Ranging method and device

Abstract

The invention discloses a distance measuring method and device, which can be applied to vehicle-mounted positioning and indoor positioning scenes. The method may comprise the following steps: on a first channel, sending a first ranging frame, the first ranging frame bearing first ranging information through at least one first symbol; on the first channel, receiving a second ranging frame from the second node, the second ranging frame bearing second ranging information through at least one second symbol, thereby realizing transmission of the ranging frame for the first channel; receiving first channel state information corresponding to the first channel from the second node; determining second channel state information corresponding to the first channel according to the at least one second symbol; and determining channel state information of the first channel according to the first channel state information and the second channel state information, the channel state information of the first channel being used for measuring the distance between the sender of the first ranging frame and the second node, thereby realizing inter-node ranging for the first channel, and being helpful for improving ranging precision.

Description

Distance measurement method and device Technical Field

[0001] The present application relates to the field of communication technology, and in particular to a ranging method and device. Background Art

[0002] With the continuous development of wireless communication technology, intelligent application scenarios such as smart homes, smart cockpits, smart driving, smart manufacturing, and smart transportation have emerged. Wireless communication technology enables wireless ranging and / or positioning, which are used in indoor positioning, passive entry and start (PEPS), asset management, and logistics management.

[0003] Taking the smart cockpit as an example, there are multiple communication domains within the vehicle. Each communication domain consists of a master node and at least one slave node. The master node schedules the time and frequency resources of the slave node to enable data transmission between nodes. For example, on a carrier available to the master node (such as a channel with a 20MHz bandwidth), the master node can schedule time and frequency resources for slave node communication.

[0004] Currently, communication frames are defined for data transmission between nodes, but ranging frames are not defined for ranging between nodes. Therefore, how to implement ranging between nodes is a technical problem that needs to be solved urgently.

[0005] Summary of the Invention

[0006] The present application provides a ranging method and device that can achieve ranging between nodes and help improve ranging accuracy.

[0007] In a first aspect, the present application provides a ranging method, which may include: sending a first ranging frame on a first channel, the first ranging frame carrying first ranging information through at least one first symbol; receiving a second ranging frame from a second node on the first channel, the second ranging frame carrying second ranging information through at least one second symbol; receiving first channel state information, the first channel state information being channel state information corresponding to the first channel from the second node; determining second channel state information corresponding to the first channel based on the at least one second symbol; and determining channel state information of the first channel based on the first channel state information and the second channel state information, where the channel state information of the first channel is used to measure the distance between the sender of the first ranging frame and the second node.

[0008] As can be seen, by sending the first ranging frame and receiving the second ranging frame on the first channel, ranging frames for the first channel can be transmitted. The ranging frame carries ranging information via at least one symbol, enabling transmission of ranging information. Based on the first channel state information and the second channel state information corresponding to the first channel, channel state information for the first channel can be determined, thereby enabling inter-node ranging for the first channel, which helps improve ranging accuracy.

[0009] Optionally, the first ranging frame and the second ranging frame have the same frame structure, so that ranging frames with the same frame structure are used on the first channel, which helps to improve the stability of ranging frame transmission.

[0010] In a possible implementation, the first ranging frame includes at least one first radio frame, and the second ranging frame includes at least one second radio frame.

[0011] Optional method 1: All symbols in the above-mentioned at least one first radio frame are used to carry the first ranging information, and all symbols in the above-mentioned at least one second radio frame are used to carry the second ranging information. There is a switching interval between the first radio frame and the second radio frame, and the switching interval is used to perform the transmission and reception switching. Under Optional method 1, the switching interval does not occupy the duration of the first radio frame, nor does it occupy the duration of the second radio frame, thereby saving overhead; all symbols in the first radio frame are used to carry the first ranging information, and all symbols in the second radio frame are used to carry the second ranging information, which increases the transmission amount of ranging information, thereby improving transmission efficiency and ranging accuracy. Optional method 1 can be applied to the case where the first channel is the initial channel or frequency hopping channel of frequency hopping ranging.

[0012] Option 2: For any one of the at least one first radio frame, the first radio frame includes a switching interval, where each symbol except the switching interval is used to carry first ranging information, and the switching interval is temporally located after the symbol carrying the first ranging information. This means that the switching interval occupies the duration of one symbol in the first radio frame. For any one of the at least one second radio frame, the second radio frame includes a switching interval, where each symbol except the switching interval is used to carry second ranging information, and the switching interval is temporally located after the symbol carrying the second ranging information. This means that the switching interval occupies the duration of one symbol in the second radio frame. The switching interval is used to perform transceiver switching. The switching interval in the first radio frame is temporally located after the symbol carrying the first ranging information, and the switching interval in the second radio frame is temporally located after the symbol carrying the second ranging information. This reduces the uplink and downlink switching intervals, thereby saving overhead. Symbols except the switching interval are used to carry ranging information, increasing the amount of ranging information transmitted, thereby improving transmission efficiency and ranging accuracy. Option 2 may be applicable to the case where the first channel is an initial channel or a frequency hopping channel for frequency hopping ranging.

[0013] Optional method 3: For any one of the at least one first radio frame mentioned above: the first radio frame includes a switching interval, a first overhead symbol and a first link symbol, and the first overhead symbol and the first link symbol are used to carry the first ranging information; for any one of the at least one second radio frame mentioned above: the second radio frame includes a switching interval, a second overhead symbol and a second link symbol, and the second overhead symbol and the second link symbol are used to carry the second ranging information. The switching interval is used to perform transceiver switching. The first link symbol is a link symbol sent to the second node, and the second link symbol is a link symbol sent by the second node. Optional method 3 is compatible with radio frames including switching intervals, overhead symbols and link symbols, increases the transmission amount of ranging information, and thus improves transmission efficiency and ranging accuracy. Optional method 3 can be applied to the case where the first channel is the initial channel of frequency hopping ranging.

[0014] The number of switching intervals included in the first radio frame and / or the second radio frame is 2. Furthermore, the first radio frame also includes at least one second link symbol, and / or the second radio frame also includes at least one first link symbol, which can achieve parallel transmission of ranging information and data. The first link symbol and the second link symbol are used to carry information in different transmission directions.

[0015] Optionally, the method further includes: transmitting a first bitmap, where the first bitmap is used to indicate the first radio frame within a superframe, so that the second node can determine which radio frames within the superframe are first radio frames. Optionally, the first bitmap is a 48-bit bitmap, where the value of a bit indicates whether the radio frame corresponding to the bit is the first radio frame.

[0016] Optionally, the first bitmap may be included in the first configuration information sent to the second node. The first configuration information may also include a superframe number L1 and / or first indication information, where L1 is a positive integer. The superframe number L1 refers to L1 superframes, which are continuous in the time domain. Each of the L1 superframes includes a first ranging frame. The second node may determine the time-frequency resources for transmitting the first ranging frame based on the superframe number L1 and the first bitmap.

[0017] The first indication information is used to indicate whether the first bitmap corresponding to each superframe in the L1 superframes is the same. If the indication is the same, the first configuration information may include a first bitmap that applies to each superframe in the L1 superframes. The second node may then determine the time-frequency resources for transmitting the first ranging frame based on the first bitmap and the L1 superframes. If the indication is different, the first configuration information may include at most L1 first bitmaps. The second node may determine the time-frequency resources for transmitting the first ranging frame based on the first bitmap corresponding to each superframe in the L1 superframe.

[0018] Optionally, for a last first radio frame in the at least one first radio frame, last N symbols used to carry the first ranging information are inversely phased with other symbols used to carry the first ranging information in the last first radio frame, and the last first radio frame indicates channel switching; where N is a positive integer;

[0019] And / or, for the last second radio frame in at least one second radio frame, the last M symbols used to carry the second ranging information contained therein are inverted with other symbols used to carry the second ranging information in the last second radio frame, and the last second radio frame indicates channel switching; wherein M is a positive integer.

[0020] It can be seen that the last first radio frame and / or the last second radio frame can indicate channel switching to hop from a first channel to another channel, thereby facilitating ranging interaction on another channel.

[0021] In another possible implementation, the first ranging frame consists of at least one first overhead symbol, which is all or part of the overhead symbols of at least one first radio frame and is used to carry first ranging information. The second ranging frame consists of at least one second overhead symbol, which is all or part of the overhead symbols of at least one second radio frame and is used to carry second ranging information. This approach is compatible with radio frames that include both overhead symbols and link symbols. Using overhead symbols to carry ranging information can improve overhead symbol utilization. This approach is applicable when the first channel is the initial channel for frequency hopping ranging.

[0022] Optionally, the at least one first overhead symbol is a portion of overhead symbols of at least one first radio frame, and the at least one third overhead symbol of at least one first radio frame is a first-link system overhead symbol or a second-link system overhead symbol; the at least one second overhead symbol is a portion of overhead symbols of at least one second radio frame, and the at least one fourth overhead symbol of at least one second radio frame is a first-link system overhead symbol or a second-link system overhead symbol. The first-link system overhead symbols and the second-link system overhead symbols are used to ensure data communication, and a portion of the overhead symbols of at least one first radio frame is used to carry ranging information, while another portion of the overhead symbols is used to ensure data communication, thereby enabling parallel transmission of ranging information and data.

[0023] Furthermore, the first overhead symbol and the third overhead symbol in the same first radio frame can be arranged in a comb-tooth pattern. This pattern can maintain the synchronization performance of the communication system, while ensuring the communication performance of the communication system, and improve the ranging accuracy by utilizing the synchronization accuracy of the communication symbols. And / or, the second overhead symbol and the fourth overhead symbol in the same second radio frame can be arranged in a comb-tooth pattern. This pattern can maintain the synchronization performance of the communication system, while ensuring the communication performance of the communication system, and improve the ranging accuracy by utilizing the synchronization accuracy of the communication symbols.

[0024] Optionally, the at least one first overhead symbol is all overhead symbols of at least one first wireless frame, and the at least one second overhead symbol is all overhead symbols of at least one second wireless frame, which helps to expand the estimation range of Doppler frequency shift and can be applied to ranging in high-speed mobile scenarios.

[0025] Optionally, on the first channel, a difference between the number of symbols used to carry the first ranging information in the first ranging frame and the number of symbols used to carry the second ranging information in the second ranging frame is less than a first threshold, so that a signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) when determining the first channel state information is the same as or similar to the SNR when determining the second channel state information, thereby obtaining first channel state information and second channel state information with the same or similar accuracy, and thereby determining channel state information on the first channel with higher accuracy based on the first channel state information and the second channel state information.

[0026] Optionally, the method further includes: transmitting a second bitmap, where the second bitmap is used to indicate overhead symbols used to carry the first ranging information within a superframe, so that the second node can determine which overhead symbols within the superframe carry the first ranging information. Optionally, the second bitmap is a 96-bit bitmap, where the value of a bit indicates whether the overhead symbol corresponding to the bit carries the first ranging information.

[0027] Optionally, the last X first overhead symbols of the at least one first overhead symbol are inverted with respect to other first overhead symbols used to carry the first ranging information, and the inverted last X symbols indicate channel switching to implement frequency hopping from the first channel to another channel, thereby facilitating ranging interaction on the other channel; wherein X is a positive integer;

[0028] And / or, the last Y second overhead symbols of the at least one second overhead symbol are inverted with respect to other second overhead symbols used to carry second ranging information, and the inverted last Y second overhead symbols indicate channel switching to implement frequency hopping from a first channel to another channel, thereby facilitating ranging interaction on the other channel; wherein Y is a positive integer.

[0029] Optionally, within a superframe, the number of the first first radio frame included in the first ranging frame is greater than K, and the overhead symbols in the first radio frame to the radio frame numbered K within the superframe are used to transmit control information, where K is a positive integer greater than 1. The overhead symbols used to transmit control information are not used for ranging, that is, they do not carry ranging information.

[0030] In one possible implementation, the method further includes receiving, on the first channel, P third ranging frames from P third nodes, the third ranging frames carrying second ranging information via at least one second symbol, the third ranging frames having the same frame structure as the second ranging frames, where P is a positive integer. The third node and the second node are of the same node type. In other words, the first ranging frame is broadcast on the first channel, and multiple second ranging frames are received from multiple second nodes, thereby implementing multicast ranging interaction on the first channel.

[0031] Furthermore, the order of the P third ranging frames and the second ranging frames in the time domain meets the preset setting, that is, the multiple second nodes send the second ranging frames according to the preset order.

[0032] In one possible implementation, the method further includes: transmitting a fourth ranging frame on the second channel based on first information indicating channel switching, the fourth ranging frame carrying first ranging information via at least one first symbol; the fourth ranging frame having the same or different frame structure as the first ranging frame, that is, the ranging frame transmitted on the first channel and the ranging frame transmitted on the second channel may have the same or different frame structure; receiving a fifth ranging frame from the second node on the second channel, the fifth ranging frame carrying second ranging information via at least one second symbol; the fifth ranging frame having the same frame structure as the fourth ranging frame; receiving third channel state information, the third channel state information being channel state information corresponding to the second channel from the second node; determining fourth channel state information corresponding to the second channel based on the fifth ranging frame; and determining channel state information of the second channel based on the third and fourth channel state information, the channel state information of the second channel being used to measure the distance between the sender of the fourth ranging frame and the second node, thereby implementing inter-node ranging for the second channel. It can be seen that frequency hopping can improve the accuracy and precision of ranging.

[0033] Furthermore, the method further includes determining the distance between the sender of the first ranging frame and the second node based on the channel state information of the first channel and the channel state information of the second channel. That is, the distance between the sender of the first ranging frame and the second node is determined based on the channel state information of multiple channels of frequency hopping ranging (including the initial channel of the frequency hopping ranging and the frequency hopping channels of the frequency hopping ranging), so that the obtained distance has high accuracy and precision. Furthermore, the method further includes sending the distance between the sender of the first ranging frame and the second node to the second node so that the second node knows the distance between itself and the sender of the first ranging frame.

[0034] Optionally, the above method further includes: sending second information, where the second information is used to indicate the number of fourth ranging frames transmitted continuously in time and / or the number of fifth ranging frames transmitted continuously in time, so as to continuously transmit ranging frames on the frequency hopping channel of the frequency hopping ranging, which is conducive to improving the accuracy and precision of ranging.

[0035] Optionally, a difference between the number of symbols used to carry the first ranging information contained in the fourth ranging frame and the number of symbols used to carry the first ranging information contained in the first ranging frame is less than a second threshold; and / or a difference between the number of symbols used to carry the second ranging information contained in the fifth ranging frame and the number of symbols used to carry the second ranging information contained in the second ranging frame is less than a second threshold, so that the channel state information on different channels maintains the same or similar SNR.

[0036] Optionally, the method provided in the first aspect may be executed by the first node, or may be executed by a module in the first node, for example, by a chip in the first node.

[0037] In a second aspect, the present application provides a ranging method, which may include: receiving a first ranging frame from a first node on a first channel, the first ranging frame carrying first ranging information through at least one first symbol; sending a second ranging frame to the first node on the first channel, the second ranging frame carrying second ranging information through at least one second symbol; determining first channel state information corresponding to the first channel based on the at least one first symbol; and sending the first channel state information to the first node, the first channel state information being used to measure the distance between the first node and a recipient of the first ranging frame.

[0038] As can be seen, on the first channel, by receiving the first ranging frame and sending the second ranging frame, ranging frames for the first channel can be transmitted. The ranging frame carries ranging information via at least one symbol, enabling transmission of ranging information. Sending the first channel state information to the first node allows the first node to determine the channel state information of the first channel, thereby enabling inter-node ranging for the first channel and improving ranging accuracy.

[0039] Optionally, the first ranging frame and the second ranging frame have the same frame structure, so that ranging frames with the same frame structure are used on the first channel, which helps to improve the stability of ranging frame transmission.

[0040] In a possible implementation, the first ranging frame includes at least one first radio frame, and the second ranging frame includes at least one second radio frame.

[0041] Optional method 1: All symbols in the above-mentioned at least one first radio frame are used to carry the first ranging information, and all symbols in the above-mentioned at least one second radio frame are used to carry the second ranging information. There is a switching interval between the first radio frame and the second radio frame, and the switching interval is used to perform the transmission and reception switching. In this method, the switching interval does not occupy the duration of the first radio frame or the duration of the second radio frame, thereby saving overhead; all symbols in the first radio frame are used to carry the first ranging information, and all symbols in the second radio frame are used to carry the second ranging information, which increases the transmission amount of ranging information, thereby improving transmission efficiency and ranging accuracy. Optional method 1 can be applied to the case where the first channel is the initial channel or frequency hopping channel of frequency hopping ranging.

[0042] Option 2: For any one of the at least one first radio frame, the first radio frame includes a switching interval, where each symbol except the switching interval is used to carry first ranging information, and the switching interval is temporally located after the symbol carrying the first ranging information. This means that the switching interval occupies the duration of one symbol in the first radio frame. For any one of the at least one second radio frame, the second radio frame includes a switching interval, where each symbol except the switching interval is used to carry second ranging information, and the switching interval is temporally located after the symbol carrying the second ranging information. This means that the switching interval occupies the second radio frame. The switching interval is used to perform transceiver switching. The switching interval in the first radio frame is temporally located after the symbol carrying the first ranging information, and the switching interval in the second radio frame is temporally located after the symbol carrying the second ranging information. This reduces the number of switching intervals and thus saves overhead. All symbols except the switching interval are used to carry ranging information, increasing the amount of ranging information transmitted, thereby improving transmission efficiency and ranging accuracy. Option 2 is applicable when the first channel is the initial channel or a frequency hopping channel for frequency hopping ranging.

