Communication method, system and device and readable storage medium

Abstract

The embodiment of the invention provides a communication method, system and device and a readable storage medium, and the method comprises the steps: distributing a communication time slot for a UWB anchor point in response to receiving a registration request sent by any UWB anchor point; associating the index number of the allocated communication time slot with the anchor point identifier of the UWB anchor point to obtain an association relationship, and sending first information to the UWB anchor point, the first information including the timestamp of the allocated time slot and the current timestamp; the allocated time slot is the allocated communication time slot; under the condition that first data is received, determining a communication time slot corresponding to the first data from the association relationship based on a target anchor point identifier carried by the first data, and taking the communication time slot as a target time slot; and in the target time slot of the current communication period, sending the first data to the UWB anchor point corresponding to the target anchor point identifier. The problem that the scheme cost is too high due to the fact that a 5G network scheme needs network suppliers to support transformation is avoided.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present invention belongs to the field of computer technology, and in particular, relates to a communication method, system, device and readable storage medium. Background Art

[0002] With the development of computer technology, the current field devices in the industrial manufacturing industry all rely on wireless network connections and communications. Currently, most field devices use the fifth generation mobile communication technology (5th Generation Mobile Communication Technology, 5G) or large industrial system networks.

[0003] However, 5G or large industrial system networks require modifications to existing mobile networks and the installation of a large number of routers and other equipment, resulting in high communication costs. Summary of the invention

[0004] The present invention provides a communication method, system, device and readable storage medium to solve the problem of high communication cost in the prior art.

[0005] In order to solve the above-mentioned technical problems, the present invention is achieved as follows:

[0006] In a first aspect, the present invention provides a communication method, which is applied to a UWB base station in a communication system, wherein the communication system further includes at least one UWB anchor point; the method includes:

[0007] In response to receiving a registration request sent by any UWB anchor point, allocating a communication time slot for the UWB anchor point;

[0008] Associating the index number of the allocated communication time slot with the anchor point identifier of the UWB anchor point to obtain an association relationship, and sending first information to the UWB anchor point, the first information including the timestamp of the allocated time slot and the current timestamp; the allocated time slot is the allocated communication time slot;

[0009] When the first data is received, determining the communication time slot corresponding to the first data from the association relationship based on the target anchor point identifier carried by the first data as the target time slot;

[0010] In a target time slot of a current communication cycle, the first data is sent to a UWB anchor point corresponding to the target anchor point identifier.

[0011] In a second aspect, the present invention provides a communication method, which is applied to any UWB anchor point in a communication system, wherein the communication system also includes a UWB base station; the method includes:

[0012] Sending a registration request to the UWB base station;

[0013] After receiving the first information sent by the UWB base station based on the registration request, setting the system current time of the UWB anchor point based on the first information; the first information includes the timestamp of the allocated time slot and the current timestamp, and the allocated time slot is the communication time slot allocated by the UWB base station;

[0014] In the allocated time slot of the current communication cycle, first data sent by the UWB base station is received.

[0015] In a third aspect, the present invention provides a communication system, the system comprising a UWB base station and at least one UWB anchor point;

[0016] The UWB anchor point is used to send a registration request to the UWB base station;

[0017] The UWB base station is used to allocate a communication time slot to any UWB anchor point in response to receiving a registration request sent by the UWB anchor point;

[0018] The UWB base station is used to associate the index number of the allocated communication time slot with the anchor point identifier of the UWB anchor point to obtain an association relationship, and send first information to the UWB anchor point, where the first information includes a timestamp of the allocated time slot and a current timestamp; the allocated time slot is the allocated communication time slot;

[0019] The UWB anchor point is used to, after receiving the first information sent by the UWB base station based on the registration request, set the system current time of the UWB anchor point based on the first information; the first information includes the timestamp of the allocated time slot and the current timestamp, and the allocated time slot is the communication time slot allocated by the UWB base station;

[0020] The UWB base station is used to, when receiving the first data, determine the communication time slot corresponding to the first data from the association relationship based on the target anchor point identifier carried by the first data as the target time slot;

[0021] The UWB base station is used to send the first data to the UWB anchor point corresponding to the target anchor point identifier in a target time slot of a current communication cycle.

[0022] The UWB anchor point is used to receive the first data sent by the UWB base station in an allocated time slot of a current communication cycle.

[0023] In a fourth aspect, the present invention provides an electronic device, comprising one or more processors; and one or more readable storage media storing instructions, wherein when the instructions are executed by the one or more processors, the electronic device executes the above-mentioned communication method.

[0024] In a fifth aspect, the present invention provides a readable storage medium, when instructions in the storage medium are executed by one or more processors, the processors execute the above-mentioned communication method.

[0025] In an embodiment of the present invention, in response to receiving a registration request sent by any UWB anchor point, a communication time slot is allocated to the UWB anchor point; the index number of the allocated communication time slot is associated with the anchor point identifier of the UWB anchor point to obtain an association relationship, and a first message is sent to the UWB anchor point, the first message including the timestamp of the allocated time slot and the current timestamp; the allocated time slot is the allocated communication time slot; in the case of receiving the first data, the communication time slot corresponding to the first data is determined from the association relationship based on the target anchor point identifier carried by the first data as the target time slot; in the target time slot of the current communication cycle, the first data is sent to the UWB anchor point corresponding to the target anchor point identifier. In this way, the embodiment of the present invention communicates through the UWB base station and the UWB anchor point, which can make full use of the characteristics of the UWB technology and meet the low latency and high reliability requirements of communication. At the same time, since only anchor points and base stations are needed to realize UWB communication, flexible self-organizing networks can be used in industrial sites, avoiding the problem that the 5G network solution requires network suppliers to support transformation, resulting in too high a cost of the solution. Furthermore, by allocating communication time slots to UWB anchor points, the accuracy of communication can be further guaranteed. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0026] In order to more clearly illustrate the embodiments of the present invention or the technical solutions in the prior art, the following briefly introduces the drawings required for use in the embodiments or the description of the prior art. Obviously, the drawings described below are some embodiments of the present invention. For ordinary technicians in this field, other drawings can be obtained based on these drawings without paying creative work.

