Ultra-wideband positioning system, base station, tag and operation method thereof

Abstract

The present invention discloses an ultra-wideband positioning system, a base station, a tag and their operation methods. Since the present invention uses a server that knows the positions of all base stations to determine the base stations for ranging, and the server allocates different times to each base station for ranging, the present invention can avoid ranging conflicts between base stations. Furthermore, since the tag can select a specific time slot to access the ultra-wideband positioning system by listening to the ultra-wideband signals in the air, the present invention can reduce conflicts between tags. By carefully planning the system frames and sub-frames of the time division multiplexing system and elaborately arranging the operation timings of the base stations and tags, the present invention provides a practical and stable ultra-wideband positioning system, base station and tag.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present invention relates to an ultra-wideband (UWB) positioning system. Background Art

[0002] An ultra-wideband positioning system uses multiple base stations (BSs), also referred to as nodes or anchors, to measure distances to multiple tags, and then calculates the positions of the tags in a three-dimensional space. Coordinating the communication schedule between the base stations and the tags is very important. Good coordination can avoid conflicts and make the positioning system more stable. In addition, selecting a suitable combination of positioning base stations for each tag can provide better parameters for subsequent positioning algorithms. Summary of the Invention

[0003] In view of the deficiencies of the prior art, an object of the present invention is to provide an ultra-wideband positioning system, a base station, a tag, and an operation method thereof to avoid conflicts and improve the stability of the system.

[0004] The present invention provides an operation method for an ultra-wideband positioning tag, including: listening for a polling signal within a system cycle; broadcasting an access request signal to attempt to access an ultra-wideband positioning system when the system cycle ends and no polling signal is received; after broadcasting the access request signal, receiving an access reply signal sent by a base station, the access reply signal including a time information; and accessing the ultra-wideband positioning system according to the time information.

[0005] The present invention further provides an operation method for an ultra-wideband positioning tag, including: listening for a polling signal of an ultra-wideband positioning system within a system cycle; after receiving the polling signal, parsing the polling signal to obtain a system frame number and a sub-frame number carried by the polling signal; synchronizing with the ultra-wideband positioning system according to the system frame number and the sub-frame number; and broadcasting a beacon signal in a system frame not corresponding to the system frame number.

[0006] The present invention further provides an operation method for an ultra-wideband positioning tag, the ultra-wideband positioning tag having a tag identification code, the operation method including: broadcasting a beacon signal; receiving a polling signal transmitted by a base station; parsing the polling signal, the polling signal including a target tag identification code; determining whether the tag identification code is equal to the target tag identification code; and after confirming that the tag identification code is equal to the target tag identification code, transmitting a ranging reply signal to the base station. The ranging reply signal includes a first time point for receiving the polling signal and a second time point for transmitting the ranging reply signal.

[0007] The present invention further provides an operation method for an ultra-wideband positioning base station, which is applied to an ultra-wideband positioning system. The ultra-wideband positioning system includes multiple system frames in each cycle, and each system frame includes multiple sub-frames. The operation method includes: receiving an access request signal sent by a tag; selecting an idle system frame; and transmitting an access reply signal to the tag in the idle system frame. The access reply signal includes a system frame number and a sub-frame number of the idle system frame, and the sub-frame number corresponds to one of the sub-frames of the idle system frame.

[0008] The present invention further provides an operation method for an ultra-wideband positioning base station, which is applied to an ultra-wideband positioning system. The ultra-wideband positioning system includes a server and multiple system frames in each cycle, and each system frame includes multiple sub-frames. The operation method includes: receiving a beacon signal sent by a tag, the beacon signal including a tag identification code of the tag; calculating a signal strength of the beacon signal; transmitting the beacon signal and the signal strength to the server; receiving a ranging command transmitted by the server, the ranging command specifying a sub-frame number; transmitting a polling signal in a sub-frame corresponding to the sub-frame number and receiving a ranging reply signal transmitted by the tag, the polling signal including the tag identification code, and the ranging reply signal including a time information; and transmitting the time information to the server.