[0043] Optional method 3: For any one of the at least one first radio frame mentioned above: the first radio frame includes a switching interval, a first overhead symbol and a first link symbol, and the first overhead symbol and the first link symbol are used to carry the first ranging information; for any one of the at least one second radio frame mentioned above: the second radio frame includes a switching interval, a second overhead symbol and a second link symbol, and the second overhead symbol and the second link symbol are used to carry the second ranging information. The switching interval is used to perform transceiver switching. The first link symbol is a link symbol sent to the second node, and the second link symbol is a link symbol sent by the second node. Optional method 3 is compatible with radio frames including switching intervals, overhead symbols and link symbols, increases the transmission amount of ranging information, and thus improves transmission efficiency and ranging accuracy. Optional method 3 can be applied to the case where the first channel is the initial channel of frequency hopping ranging.

[0044] Among them, the number of switching intervals contained in the first wireless frame and / or the second wireless frame is 2. Furthermore, the first wireless frame also includes at least one second link symbol, and / or the second wireless frame also includes at least one first link symbol, which can realize parallel transmission of ranging information and data.

[0045] Optionally, the method further includes: receiving a first bitmap, the first bitmap being used to indicate the first radio frame within a superframe, thereby determining the first radio frame within the superframe. Optionally, the first bitmap is a 48-bit bitmap, and the value of a bit indicates whether the radio frame corresponding to the bit is the first radio frame.

[0046] Optionally, the first bitmap may be included in the first configuration information sent by the first node. The first configuration information may further include a superframe number L1 and / or first indication information, where L1 is a positive integer. The superframe number L1, i.e., L1 superframes, is continuous in the time domain. Each of the L1 superframes includes a first ranging frame. The time-frequency resources for transmitting the first ranging frame may then be determined based on the superframe number L1 and the first bitmap.

[0047] The first indication information is used to indicate whether the first bitmap corresponding to each superframe in the L1 superframes is the same. If the indication is the same, the first configuration information may include a first bitmap that applies to each superframe in the L1 superframes. The time-frequency resources for transmitting the first ranging frame may be determined based on the first bitmap and the L1 superframes. If the indication is different, the first configuration information may include at most L1 first bitsmaps. The time-frequency resources for transmitting the first ranging frame may be determined based on the first bitmap corresponding to each superframe in the L1 superframes.

[0048] Optionally, for a last first radio frame in the at least one first radio frame, last N symbols used to carry the first ranging information are inversely phased with other symbols used to carry the first ranging information in the last first radio frame, and the last first radio frame indicates channel switching; where N is a positive integer;

[0049] And / or, for the last second radio frame in at least one second radio frame, the last M symbols used to carry the second ranging information contained therein are inverted with other symbols used to carry the second ranging information in the last second radio frame, and the last second radio frame indicates channel switching; wherein M is a positive integer.

[0050] It can be seen that the last first radio frame and / or the last second radio frame can indicate channel switching to hop from a first channel to another channel, thereby facilitating ranging interaction on another channel.

[0051] In another possible implementation, the first ranging frame consists of at least one first overhead symbol, which is all or part of the overhead symbols of at least one first radio frame and is used to carry first ranging information. The second ranging frame consists of at least one second overhead symbol, which is all or part of the overhead symbols of at least one second radio frame and is used to carry second ranging information. This approach is compatible with radio frames that include both overhead symbols and link symbols. Using overhead symbols to carry ranging information can improve overhead symbol utilization. This approach is applicable when the first channel is the initial channel for frequency hopping ranging.

[0052] Optionally, the at least one first overhead symbol is a portion of overhead symbols of at least one first radio frame, and the at least one third overhead symbol of at least one first radio frame is a first-link system overhead symbol or a second-link system overhead symbol; the at least one second overhead symbol is a portion of overhead symbols of at least one second radio frame, and the at least one fourth overhead symbol of at least one second radio frame is a first-link system overhead symbol or a second-link system overhead symbol. The first-link system overhead symbols and the second-link system overhead symbols are used to ensure data communication, and a portion of the overhead symbols of at least one first radio frame is used to carry ranging information, while another portion of the overhead symbols is used to ensure data communication, thereby enabling parallel transmission of ranging information and data.

[0053] Furthermore, the first overhead symbol and the third overhead symbol in the same first radio frame can be arranged in a comb-tooth pattern. This pattern can maintain the synchronization performance of the communication system, while ensuring the communication performance of the communication system, and improve the ranging accuracy by utilizing the synchronization accuracy of the communication symbols. And / or, the second overhead symbol and the fourth overhead symbol in the same second radio frame can be arranged in a comb-tooth pattern. This pattern can maintain the synchronization performance of the communication system, while ensuring the communication performance of the communication system, and improve the ranging accuracy by utilizing the synchronization accuracy of the communication symbols.

[0054] Optionally, the at least one first overhead symbol is all overhead symbols of at least one first wireless frame, and the at least one second overhead symbol is all overhead symbols of at least one second wireless frame, which helps to expand the estimation range of Doppler frequency shift and can be applied to ranging in high-speed mobile scenarios.

[0055] Optionally, on the first channel, the difference between the number of symbols used to carry the first ranging information in the first ranging frame and the number of symbols used to carry the second ranging information in the second ranging frame is less than a first threshold, so that the SNR when determining the first channel state information is the same as or similar to the SNR when determining the second channel state information, thereby obtaining the first channel state information and the second channel state information with the same or similar accuracy, and thus determining the channel state information on the first channel with higher accuracy based on the first channel state information and the second channel state information.

[0056] Optionally, the method further includes: receiving a second bitmap, the second bitmap being used to indicate overhead symbols used to carry the first ranging information within a superframe, thereby determining the overhead symbols that carry the first ranging information within the superframe. Optionally, the second bitmap is a 96-bit bitmap, and the value of a bit indicates whether the overhead symbol corresponding to the bit carries the first ranging information.

[0057] Optionally, the last X first overhead symbols of the at least one first overhead symbol are inverted with respect to other first overhead symbols used to carry first ranging information, and the inverted last X first overhead symbols indicate channel switching to implement frequency hopping from the first channel to another channel, thereby facilitating ranging interaction on the other channel; wherein X is a positive integer;

[0058] And / or, the last Y second overhead symbols of the at least one second overhead symbol are inverted with respect to other second overhead symbols used to carry second ranging information, and the inverted last Y second overhead symbols indicate channel switching to implement frequency hopping from a first channel to another channel, thereby facilitating ranging interaction on the other channel; wherein Y is a positive integer.

[0059] Optionally, within a superframe, the number of the first first radio frame included in the first ranging frame is greater than K, and the overhead symbols in the first radio frame to the radio frame numbered K within the superframe are used to transmit control information, where K is a positive integer greater than 1. The overhead symbols used to transmit control information are not used for ranging, that is, they do not carry ranging information.

[0060] In one possible implementation, the method further includes: receiving, on the second channel, a fourth ranging frame from the first node based on first information indicating channel switching, the fourth ranging frame carrying first ranging information via at least one first symbol; the fourth ranging frame having the same or different frame structure as the first ranging frame, that is, the ranging frame transmitted on the first channel and the ranging frame transmitted on the second channel may have the same or different frame structure; sending, on the second channel, a fifth ranging frame to the first node, the fifth ranging frame carrying second ranging information via at least one second symbol; the fifth ranging frame having the same frame structure as the fourth ranging frame; determining, based on the fifth ranging frame, third channel state information corresponding to the second channel, and sending the third channel state information to the first node, the third channel state information being used to measure the distance between the first node and the recipient of the fourth ranging frame, so that the first node can perform inter-node ranging for the second channel. It can be seen that frequency hopping can improve the accuracy and precision of ranging.

[0061] Furthermore, the above method also includes: receiving the distance between the receiver of the first ranging frame from the first node and the first node, that is, obtaining the distance to the first node, and the distance has high accuracy and precision.

[0062] Optionally, the above method also includes: receiving second information, where the second information is used to indicate the number of fourth ranging frames transmitted continuously in time and / or the number of fifth ranging frames transmitted continuously in time, so as to continuously transmit ranging frames on the frequency hopping channel of the frequency hopping ranging, which is conducive to improving the accuracy and precision of ranging.

[0063] Optionally, a difference between the number of symbols used to carry the first ranging information contained in the fourth ranging frame and the number of symbols used to carry the first ranging information contained in the first ranging frame is less than a second threshold; and / or a difference between the number of symbols used to carry the second ranging information contained in the fifth ranging frame and the number of symbols used to carry the second ranging information contained in the second ranging frame is less than a second threshold, so that the channel state information on different channels maintains the same or similar SNR.

[0064] Optionally, the method provided in the second aspect may be executed by the second node, or may be executed by a module in the second node, for example, by a chip in the second node.

[0065] In a third aspect, the present application provides a communication device, comprising a module or unit for executing the method as described in the first aspect or any one of the second aspects.

[0066] In one possible design, the communication device includes:

[0067] The communication unit is configured to send a first ranging frame on a first channel, the first ranging frame carrying first ranging information through at least one first symbol; receive a second ranging frame from a second node on the first channel, the second ranging frame carrying second ranging information through at least one second symbol; and receive first channel state information, the first channel state information being channel state information corresponding to the first channel from the second node;

[0068] A processing unit is configured to determine second channel state information corresponding to the first channel based on at least one second symbol; and determine channel state information of the first channel based on the first channel state information and the second channel state information, where the channel state information of the first channel is used to measure the distance between the sender of the first ranging frame and the second node.

[0069] In a possible implementation, the first ranging frame includes at least one first radio frame, and the second ranging frame includes at least one second radio frame.

[0070] Optional method 1: The symbols in the above-mentioned at least one first wireless frame are all used to carry the first ranging information, and the symbols in the above-mentioned at least one second wireless frame are all used to carry the second ranging information. There is a switching interval between the first wireless frame and the second wireless frame, and the switching interval is used to perform transmission and reception switching.

[0071] Option 2: For any one of the at least one first radio frame, the first radio frame includes a switching interval, each symbol except the switching interval is used to carry first ranging information, and the switching interval is temporally located after the symbol used to carry the first ranging information; for any one of the at least one second radio frame, the second radio frame includes a switching interval, each symbol except the switching interval is used to carry second ranging information, and the switching interval is temporally located after the symbol used to carry the second ranging information. The switching interval is used to perform transceiver switching.

[0072] Optional Mode 3: For any one of the at least one first radio frame, the first radio frame includes a switching interval, a first overhead symbol, and a first link symbol, where the first overhead symbol and the first link symbol are used to carry first ranging information. For any one of the at least one second radio frame, the second radio frame includes a switching interval, a second overhead symbol, and a second link symbol, where the second overhead symbol and the second link symbol are used to carry second ranging information. The switching interval is used to perform a transmit / receive switch.

[0073] Optionally, the communication unit is further configured to send a first bitmap, where the first bitmap is used to indicate the first radio frame within a superframe.

[0074] Optionally, for a last first radio frame in the at least one first radio frame, last N symbols used to carry the first ranging information are inversely phased with other symbols used to carry the first ranging information in the last first radio frame, and the last first radio frame indicates channel switching; where N is a positive integer;

[0075] And / or, for the last second radio frame in at least one second radio frame, the last M symbols used to carry the second ranging information contained therein are inverted with other symbols used to carry the second ranging information in the last second radio frame, and the last second radio frame indicates channel switching; wherein M is a positive integer.

[0076] In another possible implementation, the first ranging frame consists of at least one first overhead symbol, where the at least one first overhead symbol is all or part of the overhead symbols of at least one first radio frame, and the at least one first overhead symbol is used to carry first ranging information; the second ranging frame consists of at least one second overhead symbol, where the at least one second overhead symbol is all or part of the overhead symbols of at least one second radio frame, and the at least one second overhead symbol is used to carry second ranging information.

[0077] Optionally, the at least one first overhead symbol is a partial overhead symbol of at least one first wireless frame, and at least one third overhead symbol of at least one first wireless frame is a first link system overhead symbol or a second link system overhead symbol; the at least one second overhead symbol is a partial overhead symbol of at least one second wireless frame, and at least one fourth overhead symbol of at least one second wireless frame is a first link system overhead symbol or a second link system overhead symbol.

[0078] Optionally, on the first channel, a difference between the number of symbols used to carry the first ranging information in the first ranging frame and the number of symbols used to carry the second ranging information in the second ranging frame is less than a first threshold.

[0079] Optionally, the communication unit is further configured to send a second bitmap, where the second bitmap is used to indicate overhead symbols used to carry the first ranging information within a superframe.

[0080] Optionally, the last X first overhead symbols of the at least one first overhead symbol are inverted with respect to other first overhead symbols used to carry the first ranging information, and the inverted last X symbols indicate channel switching; wherein X is a positive integer;

[0081] And / or, the last Y second overhead symbols of the at least one second overhead symbol are inverted with other second overhead symbols used to carry second ranging information, and the inverted last Y second overhead symbols indicate channel switching; wherein Y is a positive integer.

[0082] Optionally, within a superframe, the first radio frame included in the first ranging frame is numbered greater than K, and the overhead symbols from the first radio frame to the radio frame numbered K within the superframe are used to transmit control information, where K is a positive integer greater than 1.

[0083] In one possible implementation, the communication unit is further configured to receive, on the first channel, P third ranging frames from P third nodes, where the third ranging frames carry second ranging information through at least one second symbol, the third ranging frames have the same frame structure as the second ranging frames, and P is a positive integer.

[0084] Furthermore, the order of the P third ranging frames and the second ranging frames in the time domain meets the pre-set conditions.

[0085] In one possible implementation, the communication unit is further configured to, based on the first information indicating the channel switch, send a fourth ranging frame on the second channel, where the fourth ranging frame carries first ranging information through at least one first symbol; the fourth ranging frame has the same or different frame structure as the first ranging frame; receive a fifth ranging frame from the second node on the second channel, where the fifth ranging frame carries second ranging information through at least one second symbol; the fifth ranging frame has the same frame structure as the fourth ranging frame; and receive third channel state information, where the third channel state information is channel state information from the second node and corresponds to the second channel.

[0086] The processing unit is further configured to determine fourth channel state information corresponding to the second channel based on the fifth ranging frame; and determine channel state information of the second channel based on the third channel state information and the fourth channel state information, where the channel state information of the second channel is used to measure the distance between the sender of the fourth ranging frame and the second node.

[0087] Furthermore, the processing unit is further configured to determine the distance between the sender of the first ranging frame and the second node according to the channel state information of the first channel and the channel state information of the second channel.

[0088] Optionally, the communication unit is further configured to send second information, where the second information is used to indicate the number of fourth ranging frames transmitted continuously in time and / or the number of fifth ranging frames transmitted continuously in time.

[0089] Optionally, a difference between the number of symbols used to carry the first ranging information contained in the fourth ranging frame and the number of symbols used to carry the first ranging information contained in the first ranging frame is less than a second threshold; and / or a difference between the number of symbols used to carry the second ranging information contained in the fifth ranging frame and the number of symbols used to carry the second ranging information contained in the second ranging frame is less than the second threshold.

[0090] Regarding the technical effects brought about by the third aspect and any possible implementation method, please refer to the introduction of the technical effects corresponding to the first aspect and the corresponding implementation method.

[0091] In another possible design, the communication device includes:

[0092] The communication unit is configured to receive a first ranging frame from a first node on a first channel, the first ranging frame carrying first ranging information through at least one first symbol; and send a second ranging frame to the first node on the first channel, the second ranging frame carrying second ranging information through at least one second symbol;

[0093] a processing unit, configured to determine first channel state information corresponding to a first channel according to at least one first symbol;

[0094] The communication unit is further configured to send first channel state information to the first node, where the first channel state information is used to measure the distance between the first node and a receiver of the first ranging frame.

[0095] In one possible implementation, the communication unit is further configured to receive a first bitmap, where the first bitmap is used to indicate a first radio frame within a superframe; all symbols in the first radio frame are used to carry first ranging information; or, the first radio frame includes a switching interval, where each symbol except the switching interval is used to carry the first ranging information, and the switching interval is temporally located after the symbol used to carry the first ranging information, and the switching interval is used to perform transceiver switching.

[0096] In another possible implementation, the communication unit is further configured to receive a second bitmap, where the second bitmap is used to indicate overhead symbols used to carry the first ranging information in a superframe.

[0097] Optionally, the communication unit is further configured to receive, on the second channel, a fourth ranging frame from the first node based on the first information, the fourth ranging frame carrying the first ranging information through at least one first symbol; the frame structure of the fourth ranging frame is the same as or different from that of the first ranging frame; the first information is used to indicate channel switching; and to send, on the second channel, a fifth ranging frame to the first node, the fifth ranging frame carrying the second ranging information through at least one second symbol; the frame structure of the fifth ranging frame is the same as that of the fourth ranging frame.

[0098] The processing unit is further configured to determine third channel state information corresponding to the second channel according to the fifth ranging frame;

[0099] The communication unit is further configured to send third channel state information to the first node, where the third channel state information is used to measure the distance between the first node and a receiver of the fourth ranging frame.

[0100] Furthermore, the communication unit is further configured to receive the distance between the first node and a receiver of the first ranging frame from the first node.

[0101] Regarding the technical effects brought about by the third aspect and any possible implementation method, please refer to the introduction of the technical effects corresponding to the second aspect and the corresponding implementation method.

