Communication method and apparatus, electronic device, and related product

Abstract

The application provides a communication method and device, an electronic device and related products. The communication method comprises: sending a first polling frame, wherein the first polling frame indicates to initiate double-sided two-way ranging (DS-TWR) and indicates a number of multi-millisecond (MMS) packets for DS-TWR; and receiving a first response frame based on the first polling frame from a first responder.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] This invention generally relates to the field of ultra-wideband (UWB) technology, and more specifically, to communication methods and apparatus, electronic devices and related products. Background Technology

[0002] UWB technology is increasingly being used for indoor positioning and other location services, such as access control and asset location. In addition to dedicated equipment and tags, UWB wireless devices are also becoming increasingly common in electronic devices such as smartphones.

[0003] In addition to traditional application scenarios, other application scenarios such as device-free sensing, downlink time difference of arrival (DL-TDoA), and long-distance ranging are also being actively researched in UWB technology. Summary of the Invention

[0004] The present invention provides communication methods and apparatuses, electronic devices, and related products according to the independent claims.

[0005] The foregoing and other objectives are achieved through the subject matter of the independent claims. Other embodiments will be apparent from the dependent claims, the description, and the drawings.

[0006] Specific embodiments are set forth in the appended independent claims, and other embodiments are set forth in the dependent claims.

[0007] According to a first aspect, a communication method is provided. The method can be performed by an initiator (or a chip, module, or circuit in the initiator). The method may include: sending a first polling frame, wherein the first polling frame indicates the initiation of double-sided two-way ranging (DS-TWR) and indicates the number of multi-millisecond (MMS) packets used for the DS-TWR; and receiving a first response frame sent according to the first polling frame from a first responder.

[0008] In the method provided by this invention, the initiator can initiate DS-TWR by sending a first polling frame. The first polling frame may carry information related to DS-TWR, which may include information related to the MMS packet. The responding party that receives the first polling frame can use the MMS packet to initiate DS-TWR with the initiator.

[0009] Furthermore, within a fixed interval after sending the first polling frame, the initiator may send a corresponding MMS packet. Within a fixed interval after sending the first response frame, the responder may send a corresponding MMS packet. In this invention, for ease of description, the MMS packet sent by the initiator within a fixed interval after sending the first polling frame is referred to as the first MMS packet; the MMS packet sent by the initiator within a fixed interval after sending the second polling frame (which may be described below) is referred to as the third MMS packet; and the MMS packet sent by the responder within a fixed interval after sending the first response frame may be referred to as the second MMS packet.

[0010] It should be noted that the method provided by this invention may be applicable to a one-to-one (O2O) scenario in which one initiator and one responder participate in DS-TWR, or a one-to-many (O2M) scenario in which one initiator and two or more responders participate in DS-TWR.

[0011] In the method provided by this invention, the initiator sends a first polling frame, wherein the first polling frame indicates the initiation of DS-TWR and indicates the number of MMS packets used for DS-TWR; and receives a first response frame based on the first polling frame from a first responder. Therefore, the method provided by this invention can realize signaling interaction between the initiator and one or more responders to implement DS-TWR using MMS packets.

[0012] In one possible implementation, the first polling frame further indicates that a DS-TWR be initiated with N responders, the first responder being the first-ranked responder among the N responders, where N is a positive integer greater than or equal to 1.

[0013] The number of responders may be related to whether it is an O2O or O2M scenario. The first polling frame may include a first message control field. The value of the first message control field may indicate whether it is an O2O or O2M scenario, and the value of the first message control field may be different for O2O and O2M scenarios.

[0014] When the value of the first message control field indicates an O2O scenario, the first polling frame may indicate that one responder is initiated. When the value of the first message control field indicates an O2M scenario, the first polling frame may also include a first message content field indicating the number of responders. Alternatively, when the value of the first message control field indicates an O2M scenario, the number of responders can be determined during the initialization and setup phases. For example, a responder may send an ADV-RESP frame to participate in the ranging session. The initiator can determine the number of responders based on one or more received ADV-RESP frames and indicate the number of responders via an SOR frame, causing the first polling frame to initiate the corresponding DS-TWR.

[0015] In the method provided by this invention, N responders can be easily initiated through the first polling frame, which is easy to implement.

[0016] In one possible implementation, the first polling frame includes a first message content field, which includes a first subfield indicating the number of MMS packets.

[0017] In the method provided by this invention, the first subfield in the first message content field can indicate the number of MMS packets, which can vary with the value of the first message control field, thus making it flexible, simple, and easy to implement.

[0018] In one possible implementation, the number of sub-rounds in the ranging rounds used for DS-TWR varies with at least one of the following: the number of MMS packets or the number of responders initiated via the first polling frame.

[0019] In the method provided by this invention, the number of sub-rounds in the ranging rounds used for DS-TWR varies with at least one of the following: the number of MMS packets or the number of responders initiated via the first polling frame; that is, the number of sub-rounds in the ranging rounds used for DS-TWR can be implicitly indicated. Therefore, other fields can be omitted to indicate the number of sub-rounds, thus saving resources.

[0020] In one possible implementation, the first message content field further includes a second subfield indicating the number of sub-rounds included in the ranging rounds used for DS-TWR.

[0021] In the method provided by this invention, the number of sub-rounds in the ranging rounds used for DS-TWR is indicated by a second sub-field in the first message content field. That is, the number of sub-rounds in the ranging rounds used for DS-TWR can be explicitly indicated, which can improve reliability.

[0022] In one possible implementation, the first polling frame also indicates the number of time slots per sub-round for the ranging round used in DS-TWR.

[0023] In the method provided by this invention, the number of time slots per sub-round for the ranging rounds used in the DS-TWR is indicated, which can improve reliability.

[0024] In one possible implementation, the first polling frame also indicates whether the MMS packet is sent interleaved or non-interleaved.

[0025] In the method provided by this invention, it is possible to explicitly indicate whether the MMS packet is sent interleaved or non-interleaved, which can improve reliability.

[0026] In one possible implementation, the MMS packets are sent non-interleaved, the number of MMS packets is 3, and the number of sub-rounds in the ranging rounds for DS-TWR is (N+2). The method further includes: sending a first MMS packet in a first sub-round; receiving a second MMS packet from the Nth responder in the (N+1)th sub-round; and sending a third MMS packet in the (N+2)th sub-round, where N is the number of responders initiated through the first polling frame and is a positive integer greater than or equal to 1.

[0027] In the method provided by this invention, the MMS packets can be sent non-interleaved, which has the following advantages: simplified implementation, low latency, reduced resource consumption, and ease of debugging and maintenance.

[0028] In one possible implementation, the MMS packets are sent interleaved, the number of MMS packets is 3, and the number of sub-rounds in the ranging round for DS-TWR is (N+1). The method further includes: sending a first MMS packet to the Nth responder in the Nth sub-round; receiving a second MMS packet from the Nth responder in the Nth sub-round; and sending a third MMS packet in the (N+1)th sub-round.

[0029] In the method provided by this invention, MMS packets can be sent interleaved, which can have the following advantages: improved fault tolerance, enhanced performance in noisy channels, efficient use of error correction codes, flexible design, and enhanced security.

[0030] In one possible implementation, before sending the third MMS packet, the method further includes sending a second polling frame.

[0031] In the method provided by this invention, a second polling frame is sent to begin sending the third MMS packet, which improves reliability.

[0032] In one possible implementation, the second polling frame indicates whether a second response frame based on the second polling frame is needed.

[0033] In the method provided by this invention, the second polling frame indicates whether a second response frame based on the second polling frame is needed, which may be time-sensitive.

[0034] In one possible implementation, the first polling frame also indicates whether a second response frame based on the second polling frame is needed.

[0035] In the method provided by the present invention, the first polling frame indicates whether a second response frame based on the second polling frame is needed, which can save resources.

[0036] In one possible implementation, the MMS packets are sent interleaved, the number of MMS packets is 2, and the number of sub-rounds in the ranging round for DS-TWR is N. The method further includes: sending a first MMS packet to the Nth responder in the Nth sub-round; and receiving a second MMS packet from the Nth responder in the Nth sub-round.

[0037] In the method provided by this invention, the MMS packets can be interleaved, which has the following advantages: improved fault tolerance, enhanced performance in noisy channels, efficient use of error correction codes, flexible design, and enhanced security; in addition, two MMS packets can be used to implement DS-TWR, which can save resources.

[0038] In one possible implementation, the method further includes: receiving an advertising-response (ADV-RESP) frame; and sending a start of ranging (SOR) frame.

[0039] In the method provided by this invention, the initiator and the responder can exchange configurations regarding DS-TWR via ADV-RESP frames and / or SOR frames.

[0040] In one possible implementation, any one of the ADV-RESP frame, the SOR frame, or the first polling frame includes a first field indicating the TWR mode of the DS-TWR, the TWR mode including DS-TWR using 3 MMS packets or DS-TWR using 2 packets.

[0041] In the method provided by this invention, the TWR mode of DS-TWR can be configured during the initialization and setup phases, or indicated during the control phase, so as to facilitate the subsequent execution of DS-TWR.

[0042] In one possible implementation, the SOR frame or the first polling frame includes a second field indicating whether timing measurement results from DS-TWR are required in the report frame.

[0043] In the method provided by this invention, whether the timing measurement results of DS-TWR are required in the REPORT frame can be configured in the initialization and setup phase, or indicated in the control phase, so as to facilitate the subsequent reporting of timing measurement results.

[0044] In one possible implementation, the TWR mode is a DS-TWR using three MMS packets, and the second field includes at least one of the following: a third subfield indicating whether a Type 1 timing measurement result is required in the REPORT frame, wherein the Type 1 timing measurement result is obtained through the first ranging integrity fragment (RIF) of the first MMS packet, the second MMS packet, and the third MMS packet; a fourth subfield indicating whether a Type 2 timing measurement result is required in the REPORT frame, wherein the Type 2 timing measurement result is obtained through the last RIF of the first MMS packet, the second MMS packet, and the third MMS packet; a fifth subfield indicating whether a Type 3 timing measurement result is required in the REPORT frame, wherein the Type 3 timing measurement result is obtained through the first RIF of the first MMS packet, the second MMS packet, and the last RIF of the third MMS packet; or a sixth subfield indicating whether a ranging sequence fragment (RSF) timing measurement result is required in the REPORT frame, wherein the RSF timing measurement result is obtained through the RSF of the first MMS packet, the second MMS packet, and the third MMS packet.

[0045] In the method provided by this invention, the third to sixth subfields can indicate specific measurement results, which is both convenient and flexible.

[0046] In one possible implementation, the TWR mode is a DS-TWR using two MMS packets, and the second field includes at least one of the following: a third subfield indicating whether the REPORT frame requires a Type 1 timing measurement result, wherein the Type 1 timing measurement result is obtained from the first two RIFs of the first MMS packet and the first RIF of the second MMS packet; a fourth subfield indicating whether the REPORT frame requires a Type 2 timing measurement result, wherein the Type 2 timing measurement result is obtained from the last two RIFs of the first MMS packet and the last RIF of the second MMS packet; a fifth subfield indicating whether the REPORT frame requires a Type 3 timing measurement result, wherein the Type 3 timing measurement result is obtained from the first two RIFs of the first MMS packet and the last RIF of the second MMS packet; or a sixth subfield indicating whether the REPORT frame requires an RSF timing measurement result, wherein the RSF timing measurement result is obtained from the RSFs of the first MMS packet and the second MMS packet.

[0047] In the method provided by this invention, the third to sixth subfields can indicate specific measurement results, which is both convenient and flexible.

[0048] In one possible implementation, the method further includes at least one of the following steps: sending a first REPORT frame; or receiving a second REPORT frame, wherein the content of the first REPORT frame or the second REPORT frame is determined based on the second field.

[0049] In the method provided by the present invention, the final TOF can be obtained by exchanging at least one of the first or second REPORT frames.

[0050] In one possible implementation, the round-trip time from TX to RX in the type 1 timing measurement result and the round-trip time from TX to RX in the type 3 timing measurement result are in the same field in the first REPORT frame, or the response time from RX to TX in the type 1 timing measurement result and the response time from RX to TX in the type 3 timing measurement result are in the same field in the second REPORT frame.

[0051] In the method provided by this invention, since the round-trip time from TX to RX in the timing measurement result of type 1 has the same value as the round-trip time from TX to RX in the timing measurement result of type 3, the round-trip time from TX to RX in the timing measurement result of type 1 and the round-trip time from TX to RX in the timing measurement result of type 3 are in the same field in the first REPORT frame, thereby saving resources; or, since the response time from RX to TX in the timing measurement result of type 1 and the response time from RX to TX in the timing measurement result of type 3 have the same value, the response time from RX to TX in the timing measurement result of type 1 and the response time from RX to TX in the timing measurement result of type 3 are in the same field in the second REPORT frame, thereby saving resources.

[0052] According to a second aspect, a communication method is provided. The method can be performed by a responder (or a chip, module, or circuit in the responder). The method may include: receiving a first polling frame from an initiator, wherein the first polling frame indicates the initiation of DS-TWR and indicates the number of MMS packets for DS-TWR; and sending a first response frame to the initiator based on the first polling frame.

[0053] In one possible implementation, the MMS packets are sent non-interleaved, the number of MMS packets is 3, and the number of sub-rounds in the ranging rounds for DS-TWR is (N+2). The method further includes: receiving a first MMS packet from the initiator in the first sub-round; sending a second MMS packet to the initiator in the (N+1)th sub-round; and receiving a third MMS packet from the initiator in the (N+2)th sub-round.

[0054] In one possible implementation, the MMS packets are sent interleaved, the number of MMS packets is 3, and the number of sub-rounds in the ranging round for DS-TWR is (N+1). The method further includes: receiving a first MMS packet from the initiator in the Nth sub-round; sending a second MMS packet to the initiator in the Nth sub-round; and receiving a third MMS packet from the initiator in the (N+1)th sub-round.

[0055] In one possible implementation, the method further includes receiving a second polling frame from the initiator before receiving the third MMS packet.

[0056] In one possible implementation, the MMS packets are sent interleaved, the number of MMS packets is 2, and the number of sub-rounds in the ranging rounds for DS-TWR is N. The method further includes: receiving a first MMS packet from the initiator in the Nth sub-round; and sending a second MMS packet to the initiator in the Nth sub-round.

[0057] In one possible implementation, the method further includes: sending an ADV-RESP frame to the initiator; and receiving an SOR frame from the initiator.

[0058] In one possible implementation, the method further includes at least one of the following steps: receiving a first REPORT frame from the initiator; and sending a second REPORT frame to the initiator.

[0059] According to a third aspect, a communication method is provided. The method can be performed by an initiator (or a chip, module, or circuit within the initiator). The method may include: determining a third polling frame, wherein the third polling frame indicates the initiation of one-way ranging (OWR) and indicates the OWR type and information associated with the OWR type; and sending the third polling frame.

[0060] The initiator can initiate OWR by sending a third polling frame. This third polling frame can carry OWR-related information. The responder who receives the third polling frame can initiate OWR by receiving one or more MMS packets from the initiator, thereby executing OWR.

[0061] In the method provided by this invention, the initiator determines a third polling frame, wherein the third polling frame indicates the initiation of an OWR and indicates the OWR type and information related to the OWR type; the third polling frame is then sent. Therefore, an OWR using one or more MMS packets can be easily initiated and started, which can be highly efficient. Thus, the communication method provided by this embodiment of the invention can realize signaling interaction between the initiator and the responder to implement an OWR using one or more MMS packets.

[0062] In one possible implementation, the method further includes sending an MMS packet containing more than one MMS fragment.

[0063] In one possible implementation, the third polling frame includes a second message control field, the value of which indicates the initiation of an OWR.

[0064] In one possible implementation, the third polling frame further includes a second message content field, which includes a seventh subfield and an eighth subfield, wherein the value of the seventh subfield indicates the OWR type and the eighth subfield indicates information related to the OWR type.

[0065] In one possible implementation, the OWR type includes a first OWR type based on DL-TDoA, a second OWR type based on AoA, or a third OWR type based on UL-TDoA.

[0066] According to a fourth aspect, a communication method is provided. The method can be performed by a responder (or a chip, module, or circuit in the responder). The method may include: receiving a third polling frame, wherein the third polling frame indicates the initiation of an OWR and indicates an OWR type and information related to the OWR type; and determining to perform an OWR based on the third polling frame.

[0067] In one possible implementation, the method further includes: receiving an MMS packet comprising more than one MMS fragment.

[0068] According to a fifth aspect, a communication apparatus is provided. The apparatus includes various units for performing the method according to the first aspect or any possible implementation thereof, or the method according to the second aspect or any possible implementation thereof, or the method according to the third aspect or any possible implementation thereof, or the method according to the fourth aspect or any possible implementation thereof.

[0069] According to a sixth aspect, an electronic device is provided. The electronic device includes processing circuitry for performing the method according to the first aspect or any possible implementation thereof, or the method according to the second aspect or any possible implementation thereof, or the method according to the third aspect or any possible implementation thereof, or the method according to the fourth aspect or any possible implementation thereof.