[0009] The present invention further provides an operation method for an ultra-wideband positioning system, which includes a server, a first base station, a second base station and a tag. The ultra-wideband positioning system includes multiple system frames in each cycle, and each system frame includes multiple sub-frames. The operation method includes: the first base station receiving a first ranging command transmitted by the server, the first ranging command indicating a first sub-frame of a target system frame; the tag receiving a first polling signal transmitted by the first base station in the first sub-frame of the target system frame; the second base station receiving a second ranging command transmitted by the server, the second ranging command indicating a second sub-frame of the target system frame; the tag receiving a second polling signal transmitted by the second base station in the second sub-frame of the target system frame; the first base station receiving a first ranging reply signal transmitted by the tag in the first sub-frame of the target system frame, the first ranging reply signal including a first time information; the second base station receiving a second ranging reply signal transmitted by the tag in the second sub-frame of the target system frame, the second ranging reply signal including a second time information; the first base station transmitting the first time information to the server; and the second base station transmitting the second time information to the server.

[0010] The present invention further provides an operation method for an ultra-wideband positioning system. The ultra-wideband positioning system includes a server, a first base station, a second base station, and a tag, and each cycle of the ultra-wideband positioning system includes a plurality of system frames. The operation method includes: the tag broadcasts a beacon signal in a first system frame, and the beacon signal includes a tag identification code of the tag; the first base station and the second base station receive the beacon signal in the first system frame; the first base station transmits a first polling signal in a first sub-frame of a second system frame, where the first polling signal includes the tag identification code, and the second system frame is later than the first system frame; the second base station transmits a second polling signal in a second sub-frame of the second system frame, where the second polling signal includes the tag identification code, and the first sub-frame and the second sub-frame are consecutive; and the tag receives the first polling signal and the second polling signal in the first sub-frame and the second sub-frame of the second system frame, respectively.

[0011] The ultra-wideband positioning system, base station, tag, and their operation method of the present invention use a server that knows the positions of all base stations to select the base stations for ranging, rather than randomly selecting based on the tag. Compared with the traditional technology, since the server of the present invention allocates different times to each base station for ranging, the ranging conflict between base stations can be avoided.

[0012] The present invention will be described in detail below with reference to the accompanying drawings and specific embodiments, but it is not intended to limit the present invention. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0013] Figure 1 It is a connection topology of an embodiment of the ultra-wideband positioning system of the present invention;

[0014] Figure 2 It is a functional block diagram of an embodiment of the ultra-wideband positioning base station of the present invention;

[0015] Figure 3 It is a functional block diagram of an embodiment of the ultra-wideband positioning tag of the present invention;

[0016] Figure 4 It is the arrangement of system frames and sub-frames of the ultra-wideband positioning system of the present invention;

[0017] Figure 5 It is a flowchart (sequence diagram) of an embodiment of the ultra-wideband positioning system of the present invention;

[0018] Figure 6 It is the operation process of the tag of the present invention from startup to entering the ranging state;

[0019] Figure 7 It is the operation process of an embodiment of the tag of the present invention in the ranging state;

[0020] Figure 8 The operation process of another embodiment of the tag of the present invention in the ranging state;

[0021] Figure 9 The flowchart of an embodiment of the operation method of the base station of the present invention; and

[0022] Figure 10 The flowchart of an embodiment of the base station of the present invention for processing BCN signals.

[0023] Wherein, the reference numerals:

[0024] 100 Ultra-wideband positioning system

[0025] 110 Server

[0026] 120, 120_1, 120_2, 120_3, 120_4, 120_N Base stations

[0027] 130 Tag

[0028] 115_1, 115_2, 115_3, 115_4, 115_N Signal connection lines

[0029] 122, 132 Wireless transceiver circuits

[0030] 124, 134 Computing circuits

[0031] 126, 136 Memories

[0032] 128 Wired network transceiver circuit

[0033] T System period

[0034] t Sub-frame length

[0035] FN_1, FN_2, FN_3, FN_K, FN_Q System frames

[0036] SFN_1, SFN_2, SFN_3, SFN_W Sub-frames

[0037] P1, P2 Phases

[0038] BCN Beacon signal

[0039] POL Polling signal

[0040] Rach Access request signal

[0041] Resp Access reply signal

[0042] MBCN Mixed beacon signal

[0043] PSS Ranging command

[0044] BCK ranging reply signal

[0045] FNL ranging result

[0046] Steps S610 - S690, S705 - S760, S905 - S990, S1005 - S1080 Detailed implementation manners