[0027] Figure 1 is a flow chart of steps of a communication method provided by an embodiment of the present invention;

[0028] Figure 2 is a schematic diagram of the architecture of a communication system provided by an embodiment of the present invention;

[0029] Figure 3 is a flowchart of another communication method provided by an embodiment of the present invention;

[0030] Figure 4 is a flowchart of another communication method provided by an embodiment of the present invention;

[0031] Figure 5 is a flowchart of another communication method provided by an embodiment of the present invention;

[0032] Figure 6 This is a schematic diagram of time slot division provided by an embodiment of the present invention;

[0033] Figure 7 It is a structural diagram of a communication system provided by an embodiment of the present invention. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0034] The following will be combined with the drawings in the embodiments of the present invention to clearly and completely describe the technical solutions in the embodiments of the present invention. Obviously, the described embodiments are part of the embodiments of the present invention, not all of the embodiments. Based on the embodiments of the present invention, all other embodiments obtained by ordinary technicians in this field without creative work are within the scope of protection of the present invention.

[0035] Figure 1 is a flow chart of steps of a communication method provided by an embodiment of the present invention. The method can be applied to a UWB base station in a communication system. The communication system also includes at least one UWB anchor point, such as Figure 1 As shown, the method may include:

[0036] Step 101: In response to receiving a registration request sent by any UWB anchor point, allocate a communication time slot for the UWB anchor point.

[0037] Step 102: Associating the index number of the allocated communication time slot with the anchor point identifier of the UWB anchor point to obtain an association relationship, and sending first information to the UWB anchor point, wherein the first information includes a timestamp of the allocated time slot and a current timestamp; the allocated time slot is the allocated communication time slot.

[0038] Step 103: When the first data is received, determine the communication time slot corresponding to the first data from the association relationship based on the target anchor point identifier carried by the first data, and use it as the target time slot.

[0039] Step 104: Send the first data to the UWB anchor point corresponding to the target anchor point identifier in the target time slot of the current communication cycle.

[0040] Among them, UWB refers to ultra-wideband wireless transmission technology (Ultra-WideBand), which is a wireless carrier communication technology with large communication channel capacity, high transmission rate, low transmission power, high multipath resolution, good system confidentiality and strong penetration ability. The data transmission rate using UWB technology can reach a maximum of 6.8Mbps. Taking the sending of 12 bytes as an example, the system only takes 190us from wake-up to completion of sending. Therefore, UWB technology has the characteristics of high speed and fast response, which can meet the needs of industrial low latency.

[0041] Accordingly, the above-mentioned UWB base station and UWB anchor point are both key components in UWB technology. The anchor point can be connected to the terminal device through an Internet port, a serial port or a controller area network bus (CAN), or the anchor point can be embedded in the terminal device. The terminal device can be a robot, a bus module or a valve island, etc. The above-mentioned base station can run on a server or a control terminal. Exemplarily, in an embodiment of the present invention, the above-mentioned UWB base station can run on a programmable logic controller (PLC), and the above-mentioned UWB anchor point can be set on an industrial robot. Then, the PLC can send control data to the industrial robot through the UWB base station and the UWB anchor point to realize the control of the industrial robot.

[0042] Furthermore, the communication system of the embodiment of the present invention may include at least one UWB anchor point, and the number of UWB anchor points may be set based on actual needs, which is not limited by the embodiment of the present invention.

[0043] Furthermore, since the UWB base station and the UWB anchor point can communicate via wireless signals, and the wireless signals are often sent on a specified frequency band, in order to ensure the accuracy of communication, the UWB base station only communicates with one UWB anchor point at the same time. On this basis, the embodiment of the present invention can register each UWB anchor point in the UWB base station respectively, so that the UWB base station allocates different communication time slots to different anchor points, so that different UWB anchor points communicate with the UWB base station in different communication time slots.

[0044] Specifically, the above registration request may be sent after the communication system is started, or may be sent when the terminal device connected to the UWB anchor point has a communication demand, and the embodiment of the present invention does not limit this. Furthermore, the above registration request may carry the anchor point identifier of the UWB anchor point, where the anchor point identifier refers to the unique identifier (Identity document, ID) of the UWB anchor point, and the anchor point IDs of different UWB anchor points are different.

[0045] The communication time slot refers to a certain time period within a communication cycle. Accordingly, the embodiment of the present invention can ensure the accuracy of communication between the UWB base station and the UWB anchor point by allocating communication time slots.