[0070] According to a seventh aspect, a chip is provided. The chip includes an input / output (I / O) interface and a processor, wherein the processor is configured to call and run a computer program stored in a memory, causing a device equipped with the chip to perform the method according to the first aspect or any possible implementation thereof, or the method according to the second aspect or any possible implementation thereof, or the method according to the third aspect or any possible implementation thereof, or the method according to the fourth aspect or any possible implementation thereof.

[0071] According to an eighth aspect, an electronic device is provided. The electronic device includes: one or more processors; a non-transitory computer-readable storage medium coupled to the one or more processors and storing a program executable by the processors, wherein, when the program is executed by the processors, a decoder is configured to perform the method according to the first aspect or any possible implementation thereof, or the method according to the second aspect or any possible implementation thereof, or the method according to the third aspect or any possible implementation thereof, or the method according to the fourth aspect or any possible implementation thereof.

[0072] In some embodiments, the electronic device may further include an interface circuit, through which the processor communicates with other devices or components.

[0073] The electronic device may be an initiator or responder, a module or circuit in the initiator or responder, or a chip in the initiator or responder responsible for communication functions, such as a modem chip (also known as a baseband chip) or a SoC chip or SIP chip that includes a modem module.

[0074] According to a ninth aspect, a communication system is provided. The system includes: the initiator and the responder; or the apparatus / device for performing the method according to the first aspect or any possible implementation thereof, or the method according to the third aspect or any possible implementation thereof, and the apparatus / device for performing the method according to the second aspect or any possible implementation thereof, or the method according to the fourth aspect or any possible implementation thereof.

[0075] According to a tenth aspect, a non-transitory computer-readable medium is provided. The non-transitory computer-readable medium may carry program code, wherein, when executed by a computer device, the program code causes the computer device to perform the method according to the first aspect or any possible implementation thereof, or the method according to the second aspect or any possible implementation thereof, or the method according to the third aspect or any possible implementation thereof, or the method according to the fourth aspect or any possible implementation thereof.

[0076] According to the eleventh aspect, a computer program product is provided. The computer program product includes program code for performing the method according to the first aspect or any possible implementation thereof, or the method according to the second aspect or any possible implementation thereof, or the method according to the third aspect or any possible implementation thereof, or the method according to the fourth aspect or any possible implementation thereof.

[0077] This invention includes various embodiments, not only method embodiments but also other embodiments, such as apparatus / device embodiments and embodiments related to non-transitory computer-readable storage media. Embodiments may be combined individually or in combination with the features disclosed herein. Attached Figure Description

[0078] To better understand the present invention and its other aspects and features, reference is made to the following description used in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, in which: Figure 1 A schematic diagram of a block-based pattern is shown; Figure 2 A schematic diagram of UWB MMS ranging is shown; Figure 3 A schematic diagram of NBA UWB MMS ranging and UWB-driven UWB MMS ranging is shown. Figure 4A schematic diagram of single-sided two-way ranging (SS-TWR) operation is shown. Figure 5 A schematic diagram of double-sided two-way ranging (DS-TWR) operation is shown; Figure 6 A schematic diagram of an exemplary communication system provided by some embodiments of the present invention is shown; Figure 7 A schematic flowchart of a communication method provided in some embodiments of the present invention is shown; Figure 8 A schematic diagram of an exemplary polling compact frame provided in some embodiments of the present invention is shown; Figure 9 A schematic diagram of exemplary message content fields provided in some embodiments of the present invention is shown; Figure 10 A schematic diagram of another exemplary message content field provided by some embodiments of the present invention is shown; Figure 11 A schematic diagram of an exemplary response compact frame provided in some embodiments of the present invention is shown; Figure 12 A schematic diagram of a communication method provided by some embodiments of the present invention is shown; Figure 13 Another schematic diagram of a communication method provided by some embodiments of the present invention is shown; Figure 14 A schematic diagram of another exemplary polling compact frame provided by some embodiments of the present invention is shown; Figure 15 Another schematic diagram of a communication method provided by some embodiments of the present invention is shown; Figure 16 A schematic diagram of the MAC configuration field management provided in some embodiments of the present invention is shown; Figure 17 A schematic diagram of timing measurement using three MMS packets provided in some embodiments of the present invention is shown; Figure 18 A schematic diagram of timing measurement using two MMS packets provided in some embodiments of the present invention is shown; Figure 19 A schematic diagram of an initiator report compact frame provided in some embodiments of the present invention is shown; Figure 20 A schematic diagram of a compact frame for responder reporting provided in some embodiments of the present invention is shown; Figure 21 A schematic flowchart of another communication method provided by some embodiments of the present invention is shown; Figure 22 A schematic diagram of yet another exemplary message content field provided by some embodiments of the present invention is shown; Figure 23 A schematic diagram of another communication method provided by some embodiments of the present invention is shown; Figure 24 Block diagrams of communication devices provided in some embodiments of the present invention are shown; Figure 25 This is a block diagram of an electronic device provided in some embodiments of the present invention. Detailed Implementation

[0079] In the following description, reference is made to the accompanying drawings, which form part of this invention, which illustrate by way of description specific aspects of embodiments of the invention or aspects in which embodiments of the invention may be used. It should be understood that embodiments of the invention can be used in other aspects and include structural or logical variations not depicted in the drawings. Therefore, the following detailed description should not be construed as limiting, and the scope of the invention is defined by the appended claims.

[0080] For example, it is understood that the disclosure relating to the described method may also apply to the corresponding device or system for performing the method, and vice versa. For example, if one or more specific method steps are described, the corresponding device may include one or more units (e.g., functional units) to perform the described one or more method steps (e.g., one unit performs one or more steps, or multiple units perform one or more of multiple steps respectively), even if such one or more units are not explicitly described or illustrated in the drawings. On the other hand, for example, if a specific apparatus is described based on one or more units (e.g., functional units), the corresponding method may include a step to perform the function of one or more units (e.g., one step performs the function of one or more units, or multiple steps perform the function of one or more of multiple units respectively), even if such one or more steps are not explicitly described or illustrated in the drawings. Furthermore, it is understood that, unless otherwise expressly stated, features of the various exemplary embodiments and / or aspects described herein may be combined with each other.

[0081] The above description is a broad description or possible application of the embodiments of the present invention. The embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail below in conjunction with the ultra-wideband (UWB) technology used in the above possible applications. Other related technologies such as Wi-Fi™ used in the above possible applications can be referred to, which will be readily understood by those skilled in the art.

[0082] UWB technology is increasingly being used for ranging, such as indoor positioning and other location services like access control and asset location. In addition to dedicated equipment and tags, UWB wireless devices are becoming increasingly common in electronic devices such as smartphones. The UWB physical layer (PHY) and media access control (MAC) are standardized by IEEE, with the latest related publications being IEEE 802.15.4-2020 and IEEE 802.15.4z. Furthermore, task force 802.15.4ab is actively improving UWB technology.

[0083] Two distinct ranging modes can be defined for ranging in UWB technology: an interval-based mode and a block-based mode. The key difference between the block-based and interval-based modes lies in the fact that the average time between consecutive ranging rounds is considered constant in the block-based mode (i.e., employing a uniformly spaced time structure), while the interval-based mode uses an adaptive interval time structure, and the time between consecutive ranging rounds may vary dynamically. Ranging technology can be applied to various scenarios, such as tags, smartphones, laptops, remote keys, vehicles, door locks, garages, hotel rooms, and elevators.

[0084] 802.15.4z may define the time structure used by block-based patterns, such as Figure 1 As shown. Reference Figure 1 Each ranging block can comprise an integer number of ranging rounds, where a ranging round refers to a period of time sufficient to complete a full distance measurement involving a group of enhanced ranging capable devices (ERDEVs) participating in the ranging exchange. Each ranging round can be further subdivided into an integer number of ranging time slots, where a ranging time slot refers to a period of time sufficient to transmit at least one ranging frame (RFRAME). Sometimes, one or more ranging packets following an RFRAME may also be transmitted in that ranging time slot. The block-based mode uses a structured timeline, and by default, the ranging block structure is periodic. It is understood that the same or similar concepts may also apply to the interval-based mode.

[0085] Beyond traditional ranging applications, other applications such as device-aware ranging, downlink time difference of arrival (DL-TDoA), and long-range ranging are also being actively researched in UWB technology. To address long-range ranging applications, 802.15.4ab introduced multi-millisecond (MMS) ranging into UWB technology, which can also be called UWB MMS ranging. The core idea behind UWB MMS ranging is to divide the UWB ranging frame into multiple segments and transmit them over multiple milliseconds (ms), thereby overcoming the 37 nanojoules (nj / ms) transmit energy limit. If the initialization, setup, and control phases are implemented in UWB, this technology can be called UWB-driven UWB MMS ranging. If high-performance narrowband (NB) radio equipment can enhance UWB MMS ranging to provide time synchronization for UWB radio equipment and also for control signaling, this technique can be called narrowband-assisted UWB multi-millisecond (NBA UWB MMS) ranging. In UWB MMS ranging, the number of segments required for ranging depends on the distance to be measured and the channel conditions, and therefore this number can be dynamically adjusted even within the same ranging session.

[0086] Figure 2 This illustrates UWB MMS ranging for two-way ranging (TWR) as described in IEEE 802.15.4ab. A UWB MMS ranging session may include an initialization and setup phase, followed by one or more ranging rounds (or measurement rounds / cycles). During the initialization and setup phase, frames are transmitted in the initialization channel, while during the measurement rounds, frames are transmitted in the ranging channel. Although the same channel can be used as both the initialization and ranging channels, it is more likely that one or more well-known channels will be used as the initialization channel.

[0087] During the initialization and setup phases, the initiator and responder can negotiate a ranging configuration different from the default configuration defined in 802.15.4ab. The initiator can periodically send advertising poll (ADV-POLL) frames at its own discretion, while one or more responders can listen for incoming ADV-POLL frames. If a responder intends to participate in the ranging session with the initiator, it will respond with an advertising response (ADV-RESP) frame. Once the initiator receives an ADV-RESP frame, it sends a start of ranging (SOR) frame, which provides the time offset for the first ranging round to begin.

[0088] A ranging round may include a control phase, a ranging phase, and an optional reporting phase. The control phase may begin at the start of a ranging round. The initiator can begin the control phase by sending a Polling (POLL) frame to the responder at the beginning of the first ranging time slot of the ranging round. The responder, having successfully received the POLL frame, can send a Response (RESP) frame back to the initiator. The POLL and RESP frames enable time and frequency synchronization between the initiator and responder. The initiator may also include other control information in the POLL frame for the responder's use. During the ranging phase, the initiator and responder may exchange zero or more than zero MMS packets. An MMS packet may include multiple fragments, such as zero or more than zero ranging sequence fragments (RSFs) and / or one or more ranging integrity fragments (RIFs). RSFs can be used to perform ranging measurements, while RIFs can be used to check the integrity of the ranging measurements. Sometimes, RIFs can also be used to perform ranging measurements. MMS packets can be pure RSF MMS packets, pure RIF MMS packets, or hybrid MMS packets. In a hybrid MMS packet, one or more RIFs can follow one or more RSFs. A pure RIF MMS packet can include only one or more RIFs, and a pure RSF MMS packet can include only one or more RSFs. The reporting phase can begin after the initiator and / or responder has completed all UWB segments in the receiving ranging phase. During the reporting phase, the initiator and / or responder can generate a ranging measurement report and send a report frame carrying the ranging measurement report to the peer device. The reporting timestamp is measured with reference to the ranging marker (RMARKER). For all traditional physical layers (PHY), the RMRARKER is defined as the start time on the local antenna of the first symbol after the start-of-frame delimiter (SFD) of the RFRAME. For MMS packets, the RMRARKERs for RSFs and RIFs are referred to as the RSF-RMARKER and RIF-RMARKER, respectively. For pure RSF MMS packets or hybrid MMS packets, the RSF-RMARKER is defined as the peak value of the first pulse in the first RSF. For pure RIF MMS packets or hybrid MMS packets, each RIF may include two RIF-MARKERs, defined as the peak value of the first pulse and the peak value of the last pulse in each RIF, respectively. When the RIF is used for SS-TWR or DS-TWR timing measurements, the first RIF-RMARKER and / or the last RIF-RMARKER of the RIF can be used as the RARKER for timing measurements.

[0089] It should be noted that, Figure 2 The diagram shows one initiator and one responder; however, the diagram should be referenced for one initiator and two or more responders. With one initiator and two or more responders, each responder can send its corresponding ADV-RESP frame, resulting in two or more ADV-RESP frames being transmitted. Each responder can use one ranging round, or they can share one ranging round, depending on the specific application.

[0090] As mentioned above, UWB MMS ranging has two types, see reference. Figure 3 It may be clearer. The two types could be: (1) NBA UWB MMS ranging, in which UWB is used to transmit ranging segments, while narrowband (e.g., using offset quadra phase shift keying (O-QPSK) PHY as specified in IEEE 802.15.4-2020) is used to transmit control frames; and (2) UWB-driven UWB MMS ranging, in which UWB is used to transmit both control frames and ranging segments. In UWB-driven UWB MMS ranging, a UWB packet that includes only the SYNC field and the start frame delimiter (SFD) field indicates the start of sending an MMS packet. Figure 3 The default timing configuration is shown, where any two RSFs or RIFs are spaced 1 ms apart, while the last RSF and the first RIF are spaced 2 ms apart. One MMS packet includes RSF-1, RSF-2…RSF-X and RIF-1, RIF-2…RIF-Y, where X and Y are positive integers, and X is equal to or different from Y. It should be noted that even if a ranging round includes two UWB packets, the number of segments in these two UWB packets may differ or be the same. For example, one UWB packet may include 4 segments, and the other may include 4 or 6 segments, depending on the specific application.

[0091] IEEE 802.15.4z describes several ranging and positioning methods, such as SS-TWR and DS-TWR.

[0092] SS-TWR can include measuring the round-trip latency of a single message from one device to another, as well as the response sent back to the original device, such as... Figure 4 As shown. Each device precisely measures the sending and receiving times of messages, and the resulting time of flight (TOF) can be estimated using the following Equation 1: :

[0093] in, It is the round-trip time. This is the response time.

[0094] DS-TWR is an extension of SS-TWR. It uses and combines two round-trip time measurements to provide a reduced-error TOF, even in the presence of uncorrected clock frequency offsets and with considerable response delays.

[0095] Figure 5 The diagram illustrates DS-TWR operation, where device A initiates the first round-trip time measurement, device B responds, and then device B initiates a second round-trip time measurement, which device A responds to, thus completing a full DS-TWR exchange. Tprop is the propagation time of the RMARKER between the devices. Each device precisely measures the message sending and receiving times, and the resulting TOF can be estimated using the following Equation 2. :

[0096] Where Tround is the round-trip time and Treply is the response time.

[0097] It should be noted that, Figure 4 and Figure 5 Device A in the text can be either the initiator or the responder. Figure 4 and Figure 5 Device B in the context can be either a responder or an initiator.

[0098] The UWB MMS ranging described in IEEE 802.15.4ab is for SS-TWR and assumes that at least one initiator and one or more responders participate in the ranging session by transmitting time-interleaved MMS packets. The responder calculates the response time based on the reception time of the RMARRER in the initiator's first RSF and the transmission time of the RMARRER in its own first RSF. Figure 4 In The initiator sends a response time to the initiator in its report frame. Similarly, the initiator calculates the round-trip time based on the sending time of the RMARKER in the responder's first RSF and the receiving time of the RMARKER in its first RSF. Figure 4 In The initiator and / or responder can obtain the TOF using Equation 1 above.

[0099] However, although the above text is in Figure 5The text discusses the calculation method of Time of Flight (TOF) in DS-TWR, but it does not explicitly specify how to organize the signaling interaction between the initiator and one or more responders for DS-TWR to obtain the two response times and two round-trip times of the initiator and / or one or more responders. In other words, it does not explicitly specify how to perform DS-TWR using MMS packets. Furthermore, there are ranging methods that perform ranging based on the transmission of a single device. These methods are often called one-way ranging (OWR), and OWR using regular UWB frames is widely known. However, it also does not explicitly specify how to perform OWR using MMS packets.

[0100] For at least one of the above problems, solutions are proposed to achieve signaling interaction between the initiator and one or more responders, thereby implementing DS-TWR using MMS packets, enhancing the initialization and setup phases of DS-TWR using MMS packets, or enhancing the ranging and reporting phases of DS-TWR using MMS packets. Further solutions are proposed to achieve signaling interaction, thereby implementing OWR using one or more MMS packets.

[0101] This invention is applicable to any application that uses UWB MMS ranging.

[0102] Figure 6 A schematic diagram of a wireless communication system provided in some embodiments of the present invention is shown. (Reference) Figure 6 In the wireless communication system 100, the first device 110 can communicate with multiple other devices, such as the second device 120 and the third device 130. The wireless communication system 100 can perform SS-TWR applications, DS-TWR applications, or OWR applications such as TDoA and Angle of Arrival (AoA).

