Communication method and device

Abstract

The invention discloses a communication method and device, and the method comprises the steps: a second node transmits a synchronization signal at a first time unit, and a first node responds to the synchronization signal, and transmits a synchronization response signal at the first time unit; and the second node receives the first ranging signal at a second time unit, and the first node responds to the first ranging signal and sends a first ranging response signal at the second time unit. Wherein the synchronization signal is used for time synchronization between the first node and the second node. The first time unit and the second time unit each comprise a ranging time unit at the second node, the first time unit is configured to transmit the first bandwidth signal, and the second time unit is configured to transmit the second bandwidth signal. The bandwidth occupied by the second bandwidth signal is greater than that occupied by the first bandwidth signal. And compared with interaction of the second bandwidth signal in the whole ranging process, the time length occupied by the larger bandwidth signal can be reduced, so that the power consumption of the node is reduced.

Description

Technical Field

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

[0002] Ultra wide band (UWB) technology is widely used in high-precision ranging and positioning scenarios due to its low power consumption and high temporal resolution.

[0003] Currently, when different nodes perform ranging or communication based on UWB technology, the time required to send and receive UWB signals takes a long time and the power consumption of the nodes is relatively high. Summary of the invention

[0004] The embodiments of the present application provide a communication method and device for reducing the power consumption of a node during ranging.

[0005] In order to achieve the above purpose, the embodiment of the present application adopts the following technical solution:

[0006] In a first aspect, an embodiment of the present application provides a communication method, which can be performed by a first communication device, and the first communication device can be a communication device or a communication device that can support the communication device to implement the functions required by the method, for example, a unit, a functional module, a circuit or a chip system inside the communication device. The method provided in the first aspect is described below by taking the first communication device as a first node as an example.

[0007] The communication method includes: a first node receives a synchronization signal from a second node in a first time unit, sends a synchronization response signal in response to the synchronization signal in the first time unit, and receives a first ranging signal from the second node in a second time unit, and sends a first ranging response signal in response to the first ranging signal in the second time unit. The synchronization signal is used for time synchronization between the first node and the second node. The first ranging signal is used to measure the distance between the first node and the second node. The first time unit and the second time unit are both included in the ranging time unit of the second node, the first time unit is configured to send a first bandwidth signal, and the second time unit is configured to send a second bandwidth signal. The bandwidth occupied by the second bandwidth signal is greater than the bandwidth occupied by the first bandwidth signal.

[0008] In this method, the signals exchanged between the first node and the second node during the ranging process are the first bandwidth signal and the second bandwidth signal. Compared with the second bandwidth signal being used for the entire ranging process, the duration occupied by the larger bandwidth signal can be reduced, thereby reducing the power consumption of the node.

[0009] In a possible implementation, the bandwidth occupied by the second bandwidth signal is greater than or equal to 500 MHz, and the second bandwidth signal is a nanosecond or picosecond pulse signal.

[0010] Compared with the first bandwidth signal, the second bandwidth signal is a broadband signal, for example, a UWB signal.

[0011] In a possible implementation, the mean pulse repeat frequency (MPRF) of the second bandwidth signal is located at [16.1 MHz, 111.09 MHz] to minimize the duration occupied by the signal with a larger bandwidth. For example, the mean pulse repeat frequency (MPRF) of the second bandwidth signal may be 16.1 MHz, 55.54 MHz, 62.4 MHz, 62.89 MHz or 111.09 MHz.

[0012] In a possible implementation, a first time duration is separated from a time S0 ′ when the first node receives the first ranging signal and a time S0 when the first node receives the synchronization response signal. The first time duration is predefined or configured.

[0013] Through this method, after receiving the synchronization response signal, the first node can clearly determine the time to receive the first ranging signal, thereby turning on the receiver at an appropriate time to receive the first ranging signal without having to turn on the receiver all the time, thereby reducing the power consumption of the first node.

[0014] In a possible implementation, the sending time R0' of the first ranging response signal is separated from the sending time R0 of the synchronization response signal by a second time length, and the second time length is predefined or configured.

[0015] After the first node receives the first ranging signal, the timing of sending the first ranging response signal can be determined according to the sending time of the synchronization response signal. This method can enable the second node to determine the timing of receiving the first ranging response signal, thereby enabling the second node to turn on the receiver at an appropriate time, without the need for the second node to turn on the receiver all the time, thereby reducing the power consumption of the second node.

[0016] In a possible implementation, the method further includes: the first node receiving a second ranging signal from the second node in a second time unit.

[0017] In a possible implementation, a third time period is separated between a time point S0 ″ at which the first node receives the second ranging signal and a time point S0 ′ at which the first node receives the first ranging signal, and the third time period is predefined or configured.

[0018] Through this method, the first node can clearly receive the second ranging signal after the first ranging signal, so as to turn on the receiver at an appropriate time to receive the second ranging signal without turning on the receiver all the time, thereby reducing the power consumption of the first node.

[0019] In a possible implementation, the flight time TOF of the signal between the first node and the second node satisfies the following formula:

[0020]

[0021] Among them, S` t is the time when the second node sends the first ranging signal, S`0 is the time when the first node receives the first ranging signal, and S`` t is the time when the second node sends the second ranging signal, S``0 is the time when the first node receives the second ranging signal, R`0 is the time when the first node sends the first ranging response signal, R` 0_t It is the time when the second node receives the first ranging response signal.

[0022] In a possible implementation, the method further includes: the first node receives a measurement value from the second node in a third time unit, the third time unit is included in the ranging time unit of the second node, the third time unit is configured to send the first bandwidth signal, and the measurement value includes the reception time of the second ranging response signal.

[0023] In this method, the measurement value reported by the second node uses the first bandwidth signal, which can further reduce the duration occupied by the second bandwidth signal and further reduce the power consumption of the first node.

[0024] In a possible implementation, the method further includes: the first node broadcasts a control signal, the control signal is a first bandwidth signal, the control signal includes one or more of the following: access network time information or ranging duration information, the ranging duration includes one or more of the following: the number N of ranging time units, the duration occupied by the ranging time unit, the duration occupied by the first time unit, the duration occupied by the second time unit, or the duration occupied by the third time unit.

[0025] This method can enable the second node to clearly understand the time domain positions of the first bandwidth signal and the second bandwidth signal, so that in a scenario with multiple second nodes, the resources of the multiple second nodes do not conflict.

[0026] In a second aspect, an embodiment of the present application provides a communication method, which can be performed by a second communication device, and the second communication device can be a communication device or a communication device that can support the communication device to implement the functions required by the method, for example, a unit, a functional module, a circuit or a chip system inside the communication device. The method provided by the second aspect is described below by taking the second communication device as a second node as an example.

[0027] The communication method includes: the second node sends a synchronization signal in a first time unit and receives a synchronization response signal from the first node in the first time unit; and sends a first ranging signal in a second time unit and receives a first ranging response signal from the first node in the second time unit. The synchronization signal is used for time synchronization between the first node and the second node. The first ranging signal is used to measure the distance between the first node and the second node. The first time unit and the second time unit are both included in the ranging time unit of the second node, the first time unit is configured to send a first bandwidth signal, and the second time unit is configured to send a second bandwidth signal. The bandwidth occupied by the second bandwidth signal is greater than the bandwidth occupied by the first bandwidth signal.

[0028] In a possible implementation, the bandwidth occupied by the second bandwidth signal is greater than or equal to 500 MHz, and the second bandwidth signal is a nanosecond or picosecond pulse signal.

[0029] In a possible implementation, a pulse repetition frequency of the second bandwidth signal is located at [16.1 MHz, 111.09 MHz].

[0030] In a possible implementation, the sending time St' of the first ranging signal is separated from the sending time St of the synchronization signal by a first time length, and the first time length is predefined or configured.

[0031] In a possible implementation, a second time duration is separated from a time R0_t' at which the second node receives the first ranging response signal and a time R0_t at which the second node receives the synchronization response signal. The second time duration is predefined or configured.

[0032] In a possible implementation, the method further includes: the second node sending a second ranging signal to the first node in a second time unit.

[0033] In a possible implementation, the sending time St' of the second ranging signal is separated from the sending time St' of the first ranging signal by a third time length, and the third time length is predefined or configured.

[0034] In a possible implementation, the flight time TOF of the signal between the first node and the second node satisfies the following formula:

[0035]

[0036] Among them, S` t is the time when the second node sends the first ranging signal, S`0 is the time when the first node receives the first ranging signal, and S`` tis the time when the second node sends the second ranging signal, S``0 is the time when the first node receives the second ranging signal, R`0 is the time when the first node sends the first ranging response signal, R` 0_t It is the time when the second node receives the first ranging response signal.

[0037] In a possible implementation, the method further includes: the second node sending the measurement value within a third time unit, the third time unit is included in the ranging time unit of the second node, and the third time unit is configured to send the first bandwidth signal.

[0038] In a possible implementation, the method further includes: the second node receives a control signal, the control signal is a first bandwidth signal, the control signal includes one or more of the following: access network time information or ranging duration information, the ranging duration includes one or more of the following: the number N of ranging time units, the duration occupied by the ranging time unit, the duration occupied by the first time unit, the duration occupied by the second time unit, or the duration occupied by the third time unit.

[0039] Regarding the technical effects brought about by the second aspect and its possible methods, reference may be made to the introduction to the technical effects of the first aspect and its possible methods.