[0046] Among them, the above index number refers to the ID of the communication time slot, and the index numbers of different communication time slots are different. After dividing the communication time slots, a unique index number can be generated for each communication time slot. Furthermore, the above operation of allocating communication time slots can be, based on a preset communication cycle, dividing an idle time period therefrom and allocating it to the UWB anchor point, so that in the idle time period of each communication cycle, only the UWB anchor point communicates with the UWB base station. Exemplarily, taking a communication cycle of 8ms as an example, if there are 4 UWB anchor points, the embodiment of the present invention can divide the communication cycle into 4 communication time slots, each of which is 2ms. Accordingly, in any communication cycle, 0~2ms can be communicated by the first UWB anchor point with the UWB base station, 2~4ms can be communicated by the second UWB anchor point with the UWB base station, ..., and so on. In this way, it can be ensured that each UWB anchor point can accurately communicate with the UWB base station.

[0047] Furthermore, after allocating a communication time slot to a UWB anchor point, the embodiment of the present invention may associate the index number of the allocated communication time slot with the anchor point identifier, thereby obtaining the corresponding relationship between each communication time slot and the anchor point. At the same time, the embodiment of the present invention may also send a first message including the timestamp of the allocated time slot and the current timestamp to the UWB anchor point, so that the UWB anchor point determines its own communication time slot. Furthermore, the UWB anchor point may also set the current system time based on the first information, so that the time of the UWB anchor point is unified with that of the UWB base station, further ensuring the accuracy of communication.

[0048] The first data may be sent by a server or a control terminal, may be sent by a PLC or a server to a UWB base station, may be control instructions and other data, and may be other data, which is not limited in the embodiment of the present invention. The first data may carry an anchor point identifier to be sent, and the anchor point identifier carried by the first data may be used as a target anchor point identifier, and the corresponding communication time slot may be determined from the above association relationship based on the target anchor point identifier as the target time slot.

[0049] Further, after the current communication cycle reaches the target time slot, the first data may be sent to the UWB anchor point corresponding to the target anchor point identifier. Further, the UWB anchor point may forward the first data to the corresponding terminal device.

[0050] In summary, in an embodiment of the present invention, in response to receiving a registration request sent by any UWB anchor point, a communication time slot is allocated to the UWB anchor point; the index number of the allocated communication time slot is associated with the anchor point identifier of the UWB anchor point to obtain an association relationship, and a first message is sent to the UWB anchor point, the first message including the timestamp of the allocated time slot and the current timestamp; the allocated time slot is the allocated communication time slot; in the case of receiving the first data, the communication time slot corresponding to the first data is determined from the association relationship based on the target anchor point identifier carried by the first data, as the target time slot; in the target time slot of the current communication cycle, the first data is sent to the UWB anchor point corresponding to the target anchor point identifier. In this way, the embodiment of the present invention communicates through the UWB base station and the UWB anchor point, which can make full use of the characteristics of the UWB technology and meet the low latency and high reliability requirements of communication. At the same time, since only anchor points and base stations are needed to realize UWB communication, flexible self-organizing networks can be used in industrial sites, avoiding the problem that the 5G network solution requires network suppliers to support transformation, resulting in too high a cost of the solution. Furthermore, by allocating communication time slots to UWB anchor points, the accuracy of communication can be further guaranteed.

[0051] Optionally, before the above operation of allocating a communication time slot to any UWB anchor point in response to receiving a registration request sent by the UWB anchor point, the embodiment of the present invention may further include:

[0052] Step S21: based on the number of UWB anchor points included in the communication system and the preset communication delay, each communication cycle is divided into a plurality of communication time slots, and different communication time slots correspond to different index numbers.

[0053] The preset communication delay refers to the maximum acceptable delay, which can be preset according to actual needs, and the embodiment of the present invention does not limit this. For example, in the field of flexible industrial manufacturing, the communication delay is often required to reach 16ms. On this basis, the embodiment of the present invention can set the communication cycle to 16ms, thereby meeting the demand for low delay.

[0054] Furthermore, the embodiment of the present invention can divide the communication time slot based on the number of UWB anchor points. For example, taking 4 anchor points as an example, each communication time slot can be divided into 4ms. In another exemplary embodiment, taking 8 anchor points as an example, each communication time slot can be divided into 2ms. It should be noted that, in UWB technology, the time required for an anchor point to communicate with a UWB base station is often 2ms. Therefore, based on the communication delay of 16ms, one UWB base station can control up to 8 UWB anchor points.

[0055] Furthermore, based on the existence of more than 8 UWB anchor points, the communication system of the embodiment of the present invention can set up multiple UWB base stations, so that multiple UWB base stations can control more than 8 UWB anchor points to achieve anchor point expansion. Figure 2 is a schematic diagram of the architecture of a communication system provided by an embodiment of the present invention, such as Figure 2 As shown in the figure, the wireless UWB anchor point and the industrial UWB base station form a self-organizing network unit. The self-organizing network unit can be understood as a workstation or a production unit in the actual production site. In order to ensure the low latency (16ms) of industrial production, the number of wireless UWB anchor points under an industrial base station is at most 8. The industrial UWB base station can be designed as dual reception and dual transmission, that is, two UWB base stations are connected, which can support 16 wireless UWB anchor points for expansion.

[0056] Furthermore, the PLC or server can simultaneously connect multiple self-organizing units, so that the processor (Central Processing Unit, CPU) can control multiple self-organizing units, and each self-organizing unit can be connected via wired or 5G wireless. In order to ensure low data latency, the self-organizing unit and the PLC or server can be connected via wired.

[0057] In the embodiment of the present invention, each communication cycle is divided into a plurality of communication time slots based on the number of UWB anchor points included in the communication system and the preset communication delay, and different communication time slots correspond to different index numbers. In this way, the communication time slots can be divided based on the actual communication delay requirements, and the communication delay requirements can be met while ensuring the communication accuracy.

