the terminal performs the operation B through the layer a. For example, the first layer of the terminal may send ranging information to the access layer of the terminal, which may also be described as the terminal sending ranging information to the access layer of the terminal at the first layer, or the terminal sending ranging information to the access layer of the terminal through the first layer.

The method provided in the present application is described in detail above with reference to fig. 3 to 7, and the device embodiment of the present application will be described in detail below with reference to fig. 8 to 10.

It will be appreciated that, in order to implement the functions of the above embodiments, the apparatus in fig. 8 to 10 includes corresponding hardware structures and/or software modules for performing the respective functions. Those of skill in the art will readily appreciate that the elements and method steps of the examples described in connection with the embodiments disclosed herein may be implemented as hardware or a combination 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.

Fig. 8 to 10 are schematic structural views of possible devices according to embodiments of the present application. These devices may be used to implement the functions of the first terminal or the second terminal in the above method embodiments, so that the beneficial effects of the above method embodiments may also be implemented.

As shown in fig. 8, apparatus 800 includes an application layer 810, a first layer 820, and an access layer 830.

When the apparatus 800 is used to implement the functionality of the first terminal in the method embodiment shown in fig. 3, the first layer 820 is used to: ranging information indicating to measure a distance between the first terminal and the second terminal is transmitted to the access layer 830. The access layer 830 is configured to: according to the ranging information, a first signal is sent to the second terminal, and the first signal is used for measuring the distance between the first terminal and the second terminal; and receiving a second signal from the second terminal, the second signal being for responding to the first signal. The first layer 820 also functions to: acquiring a first time length, wherein the first time length is the time length between the moment when the first terminal sends the first signal and the moment when the first terminal receives the second signal; acquiring a second time length, wherein the second time length is the time length between the moment when the second terminal receives the first signal and the moment when the second terminal sends the second signal; and determining a distance between the first terminal and the second terminal according to the first time length and the second time length.

Optionally, the access layer 830 is further configured to: and determining the first duration. The first layer 820 is specifically for: and acquiring the first duration from an access layer of the first terminal.

Optionally, the access layer 830 is further configured to: and storing a first corresponding relation between a first identifier and the moment when the first terminal transmits the first signal, wherein the first identifier corresponds to the second terminal. The access layer 830 is specifically configured to: determining the moment when the first terminal receives the second signal; acquiring the moment of sending the first signal by the first terminal according to the first identifier and the first corresponding relation included in the second signal; and determining the first duration according to the moment when the first terminal transmits the first signal and the moment when the first terminal receives the second signal.

Optionally, the first layer 820 is specifically configured to: receiving a first message from a first layer of the second terminal, the first message including the second duration; the second duration is acquired from the first message.

Optionally, the first layer 820 is specifically configured to: receiving data of a first layer from the second terminal, wherein the data comprises the second duration; and acquiring the second duration from the data. Wherein the data may be PC5-U data.

Optionally, the access layer 830 is further configured to: receiving a second message from an access layer of the second terminal, the second message including the second duration; and acquiring the second duration from the second message. The first layer 820 is specifically for: and acquiring the second duration from the access layer of the first terminal.

Optionally, the first layer 820 is further configured to: determining whether a distance between the first terminal and the second terminal meets a threshold condition; when the distance between the first terminal and the second terminal satisfies the threshold condition, the distance between the first terminal and the second terminal is transmitted to the application layer 810.

When the apparatus 800 is used to implement the functionality of the first terminal in the method embodiment shown in fig. 4, the first layer 820 is used to: ranging information indicating to measure a distance between the first terminal and the second terminal is transmitted to the access layer 830. The access layer 830 is configured to: according to the ranging information, a first signal is sent to the second terminal, and the first signal is used for measuring the distance between the first terminal and the second terminal; receiving a second signal from the second terminal, the second signal being for responding to the first signal; determining a first time length, wherein the first time length is a time length between the moment when the first terminal sends the first signal and the moment when the first terminal receives the second signal; acquiring a second time length, wherein the second time length is the time length between the moment when the second terminal receives the first signal and the moment when the second terminal sends the second signal; determining a distance between the first terminal and the second terminal according to the first time length and the second time length; and transmitting a distance between the first terminal and the second terminal to the first layer 820.