[0102] In a fourth aspect, embodiments of the present application provide a communication device comprising a processor. The processor is coupled to a memory and can be configured to execute instructions in the memory to implement the method of any of the first and second aspects described above and any possible implementation methods. Optionally, the communication device further comprises a memory. Optionally, the communication device further comprises a communication interface, the processor being coupled to the communication interface.

[0103] In a fifth aspect, embodiments of the present application provide a communication device, comprising: a logic circuit and a communication interface. The communication interface is configured to receive or send information; the logic circuit is configured to receive or send information via the communication interface, so that the communication device executes the method of any of the first and second aspects above, and any possible implementation thereof.

[0104] In a sixth aspect, an embodiment of the present application provides a computer-readable storage medium for storing a computer program (also referred to as code, or instructions); when the computer program runs on a computer, the method of any one of the above-mentioned first to second aspects and any possible implementation method is implemented.

[0105] In the seventh aspect, an embodiment of the present application provides a computer program product, which includes: a computer program (also referred to as code, or instructions); when the computer program is run, it enables the computer to execute any one of the above-mentioned first to second aspects and any possible implementation method.

[0106] In an eighth aspect, an embodiment of the present application provides a chip, comprising a processor configured to execute instructions. When the processor executes the instructions, the chip performs the method of any one of the first and second aspects and any possible implementation methods described above. Optionally, the chip further comprises a communication interface configured to receive or send signals.

[0107] In the ninth aspect, an embodiment of the present application provides a terminal device, which includes at least one communication device as described in the third aspect, or the communication device as described in the fourth aspect, or the communication device as described in the fifth aspect, or the chip as described in the eighth aspect.

[0108] In the tenth aspect, an embodiment of the present application provides a system, which includes a terminal device and at least one communication device as described in the third aspect, or the communication device as described in the fourth aspect, or the communication device as described in the fifth aspect, or the chip as described in the eighth aspect.

[0109] In addition, in the process of executing the method described in the first aspect and any possible embodiment, or the method described in the second aspect and any possible embodiment, the process of sending information and / or receiving information in the above method can be understood as the process of the processor outputting information, and / or the process of the processor receiving input information. When outputting information, the processor can output the information to the transceiver (or communication interface, or sending module) so that it can be transmitted by the transceiver. After the information is output by the processor, it may also need to undergo other processing before it reaches the transceiver. Similarly, when the processor receives input information, the transceiver (or communication interface, or sending module) receives the information and inputs it into the processor. Furthermore, after the transceiver receives the information, the information may need to undergo other processing before it is input into the processor.

[0110] Based on the above principles, for example, the sending of information mentioned in the above method can be understood as the processor outputting information. For another example, the receiving of information can be understood as the processor receiving input information.

[0111] Optionally, for the operations such as transmission, sending and receiving involved in the processor, if there is no special explanation, or if they do not conflict with their actual functions or internal logic in the relevant description, they can be more generally understood as processor output, reception, input and other operations.

[0112] Optionally, in the process of executing the method described in the first aspect and any possible embodiment, or the method described in the second aspect and any possible embodiment, the processor may be a processor specifically used to execute these methods, or a processor that executes these methods by executing computer instructions in a memory, such as a general-purpose processor. The memory may be a non-transitory memory, such as a read-only memory (ROM), which may be integrated with the processor on the same chip or may be separately provided on different chips. The embodiments of the present application do not limit the type of memory and the configuration of the memory and the processor.

[0113] In a possible implementation, the at least one memory is located outside the device.

[0114] In yet another possible implementation, the at least one memory is located within the device.

[0115] In another possible implementation, part of the at least one memory is located inside the device, and another part of the memory is located outside the device.

[0116] In this application, the processor and the memory may also be integrated into one device, that is, the processor and the memory may also be integrated together.

[0117] In the present application, ranging frames for the first channel are transmitted on the first channel to enable inter-node transmission of ranging frames for the first channel. The ranging frame carries ranging information via at least one symbol, enabling transmission of ranging information. Based on the first channel state information and second channel state information corresponding to the first channel, channel state information for the first channel can be determined, thereby enabling inter-node ranging for the first channel and improving ranging accuracy. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0118] FIG1 is a diagram illustrating an example structure of a superframe;

[0119] FIG2 is a schematic diagram of a vehicle-mounted positioning scenario;

[0120] FIG3 is a schematic diagram of a possible wireless communication system provided by the present application;

[0121] FIG4 is a diagram illustrating an example of a frame structure of a ranging frame 1 provided in the present application;

[0122] FIG5 is a diagram illustrating an example of a frame structure of a ranging frame 2 provided in the present application;

[0123] FIG6 is a diagram illustrating an example of a frame structure of a ranging frame 3 provided in the present application;

[0124] FIG7 is a diagram illustrating an example of a frame structure of a ranging frame 4 provided in the present application;

[0125] FIG8 is an example diagram of frequency hopping ranging;

[0126] FIG9 is a flow chart of a distance measurement method provided by the present application;

[0127] Figure 9-1 is an example diagram of a ranging interaction provided by this application;

[0128] Figure 9-2 is an example diagram of another ranging interaction provided by this application;

[0129] FIG10 is a flow chart of another ranging method provided by the present application;

[0130] FIG10-1 is another example diagram of a ranging interaction provided by this application;

[0131] FIG11 is a flow chart of another ranging method provided by the present application;

[0132] FIG11-1 is another example diagram of a ranging interaction provided by this application;

[0133] FIG12 is a schematic structural diagram of a communication device provided in an embodiment of the present application;

[0134] FIG13 is a schematic structural diagram of a communication device provided in an embodiment of the present application;

[0135] FIG14 is a schematic diagram of the structure of a chip provided in an embodiment of the present application. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0136] In this application, words such as "first" and "second" are used to distinguish between identical or similar items with substantially the same functions and effects. Those skilled in the art will understand that words such as "first" and "second" do not limit the quantity or order of execution, and that words such as "first" and "second" do not necessarily define differences. "And / or" describes the relationship between associated objects, indicating that three possible relationships exist. For example, "A and / or B" can mean: A exists alone, A and B exist simultaneously, or B exists alone. The character " / " generally indicates that the associated objects are in an "or" relationship.

[0137] It should be understood that, in this application, "at least one" refers to one or more, and "a plurality" refers to two or more. Furthermore, in this application, "equal to" can be used in conjunction with "greater than" or "less than." When "equal to" and "greater than" are used together, the technical solution of "greater than" is adopted; when "equal to" and "less than" are used together, the technical solution of "less than" is adopted.

[0138] The following first explains the relevant names or terms involved in this application to facilitate understanding by those skilled in the art.

[0139] 1. Node

[0140] A node is an electronic device with communication capabilities, also known as a communication node. For example, a node can include standalone devices such as handheld terminals, vehicles, on-board equipment, or network-side equipment, user equipment, access terminals, subscriber units, user stations, mobile stations, mobile stations, remote stations, remote terminals, wireless communication devices, user agents, or user devices. It can also be a component (such as a chip or integrated circuit) included in a standalone device. A node can be any possible intelligent terminal device (such as a mobile phone), intelligent transportation equipment (such as vehicles, drones, etc.), intelligent manufacturing equipment, smart home devices (such as large screens, speakers, etc.), etc.

[0141] For example, when a node is an in-vehicle device, it can be a cockpit domain device or a module within the cockpit domain device, such as one or more of the cockpit domain controller (CDC), camera, screen, microphone, audio, electronic key, keyless entry and start system controller, etc. Within a vehicle, a node can also be a battery management system or a battery in a battery pack.

[0142] For example, when the node is a handheld terminal, it can be a mobile phone, a wearable device, a tablet computer (pad), or a computer with data transceiver functions (such as a laptop computer, a PDA, etc.).

[0143] The nodes in the embodiments of the present application can be applied to a variety of application scenarios, such as the following application scenarios: mobile internet (MI), industrial control, self-driving, transportation safety, Internet of Things (IoT), smart city, or smart home.

[0144] The nodes in this application can be applied to a variety of network types, such as one or more of the following network types: SparkLink, Long Term Evolution (LTE), Fifth Generation Mobile Communication Technology (5G), etc. th -generation mobile communication technology, 5G), wireless local area network (e.g., Wi-Fi), Bluetooth (BT), Zigbee, or in-vehicle short-range wireless communication network, etc.

[0145] In some application scenarios or certain network types, devices with similar communication capabilities may not be called nodes. However, for the convenience of description, in the embodiments of the present application, devices with communication capabilities are collectively referred to as nodes.

[0146] 2. Superframe

[0147] A superframe is a concept in the time domain. A superframe consists of multiple radio frames. A radio frame consists of multiple symbols. A symbol may be, for example, an orthogonal frequency-division multiplexing (OFDM) symbol.

[0148] At present, the SparkLink basic (SLB) standard involved in the SparkLink Alliance specifies the frame structure of superframes and radio frames. The superframe period is 1 millisecond (ms), that is, the duration of the superframe is 1ms, and a superframe contains 48 radio frames, and the duration of each radio frame is 1 / 48 = 20.833 microseconds (us). In one example, as shown in Figure 1, a superframe includes 48 radio frames, and the 48 radio frames are numbered from radio frame #0 to radio frame #47. Each radio frame contains a number of downlink symbols, a number of uplink symbols, overhead symbols and a switching interval (gap, GAP). Downlink symbols are used for downlink transmission, and uplink symbols are used for uplink transmission. Overhead symbols can also be described as flexible symbols or specific symbols, etc., which are used for synchronization, channel detection, downlink control information (DCI) transmission, etc. Overhead symbols can be divided into downlink overhead symbols and uplink overhead symbols. The switching interval is used to perform uplink and downlink switching. The duration of a switching interval in a radio frame is, for example, the duration of a symbol in the radio frame. The duration of a downlink symbol = the duration of an uplink symbol = the duration of an overhead symbol.

[0149] For example, in an on-board (or off-board) wireless short-range communication system, uplink typically refers to the direction in which a terminal (T) node sends data or information to a grant (G) node, and is represented by "T." Downlink typically refers to the direction in which a G node sends data or information to a T node, and is represented by "G." In Figure 1, downlink symbols are represented by G symbols, which can also be described as G link symbols or G link data symbols, etc.; uplink symbols are represented by T symbols, which can also be described as T link symbols or T link data symbols, etc. Because in an on-board wireless short-range communication system, communication between different T nodes or different G nodes often requires communication, communication between different T nodes or different G nodes can occupy the aforementioned overhead symbols. In Figure 1, downlink overhead symbols are represented by special grant (SG) symbols, which can also be described as G overhead symbols, overhead G symbols, or G link overhead symbols, etc.; uplink overhead symbols are represented by special terminal (ST) symbols, which can also be described as T overhead symbols, overhead T symbols, or T link overhead symbols, etc. When the transmission direction is not distinguished, G overhead symbols and T overhead symbols can be collectively referred to as system overhead symbols.

[0150] Each radio frame can contain one or two overhead symbols, and a superframe can contain up to 96 overhead symbols. In one example, as shown in the superframe of Figure 1, each radio frame of the superframe contains one overhead symbol, and the superframe contains 48 overhead symbols. For example, the overhead symbol contained in radio frame #0 is SG symbol #0, and the overhead symbol contained in radio frame #46 is ST symbol #46. It should be noted that in Figure 1, the overhead symbols are numbered consecutively starting from 0, rather than starting from 0 for SG symbols and 0 for ST symbols.

[0151] 3.OFDM

[0152] OFDM technology is a multi-carrier frequency division multiplexing (FDM) technology that uses multiple carriers operating simultaneously. These carriers are called subcarriers in FDM technology. OFDM technology, also known as discrete multitone modulation (DMT), has high-speed transmission capabilities and is effective against frequency-selective fading. In OFDM, multiple subcarriers are orthogonal, hence the name orthogonal frequency division multiplexing. The operating frequency of a subcarrier corresponds to a frequency point. From a spectrum perspective, each subcarrier occupies a specific bandwidth, centered around its own frequency point.

[0153] By adjusting the number of subcarriers, OFDM can flexibly change the operating bandwidth, meet the demand for large bandwidth, and achieve better capacity expansion effects.

[0154] OFDM technology carries signals through OFDM symbols, and one OFDM symbol can correspond to one or more subcarriers. Adding a cyclic prefix (CP) to the OFDM symbol can avoid inter-symbol interference. The OFDM symbol with the CP added is called a CP-OFDM symbol. The CP-OFDM symbol can be divided into a normal CP-OFDM symbol and an extended CP-OFDM symbol. In other words, the CP type of the OFDM symbol can be divided into no CP, normal CP, and extended CP. The symbols involved in this application may be OFDM symbols.

[0155] In SLB technology, OFDM symbols are used as communication symbols. In SLB technology, an OFDM symbol with a physical bandwidth of approximately 20 MHz is called a carrier, and the center frequency of the 20 MHz OFDM symbol (i.e., the direct current (DC) subcarrier) is called the carrier frequency. In other words, an SLB carrier consists of 39 consecutive subcarriers, numbered #0, #1, …, #38 in ascending order of their corresponding frequencies. Subcarrier #19 is the direct current (DC) subcarrier. Excluding the DC subcarrier, the other 38 subcarriers are called effective subcarriers. G nodes and T nodes may operate on multiple carriers, and multiple carriers constitute a carrier group.

[0156] 4. Frequency Hopping

[0157] Frequency hopping refers to the device switching the center frequency of the transmission signal by changing the center frequency of the device's radio frequency channel (for example, changing the carrier frequency of the local oscillator signal) or by digitally changing the center frequency of the generated transmission signal. Frequency hopping can refer to frequency hopping based on OFDM signals. OFDM frequency hopping is defined as the DC subcarrier of the OFDM symbol switching from the center frequency of one carrier channel to the center frequency of another carrier channel. For frequency hopping switching of a single carrier, it refers to the DC subcarrier switching from one carrier channel to another; for frequency hopping switching of multiple carriers, it refers to the carrier channel group corresponding to multiple carriers switching to another carrier channel group. For example, the G node and the T node originally worked on carrier channel groups 1 to 4, and after frequency hopping, they switched to carrier channel groups 5 to 8. Carrier channel groups 1 to 4 are called initial carrier channel groups or initial channel groups, and carrier channel groups 5 to 8 are called frequency hopping carrier channel groups or frequency hopping channel groups. In this application, for the convenience of description, the carrier channel is referred to as a channel, and the terms "channel" and "carrier channel" are interchangeable.

[0158] In this application, the frequency hopping methods of different nodes can be the same (for example, both are RF frequency hopping or digital frequency hopping), or different (for example, the frequency hopping method of the first node is RF frequency hopping, and the frequency hopping method of the second node is digital frequency hopping). This application does not impose any restrictions.

[0159] 5. Distance measurement

[0160] Ranging is achieved by sending ranging radio signals between at least two nodes to measure the distance between them. For example, a G node and a T node send ranging radio signals to each other to measure the distance between them. Another example is that a G node and a T node #1 send ranging radio signals to each other to measure the distance between them; a G node and a T node #2 send ranging radio signals to each other to measure the distance between them; and a T node #1 and a T node #2 send ranging radio signals to each other to measure the distance between them.

[0161] It can be understood that in the embodiments of the present application, the steps for achieving ranging, positioning, angle measurement, perception, etc. are similar, so "ranging" can be replaced by "positioning", "angle measurement", "perception", etc.

[0162] The following describes the application scenarios and system architecture of the embodiments of the present application.

[0163] A communication system usually includes multiple nodes, and the nodes can communicate with each other to transmit data. Taking the in-vehicle communication system as an example, there can be multiple communication domains in the vehicle. A communication domain refers to a system composed of a group of nodes with a communication relationship and a communication connection relationship (i.e., a communication link) between the communication nodes, which is usually used to complete a specific function. For example, a communication domain may include a master node and at least one slave node, and the master and slave nodes, or the master node and the master node, or the slave node and the slave node can communicate with each other. The master node can manage the slave node, has the function of allocating resources, and is responsible for allocating resources to the slave node; the slave node obeys the scheduling of the master node and uses the resources allocated by the master node to communicate with the master node and / or other nodes.

[0164] In some specific implementation scenarios, the master node may also be referred to as a G node, a management node, or a control node, and the slave node may also be referred to as a T node or a terminal. The communication link from a G node to a T node may be referred to as a G link or a downlink, and the communication link from a T node to a G node may be referred to as a T link or an uplink.

[0165] The present application can be applied to vehicle-mounted wireless positioning scenarios (such as PEPS) and indoor positioning scenarios, and can also be applied to other wide-area wireless communication or local-area wireless communication scenarios.

[0166] For example, in an in-vehicle positioning scenario, positioning nodes are deployed at the four corners of the vehicle, and PEPS positioning nodes are deployed on the center console / rearview mirror / ceiling (inside the roof) inside the vehicle. In-vehicle wireless communication devices such as display screens, microphones, speakers, cameras, and T-BOX can also serve as positioning nodes. Positioning nodes and / or PEPS positioning nodes can be used to locate car keys / mobile phones. Car keys / mobile phones represent electronic devices that are positioned by positioning nodes. They can be traditional car keys with positioning functions, or mobile phones or wearable devices with positioning functions. Figure 2 shows a schematic diagram of an in-vehicle positioning scenario, in which the car key / mobile phone can serve as a G node, and all positioning nodes in the vehicle (including PEPS positioning nodes) can serve as T nodes; alternatively, the PEPS positioning node serves as a G node, and the remaining devices serve as T nodes.

[0167] Those skilled in the art will appreciate that the application scenario shown in FIG2 is only one exemplary scenario to which the solution of the present application may be applied. In addition to the application scenario shown in FIG2 , the solution of the present application may also be applied to any other suitable application scenario, such as but not limited to home, office, exhibition hall, production, and the like.