[0047] The structural principle and working principle of the present invention will be specifically described below in conjunction with the accompanying drawings:

[0048] Since some of the components included in the ultra - wideband positioning system, base station and tag of the present invention may be known components individually, details of the known components will be omitted in the following description. In addition, part or all of the processes of the operation method of the present invention may be in the form of software and / or firmware, and may be executed by the ultra - wideband positioning system, base station and tag of the present invention or their equivalent devices. Therefore, the following description of the method invention will focus on the step content rather than the hardware.

[0049] Figure 1 FIG. is a connection topology of an embodiment of the ultra - wideband positioning system of the present invention. The ultra - wideband positioning system 100 includes a server 110, N base stations 120 (including 120_1, 120_2, 120_3, 120_4,..., 120_N, where N is an integer greater than or equal to 4), and at least one tag 130. The server 110 can be directly / indirectly connected to each base station 120, for example, through wired / wireless signal connections 115 (including 115_1, 115_2, 115_3, 115_4,..., 115_N), or through a daisy chain or other topology. The base stations 120 and the tag 130 communicate through ultra - wideband signals. The base stations 120 can ensure time synchronization through distributed clock pulses synchronization (such as the specification of IEEE1588v2). Each base station 120 has a unique base station identification code, and each tag 130 has a unique tag identification code.

[0050] Figure 2 FIG. is a functional block diagram of an embodiment of the ultra - wideband positioning base station of the present invention. Each base station 120 includes a wireless transceiver circuit 122, a computing circuit 124, and a memory 126. The wired network transceiver circuit 128 is an optional component and can be omitted in the embodiment where the signal connection 115 is wireless. The memory 126 can store multiple program codes or program instructions. The computing circuit 124 realizes the functions of the base station 120 by executing these program codes or program instructions.

[0051] Figure 3FIG. 0 is a functional block diagram of an embodiment of the ultra-wideband positioning tag of the present invention. Each tag 130 includes a wireless transceiver circuit 132, a computing circuit 134, and a memory 136. The memory 136 can store a plurality of program codes or program instructions. The computing circuit 134 implements the functions of the tag 130 by executing these program codes or program instructions.

[0052] Figure 4 FIG. 4 shows the arrangement of system frames and sub-frames of the ultra-wideband positioning system of the present invention. The operating period of the system 100 is T seconds (i.e., the server 110 refreshes the position of the tag 130 every T seconds, that is, the refresh frequency of the system is 1 / T Hz). One period is evenly divided into Q system frames (the system frame numbers are FN_1, FN_2, FN_3, …, FN_K, …, FN_Q respectively, 1 ≤ K ≤ Q), and each system frame contains W sub-frames (the sub-frame numbers are SFN_1, SFN_2, SFN_3, …, SFN_W respectively). If the length of each sub-frame is t seconds, the length of one system frame is t * W seconds, and the system period T = t * W * Q seconds.

[0053] Basically, the base station 120 allocates the time length of one system frame to each tag to be located. Therefore, the system 100 can support Q tags to connect or access simultaneously. The following description assumes that the base station 120 allocates the system frame FN_K to the tag 130. The base station 120 records in the memory 126 that the system frame FN_K corresponds to the tag identification code of the tag 130, and records that the system frame FN_K is in a busy / non-idle state. The tag 130 broadcasts a BCN signal (beacon signal) containing the tag identification code of the tag 130 to the base station 120 in the first sub-frame of the system frame FN_K (i.e., the sub-frame SFN_1, also called the beacon sub-frame), and receives POL signals (polling signals) sent by W - 1 base stations 120 in the sub-frames other than SFN_1 of the system frame FN_L (i.e., the sub-frames SFN_2 to SFN_W, also called the positioning sub-frames). If K + x is not greater than Q, L = K + x; if K + x is greater than Q, L = (K + x) mod Q. x represents the transmission buffer and / or the computing buffer, which can be determined when the system 100 is constructed. In some embodiments, if the server 110 and the base station 120 have excellent computing capabilities and the transmission buffer between them is extremely short, then x = 0, and the tag 130 broadcasts the BCN signal and receives multiple POL signals in the same system frame (i.e., FN_K).