Optionally, the access layer 830 is specifically configured to: receiving a second message from the second terminal, wherein the second message comprises the second duration; and acquiring the second duration from the second message.

Optionally, the access layer 830 is further configured to: determining whether a distance between the first terminal and the second terminal satisfies a threshold condition. The access layer 830 is specifically configured to: when the distance between the first terminal and the second terminal satisfies the threshold condition, the distance between the first terminal and the second terminal is sent to the first layer 820.

When the apparatus 800 is used to implement the functionality of the second terminal in the method embodiment shown in fig. 3 or fig. 4, the access layer 810 is configured to: receiving a first signal from a first terminal, the first signal being used to measure a distance between the first terminal and the second terminal; transmitting a second signal to the first terminal, the second signal being used to respond to the first signal; and determining a second time length, wherein the second time length is the time length between the moment when the second terminal receives the first signal and the moment when the second terminal transmits the second signal. The access layer 810 is also configured to: the second duration is sent to the first terminal, or the first layer 820 is configured to: and sending the second duration to the first terminal.

Optionally, the first layer 820 is specifically configured to: and sending a first message to a first layer of the first terminal, wherein the first message comprises the second duration.

Optionally, the first layer 820 is specifically configured to: and data sent to a first layer of the first terminal, wherein the data comprises the second duration. Wherein the data may be PC5-U data.

Optionally, the access layer 810 is specifically configured to: and sending a second message to an access layer of the first terminal, wherein the second message comprises the second duration.

Optionally, the access layer 810 is further configured to: and storing a second corresponding relation between a second identifier and the moment when the first signal is received by the second terminal, wherein the second identifier corresponds to the first terminal. The access layer 810 is specifically configured to: determining the moment when the second terminal transmits the second signal; acquiring the moment of receiving the first signal by the second terminal according to the second identifier and the second corresponding relation included in the second signal; and determining the second duration according to the moment when the second terminal receives the first signal and the moment when the second terminal transmits the second signal.

For a more detailed description of the application layer 810, the first layer 820 and the access layer 830, reference should be made to the relevant description in the above method embodiments, which are not explained here.

As shown in fig. 9, the apparatus 900 includes a transceiving unit 910 and a processing unit 920.

When the apparatus 900 is used to implement the function of the first terminal in the method embodiment shown in fig. 5, the transceiver unit 910 is configured to: transmitting a first signal to a second terminal, the first signal being used to measure a distance between the first terminal and the second terminal; a second signal is received from the second terminal, the second signal being for responding to the first signal. The processing unit 920 is configured to: and determining a first time length, wherein the first time length is the time length between the moment when the first terminal transmits the first signal and the moment when the first terminal receives the second signal. The transceiver unit 910 is further configured to: receiving a first message, a second message or data from the second terminal, wherein the first message, the second message and the data comprise a second duration, the second duration is a duration between a time when the second terminal receives the first signal and a time when the second terminal transmits the second signal, the first message comprises a PC5-S message, the second message comprises a PC5-RRC message, and the data can be PC5-U data. The processing unit 920 is further configured to: and determining the distance between the first terminal and the second terminal according to the first time length and the second time length.

Optionally, the processing unit 920 is further configured to: and storing a first corresponding relation between a first identifier and the moment when the first terminal transmits the first signal, wherein the first identifier corresponds to the second terminal. The processing unit 920 is specifically configured to: determining the moment when the first terminal receives the second signal; acquiring the moment of sending the first signal by the first terminal according to the first identifier and the first corresponding relation included in the second signal; and determining the first duration according to the moment when the first terminal transmits the first signal and the moment when the first terminal receives the second signal.

Optionally, the transceiver unit 910 is further configured to: receiving ranging information from the second terminal, wherein the ranging information is used for indicating to measure the distance between the first terminal and the second terminal; and sending the distance between the first terminal and the second terminal to the second terminal.