[0103] In some embodiments, the first device 110 may be a controller, while the second device 120 and the third device 130 may be controlled parties. The controller may be a device that controls the UWB session and defines session parameters, while the controlled party may be a device that participates in the UWB session using the session parameters received from the controller.

[0104] In some embodiments, the first device 110 may be the initiator, while the second device 120 and the third device 130 may be the responders. The initiator may be a device that initiates the exchange by following instructions from a controller and sending a first message for UWB exchange. The controller or a controlled party may be the initiator. The responder may be a device that responds to the first message received from the initiator and participates in the UWB exchange. The controller or a controlled party may be the responder.

[0105] In an AoA OWR application, the second device 120 can be an advertiser, while the first device 110 and the third device 130 can be observers. An advertiser is a device that periodically broadcasts data packets containing its own information, allowing other devices to discover and connect to it. An observer is a device that listens for these broadcast data packets and performs appropriate actions based on the received packets. For example, a beacon can act as an advertiser, broadcasting its location information, while a smartphone can act as an observer, receiving and processing that information to provide location services. An advertiser can be an initiator or a responder, and an observer can be a responder or an initiator.

[0106] In a DL-TDoA OWR application, the first device 110 can be an anchor device, while the second device 120 and the third device 130 can be tags. An anchor is a reference point used to determine the location of a tag. An anchor can be the initiator. A tag can be the responder.

[0107] It should be noted that, Figure 6 The devices described are illustrative and not limiting; in practical applications, there may be other devices playing different roles. It should also be noted that when the wireless communication system 100 is used for a specific application, Figure 6 The devices or other numbers of devices can be configured to perform different roles depending on the specific application, and no limit is set here.

[0108] Embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings. The present invention provides a communication method involving signaling interaction between an initiator and one or more responders to implement DS-TWR. See also... Figure 7 The interactive devices include an initiator (or a chip, module, or circuit in the initiator) and a responder (or a chip, module, or circuit in the responder). The communication method 700 may include the following steps.

[0109] In step 701, the initiator sends a first polling frame. The first polling frame indicates the initiation of DS-TWR and indicates the number of MMS packets used for DS-TWR. Accordingly, the responder (e.g., the first responder) receives the first polling frame.

[0110] In step 702, the responder (e.g., the first responder) sends a first response frame based on the first polling frame. Accordingly, the initiator receives the first response frame.

[0111] For example, the initiator can initiate DS-TWR by sending a first polling frame. The first polling frame can carry information related to DS-TWR, which may include information related to the MMS packet. The responder who receives the first polling frame can use an MMS packet to initiate DS-TWR with the initiator.

[0112] In addition, within a fixed interval after sending the first polling frame, the initiator may send the corresponding MMS packet. Within a fixed interval after sending the first response frame, the responder may send the corresponding MMS packet.

[0113] In the following text, for ease of description, the MMS packet sent by the initiator within a fixed interval after sending the first polling frame is called the first MMS packet; the MMS packet sent by the initiator within a fixed interval after sending the second polling frame (which may be described below) is called the third MMS packet; and the MMS packet sent by the responder within a fixed interval after sending the first response frame may be called the second MMS packet.

[0114] It should be noted that communication method 700 may be applicable to a one-to-one (O2O) scenario in which one initiator and one responder participate in DS-TWR, or a one-to-many (O2M) scenario in which one initiator and two or more responders participate in DS-TWR.

[0115] In an O2O scenario, the first responder can be a single entity. The initiator can send a first polling frame, and the first responder can receive the first polling frame and send a first response frame to the initiator based on it. Therefore, both the initiator and the first responder can use an MMS packet to start DS-TWR and both send corresponding MMS packets to complete the DS-TWR process.

[0116] In an O2M scenario, the order of two or more responders can be predetermined. For example, the initiator and two or more responders can negotiate the order of the responders during the initialization and setup phases. Each responder can then perform DS-TWR with the initiator sequentially based on the determined order of the two or more responders. Therefore, the first responder can be the responder ranked first in the order of the two or more responders, and this responder can perform DS-TWR with the initiator first.

[0117] In an O2M scenario, the initiator can send a first polling frame. The first responder can receive the first polling frame and send a first response frame to the initiator based on it. Therefore, both the initiator and the first responder can use MMS packets to initiate DS-TWR and both send corresponding MMS packets to complete DS-TWR. Then, the initiator can send other first polling frames. Responders immediately following the first responder can receive other first polling frames and send other first response frames to the initiator based on them. Therefore, the initiator and the responders immediately following the first responder can use MMS packets to initiate DS-TWR and both send corresponding MMS packets to complete DS-TWR. This process continues until the initiator and the last responder initiate DS-TWR using MMS packets.

[0118] Alternatively, in an O2M scenario, the initiator can broadcast a first polling frame and schedule two or more responders to perform DS-TWR. Within a fixed interval after sending the first polling frame, the initiator can send a first MMS packet. Two or more responders can receive the first polling frame. Two or more responders can sequentially send two or more first response frames based on the first polling frame. For example, there are N responders, where N is a positive integer greater than 1 (note that in an O2O scenario, N equals 1). The Nth responder sending the Nth first response frame based on the first polling frame indicates that the DS-TWR using MMS packets between the initiator and the Nth responder can be initiated within a fixed interval after sending the first response frame, and the Nth responder can send a second MMS packet. The initiator and the Nth responder can use the first and second MMS packets, and sometimes a third MMS packet, to complete the DS-TWR. In practice, the first responder (i.e., the first responder) can send a first response frame to the initiator based on the first polling frame. At this point, both the initiator and the first responder can initiate DS-TWR using an MMS packet. Then, each responder immediately following the first responder can send other first response frames to the initiator based on the first polling frame. Again, the initiator and the responders immediately following the first responder can initiate DS-TWR using an MMS packet. This process continues until both the initiator and the last responder initiate DS-TWR using an MMS packet.

[0119] In the communication method provided in this embodiment of the invention, the initiator sends a first polling frame, wherein the first polling frame indicates the initiation of DS-TWR and indicates the number of MMS packets used for DS-TWR; and receives a first response frame based on the first polling frame from a first responder. Therefore, the communication method provided in this embodiment of the invention can realize signaling interaction between the initiator and one or more responders to implement DS-TWR using MMS packets.

[0120] To improve signaling interaction between the initiator and one or more responders to implement DS-TWR using MMS packets, some settings are included in the first polling frame.

[0121] In some embodiments, the first polling frame further indicates that a DS-TWR be initiated with N responders, the first responder being the responder ranked first among the N responders, where N is a positive integer greater than or equal to 1.

[0122] For example, the number of responders may be related to an O2O scenario or an O2M scenario. The first polling frame may include a first message control field. The value of the first message control field may indicate an O2O scenario or an O2M scenario, and the value of the first message control field may be different under the O2O scenario or the O2M scenario.

[0123] When the value of the first message control field indicates an O2O scenario, the first polling frame may indicate that one responder is initiated. When the value of the first message control field indicates an O2M scenario, the first polling frame may also include a first message content field indicating the number of responders. Alternatively, when the value of the first message control field indicates an O2M scenario, the number of responders can be determined during the initialization and setup phases. For example, a responder may send an ADV-RESP frame to participate in the ranging session. The initiator can determine the number of responders based on one or more received ADV-RESP frames and indicate the number of responders via an SOR frame, such that the first polling frame indicates information related to the number of responders to initiate the corresponding DS-TWR.

[0124] For example, the first polling frame could be a polling compact frame. A polling compact frame can be like... Figure 8 As shown. A polling compact frame may include a frame type field set to "b100" (meaning that 3 bits (bits 0 to 2) can be set to 100) to indicate a compact frame. A polling compact frame may also include a compact frame ID field indicating the type of polling compact frame; for example, the compact frame ID field may be set to a value indicating the corresponding polling compact frame (e.g., 3 for O2O polling compact frame, or 8 for O2M polling compact frame). It should be noted that the values ​​mentioned above are illustrative rather than limiting, and other values ​​may also be possible.

[0125] The polling compact frame can also include a resolvable private address (RPA) hash field and an RPA pseudo-random number (Prand) field. The RPA_hash carried in the RPA hash field and the RPA_prand carried in the RPA Prand field together represent the initiator's private address. The RPA_hash is given by bits 0 to 23 of h(key = IdentityResolvingKey (IRK), data = RPA_prand), where h() is an Advanced Encryption Standard based on a 128-bit key block cipher (AES-128 block cipher), taking IRK and the initiator's RPA_prand as input. RPA_prand is a 3-byte random number generated by the initiator.

[0126] The polling compact frame may also include a message control field. According to embodiments of the invention, the message control field, also referred to as a first message control field, can be set to different values ​​to indicate different subtypes of the polling compact frame.

[0127] The polling compact frame may also include a message content field. According to embodiments of the present invention, the message content field may also be referred to as a first message content field, and the content carried in the message content field may vary depending on the value carried in the message control field.

[0128] For example, the message control field can be set to 0x60 (indicating O2O) or 0xE0 (indicating O2M), which means that polling compact frames is used to initiate TWR. The message control field can be set to 0x60 to initiate O2O TWR, or to 0xE0 to initiate O2M TWR. Accordingly, when the message control field is set to 0x60 or 0xE0, the message content field can be as follows: Figure 9 As shown. When the message control field can be set to 0xE0 to initiate O2M TWR, as... Figure 9 As shown, the message content field may include a responder count field. The responder count field indicates the number of responders selected to participate in the ranging phase. For example, if there are 2 responders, the responder count field can have a value of 1; if there are 3 responders, the responder count field can have a value of 2, and so on. It should be noted that the above values ​​are illustrative and not restrictive; those skilled in the art can set other values ​​to represent different numbers of responders. Additionally, the message content field under O2M may also include a responder address list field. The responder address list field can include the addresses of the responders selected to participate in the ranging phase, with each address occupying 3 octets, and each selected responder corresponding to one address.

[0129] For example, the message control field can be set to 0x20 (representing O2O) or 0xA0 (representing O2M), which indicates that polling compact frames are used to initiate interleaved DS-TWR without any additional parameters. Since the message control field set to 0x20 or 0xA0 does not indicate any additional parameters, the message content field under both O2O and O2M can be set to 0x0000, such as... Figure 10As shown. In O2M, information related to the number of responders selected to participate in the ranging phase can be determined during the initialization and setup phases, and the polling compact frame is used to indicate this information. The message control field can also be set to 0x30 (representing O2O) or 0xB0 (representing O2M), indicating that the polling compact frame is used to initiate interleaved DS-TWR in the presence of additional parameters. Since the message control field set to 0x30 or 0xB0 indicates additional parameters, the message content field can also include fields indicating these additional parameters. If the message control field is set to 0xB0, the message content field can include a responder count field, which can refer to the aforementioned responder count field, and will not be elaborated here. Furthermore, the message content field under O2M can also include a responder address list field, which is not discussed here. Interleaved DS-TWR means that the MMS packets sent by the initiator and the MMS packets sent by the responders are interleaved in time, as described below.

[0130] For example, the message control field can be set to 0x40 (for O2O) or 0xC0 (for O2M), which indicates that the polling compact frame is used to initiate a non-interleaved TWR without any additional parameters. Since the message control field set to 0x40 or 0xC0 does not indicate any additional parameters, the message content field under both O2O and O2M can be set to 0x0000, such as... Figure 10 As shown. In O2M, information related to the number of responders selected to participate in the ranging phase can be determined during the initialization and setup phases, and the polling compact frame is used to indicate this information. The message control field can also be set to 0x50 (representing O2O) or 0xD0 (representing O2M), indicating that the polling compact frame is used to initiate non-interleaved TWR in the presence of additional parameters. Since the message control field set to 0x50 or 0xD0 indicates additional parameters, the message content field can also include fields indicating these additional parameters. If the message control field is set to 0xD0, the message content field can include a responder count field, which can refer to the aforementioned responder count field, and will not be elaborated further here. Additionally, the message content field under O2M can also include a responder address list field, which will not be elaborated further here. Non-interleaved DS-TWR means that the MMS packets sent by the initiator and the MMS packets sent by the responders are not interleaved in time, as described below.

[0131] TWR mode (SS or DS) can be indicated during the initialization and setup phases via SOR or ADV-RESP frames, or via the first polling frame, as described below.

[0132] In other words, when the message control field is set to the value corresponding to O2O, it can indicate one responder; when the message control field is set to the value corresponding to O2M, it can indicate two or more responders. Furthermore, when the message control field is set to the value corresponding to O2M, the polling compact frame can also include a message content field to indicate the number of responders, or the number of responders can be determined during the initialization and setup phases, and the first polling frame can be used to initiate the corresponding ranging.

[0133] It should be noted that the values ​​of the above message control fields are descriptive rather than restrictive, and those skilled in the art can set other values ​​to represent different subtypes.

[0134] In addition, such as Figure 8 As shown, polling compact frames can also include an FCS field indicating the frame check sequence (FCS). The FCS is used to detect transmission errors in polling compact frames to ensure the integrity and reliability of data transmission.

[0135] In the communication method provided in the embodiments of the present invention, N responders can be easily initiated through the first polling frame, which is easy to implement.

[0136] In some other embodiments, the first polling frame includes a first message content field, which includes a first subfield indicating the number of MMS packets.

[0137] For example, refer to Figure 9 The message content field (representing both O2O and O2M) may include a round control field. The round control field indicates various control information regarding the ranging round. The round control field may include an MMS packet quantity field, which may be a first subfield. The MMS packet quantity field indicates the number of MMS packets to be used for the DS-TWR; where, when the MMS packet quantity field is set to 0, this indicates 3 MMS packets; and when the MMS packet quantity field is set to 1, this indicates 2 MMS packets. It should be noted that the values ​​of the MMS packet quantity field described above are illustrative and not restrictive; those skilled in the art can set other values ​​to represent the number of MMS packets.

[0138] It should also be noted that the round control field and the MMS packet quantity field can have other names, which are not restricted here.

[0139] For example, refer to Figure 10The number of MMS packets can be set in the Management PHY Configuration field, Management MAC Configuration field, Ranging PHY Configuration field, or Ranging MAC Configuration field. If the Management PHY Configuration field, Management MAC Configuration field, Ranging PHY Configuration field, and Ranging MAC Configuration field are omitted, the number of MMS packets can be determined during the initialization and setup phases. For example, the SOR frame configures the number of MMS packets, and the first polling frame can be used to initiate the corresponding ranging using that number of MMS packets.

[0140] In the communication method provided in the embodiments of the present invention, the first subfield in the first message content field can indicate the number of MMS packets. This number can change with the value of the first message control field, thus making it flexible, simple and easy to implement.

[0141] In some embodiments, the number of sub-rounds in a ranging round for DS-TWR varies with at least one of the following: the number of MMS packets or the number of responders initiated via the first polling frame. That is, the number of sub-rounds in a ranging round for DS-TWR can be implicitly indicated. If the number of MMS packets or the number of responders can be indicated, the number of sub-rounds in a ranging round for DS-TWR can be determined.

[0142] For example, when indicating two MMS packets that are interleaved, the number of sub-rounds equals the number of responders; that is, one sub-round corresponds to one responder. In a given sub-round, the initiator can send the first MMS packet, and the corresponding responder can send the second MMS packet, with the first and second MMS packets interleaved. When indicating three MMS packets that are interleaved, the number of sub-rounds equals the number of responders plus one; that is, one sub-round corresponds to one responder. In a given sub-round, the initiator can send the first MMS packet, and the corresponding responder can send the second MMS packet, with the first and second MMS packets interleaved. The initiator sends the final MMS packet (i.e., the third MMS packet) in the last sub-round. When three MMS packets are specified and these three MMS packets are sent non-interleaved, the number of sub-rounds = the number of responders + 2. The initiator sends the first MMS packet in the first sub-round and sends the last MMS packet (i.e., the third MMS packet) in the last sub-round. For the remaining sub-rounds, one sub-round corresponds to one responder. In a certain sub-round, the corresponding responder can send the second MMS packet.

[0143] It should be noted that in O2O, the number of responders is 1, while in O2M, the responder count field indicates the number of responders selected to participate in the ranging phase.

[0144] In the communication method provided in this embodiment of the invention, the number of sub-rounds in the ranging rounds used for DS-TWR varies with at least one of the following: the number of MMS packets or the number of responders initiated by the first polling frame. That is, the number of sub-rounds in the ranging rounds used for DS-TWR can be implicitly indicated. Therefore, other fields do not need to be used to indicate the number of sub-rounds, which saves resources.

[0145] In some embodiments, the first message content field further includes a second subfield indicating the number of sub-rounds included in the ranging rounds used for DS-TWR.