[0040] In the third aspect, an embodiment of the present application provides a communication device, which has the function of implementing the behavior in the method example in the first aspect or the second aspect above. The beneficial effects can be found in the description of the first aspect to the second aspect and will not be repeated here. For example, the communication device may be the first node in the first aspect, or the communication device may be a device that can support the first node to implement the functions required by the method provided in the first aspect, for example, the communication device may be a chip or a chip system in the first node. For another example, the communication device may also be the second node in the second aspect, or the communication device may be a device that can support the second node to implement the functions required by the method provided in the second aspect, for example, the communication device may be a chip or a chip system in the second node.

[0041] In one possible design, the communication device includes corresponding means or modules for executing the method of the first aspect or the second aspect. For example, the communication device includes a processing unit (sometimes also referred to as a processing module or processor) and / or a transceiver unit (sometimes also referred to as a transceiver module or transceiver). The transceiver unit can implement the sending function and the receiving function. When the transceiver unit implements the sending function, it can be called a sending unit (sometimes also referred to as a sending module). When the transceiver unit implements the receiving function, it can be called a receiving unit (sometimes also referred to as a receiving module). The sending unit and the receiving unit can be the same functional unit, which is called a transceiver unit, and the functional unit can implement the sending function and the receiving function; or, the sending unit and the receiving unit can be different functional units, and the transceiver unit is a general term for these functional units. These units (modules) can perform the corresponding functions in the method examples of any aspect of the first aspect to the second aspect above. Please refer to the detailed description in the method example for details, which will not be repeated here.

[0042] In a fourth aspect, an embodiment of the present application provides a communication device, which may be the communication device in the third aspect of the above embodiment, or a chip or chip system arranged in the communication device in the third aspect. The communication device includes a communication interface and a processor, and optionally, also includes a memory. The memory is used to store computer programs or instructions or data, and the processor is coupled to the memory and the communication interface. When the processor reads the computer program or instructions or data, the communication device executes the method performed by the first node in the above method embodiment. For example, the communication device may be a first node or a functional module in the first node, such as a radio frequency chip.

[0043] In a fifth aspect, an embodiment of the present application provides a chip system, which includes a processor and may also include a communication interface for implementing the method described in any aspect of the first aspect to the second aspect. Optionally, the chip system also includes a memory. The memory is used to store computer programs (also referred to as codes, or instructions). The processor is used to call and run the computer program from the memory so that the device equipped with the chip system executes any aspect of the first aspect to the second aspect, and any possible implementation of any aspect of the first aspect to the second aspect. The chip system can be composed of chips, and may also include chips and other discrete devices.

[0044] In a sixth aspect, an embodiment of the present application provides a communication device, which includes an input / output interface and a logic circuit. The input / output interface is used to input and / or output information. The input / output interface can be an interface circuit, an output circuit, an input circuit, a pin or a related circuit, etc. The logic circuit is used to execute the method described in any one of the first aspect to the second aspect.

[0045] In the specific implementation process, the above-mentioned communication device can be a chip, the input circuit can be an input pin, the output circuit can be an output pin, and the logic circuit can be a transistor, a gate circuit, a trigger, and various logic circuits. The input signal received by the input circuit can be, for example, but not limited to, received and input by a receiver, and the signal output by the output circuit can be, for example, but not limited to, output to a transmitter and transmitted by the transmitter, and the input circuit and the output circuit can be the same circuit, which is used as an input circuit and an output circuit at different times. This application does not limit the specific implementation of the input and output interface and the logic circuit.

[0046] In one implementation, when the communication device is a wireless communication device, the wireless communication device may be a network device such as a base station, the interface circuit may be a radio frequency processing chip in the wireless communication device, and the processing circuit may be a baseband processing chip in the wireless communication device.

[0047] In a seventh aspect, an embodiment of the present application provides a communication system, the communication system comprising a first network device and a second network device for implementing the function of the first aspect; optionally, the communication system further comprises a terminal device. Alternatively, the communication system comprises a first network device and a second network device for implementing the function of the second aspect. Optionally, the communication system further comprises a terminal device.

[0048] In an eighth aspect, the present application provides a computer-readable storage medium storing a computer program. When the computer program is executed, the method in any of the first to second aspects described above is implemented.

[0049] In a ninth aspect, a computer program product is provided, the computer program product comprising: a computer program code, when the computer program code is executed, the method in any of the above-mentioned first to second aspects is executed.

[0050] The beneficial effects of the third to ninth aspects and their implementations can refer to the description of the beneficial effects of the first to second aspects, or the first to second aspects and their implementations. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0051] Figure 1 A schematic diagram of a distance measurement system applicable to an embodiment of the present application;

[0052] Figure 2 It is a schematic diagram of the ranging principle based on UWB super frame;

[0053] Figure 3 A schematic diagram of the structure of a super frame;

[0054] Figure 4A structural diagram of a UWB frame;

[0055] Figure 5 Schematic diagram of another structure of a UWB frame;

[0056] Figure 6 A schematic diagram of a node-to-node ranging process provided in an embodiment of the present application;

[0057] Figure 7 A schematic diagram of CFO between nodes provided in an embodiment of the present application;

[0058] Figure 8 A flow chart of a communication method provided in an embodiment of the present application;

[0059] Fig. 9 Another schematic diagram of the inter-node ranging process provided in an embodiment of the present application;

[0060] Fig.10 A schematic diagram of the structure of a communication device provided in an embodiment of the present application;

[0061] Fig.11 Another structural schematic diagram of a communication device provided in an embodiment of the present application. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0062] The communication method provided in the embodiment of the present application can be applied to scenes such as ranging and positioning, and can be applied to various communication systems. For example, the communication method provided in the embodiment of the present application can be applied to cellular systems related to the 3rd Generation Partnership Project (3GPP), such as the long term evolution (LTE) communication system, the sixth generation (5G) mobile communication system, or can also be applied to other next generation mobile communication systems, such as the sixth generation (6G) communication system, or other similar communication systems. 5G mobile communication systems include new radio (NR) communication systems. Other similar communication systems may include wireless fidelity (WIFI), vehicle to everything (V2X), internet of things (IoT) systems, narrow band internet of things (NB-IoT) systems, and the like.

[0063] For example, see Figure 1, is a schematic diagram of a ranging system applicable to an embodiment of the present application. The ranging system may include a management node and at least one slave node. The management node is a node that sends data scheduling information. The management node can manage slave nodes that establish a communication connection with the management node. The slave node is a node that receives data scheduling information and sends or receives data or performs data processing according to the received data scheduling information. A ranging process can be performed between any two nodes of the management node and at least one slave node. As a control end (controller) in the ranging system, the management node can control and manage all nodes in the ranging system. For example, the management node can instruct two nodes that perform a ranging process in the ranging system, configure the initiator and the responder in the two nodes, configure the network parameters of the two nodes in the ranging process, etc. At least one slave node acts as a controlled end (controlee), and can perform a ranging process with other nodes according to the control of the management node.

[0064] The two nodes that perform the ranging process are the initiator / ranging initiating device and the responder / ranging responding device of the ranging process. The ranging initiating device can be a network device, and the ranging responding device can be a terminal device; or, the ranging initiating device and the ranging responding device can both be terminal devices; or, the ranging initiating device and the ranging responding device can also be other devices that can implement ranging, etc., which is not limited in this application.

[0065] The network devices involved in the embodiments of the present application are mainly access network devices. Therefore, in the following text, unless otherwise specified, the "network devices" refer to radio access network (RAN) devices, which can be referred to as access network devices for short. RAN can be a 3GPP-related cellular system, for example, a 5G communication system, or a future-oriented evolution system (such as a 6G communication system). RAN can also be an open access network (open RAN, O-RAN or ORAN), a cloud radio access network (cloud radio access network, CRAN), or a virtualized radio access network (virtualized RAN, vRAN), etc. RAN can also be a communication system that is a fusion of two or more of the above systems. RAN devices can also be called RAN nodes, RAN entities, or access nodes, etc.

[0066] In one possible scenario, a RAN node may be a base station, an evolved NodeB (eNodeB), an access point (AP), a transmission reception point (TRP), a next generation NodeB (gNB), a next generation base station in a 6th generation (6G) mobile communication system, a base station in a future mobile communication system, etc. A RAN node may be a macro base station, a micro base station, an indoor station, a relay node, a donor node / host node, or a wireless controller, etc. A RAN node may also be a server, a wearable device, a vehicle or an onboard device, etc. For example, a RAN node in a vehicle to everything (V2X) technology may be a road side unit (RSU).

[0067] In another possible scenario, the RAN node may be a module or unit that completes part of the functions of the base station; or multiple RAN nodes collaborate to assist the terminal device in achieving wireless access, and different RAN nodes respectively implement part of the functions of the base station. For example, the RAN node may be a centralized unit (CU), a distributed unit (DU) or a radio unit (RU), etc. The functions of the CU may be implemented by one entity, or may be implemented by different entities. For example, the functions of the CU may be further divided, that is, the control plane and the user plane may be separated and implemented by different entities, namely, the control plane CU entity (i.e., CU-control plane (CP) entity) and the user plane CU entity (i.e., CU-user plane (UP) entity). The CU-CP entity and the CU-UP entity may be coupled with the DU to jointly complete the functions of the RAN node.