[0168] For example, taking the example of communicating nodes including a first node and a second node, FIG3 is a schematic diagram of a possible wireless communication system provided by the present application, wherein the wireless communication system includes a first node 301 and a second node 302. The first node 301 may be a G node or a master node, and the second node 302 may be a T node or a slave node.

[0169] It should be understood that the communication system may include more nodes. For ease of description, they are shown here as a first node and a second node. For example, in a multicast scenario, the number of second nodes may be multiple.

[0170] The frame shown in Figure 1 is a communication frame. This communication frame enables data transmission between nodes, but does not enable ranging between nodes. Therefore, this application provides a ranging method that enables ranging between nodes. To achieve ranging between nodes, this application provides a frame structure for a ranging frame. The following describes the frame structures of several ranging frames provided in this application, using the example of a G node as the first node and a T node as the second node.

[0171] Ranging frame 1: For the ranging frame 1 sent by the G node, the ranging frame 1 includes at least one radio frame 1, and the symbols in the at least one radio frame 1 are all used to carry ranging information 1; for the ranging frame 1 sent by the T node, the ranging frame 1 includes at least one radio frame 2, and the symbols in the at least one radio frame 2 are all used to carry ranging information 2; there is a switching interval (GAP) between the ranging frame 1 sent by the G node and the ranging frame 1 sent by the T node, and the switching interval is used to perform transmission and reception switching.

[0172] Among them, the symbols in at least one radio frame 1 are all used to carry ranging information 1, that is, for any radio frame 1, the symbols contained therein are all used to carry ranging information 1. Ranging information 1 can be a positioning reference signal (PRS) sent by the G node to the T node, and the PRS can be, for example, a channel state information reference signal (CSI-RS) or a first training signal (FTS) or a second training signal (STS). In other words, the symbol type of any wireless frame 1 is a CSI-RS symbol, an FTS symbol, or an STS symbol; or all symbols of any wireless frame 1 are configured as CSI-RS symbols, FTS symbols, or STS symbols; wherein, CSI-RS is a channel state information reference signal sent by the G node, which is used by other nodes to measure the transmission channel characteristics (i.e., channel state information) from the G node to the other node; FTS is a signal used for time and frequency synchronization in the on-board wireless short-range communication system, such as the signal used for time and frequency synchronization in the SparkLink Basic (SLB) standard. FTS is a signal that appears first in the time domain and can also be used to transmit channel characteristics (i.e., channel state information); STS is a signal used for time and frequency synchronization in the on-board wireless short-range communication system, such as the signal used for time and frequency synchronization in the SparkLink Basic (SLB) standard. STS is a signal that appears later in the time domain and can also be used to transmit channel characteristics (i.e., channel state information). It can be understood that in a wireless short-range communication system, synchronization signals appear in pairs, that is, two synchronization signals are understood as a group of synchronization signals. In a group of synchronization signals, the OFDM symbol that appears first in the time domain is called FTS, and the OFDM symbol that appears first in the time domain is called STS.

[0173] Correspondingly, the symbols in at least one radio frame 2 are all used to carry ranging information 2, that is, for any radio frame 2, the symbols it contains are all used to carry ranging information 2. Ranging information 2 can be a PRS sent by the T node to the G node, and the PRS can be, for example, a channel sounding signal (SRS) or a second training signal (STS) or a first training signal (FTS). In other words, the symbol type of any radio frame 2 is an SRS symbol, an STS symbol, or an FTS symbol; or all symbols of any radio frame 2 are configured as SRS symbols, STS symbols, or FTS symbols; wherein, SRS is a channel sounding signal sent by the G node when it receives it from other nodes, and is used by the G node to measure the transmission channel characteristics (i.e., channel state information) from other nodes to the G node.

[0174] All symbols in radio frame 1 carry ranging information 1, while all symbols in radio frame 2 carry ranging information 2. This increases the number of continuously transmitted symbols carrying ranging information, thereby improving transmission efficiency and ranging accuracy. Continuous transmission also facilitates centralized processing of ranging information. A gap exists between ranging frame 1 sent by the G node and ranging frame 1 sent by the T node. This gap does not occupy the duration of either radio frame 1 or radio frame 2. GAPs are used to perform transceiver switching, which can also be described as uplink / downlink switching. Compared to the radio frames shown in Figure 1, radio frame 1 and radio frame 2 eliminate all gaps in the radio frame. Instead, a gap exists between radio frame 1 and radio frame 2. This reduces the number of handoffs and saves overhead. For example, radio frame #0 and radio frame #1 shown in Figure 1 include a total of four gaps, while there is one gap between radio frame 1 and radio frame 2.

[0175] It should be noted that the present application does not specifically limit the frame format of radio frame 1 and radio frame 2. Taking SLB as an example, in the SLB standard, the radio frame is a frame format containing multiple OFDM (CP-OFDM) frames with cyclic prefixes (CPs), and the time length is 640×Ts, where Ts is the sampling time interval of the baseband. However, in the present application, radio frame 1 and radio frame 2 can be a frame format in which OFDM symbol parameters are pre-configured by the G node (the frame length can be less than 640×Ts), and a radio frame can contain pre-configured Q OFDM symbols, where Q is a positive integer, and the value of Q can be configured according to the desired SNR. The pre-configured OFDM symbol parameters include at least one of the following: with or without CP, extended CP or regular CP, carrying CSI-RS or SRS or FTS or STS, etc. For example, if the CP type of the symbols included in radio frame 1 and radio frame 2 is no CP, then radio frame 1 contains 10 CSI-RS symbols / FTS symbols, and radio frame 2 contains 10 SRS symbols / STS symbols. For another example, if the CP type of the symbols included in radio frame 1 and radio frame 2 is normal CP, then radio frame 1 contains 8 CSI-RS symbols, and radio frame 2 contains 8 SRS symbols. For another example, if the CP type of the symbols included in radio frame 1 and radio frame 2 is extended CP, then radio frame 1 contains 7 CSI-RS symbols, and radio frame 2 contains 7 SRS symbols. For another example, when Q is 1, it means that a ranging frame 1 (or a radio frame) contains 1 OFDM symbol; that is, the radio frame 1 and radio frame 2 corresponding to ranging frame 1 each contain only 1 OFDM symbol. Here, according to the number of OFDM symbols configured by the G node in radio frame 1 and radio frame 2, the G node and the T node use the ranging frame 1 with the corresponding number of OFDM symbols for ranging interaction measurement.

[0176] For example, as shown in FIG4 , the frame structure of ranging frame 1 includes a radio frame 1 sent by a G node and a radio frame 2 sent by a T node. The CP type of the symbols included in radio frame 1 and radio frame 2 is no CP. The G in FIG4 represents a G link symbol, which can be configured as a CSI-RS symbol or an FTS symbol. The T in FIG4 represents a T link symbol, which can be configured as an SRS symbol or an STS symbol.

[0177] Optionally, one or some symbols carrying ranging information 1 in radio frame 1 may be in phase with other symbols carrying ranging information 1, indicating a channel switch, which may also be described as frequency hopping or hopping to another channel. And / or one or some symbols carrying ranging information 2 in radio frame 2 may be in phase with other symbols carrying ranging information 2, indicating a channel switch. Here, "some" may be the first number, the last number, a specified number, a preset number, or the like.

[0178] In one implementation, for the last radio frame 1 in at least one radio frame 1, the last N symbols used to carry ranging information 1 contained therein are inversely phased with other symbols used to carry ranging information 1 in the last radio frame 1, the last radio frame 1 may indicate channel switching, and the T node may perform channel switching according to the last radio frame 1; and / or, for the last radio frame 2 in at least one radio frame 2, the last M symbols used to carry ranging information 2 contained therein are inversely phased with other symbols used to carry ranging information 2 in the last radio frame 2, the last radio frame 2 may indicate channel switching, and the G node may perform channel switching according to the last radio frame 2. N and M are positive integers, and N and M may be the same or different, for example, N=2, M=2; for another example, N=1, M=2. In another implementation, for the last radio frame 1 in at least one radio frame 1, the first N' symbols used to carry ranging information 1 contained therein are inverted with other symbols used to carry ranging information 1 in the last radio frame 1, the last radio frame 1 may indicate channel switching, and the T node may perform channel switching according to the last radio frame 3; and / or, for the last radio frame 2 in at least one radio frame 2, the first M' symbols used to carry ranging information 2 contained therein are inverted with other symbols used to carry ranging information 2 in the last radio frame 2, the last radio frame 2 may indicate channel switching, and the G node may perform channel switching according to the last radio frame 2. Wherein, N' and M' are positive integers, and N' and M' may be the same or different.

[0179] For example, N=2, M=2, if the CP type of the symbols included in radio frame 1 and radio frame 2 is no CP, the frame structure of the last radio frame 1 and the last radio frame 2 may be as shown in Table 1 below; if the CP type of the symbols included in radio frame 1 and radio frame 2 is regular CP, the frame structure of the last radio frame 1 and the last radio frame 2 may be as shown in Table 2 below. If the CP type of the symbols included in radio frame 1 and radio frame 2 is extended CP, the frame structure of the last radio frame 1 and the last radio frame 2 may be as shown in Table 3 below.

[0180] Table 1

[0181]

[0182] Table 2

[0183]

[0184] Table 3

[0185]

[0186] In Tables 1 to 3, G represents a G-link symbol, which can be configured as a CSI-RS symbol or an FTS symbol; T represents a T-link symbol, which can be configured as an SRS symbol or an STS symbol; -G represents an inverted CSI-RS symbol or an FTS symbol; and -T represents an inverted SRS symbol or an STS symbol. The sequence numbers of the radio frame structures in Tables 1 to 3 are for example only and do not constitute a limitation of the present application.

[0187] Ranging frame 2: For the ranging frame 2 sent by the G node, ranging frame 2 includes at least one radio frame 3. Each radio frame 3 includes a handover interval (GAP). Every symbol except the GAP is used to carry ranging information 1, and the GAP is temporally located after the symbol used to carry ranging information 1. For the ranging frame 2 sent by the T node, ranging frame 2 includes at least one radio frame 4. Each radio frame 4 includes a handover interval (GAP). Every symbol except the GAP is used to carry ranging information 2, and the GAP is temporally located after the symbol used to carry ranging information 2. The handover interval is used to perform transmission and reception switching. For the description of ranging information 1 and ranging information 2, please refer to the description of ranging information 1 and ranging information 2 in ranging frame 1.

[0188] Optionally, the number of GAPs in radio frame 3 is one, occupying the duration of one symbol in radio frame 3; the number of GAPs in radio frame 4 is one, occupying the duration of one symbol in radio frame 4. Compared to the radio frame shown in Figure 1, radio frame 3 and radio frame 4 eliminate some of the GAPs in the radio frame shown in Figure 1, which can reduce the number of handovers and thus save overhead. For example, radio frame #0 and radio frame #1 shown in Figure 1 include a total of four GAPs, while radio frame 3 and radio frame 4 each include one GAP. The GAP in radio frame 3 is located after the symbol carrying ranging information 1, and the GAP in radio frame 4 is located after the symbol carrying ranging information 2.

[0189] It should be noted that this application does not specifically limit the frame format of radio frame 3 and radio frame 4. In this application, radio frame 3 and radio frame 4 can be a frame format in which OFDM symbol parameters are pre-configured by the G node (the frame length can be less than 640×Ts), and a radio frame can contain pre-configured Q OFDM symbols, where Q is a positive integer and the value of Q can be configured according to the desired SNR. The pre-configured OFDM symbol parameters include at least one of the following: with or without CP, extended CP or normal CP, carrying CSI-RS or SRS or FTS or STS, etc. For example, if the CP type of the symbols contained in radio frame 3 and radio frame 4 is no CP, then radio frame 3 contains 9 CSI-RS symbols and 1 GAP (located after the 9 CSI-RS symbols in time), and radio frame 2 contains 9 SRS symbols and 1 GAP (located after the 9 SRS symbols in time); for another example, if the CP type of the symbols contained in radio frame 1 and radio frame 2 is normal CP, then radio frame 3 contains 7 CSI-RS symbols and 1 GAP (located after the 7 CSI-RS symbols in time), and radio frame 4 contains 7 SRS symbols and 1 GAP (located after the 7 SRS symbols in time).

[0190] For example, as shown in FIG5 , the frame structure of ranging frame 2 includes a radio frame 3 sent by a G node and a radio frame 4 sent by a T node. The CP type of the symbols included in radio frame 3 and radio frame 4 is no CP. The G in FIG5 represents a G link symbol, which can be configured as a CSI-RS symbol or an FTS symbol. The T in FIG5 represents a T link symbol, which can be configured as an SRS symbol or an STS symbol.

[0191] Optionally, one or more symbols carrying ranging information 1 in radio frame 3 may be inverted relative to other symbols carrying ranging information 1, thereby indicating a channel switch; and / or one or more symbols carrying ranging information 2 in radio frame 4 may be inverted relative to other symbols carrying ranging information 2, thereby indicating a channel switch. The detailed description of indicating channel switching by inversion is provided in ranging frame 1 and is not repeated here.

[0192] For example, N=2, M=2, if the CP type of the symbols included in radio frame 3 and radio frame 4 is no CP, the frame structure of the last radio frame 3 and the last radio frame 4 may be as shown in Table 4 below. The sequence numbers of the radio frame structures in Table 4 are for example only and do not constitute a limitation of the present application.

[0193] Table 4

[0194]

[0195] The difference between ranging frame 2 and ranging frame 1 is that: there is a gap between radio frame 1 and radio frame 2 in ranging frame 1, and the gap does not occupy the duration of radio frame 1 or the duration of radio frame 2; radio frame 3 and radio frame 4 in ranging frame 2 each contain a gap, and the gap in radio frame 3 is located after the symbol carrying ranging information 1, and the gap in radio frame 4 is located after the symbol carrying ranging information 2.

[0196] Ranging frame 3: For ranging frame 3 sent by a G node, ranging frame 3 includes at least one radio frame 5. Each radio frame 5 includes a handover interval (GAP), a G overhead symbol, and a G link symbol. The G overhead symbol and the G link symbol are used to carry ranging information 1. For ranging frame 3 sent by a T node, ranging frame 3 includes at least one radio frame 6. Each radio frame 6 includes a GAP, a T overhead symbol, and a T link symbol. The T overhead symbol and the T link symbol are used to carry ranging information 2. The handover interval is used to perform a transmission / reception switch. For ranging information 1 and ranging information 2, refer to the description of ranging information 1 and ranging information 2 in ranging frame 1.

[0197] The number of GAPs included in radio frame 5 and radio frame 6 may be 1 or 2. If the number of switching gaps GAPs included in radio frame 5 is 2, radio frame 5 further includes at least one T-link symbol; and / or, if the number of switching gaps GAPs included in radio frame 6 is 2, radio frame 6 further includes at least one G-link symbol.

[0198] It should be noted that the present application does not specifically limit the frame format of radio frame 5 and radio frame 6. In the present application, radio frame 5 and radio frame 6 can be a frame format in which OFDM symbol parameters are pre-configured by the G node (the frame length can be less than 640×Ts), and a radio frame can contain pre-configured Q OFDM symbols, where Q is a positive integer, and the value of Q can be configured according to the desired SNR. The pre-configured OFDM symbol parameters include at least one of the following: with CP or without CP, extended CP or regular CP, carrying CSI-RS or SRS or FTS or STS, etc. For example, based on the radio frame #0 shown in Figure 1, the G overhead symbols and G link symbols in radio frame #0 are used to carry ranging information 1, that is, the G overhead symbols and G link symbols in radio frame #0 are configured as CSI-RS symbols or FTS symbols, so that radio frame 5 can be obtained. For another example, based on the wireless frame #46 shown in Figure 1, the T overhead symbol and T link symbol in the wireless frame #46 are used to carry ranging information 2, that is, the T overhead symbol and T link symbol in the wireless frame #46 are configured as SRS symbols or STS symbols, so that wireless frame 6 can be obtained.

[0199] For example, as shown in FIG6 , the frame structure of the ranging frame 3 is taken as an example, in which the ranging frame 3 sent by the G node includes one radio frame 5, and the ranging frame 3 sent by the T node includes one radio frame 6. In FIG6 , the G in the radio frame 5 represents a G link symbol, and G(SG) represents that the G link symbol is configured as a G overhead symbol. The G link symbol and the G overhead symbol can be further configured as a CSI-RS symbol or an FTS symbol; the T in the radio frame 6 represents a T link symbol, and G(ST) represents that the G link symbol is configured as a T overhead symbol. The T link symbol and the T overhead symbol can be further configured as an SRS symbol or an STS symbol. The radio frames 5 and 6 in FIG6 can have the radio frame structures shown in Table 5 below.

[0200] Table 5

[0201]

[0202] In Table 5, G represents a G link symbol, and T represents a T link symbol.

[0203] Optionally, one or more symbols carrying ranging information 1 in radio frame 5 may be inverted relative to other symbols carrying ranging information 1, thereby indicating a channel switch; and / or one or more symbols carrying ranging information 2 in radio frame 6 may be inverted relative to other symbols carrying ranging information 2, thereby indicating a channel switch. The detailed description of indicating channel switching by inversion is provided in ranging frame 1 and is not repeated here.

[0204] Similar to the radio frame structure shown in Table 5, ranging frame 3 may also use radio frame structures with other sequence numbers. In the symbol configuration, the G link symbols may use CSI-RS symbols, while the T link symbols may use SRS symbols.