[0058] Optionally, the operation of allocating a communication time slot to the UWB anchor point in the embodiment of the present invention may specifically include:

[0059] Step S31: Determine an unallocated communication time slot from the multiple communication time slots, and allocate the unallocated communication time slot to the UWB anchor point.

[0060] Step S32: When there is no unallocated communication time slot in the plurality of communication time slots, second information is sent to the UWB anchor point, where the second information indicates that registration has failed.

[0061] Among them, after each communication cycle is divided into multiple communication time slots, when a registration request of a UWB anchor point is received, an unallocated communication time slot can be selected from the multiple communication time slots and allocated to the UWB anchor point. Specifically, the unallocated communication time slot can be determined based on the obtained association relationship, and the communication time slot included in the association relationship is determined as an allocated communication time slot, and accordingly, the communication time slot not included in the association relationship is determined as an unallocated communication time slot.

[0062] Further, in the absence of unallocated communication time slots, it indicates that each time period in the communication cycle has been allocated to a different UWB anchor point, and there is no idle time slot, and a second message may be sent to the UWB anchor point to indicate that the registration has failed. Accordingly, the UWB anchor point that receives the second message may send a registration request to other UWB base stations again, or may generate a prompt message to prompt the user that the UWB anchor point cannot be used.

[0063] The second information may be transmitted via a preset parameter. For example, the preset parameter may be set to 0, indicating that there is no idle time slot and registration fails. Correspondingly, the preset parameter may be set to 1, indicating that there is an idle time slot and registration succeeds.

[0064] In the embodiment of the present invention, an unallocated communication time slot is determined from the multiple communication time slots, and the unallocated communication time slot is allocated to the UWB anchor point; if there is no unallocated communication time slot in the multiple communication time slots, second information is sent to the UWB anchor point, and the second information indicates that the registration failed. In this way, the uniqueness of the communication time slot allocated to the UWB anchor point can be ensured. At the same time, the UWB anchor point can be informed in time that there is no unallocated communication time slot, thereby avoiding unnecessary communication operations.

[0065] Optionally, the embodiment of the present invention may further include:

[0066] Step S41, dividing a corresponding memory space into each of the communication time slots.

[0067] After the operation of determining the communication time slot corresponding to the first data from the association relationship based on the target anchor point identifier carried by the first data as the target time slot, the embodiment of the present invention may specifically include:

[0068] Step S42: store the first data in a memory space corresponding to the target time slot.

[0069] The above-mentioned memory space may belong to the memory included in the UWB base station, and the corresponding memory space may be divided for each communication time slot according to the number of communication time slots and the memory size of the UWB base station.

[0070] Furthermore, after determining the target time slot, since the first data may not be sent immediately, the embodiment of the present invention divides the memory space into each communication time slot, so that the first data can be stored in the memory space corresponding to the target time slot first, and then after the current communication cycle reaches the target time slot, the first data can be read from the corresponding memory space and then sent to the UWB anchor point.

[0071] In the embodiment of the present invention, by allocating a corresponding memory space for each communication time slot, the first data is stored in the memory space corresponding to the target time slot. In this way, by setting the memory space corresponding to each communication time slot, the accuracy of data transmission can be further guaranteed.

[0072] Figure 3 is a flowchart of another communication method provided by an embodiment of the present invention. The method can be applied to any UWB anchor point in a communication system. The communication system also includes a UWB base station, such as Figure 3 As shown, the method may include:

[0073] Step 201: Send a registration request to the UWB base station.

[0074] Step 202: After receiving the first information sent by the UWB base station based on the registration request, set the system current time of the UWB anchor point based on the first information; the first information includes the timestamp of the allocated time slot and the current timestamp, and the allocated time slot is the communication time slot allocated by the UWB base station.

[0075] Step 203: Receive the first data sent by the UWB base station in the allocated time slot of the current communication cycle.

[0076] Among them, the above registration request can be sent directly by the UWB anchor point after startup, and of course it can also be sent when there is a communication demand, which is not limited in the embodiment of the present invention. The UWB base station can allocate a communication time slot for the UWB anchor point based on the registration request, and at the same time send the first information containing the timestamp of the allocated time slot and the current timestamp to the UWB anchor point, so that the UWB anchor point determines its own communication time slot. Furthermore, the UWB anchor point can also set the current time of the system based on the first information, so that the time of the UWB anchor point is unified with that of the UWB base station, further ensuring the accuracy of communication.

[0077] Furthermore, the UWB anchor point may switch to a receiving mode within an allocated time slot corresponding to a current communication cycle, and receive the first data sent by the UWB base station.

[0078] In summary, in an embodiment of the present invention, a registration request is sent to the UWB base station; after receiving the first information sent by the UWB base station based on the registration request, the system current time of the UWB anchor point is set based on the first information; the first information includes the timestamp of the allocated time slot and the current timestamp, and the allocated time slot is the communication time slot allocated by the UWB base station; in the allocated time slot of the current communication cycle, the first data sent by the UWB base station is received. In this way, the embodiment of the present invention communicates through the UWB base station and the UWB anchor point, which can make full use of the characteristics of the UWB technology and meet the low latency and high reliability requirements of communication. At the same time, since UWB communication can be realized only by using anchor points and base stations, it can be flexibly self-organized at industrial sites, avoiding the problem that the adoption of 5G network solutions requires network suppliers to support transformation, resulting in too high a cost of the solution. Furthermore, by allocating communication time slots to the UWB anchor point, the UWB anchor point receives data in the allocated time slot, which can further ensure the accuracy of communication.