[0068] In different systems, CU (or CU-CP and CU-UP), DU or RU may also have different names, but those skilled in the art can understand their meanings. For example, in the ORAN system, CU may also be called O-CU (open CU), DU may also be called O-DU, CU-CP may also be called O-CU-CP, CU-UP may also be called O-CU-UP, and RU may also be called O-RU. For the convenience of description, CU, CU-CP, CU-UP, DU and RU are described as examples in this application. Any unit of CU (or CU-CP, CU-UP), DU and RU in this application may be implemented by a software module, a hardware module, or a combination of a software module and a hardware module.

[0069] CU and DU can be configured according to the protocol layer functions of the wireless network they implement: for example, CU is configured to implement the functions of the packet data convergence protocol (PDCP) layer and the protocol layers above (such as the radio resource control (RRC) layer and / or the service data adaptation protocol (SDAP) layer, etc.); DU is configured to implement the functions of the protocol layers below the PDCP layer (such as the radio link control (RLC), the media access control (MAC) layer, and / or the physical (PHY) layer, etc.). For another example, CU is configured to implement the functions of the protocol layers above the PDCP layer (such as the RRC layer and / or the SDAP layer), and DU is configured to implement the functions of the PDCP layer and the protocol layers below (such as the RLC layer, the MAC layer, and / or the PHY layer, etc.).

[0070] When the CU includes a CU-CP and a CU-UP, the CU-CP is used to implement the control plane function of the CU, and the CU-UP is used to implement the user plane function of the CU. For example, when the CU is configured to implement the functions of the PDCP layer, the RRC layer, and the SDAP layer, the CU-CP is used to implement the control plane function of the RRC layer and the PDCP layer, and the CU-UP is used to implement the user plane function of the SDAP layer and the PDCP layer.

[0071] The CU and DU may be configured separately, or may be included in the same network element, such as a baseband unit (BBU).

[0072] The above division of the processing functions of CU and DU according to the protocol layer is only an example, and the division can also be carried out in other ways. For example, in one design, the CU or DU can also be divided into partial processing functions of the protocol layer. In one design, some functions of the RLC layer and the functions of the protocol layer above the RLC layer are set in the CU, and the remaining functions of the RLC layer and the functions of the protocol layer below the RLC layer are set in the DU. For another example, in another design, the functions of the CU or DU can also be divided according to the service type or other system requirements, such as dividing by latency, and the functions whose processing time needs to meet the latency requirements are set in the DU, and the functions that do not need to meet the latency requirements are set in the CU.

[0073] In another possible design, the DU and RU cooperate to jointly implement the functions of the PHY layer, or it can be described as moving part of the PHY layer functions of the DU to the RU for implementation. A DU can be connected to one or more RUs. The functions of the DU and the RU can be configured in a variety of ways according to the design. For example, the DU is configured to implement the baseband function, and the RU is configured to implement the mid-radio function. For another example, the DU is configured to implement the high-level functions in the PHY layer, and the RU is configured to implement the low-level functions in the PHY layer or to implement the low-level functions and the radio frequency functions. The high-level functions in the physical layer may include part of the functions of the physical layer, which are closer to the MAC layer, and the low-level functions in the physical layer may include another part of the functions of the physical layer, which are closer to the mid-radio side. The present application does not limit the specific functions of the DU and the RU. The interface between the DU and the RU may be called a fronthaul interface.

[0074] The terminal device may also be referred to as a terminal, user equipment (UE), a mobile station, or a mobile terminal. The terminal device can be widely used in various scenarios, for example, device-to-device (D2D) communication, V2X communication, machine-type communication (MTC), Internet of Things (IoT), virtual reality, augmented reality, industrial control, autonomous driving, telemedicine, smart grid, smart furniture, smart office, smart wear, smart transportation, or smart city. The terminal may be a mobile phone, a tablet computer, a computer with wireless transceiver function, a wearable device, a vehicle, a vehicle-mounted device, a drone, a helicopter, an airplane, a ship, a hot air balloon, a robot, a robotic arm, or a smart home device. The embodiment of the present application does not limit the form of the terminal device.

[0075] In a ranging process between two nodes, the transmission frame can be divided into multiple slices, or the ranging signal can be divided into multiple slices, or the ranging process can be divided into multiple time periods (or ranging rounds). For example, these multiple time periods are the ranging control phase (RCP), the ranging initialization phase (RIP), the ranging response phase (RRP), and the measurement report phase (RRP). RCP can be the first time slot of each first time period, used to send a ranging control message (RCM). RCM mainly includes network parameters such as the role of each node, the sequence used for ranging, and the ranging round index.

[0076] First, the management node can assign the roles of each node and indicate it to the corresponding node through RCM. For example, the management node can configure its own role as the initiator of the ranging process and configure the role of the slave node as the responder of the ranging process, then the management node indicates the role of the slave node to a certain node in the RCM. The management node also configures the network parameters of the ranging process (such as multiple ranging stages) and indicates it to the slave node through RCM. The management node and the slave node perform corresponding ranging steps in each ranging stage of the ranging process according to each ranging stage configured by the management node. For example, the management node acts as the initiator of the ranging process. Before sending the ranging signal, the management node and the slave node are synchronized, that is, the management node sends a registration (Poll) packet, which is used to configure the number of fragments N of the ranging signal and the duration of each fragment. The ranging response device sends a response (RES) packet after receiving the Poll packet. After that, the management node can send each fragment of the ranging signal. For example, the management node sends a ranging signal to the slave node as the responder during the RIP period. The ranging signal carries the time information of the management node sending the ranging signal. After receiving the ranging signal, the slave node feeds back a ranging response signal to the management node, and the ranging response signal carries the time information of the slave node feeding back the ranging response signal. After the slave node feeds back the ranging response signal to the management node, the management node and the slave node can calculate the distance between the management node and the slave node based on the flight time of the ranging signal between the management node and the slave node. In addition, any of the management node and the slave node can send the distance measurement value calculated by itself to the other end.

[0077] See also Figure 2 , showing the ranging principle. Figure 2The management node and the slave node perform the ranging process, and double-sided two-way ranging (DS-TWR) is taken as an example. DS-TWR, that is, two round-trip times are used for ranging. In the first two information interactions, the management node sends a ranging signal to the slave node at time t1, the slave node receives the ranging signal at time t2, and feeds back a ranging response signal to the management node at time t3, and the management node receives the ranging response signal at time t4. Optionally, the ranging signal sent by the management node at time t1 may carry the time information of the ranging signal (i.e., the sending time of the ranging signal). Optionally, the ranging response signal sent by the slave node at time t3 may carry the time information of the ranging response signal fed back by the slave node (i.e., the sending time of the ranging response signal). The management node can determine the round-trip time T of this interaction based on the sending time of the ranging response signal and the sending time of the ranging signal. round1 Similarly, the slave node can determine the reply time interval T according to the sending time of the ranging signal and the sending time of the ranging response signal. reply1 Similarly, in the subsequent two information interactions, the management node sends a ranging signal to the slave node at time t5, and the slave node receives the ranging signal at time t6. The management node can determine the round-trip time T of this interaction based on the sending time of the ranging response signal and the sending time of the ranging signal. round2 The slave node can determine the reply time interval T according to the sending time of the ranging signal and the sending time of the ranging response signal. reply2 In the four information exchanges, the flight time T of the signal between the management node and the slave node is prop Satisfies the following formula:

[0078]

[0079] The distance between the management node and the slave node is T prop Multiply by the speed of light c. It can be seen that the distance measurement between two nodes is achieved through the above distance measurement process. Figure 1 In the system shown, the node can be positioned by using the known location of the node and the above-mentioned ranging process.

[0080] The signal that can be transmitted between the management node and the slave node can be a super frame. It should be noted that the super frame refers to an information frame within a period of time, such as a synchronization frame / beacon frame, ranging frame, data frame, etc. See Figure 3 , showing a super frame structure. The super frame can be used Figure 1 The system shown. Figure 3 Take the ranging system including the management node and slave nodes 1 and 2 as an example. Figure 2As shown, the duration of a super frame is the interval between two beacons (also called a beacon interval). When a management node sends a super frame, it can be understood that the management node sends a beacon according to the beacon interval. The beacon interval includes a ranging management period and a ranging period. Among them, the ranging management period includes at least one ranging contention access period (RACP) and at least one ranging contention free period (RCFP). The ranging period includes the aforementioned multiple ranging stages, each ranging stage includes multiple time slots (ranging slot1~n) for ranging between devices.

[0081] like Figure 3 As shown, the management node can send beacons according to the beacon interval, and slave node 1 and slave node 2 can achieve time synchronization with the management node based on the first received beacon frame. After the management node sends the beacon, it can send a ranging signal; slave node 1 and slave node 2 receive the ranging signal and send ranging response signals to the management node respectively; the management node receives the ranging response signal and can send a ranging termination signal to slave node 1 and slave node 2. The management node and slave node 1 / slave node 2 can calculate the distance between the management node and slave node 1 / slave node 2 based on the flight time of the ranging signal.

[0082] In order to improve the accuracy of ranging, UWB technology is currently used between different nodes. Due to the characteristics of low power consumption and high time resolution, UWB technology can achieve high-precision ranging and positioning at the centimeter level and has been widely used. In the embodiment of the present application, UWB ranging refers to the measurement of the distance between nodes based on UWB communication technology between different nodes. The principle of UWB ranging is to calculate the distance between nodes based on the transmission time and speed (generally the speed of light) of the wireless signal between nodes.