[0054] Figure 5The flowchart of an embodiment of the ultra-wideband positioning system of the present invention includes two main operations: the tag 130 accesses the system 100 (as shown in stage P1 in the figure), and the system 100 performs ranging and positioning on the tag 130 (as shown in stage P2 in the figure). The present invention can use time of flight (TOF) for ranging, but is not limited thereto.

[0055] In the operation of the tag 130 accessing the positioning system, the tag 130 randomly broadcasts (i.e., broadcasts in any system frame) the Rach signal (access request signal) to try to access the system 100. The base stations 120 that receive this Rach signal will respectively reply with the Resp signal (access reply signal) with time information to the tag 130. More specifically, assume that the base stations 120_1 and 120_2 receive the Rach signal in system frame R (1 ≤ R ≤ Q). Then the base stations 120_1 and 120_2 select an idle system frame after system frame R, and then reply with the Resp signal in one of the positioning sub-frames (SFN_2 to SFN_W) of the idle system frame. Therefore, the base stations 120_1 and 120_2 may transmit their respective Resp signals in the same positioning sub-frame of the same system frame, and the tag 130 can receive at least one Resp signal. The Rach signal carries the tag identification code of the tag 130, and the Resp signal carries the tag identification code in addition to the time information. The time information is, for example, the system frame number and sub-frame number when the base station 120 transmits the Resp signal. The tag 130 can know the current system time based on the time information, thereby starting to synchronize with all base stations 120 in time and determining when to broadcast the BCN signal and when to receive the POL signal. After synchronizing with the base stations 120 in time, the tag 130 completes accessing the positioning system and can start the positioning procedure.

[0056] In the operation of positioning the tag 130, the tag 130 broadcasts the BCN signal once in sub-frame SFN_1 of system frame FN_K of each system cycle T. The base stations that receive the BCN signal will transmit the corresponding MBCN signal to the server 110. The MBCN signal includes the content of the BCN signal, the identification code of the base station, and the signal strength information about the BCN signal (such as Received Signal Strength Indication (RSSI) information). The server 110 selects multiple base stations suitable for ranging (preferably 4) according to the received MBCN signals. Figure 5Examples are base stations 120_1, 120_2, 120_3, and 120_4), and ranging commands PSS are sent to these base stations. In some embodiments, since the server 110 knows the locations of the base stations 120, it is possible to avoid selecting base stations 120 that are in a straight line for positioning. The server 110 uses the ranging command PSS to assign different subframes to the selected base stations 120. These selected base stations 120 (i.e., base stations 120_1, 120_2, 120_3, and 120_4) facilitate the system frame FN_L to sequentially transmit POL signals according to their respective assigned subframes. The tag 130 sequentially receives these POL signals in consecutive subframes of the system frame FN_L and immediately replies with a BCK signal (ranging reply signal) to the corresponding base station 120. The base station 120 then transmits the ranging result FNL to the server 110 based on the BCK signal. The ranging result FNL includes the time when the base station 120 transmits the POL signal, the time when the tag 130 receives the POL signal, the time when the tag 130 transmits the BCK signal, and the time when the base station 120 receives the BCK signal. Finally, the server 110 calculates the position of the tag 130 based on the signal times in the received ranging result FNL. For example, assume that the server 110 assigns subframe SFN_2 to base station 120_2. Then, in subframe SFN_2 of the system frame FN_L, base station 120_2 transmits a POL signal, the tag 130 receives the POL signal and transmits a BCK signal, and base station 120_2 receives the BCK signal. The POL signal includes the identification code of the base station 120 that transmits the POL signal, the tag identification code of the tag to which the POL signal is intended to be conveyed, and time information (i.e., the current system frame number and subframe number).