[0146] For example, when the message control field is set to O2O, such as Figure 9 As shown, the round control field may include a second subfield, which may be a sub-round quantity field. The sub-round quantity field indicates the number of sub-rounds allocated in the ranging rounds used for DS-TWR. For example, the value of the sub-round quantity field can be set to 0, which indicates 1 sub-round; the value of the sub-round quantity field can be set to 1, which indicates 2 sub-rounds. It should be noted that the values ​​of the sub-round quantity field described above are illustrative and not restrictive, and those skilled in the art can set other values ​​to represent different numbers of sub-rounds. It should also be noted that the sub-round quantity field may have other names, which are not limited here.

[0147] In the communication method provided in the embodiments of the present invention, the number of sub-rounds in the ranging rounds used for DS-TWR is indicated by the second sub-field in the first message content field. That is, the number of sub-rounds in the ranging rounds used for DS-TWR can be explicitly indicated, which can improve reliability.

[0148] In some embodiments, the first polling frame also indicates the number of time slots per sub-round for the ranging rounds used in the DS-TWR.

[0149] For example, in Figure 9 In the message content field, a timeslot per sub-round field can be included. The timeslot per sub-round field indicates the number of timeslots allocated to each sub-round except the last one. For example, if the value of the timeslot per sub-round field is set to m, where m is a positive integer, then the number of timeslots allocated to each sub-round is (m+1). Since the last sub-round can be used to send and / or receive one or more report frames, the number of timeslots in the last sub-round can be obtained by adding two additional timeslots per report frame.

[0150] For example, in Figure 9In the message content field, a per responder timeslot field can be included. The per responder timeslot field indicates the number of timeslots allocated for each sub-round except the last one. For example, if the value of the per responder timeslot field is set to m, where m is a positive integer, then the number of timeslots allocated for each sub-round is (m+1). Since the last sub-round can be used to send and / or receive one or more report frames, the number of timeslots in the last sub-round can be obtained by adding two additional timeslots per report frame.

[0151] It should be noted that the values ​​of the time slot field for each sub-round or the time slot field for each responder mentioned above are illustrative and not restrictive. Those skilled in the art can set other values ​​to represent different time slots in each sub-round of the ranging round used for DS-TWR. It should also be noted that the time slot field for each sub-round or the time slot field for each responder may have other names, which are not limited here.

[0152] In the communication method provided in this embodiment of the invention, the number of time slots per sub-round for the ranging round used in DS-TWR is indicated, which can improve reliability.

[0153] In some embodiments, the first polling frame also indicates whether the MMS packet is interleaved or non-interleaved.

[0154] For example, in Figure 9 In the MMS message content field, a non-interleaved field can be included. The non-interleaved field indicates whether the MMS packets are sent interleaved or non-interleaved. For example, a non-interleaved field value of 0 indicates that the MMS packets are sent interleaved, meaning that fragments of the MMS packets from the initiator and responder are interleaved in time; a non-interleaved field value of 1 indicates that the MMS packets are sent non-interleaved, meaning that the MMS packets are sent sequentially, for example, the initiator sends a complete MMS packet in one sub-round, and the responder then sends a complete MMS packet in the next sub-round.

[0155] It should be noted that the above values ​​are illustrative rather than restrictive, and those skilled in the art can set other values ​​to indicate whether the MMS packet is sent interleaved or non-interleaved. It should also be noted that the non-interleaved field can have other names, which are not limited here.

[0156] In the communication method provided in the embodiments of the present invention, it is possible to explicitly indicate whether the MMS packet is sent interleaved or non-interleaved, which can improve reliability.

[0157] In addition, there are some other fields in the message content field, which are briefly described below.

[0158] The message content field may also include a request bitmap field. The request bitmap field indicates that the initiator requests one or more fields from the responder to be included in a specific field of the applicable response compact frame. In some examples, this field may be omitted.

[0159] The message content field may also include an existence bitmap field. The existence bitmap field indicates the presence / absence of optional fields. In some examples, this field may be omitted.

[0160] The message content field may also include an NB channel mapping field. The NB channel mapping field is used to transmit the NB channel that is permitted to be used between the initiator and the responder. In some examples, this field may be omitted.

[0161] The message content field may also include a management PHY configuration field. The management PHY configuration field is used to indicate the configuration of the control PHY (i.e., NB PHY or UWB PHY). In some examples, this field may be omitted.

[0162] The message content field may also include a management MAC configuration field. The management MAC configuration field is used to configure the ranging block. In some examples, this field may be omitted.

[0163] The message content field may also include the ranging PHY configuration. The ranging PHY configuration is used to indicate the configuration of the ranging PHY (i.e., UWBPHY). In some examples, this field may be omitted.

[0164] The message content field may also include a ranging MAC configuration field. The ranging MAC configuration field indicates the MAC configuration of the ranging PHY (i.e., the UWB PHY). In some examples, this field may be omitted.

[0165] The message content field may also include a block index field indicating the current ranging block index. In some examples, this field may be omitted.

[0166] The message content field may also include a round index field indicating the current ranging round index. In some examples, this field may be omitted.

[0167] The first response frame can have a similar structure to the first polling frame. The first response frame can be a compact response frame. A compact response frame can be like... Figure 11As shown. A response compact frame may include a frame type field, which can be set to the same value as a polling compact frame. For example, a frame type field set to "b100" indicates a response compact frame. A response compact frame may also include a compact frame ID field set to a different value (e.g., 4 for an O2O response compact frame or 9 for an O2M response compact frame), indicating the corresponding response compact frame. It should be noted that the values ​​mentioned above are illustrative rather than limiting, and other values ​​may also be possible.

[0168] The response compact frame may also include a responder RPA hash field. The response compact frame may not have an RPA Prand field. The RPA_hash carried in the responder RPA hash field and the RPA_prand carried in the polling compact frame represent the responder's private address; the RPA_hash is calculated using the responder's IRK.

[0169] The response compact frame may also include a message control field. A message control field set to 0x10 is used to begin sending the responder's MMS packet and also to provide short-term parameters requested by the initiator.

[0170] The encoding and meaning of each field in the message content field are the same as explained above, except for the zero-padding field. When the size of the message content field excluding the zero-padding field is less than 5 octets, the zero-padding field consisting of 1, 2 or 3 octets with a value of 0 is included. The number of padding octets is determined so that the size of the message content field is 5 octets.

[0171] The message control field can also be set to 0x00 to begin sending the responder's MMS packet without providing any short-term parameters. In this case, the message content field consists of 5 octets with a value of 0.

[0172] It should be noted that the above values ​​are illustrative and not restrictive. Those skilled in the art can set other values ​​to start sending the responder's MMS packet without providing any short-term parameters or to start sending the responder's MMS packet with any short-term parameters provided.

[0173] As described above, after a fixed interval following the sending of the first polling frame, the initiator can send the corresponding MMS packet, and after a fixed interval following the sending of the first response frame, the responder can send the corresponding MMS packet. Therefore, how to send and / or receive MMS packets can be described as follows.

[0174] In some embodiments, the MMS packets are sent non-interleaved, the number of MMS packets is 3, the number of sub-rounds in the ranging rounds for DS-TWR is (N+2), and the communication method 700 further includes: sending a first MMS packet in a first sub-round; receiving a second MMS packet from the Nth responder in the (N+1)th sub-round; and sending a third MMS packet in the (N+2)th sub-round, wherein N is the number of responders initiated through the first polling frame and is a positive integer greater than or equal to 1.

[0175] For example, such as Figure 12 As shown, one ranging round can include four sub-rounds, namely the first to the fourth sub-rounds, and there are two responders, namely the first responder and the second responder. The initiator can send a first polling frame (POLL) in the first sub-round, and after a fixed time slot, send I-RSF-1 to I-RSF-X of the first MMS packet in the first sub-round. The first responder can send a first response frame (RESP) in the second sub-round, and after a fixed time slot, send R-RSF-1 to R-RSF-X of the second MMS packet in the second sub-round. For the first responder, the I-RSF-1 to I-RSF-X of the first MMS packet in the first sub-round and the R-RSF-1 to R-RSF-X of the second MMS packet in the second sub-round are non-interleaved. The second responder can send a first response frame (RESP) in the third sub-round, and after a fixed time slot, send R-RSF-1 to R-RSF-X of the second MMS packet in the third sub-round. For the second responder, the I-RSF-1 to I-RSF-X of the first MMS packet in the first sub-round and the R-RSF-1 to R-RSF-X of the second MMS packet in the third sub-round are non-interleaved. The initiator may send the I-RSF-1 to I-RSF-X of the third MMS packet in the fourth sub-round. Therefore, the initiator and / or the first and second responders can use the first, second, and third MMS packets to complete DS-TWR.

[0176] Additionally, before sending I-RSF-1 to I-RSF-X of the third MMS packet, the initiator may send a second polling frame in the fourth sub-round. The second polling frame can be described as follows.

[0177] If there is one responder, a ranging round can include three sub-rounds, namely the first to the third sub-rounds. The initiator can send a first polling frame (POLL) in the first sub-round, and after a fixed time slot, send I-RSF-1 to I-RSF-X of the first MMS packet in the first sub-round. The first responder can send a first response frame (RESP) in the second sub-round, and after a fixed time slot, send R-RSF-1 to R-RSF-X of the second MMS packet in the second sub-round. The initiator can send I-RSF-1 to I-RSF-X of the third MMS packet in the third sub-round. It should be noted that the third sub-round can refer to... Figure 12 The fourth sub-round in the process. Therefore, the initiator and / or the first responder can use the first MMS packet, the second MMS packet, and the third MMS packet to complete the DS-TWR.

[0178] Additionally, before sending I-RSF-1 to I-RSF-X of the third MMS packet, the initiator may send the second polling frame in the third sub-round.

[0179] In the communication method provided in the embodiments of the present invention, the MMS packets can be sent non-interleaved, which has the following advantages: simplified implementation, low latency, reduced resource consumption, and easy debugging and maintenance.

[0180] In some embodiments, the MMS packets are sent interleaved, the number of MMS packets is 3, and the number of sub-rounds in the ranging round for DS-TWR is (N+1). The communication method 700 further includes: sending a first MMS packet to the Nth responder in the Nth sub-round; receiving a second MMS packet from the Nth responder in the Nth sub-round; and sending a third MMS packet in the (N+1)th sub-round.

[0181] For example, such as Figure 13As shown, one ranging round can include three sub-rounds, namely the first to the third sub-rounds, and there are two responders, namely the first responder and the second responder. The initiator can send a first polling frame (POLL) in the first sub-round to schedule the two responders for DS-TWR, that is, to schedule the first responder to the first sub-round and the second responder to the second sub-round. The first responder can send a first response frame (RESP) in the first sub-round. After receiving and / or sending the first response frame (RESP) in the first sub-round, within a fixed time slot, the initiator can send I-RSF-1 to I-RSF-X of the first MMS packet in the first sub-round, and the first responder can send R-RSF-1 to R-RSF-X of the second MMS packet in the first sub-round. In the first sub-round, the I-RSF-1 to I-RSF-X of the first MMS packet and the R-RSF-1 to R-RSF-X of the second MMS packet are interleaved. The initiator may send a second polling frame (POLL) in the second sub-round, and the second responder may send a first response frame (RESP) in the second sub-round. After a fixed time slot following the receipt and / or transmission of the first response frame (RESP) in the second sub-round, the initiator may send I-RSF-1 to I-RSF-X of the first MMS packet in the second sub-round, and the second responder may send R-RSF-1 to R-RSF-X of the second MMS packet in the second sub-round. In the second sub-round, I-RSF-1 to I-RSF-X of the first MMS packet and R-RSF-1 to R-RSF-X of the second MMS packet are also interleaved. The initiator may send a second polling frame (POLL) in the third sub-round, and after a fixed time slot following the transmission of the second polling frame in the third sub-round, the initiator may send I-RSF-1 to I-RSF-X of the third MMS packet in the third sub-round. Therefore, the initiator and / or the first responder and the second responder can use the first MMS packet, the second MMS packet and the third MMS packet to complete DS-TWR.

[0182] If there is one responder, a ranging round can include two sub-rounds, namely the first and second sub-rounds. The initiator can send a first polling frame (POLL) in the first sub-round, and the first responder can send a first response frame (RESP) in the first sub-round. After a fixed time slot following the reception and / or transmission of the first response frame (RESP) in the first sub-round, the initiator can send I-RSF-1 to I-RSF-X of the first MMS packet in the first sub-round, and the first responder can send R-RSF-1 to R-RSF-X of the second MMS packet in the first sub-round. In the first sub-round, the I-RSF-1 to I-RSF-X of the first MMS packet and the R-RSF-1 to R-RSF-X of the second MMS packet are interleaved. The initiator can send I-RSF-1 to I-RSF-X of the third MMS packet in the second sub-round. It should be noted that the second sub-round can refer to... Figure 13 The third sub-round in the process. Therefore, the initiator and / or the first responder can use the first MMS packet, the second MMS packet, and the third MMS packet to complete DS-TWR.

[0183] In the examples above and below, a fixed time slot or interval may be or include 2 time slots or 3 time slots, etc., and there is no limitation thereto.

[0184] In the communication method provided in the embodiments of the present invention, MMS packets can be sent interleaved, which can have the following advantages: improved fault tolerance, enhanced performance in noisy channels, efficient use of error correction codes, flexible design, and enhanced security.

[0185] Additionally, before sending I-RSF-1 to I-RSF-X of the third MMS packet, the initiator may send the second polling frame in the second sub-round.

[0186] In some embodiments, before sending the third MMS packet, the communication method 700 further includes step 703: the initiator sends a second polling frame.

[0187] When the initiator and the first responder exchange the first polling frame and the first response frame, they may also exchange the initiator's first MMS packet and the first responder's second MMS packet. After exchanging the initiator's first MMS packet and the first responder's second MMS packet, if no other responder exchanges frames and packets, the initiator may begin sending a third MMS packet. For example, sending a second polling frame, and after a fixed interval following the sending of the second polling frame, the initiator may send a third MMS packet. The second polling frame may be simpler than the first polling frame, or it may be the same as the first polling frame.

[0188] The structure of the second round of query frames can be similar to... Figure 8The values ​​for the message control field in the second polling frame can be different from those in the first polling frame. For example, for the second polling frame, the message control field can be set to 0x70 or 0xF0. When the first message control field is set to 0x70, this field can be used to begin sending the third MMS packet for O2O; when the first message control field is set to 0xF0, this field can be used to begin sending the third MMS packet for O2M.

[0189] If the value of the message control field in the second polling frame is set differently from that in the first polling frame, the message content field in the second polling frame can also have different values.

[0190] For example, such as Figure 14 As shown, for the second polling frame, the message content field can include a payload length field and a payload field. A second polling frame can be obtained when the payload length field is set to 0x00 to indicate a payload length of one octet and the payload field value is also set to 0x0000. A second polling frame can also be obtained when the message content field is not divided into a payload length field and a payload field, and the entire message content field value is set to 0x0000. After sending the second polling frame, the third MMS packet can be sent.

[0191] It should be noted that the above values ​​are illustrative and not restrictive. Those skilled in the art can set other values ​​to generate a second polling frame in order to begin sending a third MMS packet.

[0192] In the communication method provided in this embodiment of the invention, a second polling frame is sent to begin sending the third MMS packet, which can improve reliability.

[0193] In some other embodiments, the second polling frame is omitted.

[0194] In some embodiments, the second polling frame indicates whether a second response frame based on the second polling frame is required.

[0195] If the second polling frame indicates whether a second response frame based on the second polling frame is required, the message content field of the second polling frame may also include a round control field, which may include a Required Response field. The Required Response field may be applicable to DS-TWR using three MMS packets and indicates whether the responder is required to send a second response frame before the initiator sends the third MMS packet. A value of 1 for the Required Response field indicates that a second response frame based on the second polling frame is required; a value of 0 for the Required Response field indicates that a second response frame based on the second polling frame is not required.

[0196] It should be noted that the above values ​​are illustrative rather than restrictive, and those skilled in the art can set other values ​​to indicate whether a second response frame based on the second polling frame is required.

[0197] In the communication method provided in the embodiments of the present invention, the second polling frame indicates whether a second response frame based on the second polling frame is needed, which may be time-sensitive.

[0198] In some embodiments, the first polling frame also indicates whether a second response frame based on the second polling frame is required.

[0199] If the first round of query frames indicates whether a second response frame based on the second round of query frames is required, then as follows Figure 9 or Figure 10 As shown, the round control field may also include a Required Response field. The Required Response field may be applicable to DS-TWR using 3 MMS packets and indicates whether the responder is required to send a second response frame before the initiator sends the third MMS packet. A value of 1 in the Required Response field indicates that a second response frame based on the second polling frame is required; a value of 0 in the Required Response field indicates that a second response frame based on the second polling frame is not required.

[0200] It should be noted that the above values ​​are illustrative rather than restrictive, and those skilled in the art can set other values ​​to indicate whether a second response frame based on the second polling frame is required.

[0201] In the communication method provided in the embodiments of the present invention, the first polling frame indicates whether a second response frame based on the second polling frame is needed, which can save resources.