[0083] See also Figure 4, shows the structure of the UWB frame. The UWB frame includes a synchronization header (SHR), a physical layer header (PHR) and a physical layer payload (PHY payload). The PHY payload includes data in the UWB frame for interaction with the receiving device. The PHY payload also includes a frame control field, which can be used to identify the UWB frame as a beacon frame, a data frame or an acknowledgement frame (ACK) frame. The beacon frame can be regarded as a type of UWB frame.

[0084] Among them, SHR can be used for the device receiving the UWB frame to perform channel estimation, Figure 1 The system shown includes synchronization between devices / nodes and positioning and ranging between devices. The SHR may include a synchronization (SYNC) field and a start-of-frame delimiter (SFD) field. The SYNC field can be used for channel estimation, synchronization between devices, positioning and ranging, etc. The SFD field can be used by the receiving device to determine the starting position of the PHR in the UWB frame. For example, when the receiving device detects the SFD field, it can be determined that the SFD field is followed by the PHR part of the UWB frame, and the receiving device can decode the PHR in the UWB frame and the PHY payload after the PHR. The PHR is located after the SHR, and the PHR can be used by the receiving device to correctly decode the UWB frame.

[0085] In order to further enhance the security of time measurement, the 802.15.4z standard introduces a scrambled timestamp sequence (STS). The STS is a pseudo-random sequence that can only be known by a specific receiving device (such as a UWB device). The receiving device uses the STS to perform a correlation operation with the received UBW frame / UWB signal, and estimates the arrival time information of the UBW frame / UWB signal at the receiving device based on the peak position in the correlation result obtained by the correlation operation. Optionally, the UBW frame may include an STS, which may be placed before or after the PHY Payload, or may replace the PHY Payload and exist alone. For example, Figure 5 (a) to Figure 5 (c) shows that Figure 5 In (a), STS comes before PHR and PHYPayload. Figure 5 In (b), the STS is after the PHY Payload. Figure 5In (c), the UWB frame includes STS but does not include PHY Payload.

[0086] In the ranging process based on UWB technology, in the ranging phase, UWB network parameters, ranging signals, ranging response signals, etc. are exchanged in sequence based on UWB frames. However, UWB signals take a long time and consume a lot of power. In addition, due to the limited power spectrum density of UWB, the transmission power of UWB signals is limited, and the distance that can be measured is limited.

[0087] In an embodiment of the present application, a narrowband signal is used to carry parameters for ranging, and a broadband signal is used to carry sequences for ranging. The embodiment of the present application can reduce the working time of the broadband signal during ranging, thereby reducing the power consumption of the node. It should be noted that in the embodiment of the present application, broadband signals and narrowband signals are relative. For example, a narrowband signal can be called a first bandwidth signal, and a broadband signal can be called a second bandwidth signal, and the bandwidth occupied by the second bandwidth signal is greater than the bandwidth occupied by the first bandwidth signal.

[0088] The communication method provided in the embodiment of the present application can be applied to scenarios such as synchronization, ranging, and positioning, for example, industrial workshop positioning, mobile phone ranging, and object search. For the convenience of description, unless otherwise specified, the following uses the communication method provided in the embodiment of the present application as applied to Figure 1 Take the distance measurement system shown in FIG. as an example. It should be noted that Figure 1 The number of nodes in the communication system shown is only an example and is not intended to limit the present application. The network architecture and business scenarios described in the embodiments of the present application are intended to more clearly illustrate the technical solutions of the embodiments of the present application and do not constitute a limitation on the technical solutions provided in the embodiments of the present application. It is known to those skilled in the art that with the evolution of the network architecture and the emergence of new business scenarios, the technical solutions provided in the embodiments of the present application are also applicable to similar technical problems.

[0089] Before different nodes perform ranging, each node can apply to join the network, compete for access to the network, and complete networking with other nodes. After multiple nodes are networked, the management node can allocate ranging time units to each slave node, and each slave node performs the ranging process in its own ranging time unit. The ranging time unit can be called a ranging phase, ranging time period, etc., and the specific name is not limited.

[0090] For easier understanding, see Figure 6, shows a ranging system consisting of nodes T0-node T1 and nodes A0-node A3. Among them, ranging can be performed between any two nodes among nodes T0-node T1 and nodes A0-node A3. For the convenience of description, the embodiment of the present application takes A0 as an example of a management node. Initially, node A0 can broadcast a beacon frame in the synchronization time period. Any node receives the beacon frame and realizes time synchronization with node A0 according to the beacon frame. Figure 6 As shown, nodes T0-node T1 and nodes A1-node A3 can scan the beacon frame from node A0. Any node that receives the beacon frame can determine the carrier frequency offset (CFO) between itself and node A0 based on the beacon frame, and then synchronize with the time of node A0 based on the CFO time.

[0091] The CFO between two nodes can be the clock deviation between the two nodes. Figure 7 As shown in the figure, node A periodically sends beacon frames according to its own clock count and after a period of delta, node B receives beacon frames according to its own clock count and after delta, the clock deviation rate between node A and node B is clock freq satisfy:

[0092] The beacon frame sent by node A0 may also include network parameters, and other nodes can realize networking with node A0 and perform the ranging process after networking according to the network parameters. The network parameters may include one or more of the following: access network time information or ranging duration information. The access network time information indicates the time period for competing for access to the network (which may be referred to as the competitive access time period), which is the time period for nodes requesting to join the network where node A0 is located to compete for access to the network. The ranging duration information may be a ranging time period shared by multiple nodes, and the ranging duration of each node may be a part of the ranging time period.

[0093] The duration of the synchronization time period, the contention access time period, and the ranging time period can be predefined or configured. The durations of the synchronization time period, the contention access time period, and the ranging time period are independent and have no constraints on each other. They can be determined according to actual needs. For example, if there are many nodes that need to be measured, the contention access time period will be longer to ensure that the nodes that need to be measured can join the network as early as possible; if there are fewer nodes that need to be measured, the contention access time period will be shorter to save resources. Similarly, if there are many nodes that need to be measured, the ranging time period can be longer to meet the time required for ranging of each node as much as possible; if there are fewer nodes that need to be measured, the ranging time period can be shorter to save resources.

[0094] After the nodes T0 - T1 and A1 - A3 are synchronized with the node A0, they can request to join the network where the node A0 is located during the contention access period. Figure 6 Take the example of node T0 and node T1 requesting to join the network where node A0 is located. Node T0 sends a request access frame to node A0 during the contention access time period. After node A0 receives the request access frame from node T0 (or node T0 successfully competes to communicate with node A0), node A0 adds node T0 to the node list. The node list includes each node in the network. Similar to node T0, node T1 also sends a request access frame to node A0 during the contention access time period. After node T1 successfully competes to communicate with node A0), node A0 adds node T1 to the node list.

[0095] Node A0 will also allocate respective ranging time units to nodes T0 and T1 accessing the network. The time unit in the embodiment of the present application refers to a period of time, and there is no limit on the size of a time unit. For example, a time unit can be at least one time slot or at least one symbol. The ranging time unit of a node refers to the time unit used for ranging of the node. Within the ranging time unit, nodes can exchange signals / information used for ranging. For the convenience of description, the embodiment of the present application takes a ranging time unit as a time slot as an example.

[0096] For any slave node, the management node can allocate one or more idle time units in the ranging time period to the slave node. Taking nodes T0 and T1 as examples, assuming that the beacon frame includes ranging duration information, the ranging duration information may include the number N of ranging time units, ranging time unit 0 (such as Figure 6 time slot 0 in the range measurement unit 1 (such as Figure 6 Time slot 1) is idle, node A0 can allocate time slot 0 to node T0 and time slot 1 to node T1.

[0097] The embodiment of the present application does not limit the specific implementation manner in which the management node allocates ranging time units to each slave node. Two possible implementation manners are listed below.

[0098] In implementation mode 1, the management node allocates a ranging time unit to a slave node through a signaling.

[0099] For each slave node, the management node sends a resource allocation frame, which includes the identification information of the slave node and the information of the ranging time unit allocated to the slave node. Taking node T0 as an example, the resource allocation frame includes the information of time slot 0; taking node T1 as an example, the resource allocation frame includes the information of time slot 1. Figure 6Take implementation method 1 as an example.

[0100] In the second implementation mode, the management node allocates ranging time units to multiple slave nodes through one signaling.

[0101] For multiple slave nodes, the management node may allocate a shared ranging time period for the multiple slave nodes, and indicate the positional relationship between the ranging time unit allocated to each slave node and the shared ranging time period, thereby indicating the ranging time unit allocated to each slave node. For example, taking node T0 as an example, the resource allocation frame sent by the management node indicates n time slots, where n is an integer greater than 1, and the n time slots are the ranging time periods shared by multiple slave nodes; the resource allocation frame also includes the position of time slot 0 allocated to node T0 in the n time slots, thereby indicating the ranging time unit allocated to node T0.

[0102] Each slave node can perform the ranging process within the allocated ranging time unit. In the embodiment of the present application, the ranging time unit of a node can be divided into at least two parts. Figure 6 Taking the node T0 in as an example, the ranging time unit (i.e., time slot 0) of the node T0 may include a first time unit and a second time unit. Among them, the first time unit is configured to send a narrowband signal, and the second time unit is configured to send a broadband signal. It should be noted that in the embodiment of the present application, broadband signals and narrowband signals are relative. For example, a narrowband signal can be called a first bandwidth signal, and a broadband signal can be called a second bandwidth signal, and the bandwidth occupied by the second bandwidth signal is greater than the bandwidth occupied by the first bandwidth signal. During the ranging process, the node T0 can interact with the parameters (such as a synchronization signal) used for ranging through a narrowband signal in the first time unit, and carry the sequence used for ranging through a broadband signal in the second time unit. In this way, the working time of the broadband signal during the ranging process can be reduced, thereby reducing the power consumption of the node T0.