[0205] Ranging frame 4: For ranging frame 4 sent by a G node, ranging frame 4 consists of at least one overhead symbol 1. This at least one overhead symbol 1 is all or part of the overhead symbols of at least one radio frame 7, and at least one overhead symbol 1 is used to carry ranging information 1. For ranging frame 4 sent by a T node, ranging frame 4 consists of at least one overhead symbol 2. This at least one overhead symbol 2 is all or part of the overhead symbols of at least one radio frame 8, and at least one overhead symbol 2 is used to carry ranging information 2. For ranging information 1 and ranging information 2, refer to the description of ranging information 1 and ranging information 2 in ranging frame 1. Overhead symbol 1 is a G overhead symbol or a T overhead symbol, and overhead symbol 2 is a G overhead symbol or a T overhead symbol.

[0206] Optionally, at least one radio frame 7 and at least one radio frame 8 are within the same superframe. Thus, at least one overhead symbol 1 used to carry ranging information 1 and at least one overhead symbol 2 used to carry ranging information 2 are within the same superframe. In one implementation, within a superframe, the overhead symbols in the first K+1 radio frames (i.e., radio frames numbered from 0 to K) are used to transmit control information (e.g., G link system information). This means that the overhead symbols in the first K+1 radio frames cannot carry ranging information 1 or ranging information 2. K is a positive integer greater than 1, and the specific value of K can be preset or predefined. In another implementation, within a superframe, the first K overhead symbols are used to transmit control information and cannot carry ranging information 1 or ranging information 2. Optionally, the number of the at least one overhead symbol 1 used to carry ranging information 1 can be preset or predefined, and the number of the at least one overhead symbol 2 used to carry ranging information 2 can be preset or predefined.

[0207] For the case where a radio frame 7 contains one overhead symbol 1 and a radio frame 8 contains one overhead symbol 2:

[0208] All overhead symbols 1 of at least one radio frame 7 are used to carry ranging information 1, and all overhead symbols 2 of at least one radio frame 8 are used to carry ranging information 2. The interval between two adjacent overhead symbols used to carry ranging information is large (20.83 μs), resulting in a low estimated Doppler shift.

[0209] For the case where a radio frame 7 contains two overhead symbols 1 and a radio frame 8 contains two overhead symbols 2:

[0210] In one embodiment, all overhead symbols 1 of at least one radio frame 7 are used to carry ranging information 1, and all overhead symbols 2 of at least one radio frame 8 are used to carry ranging information 2. This can expand the Doppler shift estimation range and is applicable to ranging in high-speed mobility scenarios. Optionally, the two overhead symbols 1 used to carry ranging information 1 in a radio frame 7 are temporally contiguous (i.e., adjacent in time domain), and the two overhead symbols 2 used to carry ranging information 2 in a radio frame 8 are temporally contiguous to reduce interference.

[0211] In another embodiment, a portion of overhead symbols 1 in at least one radio frame 7 is used to carry ranging information 1, while another portion of overhead symbols 1 is G overhead symbols or T overhead symbols used for synchronization or data transmission. A portion of overhead symbols 2 in at least one radio frame 8 is used to carry ranging information 2, while another portion of overhead symbols 2 is G overhead symbols or T overhead symbols used for synchronization or data transmission. That is, in any radio frame 7, one overhead symbol 1 is used to carry ranging information 1, while another overhead symbol 1 is used for synchronization or data transmission. In any radio frame 8, one overhead symbol 1 is used to carry ranging information 1, while another overhead symbol 2 is used for synchronization or data transmission. Furthermore, in any radio frame 7, the overhead symbol 1 used to carry ranging information 1 and the overhead symbol 1 used for synchronization or data transmission can be arranged in a comb-tooth pattern (i.e., adjacent in time domain). And / or, in any radio frame 8, the overhead symbol 2 used to carry ranging information 2 and the overhead symbol 2 used for synchronization or data transmission can be arranged in a comb-tooth pattern. Among them, the comb-tooth method can maintain the synchronization performance of the communication system. While ensuring the communication performance of the communication system, it uses the synchronization accuracy of communication symbols (i.e., overhead symbols used for data transmission) to improve the ranging accuracy.

[0212] For example, as shown in the frame structure of ranging frame 4 in FIG7 , overhead symbols within a superframe are extracted. For example, a ranging frame 4 sent by a G node includes I overhead symbols 1 for carrying ranging information 1, and a ranging frame 4 sent by a T node includes J overhead symbols 1 for carrying ranging information 2. In FIG7 , SG represents a G overhead symbol, and ST represents a T overhead symbol. The first K+1 G overhead symbols (i.e., overhead symbols numbered from 0 to K) are used to transmit control information, the G overhead symbols numbered from K+1 to K2 are used to carry ranging information 1, and the T overhead symbols numbered from K2+1 to K3 are used to carry ranging information 2. Here, I = K2 - K1 - 1, J = K3 - K2 - 1, and the difference between I and J is less than a first threshold. The difference can be an absolute value, where the first threshold can be 1; the difference can also be a relative value, where the first threshold can be ±1.

[0213] Optionally, the last X overhead symbols 1 of at least one overhead symbol 1 are inverted with respect to other overhead symbols 1 used to carry ranging information 1, and the inverted last X overhead symbols 1 indicate channel switching; and / or the last Y overhead symbols 2 of at least one overhead symbol 2 are inverted with respect to other overhead symbols 2 used to carry ranging information 2, and the inverted last Y overhead symbols 2 indicate channel switching; where X is a positive integer and Y is a positive integer. X and Y can be the same or different, for example, X=2 and Y=2.

[0214] It can be understood that ranging frame 4 uses some overhead symbols in the superframe to carry ranging information 1, and uses some overhead symbols in the superframe to carry ranging information 2.

[0215] In periodic superframe transmission, the G node uses reference signals such as FTS or STS at the front of the first superframe for timing and frequency synchronization of the T node, and inserts synchronization signals in each superframe to maintain timing and frequency synchronization. Therefore, the overhead symbols and / or link symbols in subsequent superframes can be used to carry ranging information.

[0216] Ranging frames 1 to 4 can be understood as four different types of ranging frames. Ranging frames 1 and 2 can be applied to the initial channel or frequency hopping channel of frequency hopping ranging, while ranging frames 3 and 4 can be applied to the initial channel of frequency hopping ranging. Optionally, depending on the applicable channel, ranging frames 3 and 4 can be referred to as first-type ranging frames, and ranging frames 1 and 2 can be referred to as second-type ranging frames. It should be noted that the name ranging frame is used for example only and can also be described as positioning frame, measurement frame, or perception frame, etc. Other names may be adopted as the standard evolves.

[0217] The present application relates to frequency hopping ranging, which refers to performing ranging interactions on multiple channels (for example, at least including: the G node sends a ranging frame 1, the T node receives the ranging frame 1 from the G node and measures, sends a ranging frame 1 to the G node, the G node receives the ranging frame 1 from the T node and measures), and performs channel state information feedback on a certain channel (which may be the same as or partially overlap with the initial channel of the frequency hopping ranging). The initial channel of the frequency hopping ranging represents the working channel (group) after the G node and the T node complete the association, that is, the channel (group) where the ranging negotiation is performed.

[0218] For example, an example diagram of frequency hopping ranging is shown in FIG8 . In FIG8 , the switching time T0 = the radio frequency (RF) switching stable time (T RF )+Listen-before-talk (LBT) duration (T LBT ). RF Taking the PLL (Phase Locked Loop) stabilization time as an example, the initiator and / or responder node must RFOnly after the end can LBT operation or clear channel assessment (CCA) or carrier sense multiple access be started. Within the LBT time window, if the channel indicates that it is idle, ranging interaction will start on this channel. As shown in Figure 8, the initial channel for frequency hopping ranging is channel 3. After ranging interaction 1 is completed on channel 3, within the LBT time window, if channel 2 indicates that it is idle, ranging interaction will start on channel 2. Finally, channel state information feedback can be performed on channel 3. The channel state information fed back on channel 3 can be obtained based on the channel state information of channel 3, channel 2 and channel 1. The channel state information fed back on channel 3 can also be called ranging results or positioning results, etc.

[0219] The following introduces the ranging method provided by this application based on the ranging frame provided by this application.

[0220] Please refer to FIG9 , which is a flowchart of a ranging method provided by the present application. The method may include but is not limited to the following steps:

[0221] S901: A first node sends a first ranging frame to a second node on a first channel. Correspondingly, the second node receives the first ranging frame from the first node on the first channel. The first ranging frame carries first ranging information via at least one first symbol.

[0222] S902: The second node determines first channel state information corresponding to a first channel according to at least one first symbol.

[0223] S903: The second node sends a second ranging frame to the first node on the first channel. Correspondingly, the first node receives the second ranging frame from the second node on the first channel. The second ranging frame carries second ranging information via at least one second symbol.

[0224] S904: The second node sends first channel state information to the first node. Correspondingly, the first node receives the first channel state information from the second node.

[0225] S905: The first node determines second channel state information corresponding to the first channel according to at least one second symbol.

[0226] S906: The first node determines channel state information of the first channel based on the first channel state information and the second channel state information. The channel state information of the first channel is used to measure the distance between the first node and the second node.

[0227] It should be noted that the execution order of the above steps S901, S902, S903, S904, S905 and S906 is for example only, and the embodiments of the present application do not limit this, and are subject to the actual scene interaction. S902, S904, S905 and S906 can be executed on the first channel or not. Among them, the first channel can be the initial channel (group) of frequency hopping ranging, or it can be the frequency hopping channel (group) of frequency hopping ranging. Figure 9 takes the first channel as the initial channel (group) of frequency hopping ranging as an example.

[0228] The above steps S901 and S903 can be understood as the first node and the second node performing ranging frame transmission on the first channel. The number of first ranging frames sent by the first node to the second node can be one or more, and the number of second ranging frames sent by the second node to the first node can be one or more.

[0229] The first ranging frame carries first ranging information via at least one first symbol, which can be understood as the at least one first symbol in the first ranging frame being used to carry the first ranging information. The second ranging frame carries second ranging information via at least one second symbol, which can be understood as the at least one second symbol in the second ranging frame being used to carry the second ranging information. For the first ranging information, refer to the detailed description of ranging information 1 in ranging frame 1 above; for the second ranging information, refer to the detailed description of ranging information 2 in ranging frame 1 above, and will not be repeated here.

[0230] The first ranging frame and the second ranging frame have the same frame structure. Using ranging frames with the same frame structure on the first channel helps improve the stability of ranging frame transmission. For example, the frame structure of the first ranging frame can be any of ranging frames 1 to 4 described above, and the frame structure of the second ranging frame is the same as the frame structure of the first ranging frame.

[0231] In a first implementation manner, the first ranging frame includes at least one first radio frame, and the second ranging frame includes at least one second radio frame.

[0232] Optional Mode 1: All symbols in the at least one first radio frame are used to carry first ranging information, all symbols in the at least one second radio frame are used to carry second ranging information, and a handover interval (GAP) exists between the first radio frame and the second radio frame. Optional Mode 1 may correspond to the frame structure of Ranging Frame 1. For details, refer to the description of Ranging Frame 1.

[0233] Optional Mode 2: For any one of the at least one first radio frame, the first radio frame includes a GAP, each symbol other than the GAP is used to carry first ranging information, and the GAP is temporally located after the symbol used to carry the first ranging information, that is, the GAP occupies the duration of one symbol in the first radio frame. For any one of the at least one second radio frame, the second radio frame includes a GAP, each symbol other than the GAP is used to carry second ranging information, and the GAP is temporally located after the symbol used to carry the second ranging information, that is, the GAP occupies the duration of one symbol in the second radio frame. Optional Mode 2 may correspond to the frame structure of the aforementioned ranging frame 2. For details, please refer to the description of the aforementioned ranging frame 2.

[0234] Optional mode 3: For any one of the at least one first radio frame mentioned above: the first radio frame includes a GAP, a first overhead symbol, and a first link symbol, and the first overhead symbol and the first link symbol are used to carry first ranging information; for any one of the at least one second radio frame mentioned above: the second radio frame includes a GAP, a second overhead symbol, and a second link symbol, and the second overhead symbol and the second link symbol are used to carry second ranging information. The transmission directions of the first link and the second link are different. For example, the first link is a G link (i.e., the direction in which a G node sends data or information to a T node), and the second link is a T link (i.e., the direction in which a T node sends data or information to a G node). Furthermore, the first link symbol and the second link symbol are used to carry information in different transmission directions, and the first overhead symbol and the second overhead symbol are used to carry information in different transmission directions, but the information carried by the first overhead symbol and the first link symbol has the same transmission direction, and the information carried by the second overhead symbol and the second link symbol has the same transmission direction. For example, the first overhead symbol is a G overhead symbol, and the first link symbol is a G link symbol; the second overhead symbol is a T overhead symbol, and the first link symbol is a T link symbol. Optional mode 3 may correspond to the frame structure of the above-mentioned ranging frame 3. For details, reference may be made to the description of the above-mentioned ranging frame 3.

[0235] Optionally, for the first implementation, the first node may send first configuration information to the second node so that the second node receives the first ranging frame according to the first configuration information. The first configuration information may include one or more of the following:

[0236] 1) A first bitmap is used to indicate at least one first radio frame used for ranging within a superframe, that is, to indicate which radio frames within a superframe can be used as the first radio frame for ranging. Optionally, the first bitmap is a 48-bit bitmap, corresponding to each of the 48 radio frames within a superframe. The value of a bit indicates whether the radio frame corresponding to the bit is a first radio frame. For example, a bit value of 1 indicates that the radio frame corresponding to the bit is a first radio frame, while a bit value of 0 indicates that the radio frame corresponding to the bit is not a first radio frame. Multiple first radio frames within a superframe can constitute a first ranging frame, or a first radio frame within a superframe can be a first ranging frame. In other words, a superframe can contain one or more first ranging frames. Based on the first bitmap, the second node can determine which radio frame or frames within a superframe carry the first ranging information. The first bitmap can be a 48-bit indication information, in which the value of a bit indicates whether the radio frame corresponding to the bit is a first radio frame.

[0237] Optionally, the first configuration information may further include a third bitmap for indicating at least one second radio frame used for ranging within a superframe, that is, indicating which radio frames within a superframe can be used as second radio frames for ranging. Optionally, the third bitmap is a 48-bit bitmap, corresponding to the 48 radio frames within a superframe. The value of a bit indicates whether the radio frame corresponding to the bit is a second radio frame. Multiple second radio frames within a superframe may constitute a second ranging frame, or a second radio frame within a superframe may be a second ranging frame. In other words, a superframe may contain one or more second ranging frames. Based on the third bitmap, the second node may determine which radio frame or frames in a superframe to use as symbols to carry the second ranging information.

[0238] 2) Superframe number L1, i.e., L1 superframes, which are continuous in the time domain. Each of the L1 superframes includes a first ranging frame, or each of the L1 superframes includes a first radio frame used for ranging. L1 is a positive integer. The superframe number L1 can also be described as the number of superframes L1 corresponding to the first ranging frame. The second node can determine the time-frequency resources for transmitting the first ranging frame based on the superframe number L1 and the first bitmap.

[0239] Optionally, the first configuration information may also include the number of superframes L2, that is, L2 superframes, which are continuous in the time domain. Each superframe in the L2 superframes includes a second ranging frame, or is described as each superframe in the L2 superframes including a second wireless frame for ranging. Wherein, L2 is a positive integer. The specific value of L2 can be the same as the specific value of L1, or the difference between the two is less than ±1. If the specific value of L2 is the same as the specific value of L1 by default, the first configuration information only needs to include the number of superframes L1. The first node and the second node perform ranging interaction within the superframe, for example, perform ranging interaction within each superframe in L1 superframes, and the first configuration information only needs to include the number of superframes L1.

[0240] 3) First indication information, used to indicate whether the first bitmap corresponding to each superframe in the L1 superframes is the same. For example, the first indication information may be indicated by 1 bit. When the value of this bit is 1, it indicates that the first bitmap corresponding to each superframe in the L1 superframes is the same. When the value of this bit is 0, it indicates that the first bitmap corresponding to each superframe in the L1 superframes is different. One superframe may correspond to one first bitmap. For example, superframe #1 corresponds to first bitmap #1. First bitmap #1 is a 48-bit bitmap, corresponding to the 48 radio frames of superframe #1. The first bitmap corresponding to each superframe in the L1 superframes is different. For example, superframe #1 corresponds to first bitmap #1, superframe #2 corresponds to first bitmap #2, and first bitmap #1 is different from first bitmap #2.

[0241] If the first indication information indicates that the first bitmap corresponding to each superframe in the L1 superframes is the same, then the first configuration information may include a first bitmap that applies to each superframe in the L1 superframes, and thus the number of the first radio frames used for ranging contained in each superframe in the L1 superframes is the same, that is, the first ranging frame is repeated in L1 consecutive superframes. Furthermore, the second node may determine the time-frequency resources for transmitting the first ranging frame based on the first bitmap and the L1 superframes. If the first indication information indicates that the first bitmap corresponding to each superframe in the L1 superframes is different, then the first configuration information may include at most L1 first bitmaps, and any two first bitmaps in the L1 first bitmaps are different. Furthermore, the second node can determine the time-frequency resources for transmitting the first ranging frame based on the first bitmap corresponding to each superframe in L1 superframes. For example, if L1=2, the time-frequency resources for transmitting the first ranging frame in superframe #1 can be determined based on the first bitmap #1 corresponding to superframe #1, and the time-frequency resources for transmitting the first ranging frame in superframe #2 can be determined based on the first bitmap #2 corresponding to superframe #2.