[0202] One or more responders who receive a first / second polling frame that requires the response field to be set to 0 may not send any second response frame in the control phase of the last sub-round.

[0203] If the Required Response field in the first / second polling frame is set to 1, the control phase in the last sub-round will be extended by 2 slots, allowing the responder to send a second response frame in the last sub-round after receiving the first / second polling frame. The initiator will only send a third MMS packet upon receiving the second response frame. If the second response frame is not received, DS-TWR is aborted, and no subsequent REPORT frames (described below) are sent.

[0204] In some embodiments, the MMS packets are sent interleaved, the number of MMS packets is 2, the number of sub-rounds in the ranging round for DS-TWR is N, and the communication method 700 further includes: sending a first MMS packet to the Nth responder in the Nth sub-round; and receiving a second MMS packet from the Nth responder in the Nth sub-round.

[0205] For example, such as Figure 15 As shown, one ranging round can include two sub-rounds, namely the first and second sub-rounds, and there are two responders, namely the first responder and the second responder. The initiator can send a first polling frame (POLL) in the first sub-round to schedule the two responders for DS-TWR, i.e., scheduling the first responder to the first sub-round and the second responder to the second sub-round. The first responder can send a first response frame (RESP) in the first sub-round. After a fixed time slot following the reception and / or transmission of the first response frame (RESP) in the first sub-round, the initiator can send I-RSF-1 to I-RSF-X of the first MMS packet in the first sub-round, and the first responder can send R-RSF-1 to R-RSF-X of the second MMS packet in the first sub-round. In the first sub-round, the I-RSF-1 to I-RSF-X of the first MMS packet and the R-RSF-1 to R-RSF-X of the second MMS packet are interleaved. The initiator can send a second polling frame (POLL) in the second sub-round, and the second responder can send a first response frame (RESP) in the second sub-round. After a fixed time slot following the reception and / or transmission of the first response frame (RESP) in the second sub-round, the initiator can send I-RSF-1 to I-RSF-X of the first MMS packet in the second sub-round, and the second responder can send R-RSF-1 to R-RSF-X of the second MMS packet in the second sub-round. In the second sub-round, I-RSF-1 to I-RSF-X of the first MMS packet and R-RSF-1 to R-RSF-X of the second MMS packet are also interleaved. Therefore, the initiator and / or the first and second responders can use the first and second MMS packets to complete DS-TWR.

[0206] If there is one responder, one ranging round may be sufficient; for ease of description, this can be referred to as the first sub-round. The initiator may send the first polling frame (POLL) in the first sub-round, and the first responder may send the first response frame (RESP) in the first sub-round. After a fixed time slot following the reception and / or transmission of the first response frame (RESP) in the first sub-round, the initiator may send I-RSF-1 to I-RSF-X of the first MMS packet in the first sub-round, and the first responder may send R-RSF-1 to R-RSF-X of the second MMS packet in the first sub-round. In the first sub-round, I-RSF-1 to I-RSF-X of the first MMS packet and R-RSF-1 to R-RSF-X of the second MMS packet are interleaved. Therefore, the initiator and / or the first responder can complete DS-TWR using both the first and second MMS packets.

[0207] In the communication method provided in this embodiment of the invention, MMS packets can be sent interleaved, which has the following advantages: improved fault tolerance, enhanced performance in noisy channels, efficient use of error correction codes, flexible design, and enhanced security; in addition, two MMS packets can be used to implement DS-TWR, which can save resources.

[0208] It should be noted that, although Figure 12 , Figure 13 and Figure 15 This demonstrates that the DS-TWR can be controlled by the NB channel, but it can also be controlled by the UWB channel. For details, please refer to [link / reference needed]. Figure 3 Those skilled in the art can refer to Figure 12 , Figure 13 or Figure 15 The corresponding elements in the code are used to implement signaling interaction. The only difference is that the NB channel is replaced with the UWB channel, which will not be elaborated here.

[0209] It should also be noted that, in Figure 12 , Figure 13 and Figure 15 For simplicity, only one ADV-RESP frame is shown in the diagram. In reality, the first responder can send ADV-RESP frames, and the second responder can send other ADV-RESP frames.

[0210] Additionally, it should be noted that, in Figure 12 , Figure 13 and Figure 15 For simplicity, two REPORT frames are shown (corresponding to the first responder and the second responder). In practice, the first responder may send a REPORT frame and / or the second responder may send other REPORT frames. REPORT frames will be described below.

[0211] In some embodiments, the method further includes step 704: the responder sends an ADV-RESP frame, and the initiator receives the ADV-RESP frame accordingly; step 705: the initiator sends an SOR frame, and the responder (e.g., the first responder) receives the SOR frame accordingly.

[0212] In the communication method provided in this embodiment of the invention, the initiator and the responder can exchange configurations about DS-TWR through ADV-RESP frames and / or SOR frames.

[0213] In some embodiments, any one of the ADV-RESP frame, SOR frame, or first polling frame includes a first field indicating the TWR mode of the DS-TWR, the TWR mode including DS-TWR using 3 MMS packets or DS-TWR using 2 MMS packets.

[0214] In other words, the initiator can directly indicate the TWR mode of the DS-TWR by sending an SOR frame or a first polling frame. Alternatively, the initiator can receive an ADV-RESP frame from the responder, which can also indicate the TWR mode of the DS-TWR. If the initiator agrees with the TWR mode indicated by the ADV-RESP frame, it can send an SOR frame or a first polling frame to confirm; if the initiator does not agree with the TWR mode indicated by the ADV-RESP frame, it can send an SOR frame or a first polling frame to indicate the TWR mode. How the TWR mode of the DS-TWR is indicated may depend on the specific application.

[0215] Additionally, the first field can be a subfield of the management MAC configuration field within the message content field. It should be noted that any of the ADV-RESP frame, SOR frame, and first polling frame can include a message content field, wherein the ADV-RESP frame and SOR frame can have the same or similar structure as the first polling frame. Alternatively, the first field can be a subfield of the management PHY configuration field, ranging PHY configuration field, or ranging MAC configuration field within the message content field. The first field can be described with reference to the management MAC configuration field, and the management PHY configuration field, ranging PHY configuration field, or ranging MAC configuration field can be described with reference to the description of the management MAC configuration field.

[0216] Managing MAC configuration fields can be done as follows Figure 16 As shown.

[0217] like Figure 16 As shown, the management MAC configuration field can include a ranging slot duration field. The ranging slot duration field encodes the ranging slot duration. The ranging slot duration in units of ranging scheduling time units (RSTU) is given by the following formula: (ranging slot duration field value + 1) × 300.

[0218] The MAC configuration field can also include a ranging round duration field. The ranging round duration field encodes the ranging round duration in units of ranging time slots, and its value ranges from 1 to 255. A reserved value of 0 is used.

[0219] The MAC configuration field can also include a distance block duration field. The distance block duration field encodes the distance block duration in units of distance measurement rounds, and its value ranges from 1 to 255. A reserved value of 0 is used.

[0220] The MAC configuration management field may also include a channel switching field. The channel switching field encodes the status of the channel switching mechanism, where a value of 0 encodes a disabled state and a value of 1 encodes an enabled state.

[0221] The MAC configuration field can also include a measurement report request field. The measurement report request field is set independently by the responder and the initiator in the ADV-RESP frame and the SOR frame, respectively, and indicates whether to request the peer device to send a report frame, which can be described as follows.

[0222] The MAC configuration management field can also include a TWR mode field. The first field can be the TWR mode field. The TWR mode field indicates the TWR mode to be executed, as shown in Table 1.

[0223] Table 1 TWR Mode

[0224] The MAC configuration field for management can also include a non-interleaved field. The non-interleaved field indicates whether UWB MMS packets are sent interleaved or non-interleaved. This non-interleaved field may refer to the non-interleaved field described in the polling compact frame, which will not be elaborated upon here.

[0225] The MAC configuration field may also include the RcpPollSlots field. The RcpPollSlots field encodes the duration of the time slots used by the initiator to send polling compact frames in the control phase, in units of ranging time slots, and the value of this field ranges from 0 to 15.

[0226] The MAC configuration field may also include the RcpResponseSlots field. The RcpResponseSlots field encodes the duration of the time slots used by the responder to send the response compact frame in the control phase, in units of ranging time slots. The value of this field ranges from 0 to 15.

[0227] The MAC configuration field can also include the RpDuration field. The RpDuration field encodes the duration used by the initiator and responder to send RSF and RIF during the MMS ranging phase, in units of ranging time slots. The value of this field ranges from 1 to 4095.

[0228] In the communication method provided in this embodiment of the invention, the TWR mode of DS-TWR can be configured in the initialization and setup phase, or indicated in the control phase, so as to facilitate the subsequent execution of DS-TWR.

[0229] In some embodiments, the SOR frame or the first polling frame includes a second field that indicates whether timing measurement results from DS-TWR are required in the REPORT frame.

[0230] The second field can also be any other subfield within the MAC configuration field. Similar to the first field, the second field can also be any other subfield within the PHY configuration field, the ranging PHY configuration field, or the ranging MAC configuration field.

[0231] like Figure 16 As shown, the management MAC configuration field may also include a DS-TWR report bitmap field. The second field can be a DS-TWR report bitmap field. The DS-TWR report bitmap field indicates the desired timing (or timing measurement result) to be included in the REPORT frame. This field is only applicable to frames sent by the initiator, such as SOR frames or first polling frames. DS-TWR report bitmap fields can be as shown in Table 2.

[0232] Table 2 DS-TWR Report Bitmap Fields

[0233] In the communication method provided in this embodiment of the invention, whether the timing measurement results of DS-TWR are required in the REPORT frame can be configured in the initialization and setup phase, or indicated in the control phase, so as to facilitate the subsequent reporting of timing measurement results.

[0234] like Figure 16 As shown, the management MAC configuration fields may also include the MrpFirstSlots field. The MrpFirstSlots field encodes the duration of the first set of time slots that the initiator or responder can use to send a REPORT frame, in units of ranging time slots. The value of this field ranges from 0 to 15.

[0235] The MAC configuration management field may also include the MrpSecondSlots field. The MrpSecondSlots field encodes the duration of the second set of time slots that the responder can use to send a REPORT frame, in units of ranging time slots. The value of this field ranges from 0 to 15.

[0236] The MAC configuration management field may also include the MrpThirdSlots field. The MrpThirdSlots field encodes the duration of the third time slot that the initiator or responder can use to send a REPORT frame, in units of ranging time slots. The value of this field ranges from 0 to 15. The MrpThirdSlots field is only valid in time-efficient O2M.

[0237] In some embodiments, the TWR mode is DS-TWR using 3 MMS packets, and the second field includes at least one of the following: The third subfield (bit 1 in Table 2) indicates whether a Type 1 timing measurement result (Type 1 in Table 2) is required in the REPORT frame. The Type 1 timing measurement result is obtained through the first ranging integrity fragment (RIF) of the first MMS packet, the second MMS packet, and the third MMS packet. The fourth subfield (bit 2 in Table 2) indicates whether type 2 timing measurement results (type 2 in Table 2) are required in the REPORT frame. The type 2 timing measurement results are obtained through the last RIF of the first MMS packet, the second MMS packet, and the third MMS packet. The fifth subfield (bit 3 in Table 2) indicates whether a Type 3 timing measurement result (Type 3 in Table 2) is required in the REPORT frame. The Type 3 timing measurement result is obtained through the first RIF of the first MMS packet and the second MMS packet, and the last RIF of the third MMS packet; or The sixth subfield (bit 0 in Table 2) indicates whether RSF timing measurement results (RSF time in Table 2) are required in the REPORT frame. The RSF timing measurement results are obtained through the RSF of the first MMS packet, the second MMS packet, and the third MMS packet.

[0238] The report uses timing measurements from 3 MMS packages, such as Figure 17 As shown.

[0239] refer to Figure 17 Type 1 timing measurement results can refer to the response time (1) and round-trip time (1) measured between the first RIF of the first two MMS packets and the first RIF of the third MMS packet. The initiator records the round-trip time (1) from TX to RX, i.e., the time between the transmission time of the first RIF of the initiator's first MMS packet and the reception time of the first RIF of the responder's second MMS packet. The initiator also records the response time (1) from RX to TX, i.e., the time between the reception time of the first RIF of the responder's second MMS packet and the transmission time of the first RIF of the initiator's third MMS packet. The responder records the response time (1) from RX to TX, i.e., the time between the reception time of the first RIF of the initiator's first MMS packet and the transmission time of the first RIF of the responder's second MMS packet. The responder also records the round-trip time (1) from TX to RX, i.e., the time between the transmission time of the first RIF of the responder's second MMS packet and the reception time of the first RIF of the initiator's third MMS packet.

[0240] Type 2 timing measurement results can refer to the response time 2 and round-trip time 2 measured between the last RIF of the first two MMS packets and the last RIF of the third MMS packet. The initiator records the round-trip time 2 from TX to RX, i.e., the time between the initiator's transmission time of the last RIF of the first MMS packet and the receiver's reception time of the last RIF of the second MMS packet. The initiator also records the response time 2 from RX to TX, i.e., the time between the receiver's reception time of the last RIF of the second MMS packet and the initiator's transmission time of the last RIF of the third MMS packet. The responder records the response time 2 from RX to TX, i.e., the time between the initiator's reception time of the last RIF of the first MMS packet and the receiver's transmission time of the last RIF of the second MMS packet. The responder also records the round-trip time 2 from TX to RX, i.e., the time between the receiver's transmission time of the last RIF of the second MMS packet and the initiator's reception time of the last RIF of the third MMS packet.

[0241] Type 3 timing measurement results can refer to the response time 3 and round-trip time 3 measured between the first RIF of the first two MMS packets and the last RIF of the third MMS packet. The initiator records the round-trip time 3 from TX to RX, i.e., the time between the transmission time of the first RIF of the initiator's first MMS packet and the reception time of the first RIF of the responder's second MMS packet, which can be the same as the round-trip time 1 from TX to RX. The initiator also records the response time 3 from RX to TX, i.e., the time between the reception time of the first RIF of the responder's second MMS packet and the transmission time of the last RIF of the initiator's third MMS packet. The responder records the response time 3 from RX to TX, i.e., the time between the reception time of the first RIF of the initiator's first MMS packet and the transmission time of the first RIF of the responder's second MMS packet. The responder also records the round-trip time 3 from TX to RX, i.e., the time between the transmission time of the first RIF of the responder's second MMS packet and the reception time of the last RIF of the initiator's third MMS packet.

[0242] As described above, each RIF includes two RMAKERs, one at the beginning and one at the end. For timing measurements using the first RIF, the starting RMAKER is used. For timing measurements using the last RIF, the ending RMAKER is used.

[0243] In the communication method provided in this embodiment of the invention, the third to sixth subfields can indicate specific measurement results, which is both convenient and flexible.

[0244] In some embodiments, the TWR mode is a DS-TWR using two MMS packets, and the second field includes at least one of the following: The third subfield (bit 1 in Table 2) indicates whether a Type 1 timing measurement result (Type 1 in Table 2) is required in the REPORT frame. The Type 1 timing measurement result is obtained through the first two RIFs of the first MMS packet and the first RIF of the second MMS packet. The fourth subfield (bit 2 in Table 2) indicates whether type 2 timing measurement results (type 2 in Table 2) are required in the REPORT frame. The type 2 timing measurement results are obtained through the last two RIFs of the first MMS packet and the last RIF of the second MMS packet. The fifth subfield (bit 3 in Table 2) indicates whether type 3 timing measurement results (type 3 in Table 2) are required in the REPORT frame. The type 3 timing measurement results are obtained through the first RIF of the first and second MMS packets and the last RIF of the first MMS packet. The sixth subfield (bit 0 in Table 2) indicates whether RSF timing measurement results are required in the REPORT frame, where RSF timing measurement results are obtained through the RSF of the first MMS packet and the second MMS packet.

[0245] The report uses timing measurements from two MMS packages, such as... Figure 18 As shown.

[0246] refer to Figure 18 Type 1 timing measurement can refer to the response time 1 and round-trip time 1 measured using the first two RIFs of the first MMS packet and the first RIF of the second MMS packet. The initiator records the TX to RX round-trip time 1, which is the time between the initiator's transmission time of the first RIF of the first MMS packet and the responder's reception time of the first RIF of the second MMS packet. The initiator also records the RX to TX response time 1, which is the time between the responder's reception time of the first RIF of the second MMS packet and the initiator's transmission time of the second RIF of the first MMS packet. The responder records the RX to TX response time 1, which is the time between the initiator's reception time of the first RIF of the first MMS packet and the responder's transmission time of the first RIF of the second MMS packet. The responder also records the TX to RX round-trip time 1, which is the time between the responder's transmission time of the first RIF of the second MMS packet and the initiator's reception time of the second RIF of the first MMS packet.