[0103] Furthermore, node T0 may also report to node A0 a measurement value for determining the distance between node T0 and node A0 via a narrowband signal, so as to further reduce the working time of the broadband signal and further reduce the energy consumption of node T0. For example, the ranging time unit also includes a third time unit, and node T0 sends the measurement value in the third time unit.

[0104] The management node may allocate ranging time units, as well as the first time unit, the second time unit, and even the third time unit included in the ranging time unit to each slave node. For example, the management node may send a control signal, and the control signal may include one or more of the following: access network time information, ranging duration information, and the ranging duration information may include one or more of the following: the number N of ranging time units, the duration occupied by the ranging time unit, the duration occupied by the first time unit, the duration occupied by the second time unit, or the duration occupied by the third time unit. The control signal may be as follows: Figure 6 The resource allocation frame shown, and the control signal is a first bandwidth signal, to reduce the working time of the broadband signal. It should be noted that the duration occupied by the first time unit refers to the duration occupied by the first time unit in the ranging time unit of the second node. Similarly, the duration occupied by the second time unit refers to the duration occupied by the second time unit in the ranging time unit of the second node. The duration occupied by the third time unit refers to the duration occupied by the third time unit in the ranging time unit of the second node.

[0105] Exemplarily, the management node may broadcast the access network time information and the ranging duration information through the beacon frame of the synchronization time period, that is, the control signal may be the beacon frame of the synchronization time period. The ranging duration information may include one or more of the following: the number N of ranging time units, the duration occupied by the ranging time unit, the duration occupied by the first time unit and the duration occupied by the second time unit, or the duration occupied by the third time unit. For example, the duration occupied by a ranging time unit, the duration occupied by the first time unit and the duration occupied by the second time unit, and the duration occupied by the third time unit may be predefined, and the ranging duration information may include the number N of ranging time units. For another example, the duration occupied by the first time unit and the duration occupied by the second time unit, or the duration occupied by the third time unit may be predefined. The ranging duration information may include the number N of ranging time units and the duration occupied by the ranging time unit.

[0106] The following will be combined Figure 6 As well as the above content, the technical solution provided by the embodiments of the present application is introduced.

[0107] See also Figure 8 , which exemplarily shows a flow chart of the communication method provided in an embodiment of the present application. Figure 8The communication method 800 provided involves interaction between multiple communication devices, which include a ranging initiator and at least one ranging response device. For the convenience of description, the following takes the ranging initiator as the first node and the ranging response device as the second node as an example. The steps performed by the first node can be implemented by the first node itself, or by a component in the first node (such as a processing chip or a software module, etc.). For example, if the first node is a network device, then the steps performed by the first node can be implemented by the network device itself, or by a component in the network device (such as a control board (chip), a baseband chip, or other processing units or processors). The steps performed by the second node can be implemented by the second node itself, or by a component in the second node (such as a processing chip or a software module, etc.). For example, if the second node is a terminal device, the steps performed by the second node can be implemented by the terminal device itself, or by a component in the terminal device (such as a chip, a processing unit, or a processor).

[0108] In the embodiments of the present application, "when", "if" and "if" all mean that the device will make corresponding processing under certain objective circumstances, which does not limit the time, nor does it require that the device must have a judgment action when it is implemented, nor does it mean that there are other limitations. "If" and "if" are interchangeable. If there is no special explanation, "when" and "in the case of" are interchangeable. "Synchronization signal" is also called "synchronization frame / Sync frame / synchronization sequence".

[0109] Figure 8 The communication method 800 shown is applied to Figure 6 Take the system shown as an example. Figure 6 In the figure, node T1 is similar to node T0, or in other words, for A0, node T1 and node T0 have the same role, and the ranging process between node T1 and node A0 is similar to the ranging process between node T0 and node A0. Similarly, node A1-node A3 have the same role as node A0. The ranging process between node T0 / node T1 and node A1 / A2 / A3 is similar to the ranging process between node T0 / node T1 and node A0. For node A0, node T0 and node T1 belong to the same synchronization (Sync) group. Or multiple slave nodes can form a Sync group, and for the Sync group, the management node can send signals to each slave node in the Sync group in a broadcast manner. For nodes A0-node A3 in the network, they can be anchor points (nodes with known locations), and the order in which nodes A0-node A3 send signals can be specified in advance, for example, nodes A0-node A3 send signals in chronological order. In this way Figure 6The system shown works in a time division multiple access (TDMA) manner, which can prevent conflicts between the sending and receiving signals of each node.

[0110] Figure 8 The first node is Figure 6 The node A0 in the second node is Figure 6 Take node T0 in as an example. Figure 8 As shown, the process of the communication method 800 includes the following steps.

[0111] S801. A second node sends a synchronization signal in a first time unit, where the synchronization signal is used for time synchronization between the first node and the second node. The first time unit is configured to send a first bandwidth signal.

[0112] As shown in the figure, the ranging time unit of the second node is time slot 0, and the first time unit is included in the ranging time unit of the second node (i.e., time slot 0). The first bandwidth signal can be called a narrowband signal, for example, the first bandwidth signal can be Bluetooth, near field communication (NFC), etc. The first time unit is configured to send the first bandwidth signal, and the second node can exchange some parameters of the ranging process with the first node through the first bandwidth signal in the first time unit. For example, the second node can send a synchronization signal to the first node within the first time unit, and the first node receives the synchronization signal and performs time synchronization with the second node according to the synchronization signal to improve the accuracy of ranging.

[0113] It is understandable that when the second node sends a synchronization signal, multiple nodes in the network can receive the synchronization signal. Figure 6 For example, node T0 sends a synchronization signal at time St; node A0 receives the synchronization signal at time S0; node A1 receives the synchronization signal at time S1; node A2 receives the synchronization signal at time S2; node A3 receives the synchronization signal at time S3. Nodes A0-A3 respectively achieve time synchronization with node T0 according to the received synchronization signals.

[0114] S802: In response to a synchronization signal, the first node sends a synchronization response signal to the second node in a first time unit.

[0115] Any node receives a synchronization signal from a second node, and in response to the synchronization signal, can feed back a response signal of the synchronization signal (i.e., a synchronization response signal) to the second node. Figure 6, the first node (i.e., node A0) sends a synchronization response signal at time R0; node A1 sends a synchronization response signal at time R1; node A2 sends a synchronization response signal at time R2; node A3 sends a synchronization response signal at time R3. Correspondingly, node T0 receives a synchronization response signal from node A0 at time R0_t; node T0 receives a synchronization response signal from node A1 at time R1_t; node T0 receives a synchronization response signal from node A2 at time R2_t; node T3 receives a synchronization response signal from node A3 at time R3_t.

[0116] S803: The second node sends a first ranging signal to the first node in a second time unit.

[0117] The first ranging signal can be used to measure the distance between the second node and the first node, and the first ranging signal is a second bandwidth signal. In the embodiment of the present application, the second bandwidth signal can be a signal with high multipath resolution capability, which can achieve high-precision ranging.

[0118] For example, the bandwidth occupied by the second bandwidth signal may be greater than or equal to 499.2 MHz, for example, the bandwidth occupied by the second bandwidth signal may be equal to 500 MHz. In addition, the second bandwidth signal may be a nanosecond or picosecond pulse signal. For example, the second bandwidth signal may be a UWB signal, or the second bandwidth signal may be a customized broadband signal. By customizing the second bandwidth signal, the transmission power of the second bandwidth signal may be larger, thereby satisfying the ranging and positioning of remote nodes.

[0119] For another example, the pulse repetition frequency of the second bandwidth signal may be located at [16.1 MHz, 111.09 MHz] to minimize the duration of the signal with a larger bandwidth. For example, the pulse repetition frequency of the second bandwidth signal may be 16.1 MHz, 55.54 MHz, 62.4 MHz, 62.89 MHz or 111.09 MHz.

[0120] In the embodiment of the present application, the time interval between the time when the second node sends the first ranging signal and the time when the second node sends the synchronization signal may be specified / predefined, for example, a first duration. Figure 6For example, node T0 sends a synchronization signal at time St and sends a first ranging signal at time St`, and the first time interval is between St` and St. Correspondingly, the first time interval is also between the time when the first node receives the first ranging signal and the time when it receives the synchronization signal. Alternatively, the first node can configure the time when the second node sends the first ranging signal to the second node according to the time when the synchronization signal is received. In this way, after receiving the synchronization signal, the first node can turn off the receiver, turn on the receiver at an interval of the first time interval (or less than the first time interval), and wait to receive the first ranging signal. In this way, there is no need for the first node to keep the receiver turned on, which can reduce the energy consumption of the first node.