[0242] Optionally, the first configuration information may further include second indication information, used to indicate whether the third bitmap corresponding to each of the L2 superframes is the same. For example, the second indication information may be indicated by 1 bit. When the value of this bit is 1, it indicates that the third bitmap corresponding to each of the L2 superframes is the same. When the value of this bit is 0, it indicates that the third bitmap corresponding to each of the L2 superframes is different.

[0243] 4) Number of ranging interactions (or measurement interactions) for frequency hopping ranging, which can range from 1 to 256. The specific number can be indicated, for example, by an 8-bit field. A ranging interaction can consist of the first node sending a first ranging frame, the second node receiving the first ranging frame, and then sending a second ranging frame to the first node, which then receives the second ranging frame.

[0244] 5) The number of first ranging frames on the first channel.

[0245] 6) Third indication information, used to indicate whether the number of first ranging frames and the number of second ranging frames on the first channel are the same. For example, a 1-bit indication may be used, where a value of 1 indicates the sameness, and a value of 0 indicates differentness. If they are different, the first configuration information may also include the number of second ranging frames on the first channel.

[0246] The first configuration information may be determined by the first node or pre-configured by the first node. Optionally, the second node may also send second configuration information to the first node so that the first node receives the second ranging frame. The second configuration information may include content similar to that of the first configuration information. For example, the second configuration information may include a third bitmap so that the first node can determine which second radio frames within a superframe carry the second ranging information based on the third bitmap. The second configuration information may be determined by the second node or pre-configured by the second node.

[0247] For example, within a superframe, taking the example of a first ranging frame containing a first radio frame and a second ranging frame containing a second radio frame, the ranging interaction between the first node and the second node within the superframe can be referred to Figures 9-1 and 9-2. In Figures 9-1 and 9-2, radio frames #0 to #11 are used to transmit control information. In Figure 9-1, the first node continuously sends two first ranging frames to the second node. These two first ranging frames carry the first ranging information through symbols in radio frames #12 and #13; the second node continuously sends two second ranging frames to the first node. These two second ranging frames carry the second ranging information through symbols in radio frames #14 and #15. In Figure 9-2, the first node sends a first ranging frame to the second node. This first ranging frame carries the first ranging information using symbols in radio frame #12. The second node sends a second ranging frame to the first node. This second ranging frame carries the second ranging information using symbols in radio frame #13. The first node then sends another first ranging frame to the second node. This first ranging frame carries the first ranging information using symbols in radio frame #14. The second node then sends a second ranging frame to the first node. This second ranging frame carries the second ranging information using symbols in radio frame #15. It can be understood that in Figure 9-1, the first and second nodes perform one ranging interaction, in which each node sends two consecutive ranging frames. In Figure 9-2, the first and second nodes perform two ranging interactions, in which each node sends one ranging frame.

[0248] In a second implementation, the first ranging frame consists of at least one first overhead symbol, which is all or part of the overhead symbols of at least one first radio frame and is used to carry first ranging information. The second ranging frame consists of at least one second overhead symbol, which is all or part of the overhead symbols of at least one second radio frame and is used to carry second ranging information. This second implementation corresponds to the frame structure of ranging frame 4 described above. For details, refer to the description of ranging frame 4 described above.

[0249] Optionally, on the first channel, a difference between the number of symbols used to carry the first ranging information in the first ranging frame and the number of symbols used to carry the second ranging information in the second ranging frame is less than a first threshold, so that the SNRs of the first channel state information and the second channel state information are the same or similar. The difference may be an absolute value, and the first threshold may be 1; the difference may also be a relative value, and the first threshold may be ±1.

[0250] Optionally, for the second implementation method described above, the first node may send a second bitmap to the second node, where the second bitmap is used to indicate the overhead symbols used to carry the first ranging information within a superframe. Optionally, the second bitmap is a 96-bit bitmap, corresponding to the 96 overhead symbols within a superframe. The value of a bit indicates whether the overhead symbol corresponding to the bit carries the first ranging information. For example, when the value of a bit is 1, it indicates that the overhead symbol corresponding to the bit carries the first ranging information; when the value of the bit is 0, it indicates that the overhead symbol corresponding to the bit carries the first ranging information. The third bitmap can be 96-bit indication information, and the value of one bit in the indication information indicates whether the overhead symbol corresponding to the bit carries the first ranging information. The second bitmap can be carried in the configuration information sent by the first node to the second node, such as the third configuration information.

[0251] Optionally, the third configuration information may further include: a fourth bitmap, the fourth bitmap being used to indicate the overhead symbols used to carry the second ranging information within a superframe. Optionally, the fourth bitmap is a 96-bit bitmap, corresponding to the 96 overhead symbols within a superframe. The value of a bit indicates whether the overhead symbol corresponding to the bit carries the second ranging information. For example, when the value of a bit is 1, it indicates that the overhead symbol corresponding to the bit carries the second ranging information; when the value of the bit is 0, it indicates that the overhead symbol corresponding to the bit does not carry the first ranging information. Alternatively, the second node sends the fourth bitmap to the first node so that the first node can determine which overhead symbols within a superframe carry the second ranging information.

[0252] The third configuration information may be determined by the first node or pre-configured by the first node.

[0253] For example, within a superframe, taking a first ranging frame consisting of I first overhead symbols and a second ranging frame consisting of J second overhead symbols, a first node and a second node perform a ranging interaction within the superframe. The difference between I and J is less than the first threshold. Both I and J are positive integers.

[0254] The above steps S902, S904, S905 and S906 can be understood as the first node and the second node performing ranging according to the ranging information carried by the ranging frame to determine the corresponding channel state information. The first node determines the channel state information of the first channel based on the first channel state information and the second channel state information. The channel state information of the first channel is used to measure the distance between the first node and the second node, thereby realizing inter-node ranging for the first channel, which helps to improve the ranging accuracy.

[0255] Among them, the first channel state information refers to the subcarrier measurement information of the first ranging frame or the arrival time of the first ranging frame, which can be understood as the channel state information from the first node to the second node measured by the second node on the first channel, that is, the distance from the first node to the second node. Correspondingly, the second channel state information refers to the subcarrier measurement information of the second ranging frame or the arrival time of the second ranging frame, which can be understood as the channel state information from the second node to the first node measured by the first node on the first channel, that is, the distance from the second node to the first node. The channel state information of the first channel refers to the channel state information obtained by combining the first channel state information and the second channel state information, which is used to measure the distance between the first node and the second node. Among them, the subcarrier measurement information refers to the measured value of the frequency corresponding to the subcarrier determined by receiving the PRS symbol, demodulating the known ranging OFDM symbol, and performing frequency domain channel estimation (that is, frequency domain channel state information).

[0256] In the embodiment shown in Figure 9, a first ranging frame is sent and a second ranging frame is received on a first channel to transmit a ranging frame for the first channel. The ranging frame carries ranging information via at least one symbol, enabling transmission of ranging information. Based on the first channel state information and the second channel state information corresponding to the first channel, channel state information for the first channel can be determined, thereby enabling inter-node ranging for the first channel and improving ranging accuracy.

[0257] The communication mode between the first node and the second node in FIG9 is unicast, and the ranging frame provided in the present application can also be applied to the multicast communication mode.

[0258] Please refer to FIG10 , which is a flowchart of another ranging method provided by the present application. The method may include but is not limited to the following steps:

[0259] S1001: On a first channel, a first node broadcasts a first ranging frame.

[0260] Optionally, on the first channel, the first node broadcasts the first ranging frame to the second node in its communication domain. Correspondingly, the second node in the communication domain receives the first ranging frame from the first node. The first channel and the first ranging frame are described in detail in the embodiment shown in FIG9 and are not further described here.

[0261] The communication domain of the first node can be understood as a ranging group formed during the ranging negotiation process. The ranging group includes at least one first node and one second node, for example, at least one G node and one T node. This application does not limit the number of second nodes in the communication domain of the first node. Figure 10 takes the example of a communication domain including two T nodes, namely, second node #1 and second node #2. On the first channel, the first node broadcasts a first ranging frame, and second node #1 can receive the first ranging frame, and second node #2 can also receive the first ranging frame.

[0262] Furthermore, upon receiving the first ranging frame, the second node #1 may determine channel state information 1 corresponding to the first channel based on the first ranging frame, specifically, the channel state information 1 corresponding to the first channel may be determined based on at least one first symbol. Upon receiving the first ranging frame, the second node #2 may determine channel state information 2 corresponding to the first channel based on the first ranging frame. It is understood that the second node in the communication domain performs ranging on the first ranging frame broadcast by the first node.

[0263] S1002: On a first channel, the second node #1 sends a second ranging frame to the first node. Correspondingly, the first node receives the second ranging frame from the second node #1.

[0264] S1003: On the first channel, the second node #2 sends a third ranging frame to the first node. Correspondingly, the first node receives the third ranging frame from the second node #2.

[0265] The second ranging frame carries the second ranging information through at least one second symbol, and the third ranging frame carries the second ranging information through at least one second symbol. The frame structures of the first ranging frame, the second ranging frame, and the third ranging frame are all the same, for example, they are all the ranging frame 1 mentioned above.

[0266] The order of the third ranging frame and the second ranging frame in the time domain meets the pre-set setting. In one implementation, the pre-set setting can be the size order of the identifiers of multiple second nodes in the communication domain. For example, the identifier of the second node #1 in the communication domain is node 1, and the identifier of the second node #2 in the communication domain is node 2. If the identifiers are in order from small to large, then the second ranging frame is before the third ranging frame in the time domain; if the identifiers are in order from large to small, then the second ranging frame is after the third ranging frame in the time domain. In another implementation, the pre-set setting can be the order determined by the multiple second nodes during the ranging negotiation process. For example, if it is determined that the second node #1 is before the second node #2 during the ranging negotiation process, then the second ranging frame is before the third ranging frame in the time domain; for another example, if it is determined that the second node #2 is before the second node #1 during the ranging negotiation process, then the third ranging frame is before the second ranging frame in the time domain. These two implementations are used for example and do not constitute a limitation of the present application.

[0267] For example, within a superframe, taking the example of a first ranging frame comprising a first radio frame, and a second ranging frame and a third ranging frame each comprising a second radio frame, reference can be made to Figure 10-1 for ranging interaction within the superframe. In Figure 10-1, radio frames #0 to #11 are used to transmit control information, and the second ranging frame precedes the third ranging frame.

[0268] Figure 10 takes the example of a first node broadcasting a first ranging frame to two second nodes on a first channel. Furthermore, on the first channel, the first node broadcasts the first ranging frame, receives a second ranging frame from the second node, and receives P third ranging frames from P third nodes (taking one third node sending one third ranging frame as an example). The order of the P third ranging frames and the second ranging frames in the time domain meets the pre-set conditions. Both the second node and the third node are T nodes. That is, the first node broadcasts the first ranging frame and receives multiple second ranging frames from multiple second nodes (taking one second node sending one second ranging frame as an example). The order of the multiple second ranging frames in the time domain meets the pre-set conditions.

[0269] In the embodiment shown in FIG10 , the first node broadcasts the first ranging frame, which can save overhead and reduce power consumption of the first node.

[0270] Figures 9 and 10 use the first channel as the initial channel (group) for frequency hopping ranging as an example for ranging interaction. If switching from the initial channel to the frequency hopping channel (or described as hopping from the initial channel to another channel), the ranging interaction on the frequency hopping channel is similar to the ranging interaction on the first channel. For example, the frequency hopping channel is referred to as the second channel. Please refer to Figure 11, which is a flow chart of another ranging method provided by the present application. The method may include but is not limited to the following steps:

[0271] S1101: On a second channel, a first node sends a fourth ranging frame to a second node. Correspondingly, the second node receives the fourth ranging frame from the first node.

[0272] The fourth ranging frame carries the first ranging information via at least one first symbol. The fourth ranging frame may have the same or different frame structure as the first ranging frame. For example, the first ranging frame may be ranging frame 4, and the fourth ranging frame may be ranging frame 1. For another example, both the first ranging frame and the fourth ranging frame may be ranging frame 1.

[0273] S1102: The second node determines third channel state information corresponding to the second channel according to the fourth ranging frame.

[0274] S1103: The second node sends a fifth ranging frame to the first node on the second channel. Correspondingly, the first node receives the fifth ranging frame from the second node on the second channel.

[0275] The fifth ranging frame carries the second ranging information via at least one second symbol. The fifth ranging frame may have the same or different frame structure as the second ranging frame. For example, the fifth ranging frame may be ranging frame 4, and the second ranging frame may be ranging frame 1. For another example, the fifth ranging frame and the second ranging frame may both be ranging frame 1.

[0276] S1104: The second node sends third channel state information to the first node. Correspondingly, the first node receives the third channel state information from the second node.

[0277] S1105: The first node determines fourth channel state information corresponding to the second channel according to the fifth ranging frame.

[0278] S1106: The first node determines channel state information of the second channel based on the third channel state information and the fourth channel state information. The channel state information of the second channel is used to measure the distance between the first node and the second node.

[0279] In the embodiment shown in FIG11 , parts that are identical or similar to those in the embodiment shown in FIG9 may refer to the description of FIG9 , and will not be repeated here.

[0280] Furthermore, the first node determines the distance between the first node and the second node based on the channel state information of the first channel and the channel state information of the second channel. That is, the first node determines the final distance between the first node and the second node based on the channel state information of multiple channels. For example, in a vehicle positioning scenario, it can represent the distance between the car key and a certain positioning node. Frequency hopping can expand the measurement bandwidth of frequency hopping ranging, which helps to improve the accuracy and precision of ranging. The distance between the first node and the second node in this application is determined by the ranging interaction of multiple channels, with high accuracy and precision.

[0281] Optionally, the first node may send the distance between the first node and the second node to the second node, so that the second node knows the distance between the first node and the second node.

[0282] Channel switching can be achieved through the following method 1 and / or method 2.

[0283] In mode 1, the first node and / or the second node may perform channel switching based on first information. The first information is used to indicate channel switching or frequency hopping. The first information may be preconfigured frequency hopping information, such as a preconfigured timer. When the timer expires, channel switching may be performed.

[0284] In mode 2, the radio frame containing the inverted symbol indicates channel switching. Mode 2 can be divided into two types based on the frame structure of the ranging frame, as shown below: Mode 2.1 and Mode 2.2.

[0285] Mode 2.1: The first ranging frame and the second ranging frame are the above-mentioned ranging frame 1, ranging frame 2, or ranging frame 3. The first ranging frame includes at least one first radio frame, and the second ranging frame includes at least one second radio frame.

[0286] For the first node, if the last M symbols used to carry the second ranging information in the last second radio frame of the at least one second radio frame received by the first node are in phase opposite to the other symbols used to carry the second ranging information in the last second radio frame, then the last second radio frame may indicate a channel switch. The first node may perform a channel switch upon receiving the last second radio frame.

[0287] For the second node, if the last N symbols used to carry the first ranging information in the last first radio frame of the at least one first radio frame received by the second node are in phase with other symbols used to carry the first ranging information in the last first radio frame, then the last first radio frame may indicate a channel switch. Upon receiving the last first radio frame, the second node may perform a channel switch when the second ranging frame is sent.

[0288] Mode 2.2: The first ranging frame and the second ranging frame are the above-mentioned ranging frame 4. The first ranging frame is composed of at least one first overhead symbol, and the second ranging frame is composed of at least one second overhead symbol.

[0289] For the first node, if the last Y second overhead symbols of the at least one second overhead symbol received by the first node are inverted in phase with other second overhead symbols used to carry the second ranging information, then the inverted last Y second overhead symbols may indicate a channel switch, or the first radio frame in which the inverted last Y second overhead symbols are located may indicate a channel switch. Upon receiving the inverted last Y second overhead symbols, the first node may perform a channel switch.

[0290] For the second node, if the last X first overhead symbols of the at least one first overhead symbol received by the second node are inverted in phase with other first overhead symbols used to carry the first ranging information, then the inverted last X first overhead symbols may indicate a channel switch, or the first radio frame in which the inverted last X first overhead symbols are located may indicate a channel switch. When the second node receives the inverted last Y first overhead symbols, the second node may perform a channel switch when the second ranging frame is completely transmitted.

[0291] The above-mentioned methods 1 and 2 are used for example only and do not limit the present application. It should be noted that if the timer of method 1 has not timed out and method 2 indicates channel switching, method 2 can be directly used to switch channels, regardless of whether the timer has timed out.

[0292] The number of the fourth ranging frames and / or the number of the fifth ranging frames may be indicated by second information. For example, the second information may be used to indicate the number of fourth ranging frames transmitted consecutively in time and / or the number of fifth ranging frames transmitted consecutively in time. Continuous transmission of ranging frames on a frequency hopping channel helps improve ranging accuracy and precision. The first node may send second information to the second node so that the second node receives the fourth ranging frame and / or sends the fifth ranging frame. The second information may be carried in the first configuration information or the third configuration information.

[0293] Furthermore, the difference between the number of symbols used to carry the first ranging information in the fourth ranging frame and the number of symbols used to carry the first ranging information in the first ranging frame is less than a second threshold; and / or the difference between the number of symbols used to carry the second ranging information in the fifth ranging frame and the number of symbols used to carry the second ranging information in the second ranging frame is less than a second threshold, so as to maintain the same or similar SNR on different channels. The difference can be an absolute value, and the second threshold can be 1; the difference can also be a relative value, and the second threshold can be ±1. For example, if the fourth ranging frame is the aforementioned ranging frame 1 and the first ranging frame is the aforementioned ranging frame 4, then the difference between the number of overhead symbols used to carry ranging information 1 in ranging frame 4 and the number of symbols used to carry ranging information 1 in ranging frame 4 is less than the second threshold.