Optionally, the apparatus 900 includes an application layer and a network layer. In this case, the functions of the transceiving unit 910 and the processing unit 920 described above may be implemented by a network layer. Specifically, the method comprises the following steps: the network layer sends a first signal to a second terminal; the network layer receives a second signal from a second terminal; the network layer determines a first time length according to the time of sending the first signal and the time of receiving the second signal; the network layer determines a second duration according to the moment of receiving the first signal and the moment of transmitting the second signal; the network layer receives a first message, a second message or data from a second terminal, wherein the first message, the second message and the data comprise a second duration; the network layer determines the distance between the first terminal and the second terminal according to the first time length and the second time length. Optionally, the application layer sends ranging information to the network layer, wherein the ranging information is used to instruct to measure the distance between the first terminal and the second terminal, in which case the network layer sends the first signal to the second terminal according to the ranging information.

Optionally, the apparatus 900 includes an application layer, a first layer, and an access layer. In this case, the functions of the transceiving unit 910 and the processing unit 920 described above may be implemented by the first layer and the access layer cooperating. For more details, reference may be made to the description of the apparatus 800, which is not repeated here. Optionally, the application layer sends ranging information to the first layer, wherein the ranging information is used for indicating to measure the distance between the first terminal and the second terminal; the first layer transmits ranging information to the access layer, in which case the access layer transmits a first signal to the second terminal according to the ranging information.

When the apparatus 900 is used to implement the function of the second terminal in the method embodiment shown in fig. 5, the transceiver unit 910 is used to: receiving a first signal from a first terminal, the first signal being used to measure a distance between the first terminal and the second terminal; and transmitting the second signal to the first terminal, wherein the second signal is used for responding to the first signal. The processing unit 920 is configured to: and determining a second time length, wherein the second time length is the time length between the moment when the second terminal receives the first signal and the moment when the second terminal transmits the second signal. The transceiver unit 910 is further configured to: and sending a first message, a second message or data to the first terminal, wherein the first message, the second message and the data comprise the second duration, the first message comprises a PC5-S message, the second message comprises a PC5-RRC message, and the data can be PC5-U data.

Optionally, the processing unit 920 is further configured to: and storing a second corresponding relation between a second identifier and the moment when the first signal is received by the second terminal, wherein the second identifier corresponds to the first terminal. The processing unit 920 is specifically configured to: determining the moment when the second terminal transmits the second signal; acquiring the moment of receiving the first signal by the second terminal according to the second identifier and the second corresponding relation included in the second signal; and determining the second duration according to the moment when the second terminal receives the first signal and the moment when the second terminal transmits the second signal.

Optionally, the transceiver unit 910 is further configured to: transmitting ranging information to the first terminal, wherein the ranging information is used for indicating to measure the distance between the first terminal and the second terminal; a distance between the first terminal and the second terminal is received from the first terminal.

Optionally, the apparatus 900 includes a network layer. In this case, the functions of the transceiving unit 910 and the processing unit 920 described above may be implemented by a network layer. Specifically, the method comprises the following steps: the network layer receives a first signal from a first terminal; the network layer sends a second signal to the first terminal; the network layer determines a second duration; the network layer sends a first message, a second message or data to the first terminal.

Optionally, the apparatus 900 includes an application layer, a first layer, and an access layer. In this case, the functions of the transceiving unit 910 and the processing unit 920 described above may be implemented by the first layer and the access layer cooperating. For more details, reference may be made to the description of the apparatus 800, which is not repeated here.

For a more detailed description of the transceiver unit 910 and the processing unit 920, reference may be made to the related description in the above method embodiments, which is not described here.

As shown in fig. 10, the apparatus 1000 includes a processor 1010. Processor 1010 is coupled to memory 1030, and memory 1030 is used for storing instructions. When the apparatus 1000 is used to implement the methods described above, the processor 1010 is configured to execute instructions in the memory 1030 to implement the functions of the processing unit 920 described above.

Optionally, the apparatus 1000 further comprises a memory 1030.

Optionally, the apparatus 1000 further comprises an interface circuit 1020. The processor 1010 and the interface circuit 1020 are coupled to each other. It is understood that interface circuit 1020 may be a transceiver or an input-output interface. When the apparatus 1000 is used to implement the method described above, the processor 1010 is configured to execute instructions to implement the functions of the processing unit 920, and the interface circuit 1020 is configured to implement the functions of the transceiver unit 910.