[0121] Continue to use Figure 6 For example, node T0 sends the first ranging signal at time St`, node A0 receives the first ranging signal at time S0`, node A1 receives the first ranging signal at time S1`, node A2 receives the first ranging signal at time S2`, and node A3 receives the first ranging signal at time S3`. Among them, the first duration can be Delta_T, when node A0 receives the synchronization signal at time S0, node A0 can turn on the receiver at S0+Delta_T. In order to prevent node A0 from missing the first ranging signal, node A0 can turn on the receiver within a preset duration before S0+Delta_T. Considering that there is CFO between node T0 and node A0, node A0 can turn on the receiver at S0+Delta_T×CFO, or turn on the receiver within a preset duration before S0+Delta_T×CFO. Similar to node A0, node A1 can turn on the receiver within S1+Delta_T, a preset time before S1+Delta_T, S1+Delta_T×CFO, or a preset time before S1+Delta_T×CFO. Node A2 can turn on the receiver within S2+Delta_T, a preset time before S2+Delta_T, S2+Delta_T×CFO, or a preset time before S2+Delta_T×CFO. Node A3 can turn on the receiver within S3+Delta_T, a preset time before S3+Delta_T, S3+Delta_T×CFO, or a preset time before S3+Delta_T×CFO.

[0122] S804: The first node sends a first ranging response signal to the second node in a second time unit.

[0123] The first node receives a first ranging signal from the second node, and in response to the first ranging signal, may send a first ranging response signal to the second node in a second time unit.

[0124] The time interval between the time when the first node sends the first ranging response signal and the time when the first node sends the synchronization response signal may be specified. Figure 6 For example, node A0 sends a synchronization response signal at time R0, and sends a first ranging response signal at time R0`, with a second time interval (for example, Delta_R) between R0` and R0. Correspondingly, the second time interval is also between the moment when the second node receives the first ranging response signal and the moment when it receives the synchronization response signal. For example, node T0 receives the synchronization response signal at time R0_t, and receives the first ranging response signal at time R0_t`, with a second time interval between R0_t` and R0_t. In this way, after receiving the synchronization response signal, the second node can turn off the receiver, turn on the receiver after a second time interval (or less than the second time interval), and wait to receive the first ranging response signal. In this way, the second node does not need to turn on the receiver all the time, which can reduce the energy consumption of the second node.

[0125] Continue to use Figure 6 For example, node A0 sends a synchronization response signal at time R0, and sends a first ranging response signal at R0`, R0`=R0+Delta_R. Node T0 turns on the receiver at R0` or within a preset time before R0`, and receives the first ranging response signal from node A0 at time R0_t`. Considering that there is CFO between node T0 and node A0, node T0 can turn on the receiver at R0+Delta_R×CFO or within a preset time before R0+Delta_R×CFO. Similarly, Figure 6 , node A1 can turn on the receiver within the preset time before R1+Delta_R, R1+Delta_R, R1+Delta_R×CFO, or R1+Delta_R×CFO, and node T0 receives the first ranging response signal from node A1 at time R1_t`. Node A2 can turn on the receiver within the preset time before R2+Delta_R, R2+Delta_R, R2+Delta_R×CFO, or R2+Delta_R×CFO, and node T0 receives the first ranging response signal from node A2 at time R2_t`. Node A3 can turn on the receiver within the preset time before R3+Delta_R, R3+Delta_R, R3+Delta_R×CFO, or R3+Delta_R×CFO, and node T0 receives the first ranging response signal from node A3 at time R3_t`.

[0126] S805. The second node sends a second ranging signal to the first node in a second time unit.

[0127] Similar to the first ranging signal, the second ranging signal is also a second bandwidth signal. The time interval between the time when the second node sends the second ranging signal and the time when the second node sends the first ranging signal can be specified. Figure 6For example, node T0 sends a first ranging signal at time St`, and sends a second ranging signal at time St``, with a third time interval (for example, Delta_interval) between St`` and St`. Correspondingly, the time when node A0 receives the second ranging signal and the time when it receives the first ranging signal are also separated by a second time interval. For example, node A0 receives the second ranging signal at time S0``, and receives the first ranging signal at time S0`, with a second time interval between S0`` and S0`. In this way, after receiving the first ranging signal, node A0 can turn off the receiver, turn on the receiver after a third time interval (or less than the third time interval), and wait to receive the second ranging response signal. In this way, node A0 does not need to keep the receiver turned on, which can reduce the energy consumption of node A0.

[0128] The third duration can be Delta_interval or Delta_interval×CFO. Figure 6 , node A1 can turn on the receiver within S1`+Delta_interval, the preset time before S1`+Delta_interval, S1`+Delta_interval×CFO, or the preset time before S1`+Delta_interval×CFO, and receive the second ranging signal at time S1``. Node A2 can turn on the receiver within S2`+Delta_interval, the preset time before S2`+Delta_interval, S2`+Delta_interval×CFO, or the preset time before S2`+Delta_interval×CFO, and receive the first ranging response signal from node A2 at time S2``. Node A3 can turn on the receiver within S3`+Delta_interval, the preset time before S3`+Delta_interval, S3`+Delta_interval×CFO, or the preset time before S3`+Delta_interval×CFO, and receive the second ranging signal at time S3``.

[0129] Node A0 and node T0 can determine the flight time TOF of the signal between node A0 and node T0, and the flight time TOF satisfies the following formula:

[0130]

[0131] The distance between node A0 and node T0 is the product of the time of flight TOF and the speed of light.

[0132] It can be understood that the flight time TOF of the signal between the node T0 and the node An satisfies the following formula:

[0133]

[0134] It can be understood that if the positions of any two nodes among nodes A1-A3 and the distance between node T0 and the two nodes are known, the position of node T0 can also be determined. T0～An It can be seen from the formula that the second ranging signal is sent by node T0, that is, the distance between node A0 and node T0 is calculated based on DS-TWR, without considering the clock offset between each node, which is simpler.

[0135] Figure 8 In the communication method 800 shown, during the ranging process of the node T0 and the node A0, the node T0 and the node A0 exchange synchronization signals through narrowband signals within the ranging time unit, and exchange ranging signals through broadband signals. Compared with exchanging broadband signals throughout the entire process, the working time of the broadband signal during the ranging process is reduced, thereby reducing the power consumption of the node T0 and the node A0.

[0136] Furthermore, the second node may also report the measurement value to the first node. For example, the second node may also send the measurement value within the third time unit, and the measurement value is used to determine the distance between the first node and the second node. Figure 6 For example, the first node is A0 and the second node is T0, and the measurement values ​​may include St` and R0_t`.

[0137] The third time unit is included in the ranging time unit of the second node, and the third time unit is configured to send the first bandwidth signal, such as Fig. 9 The second node reports the measurement value through a narrowband signal, which can further reduce the working time of the broadband signal and further reduce the energy consumption of the node.

[0138] In the communication method 800, it is taken as an example that the second node sends a second ranging signal to the first node in the second time unit, and the first node calculates the flight time of the signal between the first node and the second node according to the sending time of the second ranging signal. In a possible implementation, S805 does not need to be executed, and the distance between the first node and the second node can also be calculated. Therefore, S805 is not a step that must be executed. Figure 8 Indicated by dotted line.

[0139] For example, node T0 sends the first ranging signal at time St`, and node A0 receives the first ranging signal at time S0`; node A0 sends the first ranging response signal at R0`, and node T0 receives the first ranging response signal from node A0 at time R0_t`. Considering the clock deviation between node T0 and node A0, the flight time T between node T0 and node A0 is of Satisfies the following formula:

[0140]

[0141] Wherein, Tround is the interval between the time when node T0 sends the first ranging signal and the time when node T0 receives the first ranging signal, that is, Tround = R0_t`-St`; Treply is the interval between the time when node A0 receives the first ranging signal and the time when the node sends the first ranging response signal, that is, Treply = S0`-R0`; C offs is the clock deviation between node A0 and node T0.

[0142] In the embodiments provided by the present application, the method provided by the embodiment of the present application is introduced from the perspective of the interaction between the first node and the second node. In order to realize the functions in the method provided by the embodiment of the present application, the first node and / or the second node may include a hardware structure and / or a software module, and the functions are realized in the form of a hardware structure, a software module, or a hardware structure plus a software module. Whether a function in the above functions is executed in the form of a hardware structure, a software module, or a hardware structure plus a software module depends on the specific application and design constraints of the technical solution.

[0143] The following describes the communication device used to implement the above method in the embodiment of the present application in conjunction with the accompanying drawings. Therefore, the above contents can be used in subsequent embodiments, and repeated contents will not be repeated.

[0144] Fig.10 1 is a schematic block diagram of a communication device 1000 provided in an embodiment of the present application. The communication device 1000 may be the first node or the second node in the above embodiment. For example, the communication device 1000 may be Figure 1 The communication device 1000 is a management node or a slave node in the first node or the second node. Or the communication device 1000 is a chip (system) in the first node or the second node. Or the communication device 1000 is a software module in the first node or the second node. The communication device 1000 can implement the functions or steps implemented by the first node or the second node in the above-mentioned various method embodiments. The communication device 1000 may include a processing module 1010 and a transceiver module 1020. Optionally, a storage unit may be included, which may be used to store instructions (codes or programs) and / or data. The processing module 1010 and the transceiver module 1020 may be coupled to the storage unit, for example, the processing module 1010 may read the instructions (codes or programs) and / or data in the storage unit to implement the corresponding method. The above-mentioned units may be independently arranged or partially or fully integrated.

[0145] In one possible implementation, the processing module 1010 may be a processor or a controller, for example, a general-purpose central processing unit (CPU), a general-purpose processor, a digital signal processing (DSP), an application specific integrated circuit (ASIC), a field programmable gate array (FPGA) or other programmable logic devices, transistor logic devices, hardware components or any combination thereof. It may implement or execute various exemplary logic blocks, modules and circuits described in conjunction with the disclosure of the present application. The processor may also be a combination that implements a computing function, for example, including a combination of one or more microprocessors, a combination of a DSP and a microprocessor, and the like. The transceiver module 1020 is a transceiver, an interface circuit, a bus, a pin or other possible communication interface for receiving signals from other devices. For example, when the device is implemented in the form of a chip, the transceiver module 1020 is an interface circuit for the chip to receive signals from other chips or devices, or an interface circuit for the chip to send signals to other chips or devices.