[0057] Figure 6This is the operation process of the tag of the present invention from startup to entering the ranging state. After the tag 130 starts (step S610), it listens for the POL signal in the air (step S620). If a POL signal is received, the POL signal is parsed (step S640). This POL signal may be the POL signal sent by the base station 120 to other tags in the system 100. The tag 130 records the system frame number and sub-frame number carried by the POL signal in step S640, and marks the system frame corresponding to the system frame number as occupied (i.e., not idle). For example, if a POL signal is received in the system frame FN_L, it means that the beacon sub-frame of the system frame FN_K has been occupied, so the system frame FN_K can be marked as occupied. In the case where the judgment in step S630 is no, or after step S640 is completed, the tag 130 determines whether the time for listening to the POL signal has passed one system cycle T (step S650). If the judgment in step S650 is no, the tag 130 continues to listen for the POL signal (step S620); if the judgment in step S650 is yes, the tag 130 determines whether any POL signal has been received within one system cycle T (step S660). If the tag 130 has received any POL signal, the tag 130 synchronizes with the system 100 according to the time information carried by the POL signal (i.e., the current system frame number and sub-frame number) (step S670). Then the tag 130 determines whether there is an idle frame in the system 100 (step S673). If there is no idle frame, it continues to listen for the POL signal (step S620); if there is an idle frame, the tag 130 selects any idle system frame (i.e., the system frame not corresponding to the system frame number recorded in step S640) to broadcast the BCN signal (step S675), and then enters the ranging state (step S690).

[0058] If the tag 130 does not receive any POL signal within the system cycle T (the determination in step S660 is no), the tag 130 broadcasts a Rach signal at any time point (step S680), and then receives the Resp signal sent by the base station 120 (step S683). The Resp signal carries the current time information of the system 100 (i.e., the current system frame number and sub-frame number), enabling the tag 130 to perform time synchronization (step S685). After time synchronization, the tag 130 determines the time to broadcast the BCN signal and broadcasts the BCN signal (step S687). For example, if the system frame number carried by the Resp signal is FN_L, the tag 130 broadcasts the BCN signal in the sub-frame SFN_1 of the system frame FN_K in the next cycle (step S687). In some embodiments, if the tag 130 broadcasts the BCN signal in the beacon sub-frame SFN_1 of the system frame FN_K, the base station 120 will allocate the system frame FN_K to the tag 130 and mark it as occupied (i.e., busy). The tag 130 broadcasts the BCN signal of the initialization type in steps S687 and S675, and then the tag 130 enters the ranging state (step S690).

[0059] Figure 7 This is the operation flow of an embodiment of the tag of the present invention in the ranging state. In the ranging state, the tag 130 wakes up from the sleep state at least once in each cycle (step S710) to broadcast the BCN signal of the normal type in the beacon sub-frame SFN_1 of the system frame FN_K (step S720), and then waits for x system frames (i.e., at the system frame FN_L) to receive and parse the POL signal (step S730).

[0060] In addition to carrying the tag identification code and the base station identification code for transmitting the POL signal, the POL signal also indicates whether a conflict occurs in the BCN signal. When the POL signal indicates that no conflict occurs in the BCN signal, or when the POL signal indicates that a conflict occurs in the BCN signal but the tag 130 confirms that the tag identification code carried in the POL signal is equal to its own tag identification code (step S740 is NO), the tag 130 executes steps S745 and S750. In step S745, the tag 130 adjusts its time according to the BCN signal offset time in the POL signal to synchronize with the base station 120. More specifically, since the transmission time of the BCN signal is ideally the start of the first subframe (i.e., the beacon subframe) of a system frame, the base station 120 can calculate the time difference between the time when the BCN signal is received and the start time of the beacon subframe to know whether the time of the tag 130 is offset, and can carry the time adjustment amount in the POL signal. The tag 130 can adjust its time accordingly in step S745 (this step can be executed once, multiple times, or not at all in the same system cycle). In step S750, the tag 130 transmits a BCK signal to the base station that transmits the POL signal. More specifically, the tag 130 transmits W - 1 BCK signals to the corresponding base station 120 in step S750. The BCK signal includes the time when the tag 130 receives the POL signal and the time when the tag 130 transmits the BCK signal. After step S750 ends or times out, the tag 130 returns to the sleep state (step S705) to save power.

[0061] Steps S730, S740, S745, and S750 are completed within the same subframe of the system frame FN_L. When the POL signal indicates a conflict and the tag 130 confirms that the tag identification code carried in the POL signal is not equal to its own tag identification code (step S740 is YES), the tag 130 needs to re - access the system 100. After the tag 130 re - accesses the system 100 (step S760, i.e., Figure 6 the steps S620 - S690), it enters the sleep state (step S705).