[0247] Type 2 timing measurement can refer to the response time 2 and round-trip time 2 measured using the last two RIFs of the first MMS packet and the last RIF of the second MMS packet. The initiator records the round-trip time 2 from TX to RX, which is the time between the initiator's transmission time of the second-to-last RIF (RIF-Y-1) of the first MMS packet and the reception time of the responder's last RIF of the second MMS packet. The initiator also records the response time 2 from RX to TX, which is the time (negative value) between the reception time of the responder's last RIF of the second MMS packet and the transmission time of the initiator's last RIF (RIF-Y). The responder records the response time 2 from RX to TX, which is the time between the reception time of the second-to-last RIF of the initiator's first MMS packet and the transmission time of the responder's last RIF of the second MMS packet. The responder also records the round-trip time 2 from the responder's TX to RX, which is the time (negative value) between the sending time of the last RIF of the responder's second MMS packet and the receiving time of the last RIF of the initiator's first MMS packet.

[0248] Type 3 timing measurement can refer to the response time 3 and round-trip time 3 measured using the first RIF and the last RIF of the first MMS packet. The initiator records the round-trip time 3 from TX to RX, i.e., the time between the sending time of the first RIF of the initiator's first MMS packet and the receiving time of the first RIF of the responder's second MMS packet, which can be the same as the round-trip time 1 from TX to RX. The initiator also records the response time 3 from RX to TX, i.e., the time between the receiving time of the first RIF of the responder's second MMS packet and the sending time of the last RIF of the initiator's first MMS packet. The responder records the response time 3 from RX to TX, i.e., the time between the receiving time of the first RIF of the initiator's first MMS packet and the sending time of the first RIF of the responder's second MMS packet. The responder also records the round-trip time 3 from TX to RX, i.e., the time between the sending time of the first RIF of the responder's second MMS packet and the receiving time of the last RIF of the initiator's first MMS packet.

[0249] In the communication method provided in this embodiment of the invention, the third to sixth subfields can indicate specific measurement results, which is both convenient and flexible.

[0250] Once the settings indicating the TWR mode and whether DS-TWR timing measurement results are required in the REPORT frame are complete, the transmission / reception of all UWB MMS packets is finished. The requesting and / or responding device sends a REPORT frame to perform DS-TWR, and the device continues preparing the report.

[0251] In some embodiments, the communication method 700 further includes at least one of the following steps: the initiator sends a first REPORT frame, and the responder receives the first REPORT frame accordingly; or, the responder sends a second REPORT frame, and the initiator receives the second REPORT frame accordingly, wherein the content of the first REPORT frame or the second REPORT frame is determined according to a second field.

[0252] When the initiator receives the second report frame, it can obtain the timing measurement results from the second report frame and use these results, along with its own obtained timing measurement results, to determine the appropriate timing measurement method. Figure 5 A maximum of four Time-of-Flight (TOF) frames are calculated. For example, for a Type 1 timing measurement, the initiator's TX-RX round-trip time 1 and the initiator's RX-TX response time 1 can be obtained from the initiator; the responder's RX-TX response time 1 and the responder's TX-RX round-trip time 1 can be obtained from the second report frame, based on... Figure 5 The round-trip time from TX to RX of the initiator can be defined as 1. The round-trip time from TX to RX of the responder can be defined as 1. The response time from the initiator's RX to TX can be defined as 1. The response time from RX to TX of the responder can be defined as 1. Calculated according to Equation 2 above Other timing measurement results can refer to Type 1 timing measurement results, which will not be elaborated here.

[0253] When the responder receives the first report frame, it can obtain the timing measurement results from the first report frame and use these results, along with its own obtained timing measurement results, to determine the appropriate timing measurement method. Figure 5 The Time of Flow (TOF) can be calculated by referring to the description of the initiator mentioned above.

[0254] In the communication method according to an embodiment of the present invention, the final TOF can be obtained by exchanging at least one of the first or second REPORT frames.

[0255] In some embodiments, the round-trip time from TX to RX in the Type 1 timing measurement result and the round-trip time from TX to RX in the Type 3 timing measurement result are in the same field in the first REPORT frame, or the response time from RX to TX in the Type 1 timing measurement result and the response time from RX to TX in the Type 3 timing measurement result are in the same field in the second REPORT frame.

[0256] In the communication method of this embodiment, since the round-trip time from TX to RX in the timing measurement result of type 1 has the same value as the round-trip time from TX to RX in the timing measurement result of type 3, the round-trip time from TX to RX in the timing measurement result of type 1 and the round-trip time from TX to RX in the timing measurement result of type 3 are in the same field in the first REPORT frame, thereby saving resources; or, since the response time from RX to TX in the timing measurement result of type 1 has the same value as the response time from RX to TX in the timing measurement result of type 3, the response time from RX to TX in the timing measurement result of type 1 and the response time from RX to TX in the timing measurement result of type 3 are in the same field in the second REPORT frame, thereby saving resources.

[0257] The first report frame can also be called the initiator report frame. The initiator report frame can be an initiator report compact frame used to report DS-TWR timing. An initiator report compact frame can be like... Figure 19 As shown. The initiator report compact frame is similar to the polling compact frame described above, but the compact frame ID field is set to a different value (e.g., 5 for O2O initiator report, or 11 for O2M initiator report, or 17 for O2O initiator security report, or 19 for O2M initiator security report), and the RPA Prand field is absent. When the frame is a security report, the FCS field is replaced with the message integrity code (MIC) field, and the passthrough field is encrypted or authenticated.

[0258] Different values ​​in the message control field (e.g., 0xAB for O2O or 0xEF for O2M) indicate that the REPORT frame is used for DS-TWR.

[0259] It should be noted that the values ​​mentioned above for the compact frame ID field and message control field may be descriptive rather than restrictive, and may also be other values.

[0260] The message control fields in this frame may include report control fields, report list fields, and pass-through fields.

[0261] The report control fields may include a DS-TWR report bitmap field and a report quantity field. The DS-TWR report bitmap field, as shown in Table 2, indicates the timing included in each report in the report list field. The report quantity field indicates the number of reports carried in the report list field, one report per respondent. Under O2O, this field indicates one report, while under O2M, this field indicates two or more reports.

[0262] The report list field can carry one or more reports, the number of which is indicated by the report quantity field. Under O2M, each report in the report list corresponds to one responder and is ordered in the same order as the responders in the ranging phase.

[0263] The content of each report may be as follows.

[0264] The RSF round-trip time field (if present) can be used to report the round-trip time measured at the originator's RSF, i.e., the time between the RMFARKER of the originator's RSF and the RSF of the responder's RSF.

[0265] The RX to TX response time 1 field (if present) can be used to report the type 1 response time measured at the initiator's RIF, i.e., the time between the RMARRKER of the initiator's RIF and the responder's RIF.

[0266] When the Type 1 or Type 3 time field is set to 1 in the DS-TWR report bitmap, the TX to RX round-trip time 1 / 3 field may exist. If it exists, it can be used to report the Type 1 or Type 3 round-trip time measured at the initiator, i.e., the time between the RMARRER of the initiator RIF and the responder RIF.

[0267] The RX to TX response time 2 field (if present) can be used to report the type 2 response time measured at the initiator, i.e., the time between the initiator RIF and the responder RIF's RMARRKER.

[0268] The TX to RX round-trip time 2 field (if present) can be used to report the Type 2 round-trip time measured at the initiator, i.e., the time between the initiator RIF and the responder RIF's RMARKER.

[0269] The RX to TX response time 3 field (if present) can be used to report the type 3 response time measured at the initiator's RIF, i.e., the time between the RMARRKER of the initiator's RIF and the responder's RIF.

[0270] Pass-through fields can carry higher-level data.

[0271] The second report frame can also be called the responder report frame. The responder report frame can be a compact responder report frame used to report DS-TWR timing. A compact responder report frame can be like... Figure 20 As shown.

[0272] The general format of the responder report compact frame is similar to that of the response compact frame described above, but the compact frame ID field is set to a different value (e.g., 6 for O2O responder report, 10 for O2M responder report, 18 for O2O responder security report, or 20 for O2M responder security report), and the RPA Prand field is absent. When the frame is a security report, the FCS field is replaced with the MIC field, and the pass-through fields are encrypted or authenticated.

[0273] Different values ​​in the message control field (e.g., 0xAB for O2O or 0xEF for O2M) indicate that the frame is used for DS-TWR.

[0274] It should be noted that the values ​​mentioned above for the compact frame ID field and message control field may be descriptive rather than restrictive, and may also be other values.

[0275] The message control fields in this frame may include report control fields, pass-through fields, configuration fields, and timing measurement fields. Configuration fields may include management MAC configuration fields, management PHY configuration fields, ranging PHY configuration fields, or ranging MAC configuration fields, which may be the same as explained above.

[0276] The timed measurement field may look like the following.

[0277] The report control fields may include the DS-TWR report bitmap fields shown in Table 2, and indicate the timing fields included in the frame.

[0278] The RSF Response Time field (if present) can be used to report the response time measured at the initiator's RSF, i.e., the time between the RSF of the initiator and the RSF of the responder.

[0279] When the Type 1 or Type 3 time field is set to 1 in the DS-TWR report bitmap, the RX to TX response time 1 / 3 field may exist. If it exists, it can be used to report the Type 1 or Type 3 response time measured at the initiator's RIF, i.e., the time between the RMARRKER of the initiator's RIF and the responder's RIF.

[0280] The TX to RX round-trip time 1 field (if present) can be used to report the Type 1 round-trip time measured at the initiator, i.e., the time between the initiator RIF and the responder RIF's RMARKER.

[0281] The RX to TX response time 2 field (if present) can be used to report the type 2 response time measured at the initiator, i.e., the time between the initiator RIF and the responder RIF's RMARRKER.

[0282] The TX to RX round-trip time 2 field (if present) can be used to report the Type 2 round-trip time measured at the initiator, i.e., the time between the initiator RIF and the responder RIF's RMARKER.

[0283] The TX to RX round-trip time 3 field (if present) can be used to report the Type 3 round-trip time measured at the initiator, i.e., the time between the initiator RIF and the responder RIF's RMARRKER.

[0284] Furthermore, this invention provides another communication method involving signaling interaction to implement OWR using MMS packets. See also... Figure 21 The interactive devices include an initiator (or a chip, module, or circuit in the initiator) and a responder (or a chip, module, or circuit in the responder). Communication method 2100 may include the following steps.

[0285] In step 2101, the initiator determines a third polling frame, wherein the third polling frame indicates the initiation of an OWR and indicates the OWR type and information related to that OWR type.

[0286] In step 2102, the initiator sends a third polling frame; correspondingly, the responder can receive the third polling frame and determine to execute OWR based on the third polling frame.

[0287] For example, the initiator can initiate OWR by sending a third polling frame. The third polling frame can carry OWR-related information, which may include OWR-related details. The responder who receives the third polling frame can initiate OWR by receiving one or more MMS packets from the initiator, thereby executing OWR.

[0288] In the communication method provided in this embodiment of the invention, the initiator determines a third polling frame, wherein the third polling frame indicates the initiation of an OWR and indicates the OWR type and information related to the OWR type; the third polling frame is then sent. Therefore, an OWR using one or more MMS packets can be easily initiated and started, which may be highly efficient. Thus, the communication method provided in this embodiment of the invention can realize signaling interaction between the initiator and the responder to implement an OWR using one or more MMS packets.

[0289] To improve signaling interaction between the initiator and responder, and to implement OWR using one or more MMS packets, there are some settings in the third polling frame. It should be noted that the third polling frame can refer to the first polling frame.

[0290] In some embodiments, the third polling frame includes a second message control field, the value of which indicates that an OWR should be initiated.

[0291] In the communication method provided in this embodiment of the invention, the value of the second message control field indicates the initiation of OWR, which is easy to implement.

[0292] In some embodiments, the third polling frame further includes a second message content field, which includes a seventh subfield and an eighth subfield, wherein the value of the seventh subfield indicates the OWR type and the value of the eighth subfield indicates information related to the OWR type.

[0293] In the communication method provided in this embodiment of the invention, when the value of the second message control field indicates that an OWR is initiated, the second message content field can be adjusted accordingly to conform to the OWR, which is easy to implement.

[0294] In some embodiments, the OWR type includes a first OWR type based on downlink time difference of arrival (DL-TDoA), a second OWR type based on angle of arrival (AoA), or a third OWR type based on uplink time difference of arrival (UL-TDoA).

[0295] In the communication method of this invention embodiment, different types of OWR can be initiated, and OWR applications can be extended.

[0296] For example, the third polling frame could be the aforementioned polling compact frame. The message control field in the polling compact frame can be set to a value to initiate OWR. When the message control field in the polling compact frame is set to a specific value to initiate OWR, the message content field is correspondingly set to conform to OWR.

[0297] For example, a polling compact frame with the message control field set to a certain value (such as 0x70) can also be used to initiate an OWR. It should be noted that the value 0x70 is descriptive rather than restrictive, and other values ​​may also exist.

[0298] When the message control field is set to a value such as 0x70, the message content field of the polling compact frame is used in OWR as follows: Figure 22 As shown.

[0299] The message content field may include a payload length field and a payload field.

[0300] The payload length field is set to a value that represents the length of the payload field, which is two or more octets. The first octet of the payload field can carry a message type field, which indicates the different subtypes of the OWR message. For example: 0x00: OWR label for UL-TDOA 0x01: Anchor point OWR for UL-TDOA 0x02: OWR for the initiator of DL-TDOA, where the initial signal for OWR comes from the initiator; 0x03: OWR for the responder in DL-TDOA, where the initial signal for OWR comes from the responder; 0x04: The initiator final OWR for DL-TDOA is a combination of the initiator OWR for DL-TDOA and the responder OWR for DL-TDOA. The initial signal for the OWR comes from the initiator. 0x05: OWR for AoA.

[0301] The remaining eight bytes of the payload field carry a type-related payload field, which contains information related to the OWR application specified by the message type field.

[0302] In some embodiments, the communication method 2100 includes step 2103: the initiator sends an MMS packet comprising more than one MMS fragment. Therefore, OWR can be performed based on the sent MMS packet.

[0303] like Figure 23 As shown, the initiator can first send a polling frame, followed by I-1 and I-2, which are two fragments of one MMS packet. One polling frame and one MMS packet can refer to one OWR MMS message. Figure 23 In this process, four OWR MMS messages are sent. In reality, the number of OWR MMS messages depends on the specific application.

[0304] In various embodiments of the present invention, unless otherwise specified or logically conflicting, the terminology and / or descriptions between different embodiments are consistent and can be referenced in each other. Technical features in different embodiments can be combined to form new embodiments based on their inherent logical relationships.

[0305] It is understood that, in order to achieve the above functions, both the initiator and the responder include corresponding hardware and / or software modules to implement various functions. Those skilled in the art should readily recognize that, in conjunction with the units and algorithm steps described in the embodiments of the present invention, the embodiments of the present invention can be implemented in hardware or a combination of hardware and computer software. Whether a certain function is executed by hardware or by computer software driving hardware execution depends on the specific application and design constraints of the technical solution.

[0306] In various embodiments of the present invention, unless otherwise specified or logically conflicting, the terminology and / or descriptions between different embodiments are consistent and can be referenced in each other. Technical features in different embodiments can be combined to form new embodiments based on their inherent logical relationships.

[0307] It is understood that, in order to achieve the above functions, both the initiator and the responder include corresponding hardware and / or software modules to implement various functions. Those skilled in the art should readily recognize that, in conjunction with the units and algorithm steps described in the embodiments of the present invention, the embodiments of the present invention can be implemented in hardware or a combination of hardware and computer software. Whether a certain function is executed by hardware or by computer software driving hardware execution depends on the specific application and design constraints of the technical solution.

[0308] Figure 24 Block diagrams of communication devices provided in some embodiments of the present invention are shown. For example... Figure 24 As shown, the communication device 2400 may include a transmitting module 2401, a receiving module 2402, and a processing module 2403.

[0309] In some embodiments, the communication device 2400 can be applied to the initiator and implement any of the above-described communication method embodiments, which involve signaling interaction between the initiator and one or more responders to implement DS-TWR, and are performed by the initiator.

[0310] The sending module 2401 is used to send a first polling frame, wherein the first polling frame indicates the initiation of DS-TWR and indicates the number of MMS packets used for DS-TWR.

[0311] The receiving module 2402 is used to receive a first response frame sent by the first responder according to the first polling frame.

[0312] In one possible implementation, the first polling frame also instructs the initiation of DS-TWR with N responders, where the first responder is the responder ranked first among the N responders.

[0313] In one possible implementation, the first polling frame includes a first message content field, which includes a first subfield indicating the number of MMS packets.

[0314] In one possible implementation, the number of sub-rounds in the ranging rounds used for DS-TWR varies with at least one of the following: the number of MMS packets or the number of responders initiated via the first polling frame.

[0315] In one possible implementation, the first message content field also includes a second subfield that indicates the number of sub-rounds included in the ranging rounds used for DS-TWR.

[0316] In one possible implementation, the first polling frame also indicates the number of time slots per sub-round for the ranging rounds used in DS-TWR.