[0294] Optionally, when frequency hopping from the first channel to the second channel, the first node sends a preamble to the second node before sending the ranging frame 1 or ranging frame 2 to the second node. The preamble is used to re-time and frequency synchronize the first and second nodes. Whether the second node sends the preamble to the first node before sending the ranging frame 1 or ranging frame 2 to the first node may be indicated by the preamble sent by the first node to the second node.

[0295] Furthermore, for multicast communication, when frequency hopping from a first channel to a second channel, the first node broadcasts a preamble before broadcasting ranging frame 1 or ranging frame 2. This preamble is used to re-time and frequency synchronize the first node and multiple second nodes. Optionally, this preamble is also used to indicate that the ranging interaction mode is multicast.

[0296] For example, for multicast communication, taking the above ranging frame 1 on the second channel as an example, the ranging interaction between the first node and the three second nodes can refer to Figure 11-1. RFAfter that, CCA is performed and the second channel is accessed; after sending the preamble information, the first node sends ranging frame 1 (carried by all symbols in radio frame #13); the three second nodes send ranging frame 1 according to the pre-set configuration, for example, the ranging frame 1 sent by the second node 1 is carried by all symbols in radio frame #14, the ranging frame 1 sent by the second node 2 is carried by all symbols in radio frame #15, and the ranging frame 1 sent by the second node 3 is carried by all symbols in radio frame #16.

[0297] In the embodiment shown in FIG11 , the second channel is a frequency hopping channel. Frequency hopping is used to expand the measurement bandwidth of the frequency hopping ranging, which helps to improve the accuracy and precision of the ranging.

[0298] In the above embodiments, the frame format of the radio frame is not specifically limited. A radio frame can be a frame format in which OFDM symbol parameters are pre-configured by the G node (the frame length can be less than 640×Ts), and a radio frame can contain pre-configured Q OFDM symbols, where Q is a positive integer, and the value of Q can be configured according to the desired SNR. The pre-configured OFDM symbol parameters include at least one of the following: with CP or without CP, extended CP or regular CP, carrying CSI-RS or SRS or FTS or STS, etc. When a radio frame contains a smaller number of OFDM symbols, the time length of the ranging frame can be reduced while meeting the ranging accuracy, thereby improving the ranging efficiency and saving the power consumption of the ranging node.

[0299] The above describes in detail the method provided in the embodiments of the present application. The following provides an apparatus for implementing any of the methods in the embodiments of the present application. For example, an apparatus is provided that includes units (or means) for implementing each step performed by the node in any of the above methods.

[0300] Please refer to FIG12 , which is a schematic structural diagram of a communication device provided in an embodiment of the present application.

[0301] As shown in Figure 12, the communication device 120 may include a communication unit 1201 and a processing unit 1202. The communication unit 1201 and the processing unit 1202 may be software, hardware, or a combination of software and hardware.

[0302] The communication unit 1201 can implement a sending function and / or a receiving function. The communication unit 1201 can also be described as a transceiver unit, an acquisition unit, or a sending unit. The communication unit 1201 can also be a unit that integrates an acquisition unit and a sending unit, wherein the acquisition unit is used to implement the receiving function and the sending unit is used to implement the sending function. Optionally, the communication unit 1201 can be used to receive information sent by other devices, and can also be used to send information to other devices.

[0303] In one possible design, the communication device 120 may correspond to the first node in the above method embodiment. For example, the communication device 120 may be the first node or a chip in the first node. The communication device 120 may include a unit for executing the operations performed by the first node in the above method embodiment, and each unit in the communication device 120 is respectively for implementing the operations performed by the first node in the above method embodiment. The description of each unit is as follows:

[0304] The communication unit 1201 is configured to send a first ranging frame on a first channel, where the first ranging frame carries first ranging information using at least one first symbol; receive a second ranging frame from a second node on the first channel, where the second ranging frame carries second ranging information using at least one second symbol; and receive first channel state information, where the first channel state information is channel state information corresponding to the first channel from the second node.

[0305] Processing unit 1202 is used to determine second channel state information corresponding to the first channel based on at least one second symbol; determine channel state information of the first channel based on the first channel state information and the second channel state information, where the channel state information of the first channel is used to measure the distance between the sender of the first ranging frame and the second node.

[0306] In a possible implementation, the first ranging frame includes at least one first radio frame, and the second ranging frame includes at least one second radio frame.

[0307] Optional method 1: The symbols in the above-mentioned at least one first wireless frame are all used to carry the first ranging information, and the symbols in the above-mentioned at least one second wireless frame are all used to carry the second ranging information. There is a switching interval between the first wireless frame and the second wireless frame, and the switching interval is used to perform transmission and reception switching.

[0308] Option 2: For any one of the at least one first radio frame, the first radio frame includes a switching interval, each symbol except the switching interval is used to carry first ranging information, and the switching interval is temporally located after the symbol used to carry the first ranging information; for any one of the at least one second radio frame, the second radio frame includes a switching interval, each symbol except the switching interval is used to carry second ranging information, and the switching interval is temporally located after the symbol used to carry the second ranging information. The switching interval is used to perform transceiver switching.

[0309] Optional Method 3: For any one of the at least one first radio frame, the first radio frame includes a switching interval, a first overhead symbol, and a first link symbol, where the first overhead symbol and the first link symbol are used to carry first ranging information. For any one of the at least one second radio frame, the second radio frame includes a switching interval, a second overhead symbol, and a second link symbol, where the second overhead symbol and the second link symbol are used to carry second ranging information. The switching interval is used to perform transceiver switching. The first link symbol and the second link symbol are used to carry information in different transmission directions.

[0310] Optionally, the communication unit 1201 is further configured to send a first bitmap, where the first bitmap is used to indicate the first radio frame within a superframe.

[0311] Optionally, for a last first radio frame in the at least one first radio frame, last N symbols used to carry the first ranging information are inversely phased with other symbols used to carry the first ranging information in the last first radio frame, and the last first radio frame indicates channel switching; where N is a positive integer;

[0312] And / or, for the last second radio frame in at least one second radio frame, the last M symbols used to carry the second ranging information contained therein are inverted with other symbols used to carry the second ranging information in the last second radio frame, and the last second radio frame indicates channel switching; wherein M is a positive integer.

[0313] In another possible implementation, the first ranging frame consists of at least one first overhead symbol, where the at least one first overhead symbol is all or part of the overhead symbols of at least one first radio frame, and the at least one first overhead symbol is used to carry first ranging information; the second ranging frame consists of at least one second overhead symbol, where the at least one second overhead symbol is all or part of the overhead symbols of at least one second radio frame, and the at least one second overhead symbol is used to carry second ranging information.

[0314] Optionally, the at least one first overhead symbol is a partial overhead symbol of at least one first wireless frame, and at least one third overhead symbol of at least one first wireless frame is a first link system overhead symbol or a second link system overhead symbol; the at least one second overhead symbol is a partial overhead symbol of at least one second wireless frame, and at least one fourth overhead symbol of at least one second wireless frame is a first link system overhead symbol or a second link system overhead symbol.

[0315] Optionally, on the first channel, a difference between the number of symbols used to carry the first ranging information in the first ranging frame and the number of symbols used to carry the second ranging information in the second ranging frame is less than a first threshold.

[0316] Optionally, the communication unit is further configured to send a second bitmap, where the second bitmap is used to indicate overhead symbols used to carry the first ranging information within a superframe.

[0317] Optionally, the last X first overhead symbols of the at least one first overhead symbol are inverted with respect to other first overhead symbols used to carry the first ranging information, and the inverted last X symbols indicate channel switching; wherein X is a positive integer;

[0318] And / or, the last Y second overhead symbols of the at least one second overhead symbol are inverted with other second overhead symbols used to carry second ranging information, and the inverted last Y second overhead symbols indicate channel switching; wherein Y is a positive integer.

[0319] Optionally, within a superframe, the first radio frame included in the first ranging frame is numbered greater than K, and the overhead symbols from the first radio frame to the radio frame numbered K within the superframe are used to transmit control information, where K is a positive integer greater than 1.

[0320] In one possible implementation, the communication unit 1201 is further configured to receive, on the first channel, P third ranging frames from P third nodes, where the third ranging frames carry second ranging information through at least one second symbol, and the third ranging frames have the same frame structure as the second ranging frames, where P is a positive integer.

[0321] Furthermore, the order of the P third ranging frames and the second ranging frames in the time domain meets the pre-set conditions.

[0322] In one possible implementation, the communication unit 1201 is further configured to send, on the second channel, a fourth ranging frame based on the first information indicating channel switching, where the fourth ranging frame carries first ranging information through at least one first symbol; the fourth ranging frame has the same or different frame structure as the first ranging frame; receive, on the second channel, a fifth ranging frame from the second node, where the fifth ranging frame carries second ranging information through at least one second symbol; the fifth ranging frame has the same frame structure as the fourth ranging frame; and receive third channel state information, where the third channel state information is channel state information corresponding to the second channel from the second node;

[0323] The processing unit 1202 is further configured to determine fourth channel state information corresponding to the second channel based on the fifth ranging frame; and determine channel state information of the second channel based on the third channel state information and the fourth channel state information, where the channel state information of the second channel is used to measure the distance between the sender of the fourth ranging frame and the second node.

[0324] Furthermore, the processing unit 1202 is further configured to determine the distance between the sender of the first ranging frame and the second node according to the channel state information of the first channel and the channel state information of the second channel.

[0325] Optionally, the communication unit 1201 is further configured to receive second information, where the second information is used to indicate the number of fourth ranging frames transmitted continuously in time and / or the number of fifth ranging frames transmitted continuously in time.

[0326] Optionally, a difference between the number of symbols used to carry the first ranging information contained in the fourth ranging frame and the number of symbols used to carry the first ranging information contained in the first ranging frame is less than a second threshold; and / or a difference between the number of symbols used to carry the second ranging information contained in the fifth ranging frame and the number of symbols used to carry the second ranging information contained in the second ranging frame is less than the second threshold.

[0327] In another possible design, the communication device 120 may correspond to the second node in the above method embodiment. For example, the communication device 120 may be the second node or a chip in the second node. The communication device 120 may include a unit for executing the operations performed by the second node in the above method embodiment, and each unit in the communication device 120 is respectively for implementing the operations performed by the second node in the above method embodiment. The description of each unit is as follows:

[0328] The communication unit 1201 is configured to receive a first ranging frame from a first node on a first channel, where the first ranging frame carries first ranging information using at least one first symbol; and send a second ranging frame to the first node on the first channel, where the second ranging frame carries second ranging information using at least one second symbol.

[0329] A processing unit 1202 is configured to determine first channel state information corresponding to a first channel according to at least one first symbol;

[0330] The communication unit 1201 is further configured to send first channel state information to the first node, where the first channel state information is used to measure the distance between the first node and a receiver of the first ranging frame.

[0331] In one possible implementation, the communication unit 1201 is further used to receive a first bitmap, where the first bitmap is used to indicate a first radio frame within a superframe; all symbols in the first radio frame are used to carry first ranging information; or, the first radio frame includes a switching interval, where each symbol except the switching interval is used to carry the first ranging information, and the switching interval is temporally located after the symbol used to carry the first ranging information, and the switching interval is used to perform transceiver switching.

[0332] In another possible implementation, the communication unit 1201 is further configured to receive a second bitmap, where the second bitmap is used to indicate overhead symbols used to carry the first ranging information in a superframe.

[0333] Optionally, the communication unit 1201 is further configured to receive, on the second channel, a fourth ranging frame from the first node based on the first information, where the fourth ranging frame carries the first ranging information through at least one first symbol; the frame structure of the fourth ranging frame is the same as or different from that of the first ranging frame; the first information is used to indicate channel switching; and to send, on the second channel, a fifth ranging frame to the first node, where the fifth ranging frame carries the second ranging information through at least one second symbol; the frame structure of the fifth ranging frame is the same as that of the fourth ranging frame.

[0334] The processing unit 1202 is further configured to determine third channel state information corresponding to the second channel according to the fifth ranging frame;

[0335] The communication unit 1201 is further configured to send third channel state information to the first node, where the third channel state information is used to measure the distance between the first node and a receiver of the fourth ranging frame.

[0336] Furthermore, the communication unit 1201 is further configured to receive the distance between the first node and a receiver of the first ranging frame from the first node.

[0337] According to an embodiment of the present application, each unit in the device shown in Figure 12 can be respectively or entirely merged into one or several other units to constitute, or a certain (some) unit therein can also be split into multiple smaller units in function to constitute, and this can achieve the same operation without affecting the realization of the technical effect of the embodiment of the present application. The above-mentioned units are divided based on logical functions. In practical applications, the function of a unit can also be realized by multiple units, or the function of multiple units is realized by one unit. In other embodiments of the present application, other units can also be included based on nodes. In practical applications, these functions can also be assisted by other units to realize, and can be realized by the collaboration of multiple units.

[0338] It should be noted that the implementation of each unit may also refer to the corresponding description of the method embodiments shown in FIG. 9 , FIG. 10 , and FIG. 12 .

[0339] In the communication device 120 depicted in FIG12 , ranging frames are transmitted on a first channel to enable inter-node transmission of ranging frames for the first channel. The ranging frames carry ranging information via at least one symbol, enabling transmission of ranging information. Based on the first channel state information and second channel state information corresponding to the first channel, channel state information for the first channel can be determined, thereby enabling ranging interaction for the first channel and improving ranging accuracy.

[0340] Please refer to FIG. 13 , which is a schematic structural diagram of a communication device provided in an embodiment of the present application.

[0341] It should be understood that the communication device 130 shown in Figure 13 is only an example. The communication device of the embodiment of the present application may also include other components, or include components with similar functions to the various components in Figure 13, or not include all the components in Figure 13.

[0342] The communication device 130 includes a communication interface 1301 and at least one processor 1302 .

[0343] The communication device 130 may correspond to the first node or the second node. The communication interface 1301 is used to send and receive information, and the at least one processor 1302 executes program instructions so that the communication device 130 implements the corresponding process of the method executed by the corresponding node in the above method embodiment.

[0344] In one possible design, the communication device 130 may correspond to the first node in the method embodiment shown in FIG. 3 . For example, the communication device 130 may be the first node or a chip in the first node. The communication device 130 may include components for executing the operations performed by the first node in the method embodiment described above. Furthermore, each component in the communication device 130 may correspond to the corresponding description of the first node in the method embodiment shown in FIG. 9 , FIG. 10 , and FIG. 11 , respectively, for implementing the operations performed by the first node in the method embodiment described above.

[0345] In another possible design, the communication device 130 may correspond to the second node in the method embodiment shown in FIG. 3 . For example, the communication device 130 may be the second node or a chip in the second node. The communication device 130 may include components for executing the operations performed by the second node in the method embodiment described above. Furthermore, each component in the communication device 130 may specifically correspond to the description of the second node in the method embodiments shown in FIG. 9 , FIG. 10 , and FIG. 11 , respectively, for implementing the operations performed by the second node in the method embodiment described above.

[0346] For the case where the communication device may be a chip or a chip system, reference may be made to the schematic structural diagram of the chip shown in FIG14 .

[0347] As shown in Figure 14 , chip 140 includes a processor 1401 and an interface 1402. There may be one or more processors 1401, and there may be multiple interfaces 1402. It should be noted that the functions corresponding to processor 1401 and interface 1402 can be implemented through hardware design, software design, or a combination of hardware and software, without limitation.

[0348] Optionally, the chip 140 may further include a memory 1403 , which is used to store necessary program instructions and data.

[0349] In the present application, processor 1401 may be configured to call a program for implementing the communication method provided in one or more embodiments of the present application at a first node or a second node from memory 1403 and execute the instructions contained in the program. Interface 1402 may be configured to output the execution results of processor 1401. In the present application, interface 1402 may be specifically configured to output various messages or information from processor 1401.

[0350] Regarding the communication method provided by one or more embodiments of the present application, reference may be made to the embodiments shown in FIG. 9 , FIG. 10 , and FIG. 11 , which will not be described in detail here.

[0351] The processor in the embodiments of the present application may be a central processing unit (CPU), and the processor may also be other general-purpose processors, digital signal processors (DSP), application-specific integrated circuits (ASIC), field programmable gate arrays (FPGA), or other programmable logic devices, discrete gate or transistor logic devices, discrete hardware components, etc. The general-purpose processor may be a microprocessor or any conventional processor, etc.

[0352] The memory in the embodiments of the present application is used to provide storage space, in which data such as an operating system and computer programs can be stored. The memory includes, but is not limited to, random access memory (RAM), read-only memory (ROM), erasable programmable read-only memory (EPROM), or compact disc read-only memory (CD-ROM).

[0353] According to the method provided in the embodiment of the present application, the embodiment of the present application also provides a computer-readable storage medium, in which a computer program is stored. When the computer program runs on one or more processors, the method shown in Figures 9, 10, and 11 can be implemented.

[0354] According to the method provided in the embodiment of the present application, the embodiment of the present application also provides a computer program product, which includes a computer program. When the computer program runs on a processor, it can implement the methods shown in Figures 9, 10, and 11 above.

[0355] An embodiment of the present application provides a terminal device, which includes at least one communication device 120 or communication device 130 or chip 140 as described above.