[0062] In some embodiments, when the tag 130 discovers in step S730 that multiple POL signals received in the same system frame correspond to different system frame numbers, indicating that the frame allocation of the base station 120 is disordered or the time between the base station 120 and the tag 130 is severely out of sync, the tag 130 broadcasts a cancel - type BCN signal in the next system cycle and then re - accesses the system 100.

[0063] Figure 8 This is the operation flow of another embodiment of the tag of the present invention in the ranging state. Figure 8 And Figure 7The difference is that in addition to carrying the first tag identification code corresponding to the current system frame (i.e., the tag identification code that the POL signal intends to convey), the POL signal also carries a second tag identification code corresponding to a future system frame, and the future system frame is y system frames different from the current system frame (1 ≤ y ≤ Q - 1). Therefore, in this embodiment, the tag 130 wakes up y system frames (i.e., system frame FN_K - y) before the broadcast BCN signal (step S720) to listen for the POL signal (step S712). If the POL signal is not received (step S714 is no), then the BCN signal is broadcast (step S720) y system frames later (i.e., system frame FN_K). If the POL signal is received (step S714 is yes), then it is determined whether a collision occurs (step S716). If the second tag identification code is equal to the tag identification code of the tag 130 itself, then there is no collision (step S716 is no, and the tag 130 executes step S720 to broadcast the BCN signal); if the second tag identification code is not equal to the tag identification code of the tag 130 itself, then a collision occurs (step S716 is yes, and the tag 130 executes step S760 to re-access the system 100).

[0064] Compared with Figure 7 the embodiment of Figure 8 In the embodiment of, the tag 130 can pre-confirm whether a collision will occur, so that collisions can be avoided. In some embodiments, the tag 130 sleeps between step S714 and step S720 and / or between step S716 and step S720 to save power. Figure 7 and Figure 8 is a simplified schematic version. If no POL signal collision occurs, the tag 130 will receive the POL signal in multiple sub-frames in sequence and reply with the BCK signal in the wake state before sleeping again.

[0065] Figure 9 This is a flowchart of an embodiment of the operation method of the base station of the present invention. After the base station 120 is started, time synchronization is first performed so that the frame boundaries of all base stations 120 in the system 100 are aligned (step S905). Next, the base station 120 enters the receiving state, that is, it is determined whether the ranging command PSS is received (step S910) and whether the Rach signal or the BCN signal is received (step S920). After the base station 120 receives the ranging command PSS, the base station 120 transmits the POL signal to the tag 130 in the sub-frame specified in the system frame specified by the PSS command (step S930), receives the BCK signal from the tag 130 (step S940), then transmits the ranging result FNL to the server 110 (step S950), and then returns to step S910.

[0066] After receiving the BCN signal, the base station 120 processes the BCN signal (step S960, details will be Figure 10 described in detail), and then returns to step S910. After receiving the Rach signal, the base station 120 selects an idle system frame starting from the next system frame of the current system frame (i.e., the beacon subframe of this system frame is not occupied) (step S970), and transmits a Resp signal to the tag in any designated subframe (subframes SFN_2 to SFN_W) of the selected system frame (step S980). When the base station 120 does not receive any ranging command PSS, Rach signal, and BCN signal, the base station 120 detects the scheduling situation of at least one tag in the system 100 (step S990), and returns to step S910 after the detection is completed.

[0067] In step S990, the base station 120 checks the cumulative number of BCN signals broadcast by the tag 130 at preset intervals. If the cumulative number does not change in two consecutive checks, the base station 120 considers that the tag 130 may have been powered off, out of power, or left the system 100. Therefore, the base station 120 releases the resources occupied by the tag 130 (such as releasing the system frame corresponding to the tag identification code of the tag 130). Figure 9 Some steps, such as S970 and S990, can also be executed under the coordination of the server 110.