Illustratively, when the apparatus 1000 is a chip applied to the first terminal, the chip implements the functions of the first terminal in the above-described method embodiment. The chip receives information from other modules (such as a radio frequency module or an antenna) in the first terminal, and the information is sent to the first terminal by other devices; alternatively, the chip may send information to other modules (e.g., radio frequency modules or antennas) in the first terminal, which the first terminal sends to other devices.

Illustratively, when the apparatus 1000 is a chip applied to the second terminal, the chip implements the functions of the second terminal in the above-described method embodiment. The chip receives information from other modules (such as a radio frequency module or an antenna) in the second terminal, and the information is sent to the second terminal by other devices; alternatively, the chip sends information to other modules (e.g., radio frequency modules or antennas) in the second terminal, which information is sent by the second terminal to other devices.

The present application also provides a communication device comprising a processor coupled to a memory for storing computer programs or instructions and/or data, the processor for executing the computer programs or instructions stored in the memory or for reading the data stored in the memory for performing the methods in the method embodiments above. Optionally, the processor is one or more. Optionally, the communication device comprises a memory. Optionally, the memory is one or more. Alternatively, the memory may be integrated with the processor or provided separately.

The present application also provides a computer readable storage medium having stored thereon computer instructions for implementing the method performed by the first terminal or the second terminal in the above-described method embodiments.

The present application also provides a computer program product containing instructions that, when executed by a computer, implement the method performed by the first terminal or the second terminal in the above method embodiments.

The present application also provides a communication system including at least one of the first terminal or the second terminal in the above embodiments.

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 is to be appreciated that the processor in embodiments of the present application may be a central processing unit (central processing unit, CPU), but may also be other general purpose processors, digital signal processors (digital signal processor, DSP), application specific integrated circuits (application specific integrated circuit, ASIC), field programmable gate arrays (field programmable gate array, FPGA) or other programmable logic devices, transistor logic devices, 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 in the embodiments of the present application may be implemented by hardware, or may be implemented by a processor executing software instructions. 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, compact disk-read only memory (compact disc read-only memory), 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. In the alternative, 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 first terminal or a second terminal. It is also possible that the processor and the storage medium reside as discrete components in a first terminal or a second 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.

In the various embodiments of the application, if there is no specific description or logical conflict, 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 according to their inherent logical relationships.

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.

Unless defined otherwise, all technical and scientific terms used in the examples of this application have the same meaning as commonly understood by one of ordinary skill in the art to which this application belongs. The terminology used in the present application is for the purpose of describing particular embodiments only and is not intended to limit the scope of the present application. It should be appreciated that the above examples are for illustration only to assist those skilled in the art in understanding the embodiments of the application and are not intended to limit the embodiments of the application to the particular values or particular scenarios illustrated. Various equivalent modifications and changes will be apparent to those skilled in the art from the foregoing examples, and it is intended that such modifications and changes fall within the scope of the embodiments of the present application.

The foregoing is merely specific embodiments of the present application, but the scope of the present application is not limited thereto, and any person skilled in the art can easily think about changes or substitutions within the technical scope of the present application, and the changes and substitutions are intended to be covered by the scope of the present application. Therefore, the protection scope of the present application shall be subject to the protection scope of the claims.

Claims

1. A ranging method, the method comprising:

a first layer of a first terminal sends ranging information to an access layer of the first terminal, wherein the ranging information is used for indicating to measure the distance between the first terminal and a second terminal;

the access layer of the first terminal sends a first signal to the second terminal according to the ranging information, wherein the first signal is used for measuring the distance between the first terminal and the second terminal;

the access layer of the first terminal receives a second signal from the second terminal, wherein the second signal is used for responding to the first signal;

a first layer of the first terminal acquires a first time length, wherein the first time length is a time length between the moment when the first terminal transmits the first signal and the moment when the first terminal receives the second signal;

The first layer of the first terminal obtains a second time length, wherein the second time length is the time length between the moment when the second terminal receives the first signal and the moment when the second terminal sends the second signal;

and the first layer of the first terminal determines the distance between the first terminal and the second terminal according to the first time length and the second time length.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein the ranging information comprises: a ranging indication and an identification of the second terminal, the ranging indication being used to indicate a ranging operation.