[0317] In one possible implementation, the first polling frame also indicates whether the MMS packet is sent interleaved or non-interleaved.

[0318] In one possible implementation, the MMS packets are sent non-interleaved, the number of MMS packets is 3, and the number of sub-rounds in the ranging round of DS-TWR is (N+2). The sending module 2401 is used to send the first MMS packet in the first sub-round; the receiving module 2402 is used to receive the second MMS packet from the Nth responder in the (N+1)th sub-round; and the sending module 2401 is used to send the third MMS packet in the (N+2)th sub-round.

[0319] In one possible implementation, the MMS packets are sent interleaved, with a total of 3 MMS packets, and the number of sub-rounds in the ranging round of DS-TWR is (N+1). The sending module 2401 is used to send a first MMS packet to the Nth responder in the Nth sub-round; the receiving module 2402 is used to receive a second MMS packet from the Nth responder in the Nth sub-round; and the sending module 2401 is used to send a third MMS packet in the (N+1)th sub-round.

[0320] In one possible implementation, the sending module 2401 is used to send a second polling frame before sending the third MMS packet.

[0321] In one possible implementation, the second polling frame indicates whether a second response frame based on the second polling frame is required.

[0322] In one possible implementation, the first polling frame also indicates whether a second response frame based on the second polling frame is needed.

[0323] In one possible implementation, the MMS packets are sent interleaved, with a total of 2 MMS packets and N sub-rounds in the ranging rounds used for DS-TWR. The sending module 2401 is used to send the first MMS packet to the Nth responder in the Nth sub-round; the receiving module 2402 is used to receive the second MMS packet from the Nth responder in the Nth sub-round.

[0324] In one possible implementation, the receiving module 2402 is used to receive ADV-RESP frames; the sending module 2401 is used to send SOR frames.

[0325] In one possible implementation, any one of the ADV-RESP frame, SOR frame, or first polling frame includes a first field indicating the TWR mode of the DS-TWR, which includes either DS-TWR using 3 MMS packets or DS-TWR using 2 MMS packets.

[0326] In one possible implementation, the SOR frame or the first polling frame includes a second field that indicates whether timing measurement results from DS-TWR are required in the REPORT frame.

[0327] In one possible implementation, the TWR mode is a DS-TWR using three MMS packets, and the second field includes at least one of the following: a third subfield indicating whether a Type 1 timing measurement result is required in the REPORT frame, wherein the Type 1 timing measurement result is obtained through the first ranging integrity fragment (RIF) of the first, second, and third MMS packets; a fourth subfield indicating whether a Type 2 timing measurement result is required in the REPORT frame, wherein the Type 2 timing measurement result is obtained through the last RIF of the first, second, and third MMS packets; a fifth subfield indicating whether a Type 3 timing measurement result is required in the REPORT frame, wherein the Type 3 timing measurement result is obtained through the first RIF of the first and second MMS packets and the last RIF of the third MMS packet; or a sixth subfield indicating whether an RSF timing measurement result is required in the REPORT frame, wherein the RSF timing measurement result is obtained through the RSF of the first, second, and third MMS packets.

[0328] In one possible implementation, the TWR mode is a DS-TWR using two MMS packets, and the second field includes at least one of the following: a third subfield indicating whether a Type 1 timing measurement result is required in the REPORT frame, wherein the Type 1 timing measurement result is obtained from the first two RIFs of the first MMS packet and the first RIF of the second MMS packet; a fourth subfield indicating whether a Type 2 timing measurement result is required in the REPORT frame, wherein the Type 2 timing measurement result is obtained from the last two RIFs of the first MMS packet and the last RIF of the second MMS packet; a fifth subfield indicating whether a Type 3 timing measurement result is required in the REPORT frame, wherein the Type 3 timing measurement result is obtained from the first two RIFs of the first MMS packet and the last RIF of the second MMS packet; and a sixth subfield indicating whether an RSF timing measurement result is required in the REPORT frame, wherein the RSF timing measurement result is obtained from the RSFs of the first and second MMS packets.

[0329] In one possible implementation, the sending module 2401 is used to send a first REPORT frame, or the receiving module 2402 is used to receive a second REPORT frame, wherein the content of the first REPORT frame or the second REPORT frame is determined according to a second field.

[0330] In one possible implementation, the round-trip time from TX to RX in the type 1 timing measurement result is in the same field as the round-trip time from TX to RX in the type 3 timing measurement result in the first REPORT frame, or the response time from RX to TX in the type 1 timing measurement result is in the same field as the response time from RX to TX in the type 3 timing measurement result in the second REPORT frame.

[0331] In other embodiments, the communication device 2400 may be applied to the responder and implement any of the above-described communication method embodiments, which involve signaling interaction between the initiator and one or more responders to implement DS-TWR, and are performed by the responder.

[0332] The receiving module 2402 is used to receive a first polling frame from the initiator, wherein the first polling frame indicates the initiation of DS-TWR and indicates the number of MMS packets used for DS-TWR.

[0333] The sending module 2401 is used to send a first response frame to the initiator based on the first polling frame.

[0334] In one possible implementation, the MMS packets are sent non-interleaved, the number of MMS packets is 3, and the number of sub-rounds in the ranging rounds used for DS-TWR is (N+2). If the responder is the Nth responder, the receiving module 2402 is used to receive the first MMS packet from the initiator in the first sub-round; the sending module 2401 is used to send the second MMS packet to the initiator in the (N+1)th sub-round; and the receiving module 2402 is used to receive the third MMS packet from the initiator in the (N+2)th sub-round.

[0335] In one possible implementation, the MMS packets are sent interleaved, with a total of 3 MMS packets, and the number of sub-rounds in the ranging rounds used for DS-TWR is (N+1). If the responder is the Nth responder, the receiving module 2402 is used to receive the first MMS packet from the initiator in the Nth sub-round; the sending module 2401 is used to send the second MMS packet to the initiator in the Nth sub-round; and the receiving module 2402 is used to receive the third MMS packet from the initiator in the (N+1)th sub-round.

[0336] In one possible implementation, the receiving module 2402 is used to receive a second polling frame from the initiator before receiving a third MMS packet.

[0337] In one possible implementation, the MMS packets are sent interleaved, with a total of 2 MMS packets and N sub-rounds in the ranging rounds used for DS-TWR. If the responder is the Nth responder, the receiving module 2402 is used to receive the first MMS packet from the initiator in the Nth sub-round; the sending module 2401 is used to send the second MMS packet to the initiator in the Nth sub-round.

[0338] In one possible implementation, the sending module 2401 is used to send an ADV-RESP frame to the initiator; the receiving module 2402 is used to receive an SOR frame from the initiator.

[0339] In one possible implementation, the receiving module 2402 is used to receive the first REPORT frame from the initiator; or the sending module 2401 is used to send the second REPORT frame to the initiator.

[0340] In other embodiments, the communication device 2400 may be applied to the initiator and implement any of the above-described communication method embodiments, which involve signaling interaction to implement OWR using MMS packets and are executed by the initiator.

[0341] The processing module 2403 is used to determine the third polling frame, which indicates the initiation of OWR and indicates the OWR type and information related to the OWR type.

[0342] The sending module 2401 is used to send the third polling frame.

[0343] In one possible implementation, the sending module 2401 is used to send an MMS packet that includes more than one MMS fragment.

[0344] In one possible implementation, the third polling frame includes a second message control field, the value of which indicates that an OWR should be initiated.

[0345] In one possible implementation, the third polling frame also includes a second message content field, which includes a seventh subfield and an eighth subfield. The value of the seventh subfield indicates the OWR type, and the eighth subfield indicates information related to the OWR type.

[0346] In one possible implementation, the OWR type includes a first OWR type based on DL-TDoA, a second OWR type based on AoA, or a third OWR type based on UL-TDoA.

[0347] In other embodiments, the communication device 2400 may be applied to the responder and implement any of the above-described communication method embodiments, which involve signaling interaction to implement OWR using MMS packets and are performed by the responder.

[0348] The receiving module 2402 is used to receive the third polling frame, which indicates the initiation of OWR and indicates the OWR type and information related to the OWR type.

[0349] Processing module 2403 is used to determine the execution of OWR based on the third polling frame.

[0350] In one possible implementation, the receiving module 2402 is used to receive an MMS packet that includes more than one MMS fragment.

[0351] It should be noted that the communication device provided in this embodiment of the invention can implement all the method steps related to the initiator or responder in the method embodiment, and can achieve the same technical effect. The same parts and beneficial effects between this embodiment and the method embodiment will not be repeated here.

[0352] Figure 25 These are block diagrams of electronic devices provided in some embodiments of the present invention. For example... Figure 25 As shown, the electronic device 2500 may include: a processor 2501, communicatively coupled to a memory 2502 via an interface 2503, wherein the memory 2502 stores computer-executable instructions; the processor 2501 executes the computer-executable instructions stored in the memory 2502 to perform the communication method implemented by the initiator or responder described above. It should be noted that the memory 2502 may or may not be included in the electronic device, depending on actual needs.

[0353] This invention includes various embodiments, not only method embodiments but also other embodiments, such as apparatus embodiments and embodiments involving non-transitory computer-readable storage media. Embodiments may be combined individually or in combination with the features disclosed herein.

[0354] While this invention pertains to illustrative embodiments, it is not intended to be limiting. With reference to this document, those skilled in the art will clearly understand various modifications and combinations of the illustrative embodiments and other embodiments of the invention.

[0355] Features disclosed herein in the context of any particular embodiment may be implemented additionally or alternatively in other embodiments. For example, method embodiments may be implemented additionally or alternatively in apparatus, system, and / or computer program product embodiments. Additionally, while embodiments are described primarily in the context of methods and apparatus, other implementations are contemplated as instructions stored in one or more non-transitory computer-readable media, etc. These media may store programs or instructions to perform any of the various methods consistent with the present invention.

[0356] Some embodiments of the present invention provide a computer-readable storage medium (e.g., a non-transitory computer-readable storage medium). The computer-readable storage medium stores program instructions that, when executed on a network device / terminal device, cause the network device / terminal device to perform one or more steps of the beam management method described in any of the above embodiments.

[0357] For example, computer-readable storage media include, but are not limited to, magnetic storage devices (e.g., hard disks, floppy disks, or magnetic tapes), optical disks (e.g., compact disks (CDs) or DVDs), smart cards, and flash memory devices (e.g., erasable programmable read-only memory (EPROMs), cards, sticks, or key drives). The various computer-readable storage media described in embodiments of this invention can represent one or more devices and / or other machine-readable storage media used for storing information. The term "computer-readable storage medium" can include, but is not limited to, wireless channels and various other media capable of storing, containing, and / or carrying instructions and / or data.

[0358] Some embodiments of the present invention also provide a computer program product. The computer program product includes program instructions carried on a non-transitory computer-readable storage medium. When executed on a network device / terminal device, the computer program instructions cause the network device / terminal device to perform one or more steps of the method for data transmission described in the above embodiments.

[0359] The beneficial effects of the computer-readable storage medium and computer program product are the same as those of the methods for data transmission described in the above embodiments, and will not be repeated here.

[0360] The above description is merely a specific implementation of the present invention, but the scope of protection of the present invention is not limited thereto. Any changes or substitutions within the technical scope of the present invention should be included within the scope of protection of the present invention. Therefore, the scope of protection of the present invention should be determined by the scope of the claims.

[0361] In some aspects of the invention, a computer program comprising instructions is provided. When executed by a processor, these instructions cause the processor to implement the method of the invention.

[0362] In some aspects of the present invention, an integrated circuit is provided. The integrated circuit includes one or more logic circuits to perform the steps of the method for data transmission of the present invention.

[0363] In some aspects of the invention, an apparatus is provided, comprising components (e.g., at least one processor) for implementing the methods of the invention. The apparatus may be a device (i.e., a terminal device or a network device) or a module or component within a device. The at least one processor can execute instructions stored in a computer-readable medium to implement the methods described above.

[0364] The device can be a device or a device implemented in a device. For example, a device implemented in a device can be an integrated circuit, which, in some contexts, can be referred to by other names, such as a chip, modem, modem chip, baseband chip, or baseband processor. In some implementations, one or more integrated circuits can be packaged as a system-on-a-chip, a system-in-package, or a multi-chip module. The device may include one or more integrated circuits, or may include one or more integrated circuits and other discrete components.

[0365] It is understood that any module, component, or device disclosing executable instructions herein may include or otherwise access one or more non-transitory computer / processor-readable storage media to store information, such as computer / processor-readable instructions, data structures, program modules, and / or other data. A non-exhaustive list of examples of non-transitory computer / processor-readable storage media includes magnetic tape cassettes, magnetic tape, disk storage or other magnetic storage devices, compact disc read-only memory (CD-ROM), digital video disc or digital versatile disc (i.e., DVD), Blu-ray disc™ and other optical discs, or other optical storage devices; volatile and non-volatile, removable and non-removable media implemented in any method or technology; random-access memory (RAM); read-only memory (ROM); electrically erasable programmable read-only memory (EEPROM); flash memory or other storage technologies. Any such non-transitory computer / processor-readable storage medium may be part of a device or apparatus, or may access or be connected to a device or apparatus. Computer / processor-readable / executable instructions used to implement the methods, applications, or modules described herein may be stored by such non-transitory computer / processor-readable storage media or otherwise preserved.

[0366] It should be noted that the message in this invention can be replaced with information, which can be carried in a single message or in more than one single message.

[0367] The terms “device” and “equipment” are used interchangeably.

[0368] In this invention, the term "a" or "an" is defined as meaning "at least one", that is, unless otherwise stated, these terms do not exclude multiple items.

[0369] In this invention, terms such as “substantially,” “usually,” and “about” that modify the value, condition, or characteristic of a feature of an exemplary embodiment should be understood to mean that the value, condition, or characteristic is defined within an acceptable tolerance range to ensure that the exemplary embodiment can function properly in its intended application.

[0370] In this invention, unless otherwise stated, the terms “connection” and “coupling” and their derivatives and variations refer herein to any direct or indirect structural or functional connection or coupling between two or more elements. For example, a connection or coupling between elements can be acoustic, mechanical, optical, electrical, thermal, logical, or any combination thereof.

[0371] In this invention, expressions such as “matched,” “matching,” and “matched” include variations and derivatives thereof, intended to refer to a state in which two or more elements are identical or within a predetermined tolerance range of each other. That is, these terms not only cover matching two elements “completely” or “perfectly consistent,” but also matching two or more elements “substantially,” “generally,” or “subjectively,” as well as providing a higher or better match among multiple matching possibilities.

[0372] In this invention, the term "based on" is intended to mean "at least partially based on," that is, the expression can mean either "based on only" or "partially based on," and therefore should not be interpreted narrowly. More specifically, the term "based on" can also be understood as "depending on," "representing," "indicating," "associated with," or similar expressions.

[0373] In this invention, the terms "system" and "network" can be used interchangeably in different embodiments of the invention. "At least one" means one or more, and "multiple" means two or more. The term "and / or" describes the relationship between associated objects, indicating that three relationships may exist. For example, A and / or B can represent the following three cases: only A exists, both A and B exist, and only B exists, where A and B can be single or multiple. The character " / " generally indicates an "OR" relationship between associated objects. "At least one of the following items" or similar expressions indicate any combination of these items, including a single item or any combination of multiple items. For example, "at least one of A, B, or C" includes: only A; only B; only C; A and B; A and C; B and C; or A, B, and C; "at least one of A, B, and C" can also be understood to include: only A; only B; only C; A and B; A and C; B and C; or A, B, and C. In addition, unless otherwise stated, the ordinal numbers such as "first" and "second" in the embodiments of the present invention are used to distinguish multiple objects, rather than to limit the order, time sequence, priority or importance of multiple objects.

[0374] Those skilled in the art will understand that embodiments of the present invention can be provided as a method, apparatus (or system), computer-readable storage medium, or computer program product. Therefore, the present invention can take the form of a purely hardware embodiment, a purely software embodiment, or an embodiment combining software and hardware. Furthermore, the present invention can take the form of a computer program product implemented on one or more computer-readable storage media (including, but not limited to, disk storage, optical storage, etc.) comprising computer-readable program code.

[0375] This invention is described with reference to flowchart illustrations and / or block diagrams of the methods, apparatus (systems), and computer program products provided by this invention. It should be understood that computer program instructions can be used to implement each process and / or block in the flowchart illustrations and / or block diagrams, as well as combinations of processes and / or blocks in the flowchart illustrations and / or block diagrams. The computer program instructions can be adapted to a processor of a general-purpose computer, special-purpose computer, embedded processor, or other programmable data processing device, enabling the machine to execute these instructions. When executed by a processor of any computer or programmable data processing device, these instructions cause the apparatus to perform a specific function described in one or more processes in the flowchart illustrations and / or one or more blocks in the block diagram. The computer program instructions can also be stored in a computer-readable storage medium capable of instructing a computer or other programmable data processing device to operate in a particular manner, such that the instructions stored in the computer-readable storage medium produce an article of manufacture including instruction means. The instruction means implement a specific function in one or more processes in the flowchart illustrations and / or one or more blocks in the block diagram.