[0356] An embodiment of the present application also provides a system, which includes a terminal device and at least one communication device 120 or communication device 130 or chip 140 such as the above-mentioned communication device 120 or communication device 130 or chip 140, which is used to execute the steps executed by the corresponding node in any of the embodiments of Figures 9, 10, and 11 above.

[0357] An embodiment of the present application further provides a processing device, including a processor and an interface; the processor is used to execute the method in any of the above method embodiments.

[0358] It should be understood that the above-mentioned processing device can be a chip. For example, the processing device can be a field programmable gate array (FPGA), a general-purpose processor, a digital signal processor (DSP), an application specific integrated circuit (ASIC), a field programmable gate array (FPGA) or other programmable logic device, a discrete gate or transistor logic device, a discrete hardware component, a system on chip (SoC), a central processing unit (CPU), a network processor (NP), a digital signal processing circuit (DSP), a microcontroller unit (MCU), a programmable logic device (PLD) or other integrated chip. The various methods, steps and logic block diagrams disclosed in the embodiments of the present application can be implemented or executed. The general-purpose processor can be a microprocessor or the processor can also be any conventional processor, etc. The steps of the method disclosed in conjunction with the embodiments of the present application can be directly embodied as being executed by a hardware decoding processor, or can be executed by a combination of hardware and software modules in the decoding processor. The software module can be located in a storage medium well-known in the art, such as random access memory, flash memory, read-only memory, programmable read-only memory, electrically erasable programmable memory, registers, etc. The storage medium is located in the memory, and the processor reads the information in the memory and, in conjunction with its hardware, completes the steps of the above method.

[0359] It is understood that the memory in the embodiments of the present application may be a volatile memory or a non-volatile memory, or may include both volatile and non-volatile memories. Among them, the non-volatile memory may be a read-only memory (ROM), a programmable read-only memory (PROM), an erasable programmable read-only memory (EPROM), an electrically erasable programmable read-only memory (EEPROM), or a flash memory. The volatile memory may be a random access memory (RAM), which is used as an external cache. By way of example and not limitation, many forms of RAM are available, such as static RAM (SRAM), dynamic RAM (DRAM), synchronous DRAM (SDRAM), double data rate SDRAM (DDR SDRAM), enhanced SDRAM (ESDRAM), synchronous link DRAM (SLDRAM), and direct RAM bus RAM (DR RAM). It should be noted that the memory of the systems and methods described herein is intended to include, but is not limited to, these and any other suitable types of memory.

[0360] In the above embodiments, all or part of the embodiments may be implemented by software, hardware, firmware, or any combination thereof. When implemented using software, all or part of the embodiments may be implemented in the form of a computer program product. The computer program product includes one or more computer instructions. When the computer instructions are loaded and executed on a computer, all or part of the processes or functions described in the embodiments of the present application are generated. The computer may be a general-purpose computer, a special-purpose computer, a computer network, or other programmable device. The computer instructions may be stored in a computer-readable storage medium or transmitted from one computer-readable storage medium to another computer-readable storage medium. For example, the computer instructions may be transmitted from one website, computer, server, or data center to another website, computer, server, or data center via a wired (e.g., coaxial cable, optical fiber, digital subscriber line (DSL)) or wireless (e.g., infrared, wireless, microwave, etc.) method. The computer-readable storage medium may be any available medium that a computer can access or a data storage device such as a server or data center that includes one or more available media integrated therein. The available medium may be a magnetic medium (eg, a floppy disk, a hard disk, a magnetic tape), an optical medium (eg, a high-density digital video disc (DVD)), or a semiconductor medium (eg, a solid state disc (SSD)).

[0361] The units in the above-mentioned various apparatus embodiments completely correspond to the electronic devices in the method embodiments, and the corresponding modules or units perform the corresponding steps. For example, the communication unit (transceiver) performs the receiving or sending steps in the method embodiments, and other steps except sending and receiving can be performed by the processing unit (processor). The functions of the specific units can be referred to the corresponding method embodiments. Among them, there can be one or more processors.

[0362] It is understood that in the embodiments of the present application, the electronic device can perform some or all of the steps in the embodiments of the present application. These steps or operations are merely examples, and the embodiments of the present application can also perform other operations or variations of various operations. In addition, the various steps can be performed in a different order than those presented in the embodiments of the present application, and it is possible that not all operations in the embodiments of the present application need to be performed.

[0363] Those skilled in the art will appreciate that the units and algorithm steps of each example described in conjunction with the embodiments disclosed herein can be implemented in electronic hardware, or a combination of computer software and electronic hardware. Whether these functions are performed in hardware or software depends on the specific application and design constraints of the technical solution. Professional and technical personnel can use different methods to implement the described functions for each specific application, but such implementation should not be considered beyond the scope of this application.

[0364] Those skilled in the art will clearly understand that, for the convenience and brevity of description, the specific working processes of the systems, devices and units described above can refer to the corresponding processes in the aforementioned method embodiments and will not be repeated here.

[0365] In the several embodiments provided in this application, it should be understood that the disclosed systems, devices and methods can be implemented in other ways. For example, the device embodiments described above are merely schematic. For example, the division of the units is merely a logical function division. In actual implementation, there may be other division methods, such as multiple units or components can be combined or integrated into another system, or some features can be ignored or not executed. Another point is that the mutual coupling or direct coupling or communication connection shown or discussed can be through some interfaces, indirect coupling or communication connection of devices or units, which can be electrical, mechanical or other forms.

[0366] The units described as separate components may or may not be physically separate, and the components shown as units may or may not be physical units, that is, they may be located in one place or distributed across multiple network units. Some or all of these units may be selected to achieve the purpose of this embodiment according to actual needs.

[0367] In addition, each functional unit in each embodiment of the present application may be integrated into one processing unit, or each unit may exist physically separately, or two or more units may be integrated into one unit.

[0368] If the functions are implemented in the form of software functional units and sold or used as independent products, they can be stored in a computer-readable storage medium. Based on this understanding, the technical solution of the present application, or the part that contributes to the prior art, or the part of the technical solution, can be embodied in the form of a software product. The computer software product is stored in a storage medium and includes several instructions for enabling a computer device (which can be a personal computer, server, or network device, etc.) to execute all or part of the steps of the method described in each embodiment of the present application. The aforementioned storage medium includes various media that can store program codes, such as a USB flash drive, a mobile hard disk, a read-only memory ROM, a random access memory RAM, a magnetic disk, or an optical disk.

[0369] The above is only a specific implementation method of the present application, but the scope of protection of the present application is not limited thereto. Any technician familiar with this technical field can easily think of changes or replacements within the technical scope disclosed in this application, which should be covered by the scope of protection of the present application.

Claims

1. A distance measurement method, characterized in that: include: Sending a first ranging frame on a first channel, where the first ranging frame carries first ranging information through at least one first symbol; receiving, on the first channel, a second ranging frame from a second node, where the second ranging frame carries second ranging information through at least one second symbol; receiving first channel state information, where the first channel state information is channel state information corresponding to the first channel from the second node; determining second channel state information corresponding to the first channel according to the at least one second symbol; Channel state information of the first channel is determined according to the first channel state information and the second channel state information, where the channel state information of the first channel is used to measure the distance between the sender of the first ranging frame and the second node.

2. The method according to claim 1, characterized in that The first ranging frame includes at least one first radio frame, and the second ranging frame includes at least one second radio frame.

3. The method according to claim 2, characterized in that The symbols in the at least one first radio frame are all used to carry the first ranging information, and the symbols in the at least one second radio frame are all used to carry the second ranging information. There is a switching interval between the first radio frame and the second radio frame, and the switching interval is used to perform transceiver switching.

4. The method according to claim 2, characterized in that For each first radio frame in the at least one first radio frame: the first radio frame includes a switching interval, each symbol except the switching interval is used to carry the first ranging information, and the switching interval is temporally subsequent to the symbol used to carry the first ranging information, and the switching interval is used to perform a transmitting and receiving switch; For each second radio frame of the at least one second radio frame: the second radio frame includes a switching interval, each symbol except the switching interval is used to carry the second ranging information, and the switching interval is temporally located after the symbol used to carry the second ranging information, and the switching interval is used to perform transceiver switching.

5. The method according to claim 2, characterized in that For each first radio frame in the at least one first radio frame, the first radio frame includes a switching interval, a first overhead symbol, and a first link symbol, where the first overhead symbol and the first link symbol are used to carry the first ranging information; the switching interval is used to perform a transceiver switch; For each second radio frame in the at least one second radio frame: the second radio frame includes a switching interval, a second overhead symbol and a second link symbol, the second overhead symbol and the second link symbol are used to carry the second ranging information; the switching interval is used to perform transceiver switching.

6. The method according to claim 5, characterized in that The number of switching intervals included in the first radio frame and / or the second radio frame is 2; The first radio frame further includes at least one second link symbol, and / or the second radio frame further includes at least one first link symbol; the second link symbol and the first link symbol are used to carry information of different transmission directions.

7. The method according to any one of claims 2 to 6, characterized in that The method further comprises: A first bitmap is sent, where the first bitmap is used to indicate the first radio frame within a superframe.

8. The method according to any one of claims 2 to 6, characterized in that For a last first radio frame in the at least one first radio frame, last N symbols used to carry the first ranging information are inversely proportional to other symbols used to carry the first ranging information in the last first radio frame, and the last first radio frame indicates channel switching; where N is a positive integer; And / or, for the last second radio frame in the at least one second radio frame, the last M symbols contained therein for carrying the second ranging information are inverted with other symbols in the last second radio frame for carrying the second ranging information, and the last second radio frame indicates channel switching; wherein M is a positive integer.

9. The method according to claim 1, characterized in that The first ranging frame is composed of at least one first overhead symbol, where the at least one first overhead symbol is all or part of overhead symbols of at least one first radio frame, and the at least one first overhead symbol is used to carry the first ranging information; The second ranging frame is composed of at least one second overhead symbol, where the at least one second overhead symbol is all or part of the overhead symbols of at least one second radio frame, and the at least one second overhead symbol is used to carry the second ranging information.

10. The method according to claim 9, characterized in that The at least one first overhead symbol is a portion of overhead symbols of the at least one first radio frame, and the at least one third overhead symbol of the at least one first radio frame is a first link system overhead symbol or a second link system overhead symbol; The at least one second overhead symbol is a partial overhead symbol of the at least one second radio frame, and the at least one fourth overhead symbol of the at least one second radio frame is a first link system overhead symbol or a second link system overhead symbol.

11. The method according to claim 9, characterized in that On the first channel, a difference between the number of symbols used to carry first ranging information in the first ranging frame and the number of symbols used to carry second ranging information in the second ranging frame is less than a first threshold.

12. The method according to any one of claims 9 to 11, characterized in that The method further comprises: A second bitmap is sent, where the second bitmap is used to indicate overhead symbols used to carry the first ranging information in a superframe.

13. The method according to claim 9 or 10, characterized in that The last X first overhead symbols of the at least one first overhead symbol are inverted with respect to other first overhead symbols used to carry the first ranging information, and the inverted last X first overhead symbols indicate channel switching; wherein X is a positive integer; And / or, the last Y second overhead symbols of the at least one second overhead symbol are inverted with respect to other second overhead symbols used to carry the second ranging information, and the inverted last Y second overhead symbols indicate channel switching; wherein Y is a positive integer.

14. The method according to claim 9 or 10, characterized in that In a superframe, the first radio frame included in the first ranging frame is numbered greater than K, and the overhead symbols in the first radio frame to the radio frame numbered K in the superframe are used to transmit control information, where K is a positive integer greater than 1.

15. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 14, characterized in that The method further comprises: On the first channel, P third ranging frames are received from P third nodes, where the third ranging frames carry the second ranging information through the at least one second symbol; the third ranging frames have the same frame structure as the second ranging frames, and P is a positive integer.

16. The method according to claim 15, characterized in that The order of the P third ranging frames and the second ranging frame in the time domain meets the pre-set conditions.

17. The method according to claim 1, wherein The method further comprises: sending, on a second channel, a fourth ranging frame according to the first information, where the fourth ranging frame carries the first ranging information through the at least one first symbol; the fourth ranging frame has a frame structure that is the same as or different from that of the first ranging frame; and the first information is used to indicate channel switching; receiving, on the second channel, a fifth ranging frame from the second node, the fifth ranging frame carrying the second ranging information through the at least one second symbol; the fifth ranging frame having the same frame structure as the fourth ranging frame; receiving third channel state information, where the third channel state information is channel state information corresponding to the second channel from the second node; determining fourth channel state information corresponding to the second channel according to the fifth ranging frame; Channel state information of the second channel is determined according to the third channel state information and the fourth channel state information, where the channel state information of the second channel is used to measure the distance between the sender of the fourth ranging frame and the second node.

18. The method according to claim 17, characterized in that The method further comprises: Determine a distance between a sender of the first ranging frame and the second node according to the channel state information of the first channel and the channel state information of the second channel.

19. The method according to claim 17, wherein The method further comprises: Second information is sent, where the second information is used to indicate the number of the fourth ranging frames transmitted continuously in time and / or the number of the fifth ranging frames transmitted continuously in time.

20. The method according to claim 18, wherein A difference between the number of symbols used to carry the first ranging information in the fourth ranging frame and the number of symbols used to carry the first ranging information in the first ranging frame is less than a second threshold; and / or a difference between the number of symbols used to carry the second ranging information in the fifth ranging frame and the number of symbols used to carry the second ranging information in the second ranging frame is less than a second threshold.

21. A distance measurement method, characterized in that: include: Receiving a first ranging frame from a first node on a first channel, where the first ranging frame carries first ranging information through at least one first symbol; Sending a second ranging frame to the first node on the first channel, where the second ranging frame carries second ranging information through at least one second symbol; determining first channel state information corresponding to the first channel according to the at least one first symbol; The first channel state information is sent to the first node, where the first channel state information is used to measure a distance between the first node and a receiver of the first ranging frame.

22. The method according to claim 21, characterized in that The method further comprises: A first bitmap is received, where the first bitmap is used to indicate a first radio frame within a superframe; all symbols in the first radio frame are used to carry the first ranging information; or the first radio frame includes a switching interval, each symbol except the switching interval is used to carry the first ranging information, and the switching interval is temporally located after the symbol used to carry the first ranging information, and the switching interval is used to perform transceiver switching.

23. The method according to claim 21, characterized in that The method further comprises: A second bitmap is received, where the second bitmap is used to indicate overhead symbols used to carry the first ranging information in a superframe.

24. The method according to claim 21, wherein The method further comprises: receiving, on a second channel, a fourth ranging frame from the first node according to the first information, where the fourth ranging frame carries the first ranging information through the at least one first symbol; the fourth ranging frame has a frame structure that is the same as or different from that of the first ranging frame; and the first information is used to indicate channel switching; Sending a fifth ranging frame to the first node on the second channel, where the fifth ranging frame carries the second ranging information through the at least one second symbol; the fifth ranging frame has the same frame structure as the fourth ranging frame; determining third channel state information corresponding to the second channel according to the fifth ranging frame; The third channel state information is sent to the first node, where the third channel state information is used to measure a distance between the first node and a receiver of the fourth ranging frame.

25. The method according to claim 24, characterized in that The method further comprises: A distance between a receiver of the first ranging frame received from the first node and the first node.

26. A communication device, characterized in that: The communication device includes a communication unit and a processing unit; The communication unit is configured to send a first ranging frame on a first channel, where the first ranging frame carries first ranging information through at least one first symbol; and receive a second ranging frame from a second node on the first channel, where the second ranging frame carries second ranging information through at least one second symbol; receiving first channel state information, where the first channel state information is channel state information corresponding to the first channel from the second node; The processing unit is configured to determine second channel state information corresponding to the first channel based on the at least one second symbol; and determine channel state information of the first channel based on the first channel state information and the second channel state information, where the channel state information of the first channel is used to measure the distance between the sender of the first ranging frame and the second node.

27. A communication device, characterized in that: The communication device includes a communication unit and a processing unit; The communication unit is configured to receive a first ranging frame from a first node on a first channel, the first ranging frame carrying first ranging information through at least one first symbol; and send a second ranging frame to the first node on the first channel, the second ranging frame carrying second ranging information through at least one second symbol; The processing unit is configured to determine first channel state information corresponding to the first channel according to the at least one first symbol; The communication unit is further configured to send the first channel state information to the first node, where the first channel state information is used to measure the distance between the first node and a receiver of the first ranging frame.

28. A communication device, characterized in that: include: processor; When the processor calls the computer program or instruction in the memory, the method according to any one of claims 1 to 20 is executed, or the method according to any one of claims 21 to 25 is executed.

29. A communication device, characterized in that: include: Logic circuits and communication interfaces; The communication interface is used to receive or send information; The logic circuit is configured to receive information or send information through the communication interface, so that the method according to any one of claims 1 to 20 is executed, or the method according to any one of claims 21 to 25 is executed.

30. A terminal device, characterized in that: comprising a communication device according to claim 26 or 27, or a communication device according to claim 28, or a communication device according to claim 29.

31. A computer-readable storage medium, characterized in that include: The computer-readable storage medium is used to store instructions or computer programs; when the instructions or the computer program are executed, the method according to any one of claims 1 to 20 is implemented, or the method according to any one of claims 21 to 25 is implemented.

32. A computer program product, characterized in that include: instructions or computer programs; When the instructions or the computer program are executed, the method according to any one of claims 1 to 20 or the method according to any one of claims 21 to 25 is implemented.

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