3. A method according to claim 1 or 2, characterized in that,

the method further comprises the steps of:

the access layer of the first terminal determines the first duration;

the first layer of the first terminal obtains a first time length, including:

and the first layer of the first terminal acquires the first duration from the access layer of the first terminal.

4. The method of claim 3, wherein the step of,

the method further comprises the steps of:

the access layer of the first terminal stores a first corresponding relation between a first identifier and the moment when the first terminal transmits the first signal, wherein the first identifier corresponds to the second terminal;

The access layer of the first terminal determines the first duration, including:

the access layer of the first terminal determines the moment when the first terminal receives the second signal;

the access layer of the first terminal obtains the moment when the first terminal sends the first signal according to the first identifier and the first corresponding relation included in the second signal;

and the access layer of the first terminal determines the first duration according to the moment when the first terminal transmits the first signal and the moment when the first terminal receives the second signal.

5. The method of claim 4, wherein the step of determining the position of the first electrode is performed,

the first identifier comprises an identifier of the first terminal and/or an identifier of the second terminal, and the identifier of the first terminal is used for identifying communication between the first terminal and the second terminal.

6. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 5, wherein the first layer of the first terminal obtains a second duration, including:

a first layer of the first terminal receives a first message from a first layer of the second terminal, wherein the first message comprises the second duration;

the first layer of the first terminal obtains the second duration from the first message.

7. The method of claim 6, wherein the first message comprises a proximity-based service communication 5-signaling PC5-S message.

8. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 5, wherein the first layer of the first terminal obtains a second duration, including:

the first layer of the first terminal receives data from the first layer of the second terminal, wherein the data comprises the second duration;

the first layer of the first terminal acquires the second duration from the data.

9. The method according to any one of claim 1 to 5, wherein,

the method further comprises the steps of:

the access layer of the first terminal receives a second message from the access layer of the second terminal, wherein the second message comprises the second duration;

the access layer of the first terminal obtains the second duration from the second message;

the first layer of the first terminal obtains a second duration, including:

the access layer of the first terminal obtains the second duration from the access layer of the first terminal.

10. The method of claim 9, wherein the second message comprises a proximity-based service communication 5-radio resource control, PC5-RRC, message.

11. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 10, further comprising:

a first layer of the first terminal determines whether a distance between the first terminal and the second terminal meets a threshold condition;

and when the distance between the first terminal and the second terminal meets the threshold condition, the first layer of the first terminal sends the distance between the first terminal and the second terminal to the application layer of the first terminal.

12. The method according to any of claims 1 to 11, wherein the first layer is between an application layer and the access layer.

13. The method of claim 12, wherein the first layer is a ranging layer, a proximity-based service ProSe layer, or a car-to-vanity V2X layer.

14. A ranging method, the method comprising:

the access layer of the first terminal determines a first time length, wherein the first time length is a time length between the moment when the first terminal transmits the first signal and the moment when the first terminal receives the second signal;

the access layer of the first terminal obtains a second time length, wherein the second time length is the time length between the moment when the second terminal receives the first signal and the moment when the second terminal sends the second signal;

the access layer of the first terminal determines the distance between the first terminal and the second terminal according to the first time length and the second time length;

the access layer of the first terminal sends the distance between the first terminal and the second terminal to the first layer of the first terminal.

15. The method of claim 14, wherein the ranging information comprises: a ranging indication and an identification of the second terminal, the ranging indication being used to indicate a ranging operation.

16. The method according to claim 14 or 15, wherein,

The method further comprises the steps of:

the access layer of the first terminal determining a first time length includes:

17. The method of claim 16, wherein the step of determining the position of the probe comprises,

18. The method according to any of claims 1 to 17, wherein the access layer of the first terminal obtains a second duration, comprising:

The access layer of the first terminal receives a second message from the second terminal, wherein the second message comprises the second duration;

the access layer of the first terminal obtains a second duration, including:

and the access layer of the first terminal acquires the second duration from the second message.