[0146] The communication device 1000 may further include a storage unit, which may be, for example, a memory. The processing module 1010 may execute computer-executable instructions stored in the storage unit. When the communication device 1000 is a chip used in the first node or a chip in the second node, the storage unit may be a storage unit in the chip, such as a register, a cache, etc. For example, the storage unit may also be a storage unit located outside the chip in the first node or the second node, such as a read-only memory (ROM) or other types of static storage devices that can store static information and instructions, a random access memory (RAM), etc.

[0147] In some possible implementations, the communication device 1000 can implement the behavior and function of the first node in the above method embodiment, for example, Figure 8 The communication device 1000 may be a first node, or a component (such as a chip or circuit) used in the first node, or a chip or a chipset in the first node or a part of the chip used to perform the function of the related method, or a device capable of implementing Figure 8 The software module of the method executed by the first node in the embodiment is not limited. For example, the transceiver module 1020 can be used to execute Figure 8S801 - S804 , S805 , and / or other processes for supporting the technology described herein in the illustrated embodiment; the processing module 1010 is used to execute other processes of the technology described herein.

[0148] In some embodiments, the transceiver module 1020 is used to receive a synchronization signal from a second node in a first time unit, send a synchronization response signal in response to the synchronization signal in the first time unit, and receive a first ranging signal from the second node in a second time unit, and send a first ranging response signal in response to the first ranging signal in the second time unit. The synchronization signal is used for time synchronization between the communication device 1000 and the second node. The first ranging signal is used to measure the distance between the communication device 1000 and the second node. The first time unit and the second time unit are both included in the ranging time unit of the second node, the first time unit is configured to send a first bandwidth signal, and the second time unit is configured to send a second bandwidth signal. The bandwidth occupied by the second bandwidth signal is greater than the bandwidth occupied by the first bandwidth signal. The processing module 1010 is used to determine the time of receiving the first ranging signal.

[0149] As an optional implementation manner, the bandwidth occupied by the second bandwidth signal is greater than or equal to 500 MHz, and the second bandwidth signal is a nanosecond or picosecond pulse signal.

[0150] As an optional implementation manner, the pulse repetition frequency of the second bandwidth signal is located at [16.1 MHz, 111.09 MHz].

[0151] As an optional implementation manner, the time S0' at which the transceiver module 1020 receives the first ranging signal and the time S0 at which the synchronization response signal is received are separated by a first time length, and the first time length is predefined or configured.

[0152] As an optional implementation manner, the sending time R0' of the first ranging response signal and the sending time R0 of the synchronization response signal are separated by a second time length, and the second time length is predefined or configured.

[0153] As an optional implementation manner, the transceiver module 1020 is further configured to receive a second ranging signal from a second node in a second time unit.

[0154] As an optional implementation manner, the time S0`` at which the transceiver module 1020 receives the second ranging signal is separated from the time S0` at which the first ranging signal is received by the transceiver module 1020 by a third time length, and the third time length is predefined or configured.

[0155] As an optional implementation, the flight time TOF of the signal between the communication device 1000 and the second node satisfies the following formula:

[0156]

[0157] Among them, S` t is the time when the second node sends the first ranging signal, S'0 is the time when the communication device 1000 receives the first ranging signal, and S' t ` is the moment when the second node sends the second ranging signal, S`0` is the moment when the communication device 1000 receives the second ranging signal, R`0 is the moment when the communication device 1000 sends the first ranging response signal, R` 0_t It is the time when the second node receives the first ranging response signal.

[0158] As an optional implementation, the transceiver module 1020 is also used to receive a measurement value from the second node in a third time unit, where the third time unit is included in the ranging time unit of the second node, and the third time unit is configured to send a first bandwidth signal, and the measurement value includes the reception time of the second ranging response signal.

[0159] As an optional implementation method, the transceiver module 1020 is also used to send a control signal, which is a first bandwidth signal, and the control signal includes one or more of the following: access network time information or ranging duration information, and the ranging duration includes one or more of the following: the number N of ranging time units, the duration occupied by the ranging time unit, the duration occupied by the first time unit, the duration occupied by the second time unit, or the duration occupied by the third time unit.

[0160] In some possible implementations, the communication device 1000 can implement the behavior and function of the second node in the above method embodiment, for example, Figure 8 The communication device 1000 may be a second node, or a component (such as a chip or circuit) used in the second node, or a chip or a chipset in the second node or a part of the chip used to perform the function of the related method, or a device capable of implementing Figure 8 The software module of the method executed by the second node in the embodiment is not limited. For example, the transceiver module 1020 can be used to execute Figure 8 S801 - S804 , S805 , and / or other processes for supporting the technology described herein in the illustrated embodiment; the processing module 1010 is used to execute other processes of the technology described herein.

[0161] In some embodiments, the transceiver module 1020 is used to send a synchronization signal in a first time unit and receive a synchronization response signal from the first node in the first time unit; and send a first ranging signal in a second time unit and receive a first ranging response signal from the first node in the second time unit. The synchronization signal is used for time synchronization between the first node and the communication device 1000. The first ranging signal is used to measure the distance between the first node and the communication device 1000. The first time unit and the second time unit are both included in the ranging time unit of the second node, the first time unit is configured to send a first bandwidth signal, and the second time unit is configured to send a second bandwidth signal. The bandwidth occupied by the second bandwidth signal is greater than the bandwidth occupied by the first bandwidth signal. The processing module 1010 is used to determine the time of receiving the first ranging response signal.

[0162] As an optional implementation manner, the bandwidth occupied by the second bandwidth signal is greater than or equal to 500 MHz, and the second bandwidth signal is a nanosecond or picosecond pulse signal.

[0163] As an optional implementation manner, the pulse repetition frequency of the second bandwidth signal is located at [16.1 MHz, 111.09 MHz].

[0164] As an optional implementation manner, the sending time St` of the first ranging signal is separated from the sending time St of the synchronization signal by a first time length, and the first time length is predefined or configured.

[0165] As an optional implementation manner, the time R0_t` when the transceiver module 1020 receives the first ranging response signal and the time R0_t when the synchronization response signal is received are separated by a second time length, and the second time length is predefined or configured.

[0166] As an optional implementation manner, the transceiver module 1020 is further configured to send a second ranging signal to the first node in a second time unit.

[0167] As an optional implementation manner, the sending time St' of the second ranging signal is separated from the sending time St' of the first ranging signal by a third time length, and the third time length is predefined or configured.

[0168] As an optional implementation, the flight time TOF of the signal between the first node and the communication device 1000 satisfies the following formula:

[0169]

[0170] Among them, S` t is the time when the second node sends the first ranging signal, S`0 is the time when the first node receives the first ranging signal, and S`` tis the time when the second node sends the second ranging signal, S``0 is the time when the first node receives the second ranging signal, R`0 is the time when the first node sends the first ranging response signal, R` 0_t It is the time when the second node receives the first ranging response signal.

[0171] As an optional implementation manner, the transceiver module 1020 is further used to send the measurement value within a third time unit, where the third time unit is included in the ranging time unit of the second node, and the third time unit is configured to send the first bandwidth signal.

[0172] As an optional implementation method, the transceiver module 1020 is also used to receive a control signal, which is a first bandwidth signal, and the control signal includes one or more of the following: access network time information or ranging duration information, and the ranging duration includes one or more of the following: the number N of ranging time units, the duration occupied by the ranging time unit, the duration occupied by the first time unit, the duration occupied by the second time unit, or the duration occupied by the third time unit.

[0173] When the communication device 1000 is a chip-type device or circuit, the transceiver module may be an input / output circuit and / or a communication interface; the processing module may be an integrated processor or microprocessor or integrated circuit.

[0174] Fig.11 1 is a schematic block diagram of a communication device 1100 provided in an embodiment of the present application. The communication device 1100 may be the first node or the second node in the above embodiment. For example, the communication device 1100 may be Figure 1 The management node or slave node in the communication device 1100. Or the communication device 1100 is a chip (system) in the first node or the second node. In the embodiment of the present application, the chip system can be composed of a chip, or can include a chip and other discrete devices. For specific functions, please refer to the description in the above method embodiment.

[0175] The communication device 1100 includes one or more processors 1101, which are used to implement or support the communication device 1100 to implement the function of the first node or the second node in the method provided in the embodiment of the present application. Please refer to the detailed description in the method example for details, which will not be repeated here. The processor 1101 may also be referred to as a processing unit or a processing module, which may implement certain control functions. The processor 1101 may be a general-purpose processor or a dedicated processor, etc. For example, it may include: a baseband processor, a central processing unit, an application processor, a modem processor, a graphics processor, an image signal processor, a digital signal processor, a video codec processor, a controller, a memory, and / or a neural network processor, etc. The baseband processor may be used to process communication protocols and communication data. The central processing unit may be used to control the communication device 1100 (e.g., the first node or the second node), execute software programs and / or process data. Different processors may be independent devices or may be integrated in one or more processors, for example, integrated in one or more application-specific integrated circuits.