[0079] Optionally, in the embodiment of the present invention, after the above operation of sending a registration request to the UWB base station, the embodiment of the present invention may further include:

[0080] Step S51: If the first information is not received after a preset time threshold, the operation of sending a registration request to the UWB base station is performed again.

[0081] Among them, the above-mentioned preset time length threshold can be pre-set and can be set according to actual needs. For example, it can be set to 2ms, 1ms, 3ms, etc., and the embodiment of the present invention does not limit this.

[0082] Specifically, after sending the registration request, if the first information is not received after a preset time threshold, it may be caused by factors such as signal fluctuations and signal interference. In order to ensure that the UWB anchor point can be successfully registered, the operation of sending a registration request to the UWB base station can be performed again.

[0083] In the embodiment of the present invention, by executing the operation of sending the registration request to the UWB base station again when the first information is not received after a preset time threshold, the registration failure caused by external factors such as signal fluctuation can be avoided to a certain extent, ensuring that the UWB anchor point can be successfully registered.

[0084] Optionally, in an embodiment of the present invention, the communication system further includes a terminal, and the UWB anchor point is connected to the terminal; the embodiment of the present invention may further include:

[0085] Step S61: When receiving second data sent by the terminal, send the second data to the UWB base station in an allocated time slot of a current communication cycle.

[0086] Among them, the above-mentioned terminal can be a robot, a valve island and other equipment, which can be connected to the UWB anchor point and can be connected through hardware. Of course, the UWB anchor point can also be directly embedded in the terminal, and the embodiment of the present invention does not limit this.

[0087] Furthermore, the terminal can communicate with the UWB base station through the UWB anchor point. Specifically, the terminal can send data to the UWB anchor point, and accordingly, after receiving the data sent by the terminal, the UWB anchor point can send the data to the UWB base station in the allocated time slot of the communication cycle to achieve data transmission.

[0088] It should be noted that after receiving the timestamp of the allocated timestamp, the UWB anchor point may increase the timestamp of the allocated timestamp by one communication cycle every time a communication cycle passes, so as to obtain the communication timestamp of the next communication cycle.

[0089] In the embodiment of the present invention, when receiving the second data sent by the terminal, the second data is sent to the UWB base station in the allocated time slot of the current communication cycle. In this way, by connecting the terminal to the UWB anchor point, the second data required to be sent by the terminal can be sent to the UWB base station, and data communication between the terminal and the base station is realized, thereby ensuring the flexibility of the industrial site self-organizing network and meeting different production and manufacturing occasions.

[0090] It should be noted that current industrial manufacturing is basically based on wired connections, and the field equipment network uses hard wiring connections. However, the network cables of the moving parts of robots, line slides, and turntable lamps are prone to problems such as false connections and broken strands. In addition, it takes a long time to solve the faults after network anomalies, and it is difficult to locate them. The above problems can be solved by using wireless networks or wireless connections between devices. In recent years, most scenarios have adopted 5G-A industrial wireless solutions, but the 5G-A solution uses public networks or large industrial system networks, which requires a large amount of system network equipment or transformation of existing mobile networks. It requires a large amount of capital investment, and the transformation or installation cycle is long. Even wireless transformation of a production station requires an investment of millions of dollars.

[0091] The embodiment of the present invention uses UWB technology to implement self-organizing network technology, and implements wireless self-organizing network units based on production stations, so that the devices can be wireless. Then, the respective networking units form a factory network to form a management network for the entire production and manufacturing. The only equipment to be installed is an industrial UWB base station and a wireless UWB anchor point, with low investment costs. All equipment uses a universal interface, which is simple to install and has a short cycle.

[0092] For example, Figure 4 is a flow chart of steps of another communication method provided by an embodiment of the present invention, such as Figure 4 As shown, the communication system may include an industrial UWB base station and a wireless UWB anchor point.

[0093] For industrial UWB base stations, these can include:

[0094] A1. Turn on the device and initialize the hardware to ensure that the UWB main control and RF parts and other hardware are working properly.

[0095] A2. The system divides time slots with maximum capacity. Specifically, the time slots can be divided with the base clock as the starting point, each time slot is 2ms, a total of 8 time slots (maximum 8 wireless anchor points), 16ms as a communication cycle, and the time slots are divided, and the memory space and index numbers corresponding to the 8 time slots are established. The system always runs with a communication cycle of 16ms in the working mode.

[0096] The industrial UWB base station divides the system into 2ms units, and each time slot processes the corresponding wireless anchor point data, including receiving wireless data, sending wireless data, and transmitting data with the PLC or server.

[0097] A3. The industrial base station enters the receiving mode (Receive, RX) and receives the registration request data packet from the wireless UWB anchor point.

[0098] A4. After receiving the registration request data packet of the wireless UWB anchor point, the system indexes 8 time slot spaces, searches for idle time slots, and associates the wireless anchor point ID with the idle time slots to establish an association relationship.

[0099] A5. The industrial UWB base station sends a registration reply.

[0100] If the industrial UWB base station has no idle time slot, it directly sends a registration "reject" data packet, that is, the second information mentioned above.

[0101] If the wireless UWB anchor point has searched for an idle time slot and established an association, the first information is sent. The first information may include: "wireless UWB anchor point ID", "current timestamp", "timestamp of corresponding time slot", "time slot index number" and "timestamp of next cycle".

[0102] A6. The initialization time of the industrial UWB base station is maintained at 500ms. After 500ms, it directly enters the working mode. 500ms is sufficient for registering 8 wireless UWB anchor points. The specific time can be adjusted according to the actual situation.