[0376] Computer program instructions can also be loaded into a computer or other programmable data processing device to perform a series of operations and steps within the computer or other programmable device, thereby generating a computer-implemented process. Therefore, the instructions that execute within a computer or other programmable device provide steps for implementing one or more processes in a flowchart and / or one or more blocks in a block diagram.

[0377] Obviously, those skilled in the art can make various modifications and variations to this invention without departing from its scope. This invention is intended to cover these modifications and variations, provided they fall within the protection scope defined by the appended claims and their equivalents.

Claims

1. A communication method, characterized in that, include: Send a first polling frame, wherein the first polling frame indicates the initiation of double-sided two-way ranging (DS-TWR) and indicates the number of multi-millisecond (MMS) packets for DS-TWR; Receive a first response frame sent by the first responder based on the first polling frame.

2. The method according to claim 1, characterized in that, The first polling frame also indicates that a DS-TWR is initiated with N responders, where the first responder is the first-ranked responder among the N responders, and N is a positive integer greater than or equal to 1.

3. The method according to claim 1 or 2, characterized in that, The first polling frame includes a first message content field, which includes a first subfield indicating the number of MMS packets.

4. The method according to claim 3, characterized in that, The number of sub-rounds in the ranging rounds used for DS-TWR varies with at least one of the following: the number of MMS packets or the number of responders initiated via the first polling frame.

5. The method according to claim 3, characterized in that, The first message content field also includes a second subfield, which indicates the number of sub-rounds included in the ranging rounds used for DS-TWR.

6. The method according to claim 4 or 5, characterized in that, The first polling frame also indicates the number of time slots per sub-round for the ranging round used in DS-TWR.

7. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 6, characterized in that, The first polling frame also indicates whether the MMS packet is sent interleaved or non-interleaved.

8. The method according to claim 7, characterized in that, The MMS packets are sent non-interleaved, the number of MMS packets is 3, and the number of sub-rounds in the ranging rounds used for DS-TWR is (N+2). The method further includes: Send the first MMS packet in the first sub-round; Receive the second MMS packet from the Nth responder in the (N+1)th sub-round; In the (N+2)th sub-round, a third MMS packet is sent, where N is the number of responders initiated through the first polling frame and is a positive integer greater than or equal to 1.

9. The method according to claim 7, characterized in that, The MMS packets are sent interleaved, the number of MMS packets is 3, and the number of sub-rounds in the ranging round of DS-TWR is (N+1). The method further includes: In the Nth sub-round, send the first MMS packet to the Nth responder; In the Nth sub-round, a second MMS packet is received from the Nth responder; In the (N+1)th sub-round, a third MMS packet is sent, where N is the number of responders initiated through the first polling frame and is a positive integer greater than or equal to 1.

10. The method according to claim 8 or 9, characterized in that, Before sending the third MMS packet, the method further includes: Send the second polling frame.

11. The method according to claim 10, characterized in that, The second polling frame indicates whether a second response frame based on the second polling frame is required.

12. The method according to claim 10 or 11, characterized in that, The first polling frame also indicates whether a second response frame based on the second polling frame is required.

13. The method according to claim 7, characterized in that, The MMS packets are sent interleaved, the number of MMS packets is 2, and the number of sub-rounds in the ranging round of DS-TWR is N. The method further includes: In the Nth sub-round, send the first MMS packet to the Nth responder; In the Nth sub-round, a second MMS packet is received from the Nth responder, where N is the number of responders initiated through the first polling frame and is a positive integer greater than or equal to 1.

14. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 13, characterized in that, Also includes: Receive advertising-response (ADV-RESP) frames; Send a start of ranging (SOR) frame.

15. The method according to claim 14, characterized in that, The ADV-RESP frame, the SOR frame, or the first polling frame includes a first field indicating the TWR mode of the DS-TWR, the TWR mode including DS-TWR using 3 MMS packets or DS-TWR using 2 MMS packets.

16. The method according to claim 15, characterized in that, The SOR frame or the first polling frame includes a second field indicating whether the timing measurement results of DS-TWR are required in the report frame.

17. The method according to claim 16, characterized in that, The TWR mode is a DS-TWR using 3 MMS packets, and the second field includes at least one of the following: The third subfield indicates whether a Type 1 timing measurement result is required in the REPORT frame, wherein the Type 1 timing measurement result is obtained through the first ranging integrity fragment (RIF) of the first MMS packet, the second MMS packet, and the third MMS packet; The fourth subfield indicates whether the REPORT frame requires a Type 2 timing measurement result, wherein the Type 2 timing measurement result is obtained through the last RIF of the first MMS packet, the second MMS packet, and the third MMS packet; The fifth subfield indicates whether type 3 timing measurement results are required in the REPORT frame, wherein the type 3 timing measurement results are obtained through the first RIF of the first MMS packet and the second MMS packet, and the last RIF of the third MMS packet; or The sixth subfield indicates whether the REPORT frame requires the timing measurement results of the ranging sequence fragment (RSF), wherein the RSF timing measurement results are obtained through the RSF of the first MMS packet, the second MMS packet, and the third MMS packet.

18. The method according to claim 16, characterized in that, The TWR mode is a DS-TWR using two MMS packets, and the second field includes at least one of the following: The third subfield indicates whether the REPORT frame requires a Type 1 timing measurement result, wherein the Type 1 timing measurement result is obtained through the first two RIFs of the first MMS packet and the first RIF of the second MMS packet; The fourth subfield indicates whether the REPORT frame requires type 2 timing measurement results, wherein the type 2 timing measurement results are obtained through the last two RIFs of the first MMS packet and the last RIF of the second MMS packet; The fifth subfield indicates whether type 3 timing measurement results are required in the REPORT frame, wherein the type 3 timing measurement results are obtained through the first two RIFs of the first MMS packet and the last RIF of the second MMS packet; or The sixth subfield indicates whether the REPORT frame requires the timing measurement results of the ranging sequence fragment (RSF), wherein the RSF timing measurement results are obtained through the RSF of the first MMS packet and the second MMS packet.

19. The method according to claim 17 or 18, characterized in that, It also includes at least one of the following steps: Send the first REPORT frame; or Receive the second REPORT frame, in which, The content of the first REPORT frame or the second REPORT frame is determined based on the second field.

20. The method according to claim 19, characterized in that, The round-trip time from TX to RX in the type 1 timing measurement result and the round-trip time from TX to RX in the type 3 timing measurement result are in the same field in the first REPORT frame, or The RX to TX response time in the Type 1 timing measurement result and the RX to TX response time in the Type 3 timing measurement result are in the same field in the second REPORT frame.

21. A communication method, characterized in that, include: Receive a first polling frame from the initiator, wherein the first polling frame indicates the initiation of double-sided two-way ranging (DS-TWR) and indicates the number of multi-millisecond (MMS) packets used for DS-TWR; A first response frame is sent to the initiator based on the first polling frame.

22. The method according to claim 21, characterized in that, The first polling frame also indicates that DS-TWR be initiated with N responders, where N is a positive integer greater than or equal to 1.

23. The method according to claim 21 or 22, characterized in that, The first polling frame includes a first message content field, which includes a first subfield indicating the number of MMS packets.

24. The method according to claim 23, characterized in that, The number of sub-rounds included in the ranging rounds used for DS-TWR varies with at least one of the following: the number of MMS packets or the number of responders initiated via the first polling frame.

25. The method according to claim 23, characterized in that, The first message content field also includes a second subfield, which indicates the number of sub-rounds included in the ranging rounds used for DS-TWR.

26. The method according to 24 or 25, characterized in that, The first polling frame also indicates the number of time slots per sub-round for the ranging rounds used in DS-TWR.

27. The method according to any one of claims 21 to 26, characterized in that, The first polling frame also indicates whether the MMS packet is sent interleaved or non-interleaved.

28. The method according to claim 27, characterized in that, The MMS packets are sent non-interleaved, the number of MMS packets is 3, and the number of sub-rounds in the ranging rounds used for DS-TWR is (N+2). The method further includes: Receive the first MMS packet from the initiator in the first sub-round; In the (N+1)th sub-round, a second MMS packet is sent to the initiator; In the (N+2)th sub-round, a third MMS packet is received from the initiator, where N is the number of responders initiated through the first polling frame and is a positive integer greater than or equal to 1.

29. The method according to claim 27, characterized in that, The MMS packets are sent interleaved, the number of MMS packets is 3, and the number of sub-rounds in the ranging round of DS-TWR is (N+1). The method further includes: Receive the first MMS packet from the initiator in the Nth sub-round; In the Nth sub-round, a second MMS packet is sent to the initiator; In the (N+1)th sub-round, a third MMS packet is received from the initiator, where N is the number of responders initiated through the first polling frame and is a positive integer greater than or equal to 1.

30. The method according to claim 28 or 29, characterized in that, Before receiving the third MMS packet, the method further includes: Receive the second polling frame from the initiator.

31. The method according to claim 30, characterized in that, The second polling frame indicates whether a second response frame based on the second polling frame is required.

32. The method according to claim 30 or 31, characterized in that, The first polling frame also indicates whether a second response frame based on the second polling frame is required.

33. The method according to claim 27, characterized in that, The MMS packets are sent interleaved, the number of MMS packets is 2, and the number of sub-rounds in the ranging round of DS-TWR is N. The method further includes: Receive the first MMS packet from the initiator in the Nth sub-round; In the Nth sub-round, a second MMS packet is sent to the initiator, where N is the number of responders initiated through the first polling frame and is a positive integer greater than or equal to 1.

34. The method according to any one of claims 21 to 33, characterized in that, Also includes: Send an advertising-response (ADV-RESP) frame to the initiator; Receive the start of ranging (SOR) frame from the initiator.

35. The method according to claim 34, characterized in that, The ADV-RESP frame, the SOR frame, or the first polling frame includes a first field indicating the TWR mode of the DS-TWR, the TWR mode including DS-TWR using 3 MMS packets or DS-TWR using 2 packets.

36. The method according to claim 35, characterized in that, The SOR frame or the first polling frame includes a second field indicating whether the timing measurement results of DS-TWR are required in the report frame.

37. The method according to claim 36, characterized in that, The TWR mode is a DS-TWR using 3 MMS packets, and the second field includes at least one of the following: The third subfield indicates whether a Type 1 timing measurement result is required in the REPORT frame, wherein the Type 1 timing measurement result is obtained through the first ranging integrity fragment (RIF) of the first MMS packet, the second MMS packet, and the third MMS packet; The fourth subfield indicates whether the REPORT frame requires a Type 2 timing measurement result, wherein the Type 2 timing measurement result is obtained through the last RIF of the first MMS packet, the second MMS packet, and the third MMS packet; The fifth subfield indicates whether type 3 timing measurement results are required in the REPORT frame, wherein the type 3 timing measurement results are obtained through the first RIF of the first MMS packet and the second MMS packet, and the last RIF of the third MMS packet; or The sixth subfield indicates whether the REPORT frame requires the timing measurement results of the ranging sequence fragment (RSF), wherein the RSF timing measurement results are obtained through the RSF of the first MMS packet, the second MMS packet, and the third MMS packet.

38. The method according to claim 36, characterized in that, The TWR mode is a DS-TWR using two MMS packets, and the second field includes at least one of the following: The third subfield indicates whether the REPORT frame requires a Type 1 timing measurement result, wherein the Type 1 timing measurement result is obtained through the first two RIFs of the first MMS packet and the first RIF of the second MMS packet; The fourth subfield indicates whether the REPORT frame requires type 2 timing measurement results, wherein the type 2 timing measurement results are obtained through the last two RIFs of the first MMS packet and the last RIF of the second MMS packet; The fifth subfield indicates whether type 3 timing measurement results are required in the REPORT frame, wherein the type 3 timing measurement results are obtained through the first two RIFs of the first MMS packet and the last RIF of the second MMS packet; or The sixth subfield indicates whether the REPORT frame requires the timing measurement results of the ranging sequence fragment (RSF), wherein the RSF timing measurement results are obtained through the RSF of the first MMS packet and the second MMS packet.

39. The method according to claim 37 or 38, characterized in that, It also includes at least one of the following steps: Receive the first REPORT frame from the initiator; or A second REPORT frame is sent to the initiator, wherein, The content of the first REPORT frame or the second REPORT frame is determined based on the second field.

40. The method according to claim 39, characterized in that, The round-trip time from TX to RX in the type 1 timing measurement result and the round-trip time from TX to RX in the type 3 timing measurement result are in the same field in the first REPORT frame, or The RX to TX response time in the Type 1 timing measurement result and the RX to TX response time in the Type 3 timing measurement result are in the same field in the second REPORT frame.

41. A communication method, characterized in that, include: The third round of query frames is determined, wherein the third round of query frames indicates the initiation of one-way ranging (OWR) and indicates the OWR type and information related to the OWR type; Send the third polling frame.

42. The method according to claim 41, characterized in that, Also includes: Send an MMS packet that includes more than one MMS fragment.

43. The method according to claim 41 or 42, characterized in that, The third polling frame includes a second message control field, the value of which indicates that an OWR should be initiated.

44. The method according to claim 43, characterized in that, The third polling frame also includes a second message content field, which includes a seventh subfield and an eighth subfield. The value of the seventh subfield indicates the OWR type, and the eighth subfield indicates information related to the OWR type.

45. The method according to any one of claims 41 to 44, characterized in that, The OWR types include a first OWR type based on downlink time difference of arrival (DL-TDoA), a second OWR type based on angle of arrival (AoA), or a third OWR type based on uplink time difference of arrival (UL-TDoA).

46. ​​A communication method, characterized in that, include: Receive a third round of query frames, wherein the third round of query frames indicates the initiation of one-way ranging (OWR) and indicates the OWR type and information related to the OWR type; The execution of OWR is determined based on the third polling frame.

47. The method according to claim 46, characterized in that, Also includes: Receive MMS packets that include more than one MMS fragment.

48. The method according to claim 46 or 47, characterized in that, The third polling frame includes a second message control field, the value of which indicates that an OWR should be initiated.

49. The method according to claim 48, characterized in that, The third polling frame also includes a second message content field, which includes a seventh subfield and an eighth subfield. The value of the seventh subfield indicates the OWR type, and the eighth subfield indicates information related to the OWR type.

50. The method according to any one of claims 46 to 49, characterized in that, The OWR types include a first OWR type based on downlink time difference of arrival (DL-TDoA), a second OWR type based on angle of arrival (AoA), or a third OWR type based on uplink time difference of arrival (UL-TDoA).

51. A communication device, characterized in that, It includes units for performing the method according to any one of claims 1 to 20, or units for performing the method according to any one of claims 41 to 45.

52. A communication device, characterized in that, It includes a unit for performing the method according to any one of claims 21 to 40, or a unit for performing the method according to any one of claims 46 to 50.

53. An electronic device, characterized in that, Includes processing circuitry for performing the method according to any one of claims 1 to 20 or the method according to any one of claims 41 to 45.

54. An electronic device, characterized in that, Includes processing circuitry for performing the method according to any one of claims 21 to 40 or the method according to any one of claims 46 to 50.

55. A chip, characterized in that, It includes an input / output (I / O) interface and a processor, wherein the processor is used to call and run a computer program stored in a memory to cause a device on which the chip is mounted to perform the method according to any one of claims 1 to 20 or claims 41 to 45.

56. A chip, characterized in that, It includes an input / output (I / O) interface and a processor, wherein the processor is used to call and run a computer program stored in a memory to cause a device on which the chip is mounted to perform the method according to any one of claims 21 to 40 or 46 to 50.

57. An electronic device, characterized in that, include: One or more processors; A computer-readable storage medium coupled to the one or more processors and storing instructions for execution by the processors, wherein, when the instructions are executed by the processors, the electronic device is configured to perform the method according to any one of claims 1 to 20 or claims 41 to 45.

58. An electronic device, characterized in that, include: One or more processors; A computer-readable storage medium coupled to the processor and storing instructions executable by the processor, wherein, when the instructions are executed by the processor, the electronic device is configured to perform the method according to any one of claims 21 to 40 or 46 to 50.

59. A communication system, characterized in that, include: The communication device according to claim 51 and the communication device according to claim 52, or the electronic device according to claim 53 and the electronic device according to claim 54, or the electronic device according to claim 57 and the electronic device according to claim 58.

60. A computer-readable medium carrying program code, characterized in that, When the program code is executed by a computer device, it causes the computer device to perform the method according to any one of claims 1 to 20, or the method according to any one of claims 21 to 40, or the method according to any one of claims 41 to 45, or the method according to any one of claims 46 to 50.

61. A computer program product including program code, characterized in that, When the program code is executed on a computer or processor, it is used to perform the method according to any one of claims 1 to 20, or the method according to any one of claims 21 to 40, or the method according to any one of claims 41 to 45, or the method according to any one of claims 46 to 50.

Images