[0068] Figure 10 This is a flowchart of an embodiment of the base station in the present invention for processing BCN signals (i.e., Figure 9 the detailed process of step S960). After receiving the BCN signal (step S1005), the base station 120 determines whether the BCN signal is of a general type (step S1010). When the BCN signal is of a general type, the base station 120 determines whether a conflict occurs (step S1015). Since the base station 120 knows whether each system frame is occupied and the tag identification code corresponding to the occupied system frame, the base station 120 can determine whether a conflict occurs according to the tag identification code carried in the BCN signal. If the tag identification code carried in the BCN signal received in the current system frame is not equal to the tag identification code corresponding to the current system frame, a conflict occurs. If a conflict occurs, the base station 120 ends the processing of the current BCN signal (step S1080). If there is no conflict, the base station 120 calculates a time adjustment amount according to the arrival time of the BCN signal (step S1020). The base station 120 notifies the tag 130 of this time adjustment amount through the POL signal (i.e., Figure 9 step S930), and the tag 130 can adjust the time accordingly to synchronize with the base station 120 (i.e., Figure 7 and Figure 8Step S745). Next, the base station 120 calculates the RSSI information of the BCN signal, inserts the RSSI information into the BCN signal to form an MBCN signal, and then transmits the MBCN signal to the server 110 (step S1025).

[0069] If the BCN signal is not of the general type, the base station 120 further determines whether the BCN signal is of the cancellation type, the initial type, or the re-initialization type (steps S1030 and S1040). In the case where the BCN signal is of the cancellation type, the base station 120 marks the system frame corresponding to the tag identification code of the tag 130 as idle, that is, releases the beacon sub-frame of the system frame previously occupied by the tag 130 (step S1050). In the case where the BCN signal is of the initial type, the base station 120 marks that the beacon sub-frame of the current system frame is occupied by the tag 130 (step S1070). In the case where the BCN signal is of the re-initialization type, the base station 120 releases the beacon sub-frame of the current system frame, that is, the base station 120 marks the beacon sub-frame of the current system frame as idle (step S1060). In some embodiments, step S1060 includes the following sub-steps: The base station 120 first checks whether the tag 130 has previously occupied any system frames. If so, in addition to releasing the beacon sub-frame of the current system frame, the base station 120 also releases the beacon sub-frames of the previously occupied system frames to ensure a one-to-one relationship between the system frames and the tags. After the base station 120 completes step S1060, it executes step S1070. After step S1050 or S1070 is completed, the base station 120 finishes processing the beacon signal (step S1080), and the operation of the base station 120 returns to Figure 9 step S910. Figure 10 Some steps, such as S1050 - S1070, can also be executed under the coordination of the server 110.

[0070] Please note that in the foregoing figures, the order of the steps is for illustration only, for those with ordinary knowledge in the technical field to understand the present invention, and is not used to limit the present invention.

[0071] Of course, the present invention can also have many other embodiments. Without departing from the spirit and essence of the present invention, those skilled in the art can make various corresponding changes and deformations according to the present invention, but these corresponding changes and deformations should all fall within the protection scope of the appended claims of the present invention.

Claims

1. An operating method for an ultra-wideband positioning tag, the ultra-wideband positioning tag having a tag identification code, characterized in that, comprising: After the ultra-wideband positioning tag is activated, it listens for a polling signal transmitted by a base station; After receiving the polling signal, parse the polling signal to obtain a system frame number and a sub-frame number carried by the polling signal; Determine an idle system frame according to the system frame number and the sub-frame number; Broadcast a beacon signal in the idle system frame; Receive another polling signal transmitted by a base station; Parse the other polling signal, wherein the other polling signal includes a target tag identification code; Determine whether the tag identification code is equal to the target tag identification code; and After confirming that the tag identification code is equal to the target tag identification code, transmit a ranging response signal to the base station, wherein the ranging response signal includes a first time point for receiving the other polling signal and a second time point for transmitting the ranging response signal.

2. The operating method according to claim 1, characterized in that, The ultra-wideband positioning tag broadcasts the beacon signal in a first system frame and receives the other polling signal in a second system frame, and the second system frame is later than the first system frame.

3. The operating method according to claim 1, characterized in that, Before broadcasting the beacon signal, the ultra-wideband positioning tag has accessed an ultra-wideband positioning system, and the operating method further includes: After confirming that the tag identification code is not equal to the target tag identification code, access the ultra-wideband positioning system again.