[0103] A7. The registration process is completed and you enter the working mode.

[0104] Accordingly, for the wireless UWB anchor point, it may include:

[0105] B1. Turn on the device and initialize the hardware to ensure that the UWB main control and RF parts and other hardware are working properly.

[0106] B2. The wireless UWB anchor point enters the transmission mode (Transmit, TX) and prepares to send a registration request data packet.

[0107] B3. Send a registration request data packet, which includes the anchor ID of the wireless anchor and other parameters (device type, working environment, etc.). The anchor ID can be used as the unique identifier of the entire communication process.

[0108] B4. After sending the registration request data packet, switch to receiving mode immediately and wait for the industrial UWB base station to reply with a registration confirmation packet. If it is not received within 2ms, send the registration data packet again until the registration is successful.

[0109] B5. Receive the industrial UWB base station registration reply data packet, read the "current timestamp", "timestamp of the corresponding time slot", "time slot index number" and "timestamp of the next cycle". First, check whether the wireless UWB anchor ID is the local ID. If the ID is incorrect, the data is discarded. Check that the ID data is correct, and then set the system current time with the read "current timestamp". Calculate the time of the local working time slot based on the "timestamp of the corresponding time slot" and the "timestamp of the next cycle".

[0110] B6. After successful registration, enter the working mode.

[0111] Figure 5 is a flow chart of steps of another communication method provided by an embodiment of the present invention, such as Figure 5 As shown, Figure 5 Taking PLC or server as an example, for industrial UWB base stations, it can include:

[0112] A8. The industrial UWB base station enters the working mode and first receives data from the PLC or server and saves the received data in the memory space.

[0113] A9. Send the data received from the PLC or server within the time slot period of the wireless UWB anchor point. If the data received from the PLC or server can identify the ID of the corresponding wireless UWB anchor point, the corresponding time slot can be identified according to the ID of the UWB anchor point for transmission.

[0114] A10-A11, turn on the receiving mode and limit the receiving time to 660us.

[0115] If the data confirmation packet is not received from the wireless UWB anchor point within the specified time, it will be sent again. After the sending is completed, the cycle ends. If the data confirmation packet is received from the wireless UWB anchor point within the specified time, the data will be sent to the PLC or server.

[0116] For wireless UWB anchor points, these may include:

[0117] B7. Receive data from the terminal device.

[0118] B8-B9, during the working time slot, enter the receiving mode and wait for the transmission of the industrial UWB base station. When receiving the data, immediately switch to the sending mode and send the data confirmation packet.

[0119] B10. Send the received data to the terminal device.

[0120] Meanwhile, the embodiments of the present invention can further divide the communication time slots of any UWB anchor point into the communication time slots of the transmission mode and the reception mode. Figure 6 is a schematic diagram of time slot division provided by an embodiment of the present invention, such as Figure 6 As shown, a single communication time slot is 2ms, which can be divided into three time periods. The UWB base station can sequentially perform transmission, reception, and transmission in a single communication time slot, corresponding to A10-A11 above. Correspondingly, the UWB anchor point can sequentially perform reception, transmission, and reception, corresponding to B8-B9 above.

[0121] Optionally, in order to ensure the security of communication, the UWB base station and the UWB anchor point in the embodiment of the present invention may also use an encryption algorithm to encrypt the data before sending it. Symmetric encryption, asymmetric encryption and other algorithms may be used, and the embodiment of the present invention does not limit the encryption algorithm.

[0122] In summary, in an embodiment of the present invention, a registration request is sent to the UWB base station; after receiving the first information sent by the UWB base station based on the registration request, the system current time of the UWB anchor point is set based on the first information; the first information includes the timestamp of the allocated time slot and the current timestamp, and the allocated time slot is the communication time slot allocated by the UWB base station; in the allocated time slot of the current communication cycle, the first data sent by the UWB base station is received. In this way, the embodiment of the present invention communicates through the UWB base station and the UWB anchor point, which can make full use of the characteristics of the UWB technology and meet the low latency and high reliability requirements of communication. At the same time, since UWB communication can be realized only by using anchor points and base stations, it can be flexibly self-organized at industrial sites, avoiding the problem that the adoption of 5G network solutions requires network suppliers to support transformation, resulting in too high a cost of the solution. Furthermore, by allocating communication time slots to the UWB anchor point, the UWB anchor point receives data in the allocated time slot, which can further ensure the accuracy of communication.

[0123] Figure 7 is a structural diagram of a communication system provided by an embodiment of the present invention, such as Figure 7 As shown, the system 30 may include a UWB base station 301 and at least one UWB anchor point 302;

[0124] The UWB anchor point is used to send a registration request to the UWB base station;

[0125] The UWB base station is used to allocate a communication time slot to any UWB anchor point in response to receiving a registration request sent by the UWB anchor point;

[0126] The UWB base station is used to associate the index number of the allocated communication time slot with the anchor point identifier of the UWB anchor point to obtain an association relationship, and send first information to the UWB anchor point, where the first information includes a timestamp of the allocated time slot and a current timestamp; the allocated time slot is the allocated communication time slot;

[0127] The UWB anchor point is used to, after receiving the first information sent by the UWB base station based on the registration request, set the system current time of the UWB anchor point based on the first information; the first information includes the timestamp of the allocated time slot and the current timestamp, and the allocated time slot is the communication time slot allocated by the UWB base station;

[0128] The UWB base station is used to, when receiving the first data, determine the communication time slot corresponding to the first data from the association relationship based on the target anchor point identifier carried by the first data as the target time slot;

[0129] The UWB base station is used to send the first data to the UWB anchor point corresponding to the target anchor point identifier in a target time slot of a current communication cycle.