19. The method of claim 18, wherein the second message comprises a proximity-based service communication 5-radio resource control, PC5-RRC, message.

20. The method according to any one of claims 14 to 19, wherein,

the method further comprises the steps of:

the access layer of the first terminal determines whether the distance between the first terminal and the second terminal meets a threshold condition;

the access layer of the first terminal sending the distance between the first terminal and the second terminal to the first layer of the first terminal, including:

and when the distance between the first terminal and the second terminal meets the threshold condition, the access layer of the first terminal sends the distance between the first terminal and the second terminal to the first layer of the first terminal.

21. The method according to any of claims 14 to 20, wherein the first layer is between an application layer and the access layer.

22. The method of claim 21, wherein the first layer is a ranging layer, a proximity-based service ProSe layer, or a car-to-vanity V2X layer.

23. A ranging method, the method comprising:

an access layer of a second terminal receives a first signal from a first terminal, wherein the first signal is used for measuring the distance between the first terminal and the second terminal;

the access layer of the second terminal sends a second signal to the first terminal, wherein the second signal is used for responding to the first signal;

the access layer of the second terminal determines a second duration, wherein the second duration is a difference value between the moment when the second terminal receives the first signal and the moment when the second terminal sends the second signal;

and the second terminal sends the second duration to the first terminal.

24. The method of claim 23, wherein the second terminal transmitting the second duration to the first terminal comprises:

the first layer of the second terminal sends a first message to the first layer of the first terminal, wherein the first message comprises the second duration.

25. The method of claim 24, wherein the first message comprises a proximity-based service communication 5-signaling PC5-S message.

26. The method of claim 23, wherein the second terminal transmitting the second duration to the first terminal comprises:

and the first layer of the second terminal sends data to the first layer of the first terminal, wherein the data comprises the second duration.

27. The method of claim 23, wherein the second terminal transmitting the second duration to the first terminal comprises:

the access layer of the second terminal sends a second message to the access layer of the first terminal, wherein the second message comprises the second duration.

28. The method of claim 27, wherein the second message comprises a proximity-based service communication 5-radio resource control, PC5-RRC, message.

29. The method according to any one of claims 23 to 28, wherein,

the method further comprises the steps of:

the access layer of the second terminal stores a second corresponding relation between a second identifier and the moment when the second terminal receives the first signal, wherein the second identifier corresponds to the first terminal;

the access layer of the second terminal determines a second duration, including:

the access layer of the second terminal determines the moment when the second terminal transmits the second signal;

The access layer of the second terminal obtains the moment when the second terminal receives the first signal according to the second identifier and the second corresponding relation included in the second signal;

and the access layer of the second terminal determines the second duration according to the time when the second terminal receives the first signal and the time when the second terminal transmits the second signal.

30. The method of claim 29, wherein the step of providing the first information comprises,

the second identifier comprises an identifier of the first terminal and/or an identifier of the second terminal, and the identifier of the second terminal is used for identifying communication between the second terminal and the first terminal.

31. The method of any one of claims 24 to 26, wherein the first layer is between an application layer and the access layer.

32. The method of claim 31, wherein the first layer is a ranging layer, a proximity-based service ProSe layer, or a car-to-vanity V2X layer.

33. A communication device, comprising:

a processor for executing a computer program stored in a memory to cause the apparatus to perform the method of any one of claims 1 to 13, or to perform the method of any one of claims 14 to 22, or to perform the method of any one of claims 23 to 32.

34. The apparatus of claim 33, further comprising the memory.

35. A computer readable storage medium, having stored thereon a computer program which, when run on a computer, causes the computer to perform the method of any one of claims 1 to 13, or to perform the method of any one of claims 14 to 22, or to perform the method of any one of claims 23 to 32.

36. A computer program product, characterized in that it comprises instructions for performing the method of any one of claims 1 to 13, or instructions for performing the method of any one of claims 14 to 22, or instructions for performing the method of any one of claims 23 to 32.

37. A communication system, comprising: a first terminal and a second terminal;

the first terminal for performing the method of any of claims 1 to 22;

the second terminal being configured to perform the method of any of claims 23 to 32.