4. The operating method according to claim 1, characterized in that, The beacon signal is a first beacon signal, the ultra-wideband positioning tag broadcasts a second beacon signal in a first system frame, the other polling signal is a first polling signal, the target tag identification code is a first target tag identification code, and after confirming that the tag identification code is equal to the target tag identification code and transmitting a ranging response signal to the base station, it further includes: After the tag wakes up from the sleep state, it receives a second polling signal in a second system frame, wherein the second system frame is earlier than the first system frame, and the second polling signal includes a second target tag identification code corresponding to the first system frame; Determine whether the tag identification code is equal to the second target tag identification code; and After confirming that the tag identification code is equal to the second target tag identification code, broadcast the second beacon signal in the first system frame; Listen for a third polling signal transmitted by the base station, the third polling signal including an offset time corresponding to the second target tag identification code and the second beacon signal; After determining that the tag identification code is equal to the second target tag identification code, perform time synchronization with the base station according to the offset time; Transmit another ranging response signal to the base station, wherein the other ranging response signal includes a third time point for receiving the third polling signal and a fourth time point for transmitting the other ranging response signal.

5. The operating method according to claim 1, characterized in that, The beacon signal is a first beacon signal. The ultra-wideband positioning tag broadcasts a second beacon signal in a first system frame. The other polling signal is a first polling signal, and the target tag identification code is a first target tag identification code. After confirming that the tag identification code is equal to the target tag identification code, transmitting a ranging response signal to the base station further includes: After the tag wakes up from the sleep state, it receives a second polling signal in a second system frame, where the second system frame is earlier than the first system frame, and the second polling signal includes a second target tag identification code corresponding to the first system frame; Determine whether the tag identification code is equal to the second target tag identification code; and After confirming that the tag identification code is not equal to the second target tag identification code, access the ultra-wideband positioning system again.

6. An operating method for an ultra-wideband positioning base station, which is applied to an ultra-wideband positioning system. The ultra-wideband positioning system includes a server and includes multiple system frames in each cycle. Each system frame includes multiple sub-frames, characterized in that, the operating method includes: The ultra-wideband positioning base station transmits a polling signal, where the polling signal includes a system frame number and a sub-frame number for determining an idle system frame; Receive a beacon signal sent by a tag, where the beacon signal includes a tag identification code of the tag; Calculate a signal strength of the beacon signal; Transmit a mixed beacon signal to the server, where the mixed beacon signal includes the content of the beacon signal, the identification code of the base station, and the signal strength; Receive a ranging command transmitted by the server, and the ranging command specifies a sub-frame number; Transmit another polling signal in a sub-frame corresponding to the sub-frame number and receive a ranging response signal transmitted by the tag. The other polling signal includes the tag identification code, and the ranging response signal includes a time information; and Transmit the time information to the server.

7. An operating method for an ultra-wideband positioning system, which includes a server, multiple base stations, and at least one tag. The ultra-wideband positioning system includes multiple system frames in each cycle, and each system frame includes multiple sub-frames, characterized in that, the operating method includes: After the tag is started, it listens to the polling signals transmitted by the multiple base stations, where the polling signal includes a system frame number and a sub-frame number for determining an idle system frame; After the tag receives the polling signal, it parses the polling signal to obtain the system frame number and the sub-frame number carried by the polling signal; The tag determines an idle system frame according to the system frame number and the sub-frame number; The tag broadcasts a beacon signal in the idle system frame; The base station that receives the beacon signal transmits a mixed beacon signal to the server, where the mixed beacon signal includes the content of the beacon signal, the identification code of the base station, and the signal strength of the beacon signal; The server selects multiple ranging base stations suitable for ranging according to the received content of the beacon signal, the identification code of the base station, and the signal strength of the beacon signal and transmits a ranging command; Multiple of the ranging base stations receive a ranging command transmitted by the server, and the ranging command indicates a ranging sub-frame of a target system frame; The tag sequentially receives another polling signal transmitted by the multiple base stations in the ranging sub-frame of the target system frame; The multiple ranging base stations receive a ranging response signal transmitted by the tag in the ranging sub-frame of the target system frame, and the ranging response signal includes a time information; The multiple ranging base stations transmit the time information to the server.

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