[0130] Optionally, the UWB base station is further used to divide each communication cycle into a plurality of communication time slots based on the number of UWB anchor points included in the communication system and a preset communication delay, and different communication time slots correspond to different index numbers.

[0131] Optionally, the UWB base station is specifically configured to determine an unallocated communication time slot from the multiple communication time slots, and allocate the unallocated communication time slot to the UWB anchor point;

[0132] In a case where there is no unallocated communication time slot in the plurality of communication time slots, second information is sent to the UWB anchor point, where the second information indicates that registration has failed.

[0133] Optionally, the UWB base station is specifically configured to divide a corresponding memory space into each of the communication time slots; and store the first data in the memory space corresponding to the target time slot.

[0134] Optionally, the UWB anchor point is specifically configured to, if the first information is not received after a preset time threshold, perform the operation of sending a registration request to the UWB base station again.

[0135] Optionally, the communication system also includes a terminal, and the UWB anchor point is connected to the terminal; the UWB anchor point is also used to, upon receiving second data sent by the terminal, send the second data to the UWB base station within an allocated time slot of a current communication cycle.

[0136] In summary, in an embodiment of the present invention, in response to receiving a registration request sent by any UWB anchor point, a communication time slot is allocated to the UWB anchor point; the index number of the allocated communication time slot is associated with the anchor point identifier of the UWB anchor point to obtain an association relationship, and a first message is sent to the UWB anchor point, the first message including the timestamp of the allocated time slot and the current timestamp; the allocated time slot is the allocated communication time slot; in the case of receiving the first data, the communication time slot corresponding to the first data is determined from the association relationship based on the target anchor point identifier carried by the first data, as the target time slot; in the target time slot of the current communication cycle, the first data is sent to the UWB anchor point corresponding to the target anchor point identifier. In this way, the embodiment of the present invention communicates through the UWB base station and the UWB anchor point, which can make full use of the characteristics of the UWB technology and meet the low latency and high reliability requirements of communication. At the same time, since only anchor points and base stations are needed to realize UWB communication, flexible self-organizing networks can be used in industrial sites, avoiding the problem that the 5G network solution requires network suppliers to support transformation, resulting in too high a cost of the solution. Furthermore, by allocating communication time slots to UWB anchor points, the accuracy of communication can be further guaranteed.

[0137] The present invention also provides an electronic device, comprising one or more processors; and one or more readable storage media storing instructions, wherein when the instructions are executed by the one or more processors, the electronic device executes the method of the aforementioned embodiment.

[0138] The present invention also provides a readable storage medium. When instructions in the storage medium are executed by one or more processors, the processors execute the method of the aforementioned embodiment.

[0139] As for the device embodiment, since it is basically similar to the method embodiment, the description is relatively simple, and the relevant parts can be referred to the partial description of the method embodiment.

[0140] The algorithm and display provided herein are not inherently related to any particular computer, virtual system or other device. Various general purpose systems can also be used together with the teachings based on this. According to the above description, it is obvious that the structure required for constructing such systems. In addition, the present invention is not directed to any specific programming language either. It should be understood that various programming languages ​​can be utilized to realize the content of the present invention described herein, and the description of the above specific languages ​​is for disclosing the best mode of the present invention.

[0141] In the description provided herein, a large number of specific details are described. However, it is understood that embodiments of the present invention can be practiced without these specific details. In some instances, well-known methods, structures and techniques are not shown in detail so as not to obscure the understanding of this description.

[0142] Similarly, it should be understood that in order to streamline the present invention and aid in understanding one or more of the various inventive aspects, in the above description of exemplary embodiments of the present invention, the various features of the present invention are sometimes grouped together into a single embodiment, figure, or description thereof. However, this disclosed method should not be interpreted as reflecting the following intention: that the claimed invention requires more features than the features explicitly recited in each claim. More specifically, as reflected in the claims below, inventive aspects lie in less than all the features of the individual embodiments disclosed above. Therefore, the claims that follow the specific embodiment are hereby expressly incorporated into the specific embodiment, with each claim itself serving as a separate embodiment of the present invention.

[0143] Those skilled in the art will appreciate that the modules in the devices in the embodiments may be adaptively changed and arranged in one or more devices different from the embodiments. The modules or units or components in the embodiments may be combined into one module or unit or component, and in addition they may be divided into a plurality of submodules or subunits or subcomponents. Except that at least some of such features and / or processes or units are mutually exclusive, all features disclosed in this specification (including the accompanying claims, abstracts and drawings) and all processes or units of any method or device disclosed in this manner may be combined in any combination. Unless otherwise expressly stated, each feature disclosed in this specification (including the accompanying claims, abstracts and drawings) may be replaced by an alternative feature providing the same, equivalent or similar purpose.

[0144] The various component embodiments of the present invention may be implemented in hardware, or in software modules running on one or more processors, or in a combination thereof. It should be understood by those skilled in the art that a microprocessor or digital signal processor (DSP) may be used in practice to implement some or all of the functions of some or all of the components in the sorting device according to the present invention. The present invention may also be implemented as a device or apparatus program for executing part or all of the methods described herein. Such a program for implementing the present invention may be stored on a computer-readable medium, or may be in the form of one or more signals. Such a signal may be downloaded from an Internet website, or provided on a carrier signal, or provided in any other form.

[0145] It should be noted that the above embodiments illustrate the present invention rather than limit it, and that those skilled in the art may devise alternative embodiments without departing from the scope of the appended claims. In the claims, any reference symbol between brackets shall not be construed as a limitation on the claims. The word "comprising" does not exclude the presence of elements or steps not listed in the claims. The word "one" or "an" preceding an element does not exclude the presence of a plurality of such elements. The present invention may be implemented by means of hardware comprising a number of different elements and by means of a suitably programmed computer. In a unit claim enumerating a number of devices, several of these devices may be embodied by the same hardware item. The use of the words first, second, and third, etc., does not indicate any order. These words may be interpreted as names.

[0146] Those skilled in the art can 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.

[0147] The above description is only a preferred embodiment of the present invention and is not intended to limit the present invention. Any modifications, equivalent substitutions and improvements made within the spirit and principles of the present invention should be included in the protection scope of the present invention.

[0148] The above is only a specific embodiment of the present invention, but the protection scope of the present invention is not limited thereto. Any person skilled in the art can easily think of changes or substitutions within the technical scope disclosed by the present invention, which should be included in the protection scope of the present invention. Therefore, the protection scope of the present invention should be based on the protection scope of the claims.

Claims

1. A communication method, characterized in that: The method is applied to a UWB base station in a communication system, wherein the communication system further comprises at least one UWB anchor point; the method comprises: In response to receiving a registration request sent by any UWB anchor point, allocating a communication time slot for the UWB anchor point; Associating the index number of the allocated communication time slot with the anchor point identifier of the UWB anchor point to obtain an association relationship, and sending first information to the UWB anchor point, the first information including the timestamp of the allocated time slot and the current timestamp; the allocated time slot is the allocated communication time slot; When the first data is received, determining the communication time slot corresponding to the first data from the association relationship based on the target anchor point identifier carried by the first data as the target time slot; In a target time slot of a current communication cycle, the first data is sent to a UWB anchor point corresponding to the target anchor point identifier.

2. The method according to claim 1, characterized in that: Before allocating a communication time slot to the UWB anchor point in response to receiving a registration request sent by any UWB anchor point, the method further includes: Based on the number of UWB anchor points included in the communication system and the preset communication delay, each communication cycle is divided into a plurality of communication time slots, and different communication time slots correspond to different index numbers.

3. The method according to claim 2, characterized in that: The allocating a communication time slot for the UWB anchor point comprises: Determining an unallocated communication time slot from the plurality of communication time slots, and allocating the unallocated communication time slot to the UWB anchor point; In a case where there is no unallocated communication time slot in the plurality of communication time slots, second information is sent to the UWB anchor point, where the second information indicates that registration has failed.

4. The method according to claim 2, characterized in that: The method further comprises: dividing a corresponding memory space for each of the communication time slots; After determining the communication time slot corresponding to the first data from the association relationship based on the target anchor point identifier carried by the first data and taking it as the target time slot, the method further includes: The first data is stored in the memory space corresponding to the target time slot.

5. A communication method, characterized in that: The method is applied to any UWB anchor point in a communication system, and the communication system also includes a UWB base station; the method includes: Sending a registration request to the UWB base station; After receiving the first information sent by the UWB base station based on the registration request, setting the system current time of the UWB anchor point based on the first information; the first information includes the timestamp of the allocated time slot and the current timestamp, and the allocated time slot is the communication time slot allocated by the UWB base station; In the allocated time slot of the current communication cycle, first data sent by the UWB base station is received.

6. The method according to claim 5, characterized in that: After sending the registration request to the UWB base station, the method further includes: If the first information is not received after a preset time threshold, the operation of sending a registration request to the UWB base station is performed again.

7. The method according to claim 5, characterized in that: The communication system further includes a terminal, and the UWB anchor point is connected to the terminal; the method further includes: When the second data sent by the terminal is received, the second data is sent to the UWB base station in an allocated time slot of a current communication cycle.

8. A communication system, characterized in that: The system includes a UWB base station and at least one UWB anchor point; The UWB anchor point is used to send a registration request to the UWB base station; The UWB base station is used to allocate a communication time slot to any UWB anchor point in response to receiving a registration request sent by the UWB anchor point; The UWB base station is used to associate the index number of the allocated communication time slot with the anchor point identifier of the UWB anchor point to obtain an association relationship, and send first information to the UWB anchor point, where the first information includes a timestamp of the allocated time slot and a current timestamp; the allocated time slot is the allocated communication time slot; The UWB anchor point is used to, after receiving the first information sent by the UWB base station based on the registration request, set the system current time of the UWB anchor point based on the first information; the first information includes the timestamp of the allocated time slot and the current timestamp, and the allocated time slot is the communication time slot allocated by the UWB base station; The UWB base station is used to, when receiving the first data, determine the communication time slot corresponding to the first data from the association relationship based on the target anchor point identifier carried by the first data as the target time slot; The UWB base station is used to send the first data to the UWB anchor point corresponding to the target anchor point identifier in a target time slot of a current communication cycle; The UWB anchor point is used to receive the first data sent by the UWB base station in an allocated time slot of a current communication cycle.

9. An electronic device, characterized in that: include: one or more processors; and one or more readable storage media storing instructions, which, when executed by the one or more processors, enable the electronic device to execute the method as claimed in any one of claims 1 to 7.

10. A readable storage medium, characterized in that: When the instructions in the storage medium are executed by one or more processors, the processors are caused to perform the method according to any one of claims 1 to 7.

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