[0176] In one design, the processor 1101 may include a program 1103 (sometimes also referred to as code or instruction), and the program 1103 may be executed on the processor 1101 to enable the communication device 1100 to perform the method described in the following embodiments. In another possible design, the communication device 1100 includes a circuit ( Fig.11 The circuit is used to implement the function of the first node or the second node in the above-mentioned embodiment.

[0177] In one design, the communication device 1100 may include one or more memories 1102 on which a program 1104 (sometimes referred to as code or instruction) is stored. The program 1104 may be executed on the processor 1101 so that the communication device 1100 performs the method described in the above method embodiment, for example Figure 8 The process shown.

[0178] In one design, the processor 1101 and / or the memory 1102 may include an artificial intelligence (AI) module 1107 and an AI module 1108, and the AI ​​module is used to implement AI-related functions. The AI ​​module may be implemented by software, hardware, or a combination of software and hardware. For example, the AI ​​module may include a RAN intelligent controller (RIC) module. For example, the AI ​​module may be a near real-time RIC or a non-real-time RIC.

[0179] In a possible design, data may also be stored in the processor 1101 and / or the memory 1102. The processor and the memory may be provided separately or integrated together.

[0180] In a possible design, the communication device 1100 may also include a transceiver 1105 and / or an antenna 1106. The processor 1101 may also be sometimes referred to as a processing unit, which controls the communication device 1100. The transceiver 1105 may also be sometimes referred to as a transceiver unit, a transceiver, a transceiver circuit, or a transceiver, etc., which is used to implement the transceiver function of the communication device through the antenna 1106.

[0181] In a possible design, the communication device 1100 may also include one or more of the following components: a wireless communication module, an audio module, an external memory interface, an internal memory, a universal serial bus (USB) interface, a power management module, an antenna, a speaker, a microphone, an input / output module, a sensor module, a motor, a camera, or a display screen, etc. It is understood that in some embodiments, the communication device 1100 may include more or fewer components, or some components may be integrated, or some components may be separated. These components may be implemented in hardware, software, or a combination of software and hardware.

[0182] The communication device in the above embodiment may be a terminal device (or network device), or a circuit, or a chip applied to a terminal device (or network device) or other combined devices, components, etc. having the above terminal device (or network device). When the communication device is a terminal device (or network device), the transceiver module may be a transceiver, which may include an antenna and a radio frequency circuit, etc., and the processing module may be a processor, such as a CPU. When the communication device is a component having the functions of the above terminal device (or network device), the transceiver module may be a radio frequency unit, and the processing module may be a processor. When the communication device is a chip system, the communication device may be an FPGA, a dedicated ASIC, a system on chip (SoC), a CPU, a network processor (NP), a DSP, a microcontroller unit (MCU), a programmable logic device (PLD) or other integrated chips. The processing module may be a processor of a chip system. The transceiver module or the communication interface may be an input / output interface or an interface circuit of a chip system. For example, the interface circuit may be a code / data read / write interface circuit. The interface circuit can be used to receive code instructions (the code instructions are stored in the memory, can be read directly from the memory, or can be read from the memory through other devices) and transmit them to the processor; the processor can be used to run the code instructions to execute the method in the above method embodiment. For another example, the interface circuit can also be a signal transmission interface circuit between the communication processor and the transceiver.

[0183] The present application also provides a communication system. Specifically, the communication system includes at least two nodes. Figure 8 The first node of the related function and the Figure 8 The second node of the related function. Please refer to the relevant description in the above method embodiment for details, which will not be repeated here.

[0184] The present application also provides a computer-readable storage medium including instructions, which, when executed on a computer, causes the computer to execute Figure 8 A method executed by the first node or the second node in .

[0185] The present application also provides a computer program product, including computer program code. When the computer program code is executed, Figure 8 The method executed by the first node or the second node is executed.

[0186] The embodiment of the present application provides a chip system, which includes a processor and may also include a memory, for implementing the function of the first node or the second node in the aforementioned method. The chip system may be composed of a chip, or may include a chip and other discrete devices.

[0187] In order to achieve the above Figure 10-11 In order to realize the functions of the communication device, the embodiment of the present application further provides a chip, including a processor, for supporting the communication device to realize the functions involved in the first node or the second node in the above method embodiment. In one possible design, the chip is connected to a memory or the chip includes a memory, and the memory is used to store the computer programs or instructions and data necessary for the communication device.

[0188] It should be understood that in the various embodiments of the present application, the size of the serial numbers of the above-mentioned processes does not mean the order of execution. The execution order of each process should be determined by its function and internal logic, and should not constitute any limitation on the implementation process of the embodiments of the present application.

[0189] In the embodiments of the present application, the number of nouns, unless otherwise specified, means "singular noun or plural noun", that is, "one or more". "Multiple" means two or more. In view of this, in the embodiments of the present application, "multiple" can also be understood as "at least two". "At least one" can be one or more, for example, at least one is one, two or more. For example, including at least one means including one, two or more, and there is no limit on which ones are included. For example, including at least one of A, B and C, then A, B, C, A and B, A and C, B and C, or A and B and C can be included. Similarly, the understanding of descriptions such as "at least one" is also similar. "At least one of the following" or similar expressions refers to any combination of these items, including any combination of single items or plural items. For example, "at least one of A, B and C" includes A, B, C, AB, AC, BC or ABC. "And / or" describes the relationship between the associated objects, indicating that there can be three relationships. For example, A and / or B can mean: A exists alone, A and B exist at the same time, and B exists alone. In addition, the character " / ", unless otherwise specified, generally means that the associated objects are in an "or" relationship.

[0190] Unless otherwise specified, the ordinal numbers such as "first" and "second" mentioned in the embodiments of the present application are used to distinguish multiple objects, and are not used to limit the order, timing, priority or importance of multiple objects, and the description of "first" and "second" does not necessarily limit the objects to be different. For example, the first node and the second node represent two nodes, and do not limit the priority or importance of the two nodes.

[0191] Those of ordinary skill in the art will appreciate that the various illustrative logical blocks and steps described in conjunction with the embodiments disclosed herein can be implemented in electronic hardware, computer software, 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.

[0192] 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.

[0193] In the several embodiments provided in the present 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 only schematic. For example, the division of the units is only a logical function division. There may be other division methods in actual implementation, 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.

[0194] The units described as separate components may or may not be physically separated, and the components shown as units may or may not be physical units, that is, they may be located in one place or distributed on multiple network units. Some or all of the units may be selected according to actual needs to achieve the purpose of the solution of this embodiment.

[0195] 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 part of the technical solution of the present application that contributes essentially or the part of the technical solution can be embodied in the form of a software product, which is stored in a storage medium and includes several instructions for a computer device (which can be a personal computer, server, or network device, etc.) to perform all or part of the steps of the methods described in each embodiment of the present application. The aforementioned storage medium includes: various media that can store program codes, such as USB flash drives, mobile hard disks, read-only memories (ROM), RAM, magnetic disks or optical disks.

[0196] Obviously, those skilled in the art can make various changes and modifications to the present application without departing from the scope of the present application. Thus, if these modifications and variations of the present application fall within the scope of the claims of the present application and their equivalents, the present application is also intended to include these modifications and variations.

Claims

1. A communication method, characterized in that: include: receiving a synchronization signal from a second node in a first time unit, the synchronization signal being used for time synchronization between the first node and the second node, the first time unit being configured to send a first bandwidth signal; In response to the synchronization signal, sending a synchronization response signal in the first time unit; receiving a first ranging signal from the second node in a second time unit, where the first ranging signal is used to measure the distance between the first node and the second node, where the second time unit is configured to send a second bandwidth signal, where the bandwidth occupied by the second bandwidth signal is greater than the bandwidth occupied by the first bandwidth signal, and where both the first time unit and the second time unit are included in the ranging time unit of the second node; In response to the first ranging signal, a first ranging response signal is sent in the second time unit.

2. The method according to claim 1, characterized in that The bandwidth occupied by the second bandwidth signal is greater than or equal to 500 MHz, and the second bandwidth signal is a nanosecond-level pulse signal.

3. The method according to claim 2, characterized in that The pulse repetition frequency of the second bandwidth signal is located at [16.1 MHz, 111.09 MHz].

4. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 3, characterized in that: A first time duration is separated from a time point of receiving the first ranging signal and a time point of receiving the synchronization response signal, and the first time duration is predefined or configured.

5. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 4, characterized in that: The sending time of the first ranging response signal and the sending time of the synchronization response signal are separated by a second time length, and the second time length is predefined or configured.

6. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 5, characterized in that: The method further comprises: A second ranging signal is received from the second node in the second time unit.

7. The method according to claim 6, characterized in that A third duration is between a time point at which the second ranging signal is received and a time point at which the first ranging signal is received, and the third duration is predefined or configured.

8. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 7, characterized in that: The method further comprises: A measurement value is received from the second node within a third time unit, the third time unit is included in the ranging time unit of the second node, the third time unit is configured to send the first bandwidth signal, and the measurement value includes the time when the second node receives the first ranging response signal.

9. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 8, characterized in that: The method further comprises: A broadcast control signal, wherein the control signal is the first bandwidth signal, and the control signal includes one or more of the following: access network time information or ranging duration information, and the ranging duration information includes one or more of the following: the number N of ranging time units, the duration occupied by the ranging time unit, the duration occupied by the first time unit, the duration occupied by the second time unit, or the duration occupied by the third time unit.

10. A communication method, characterized in that: include: Sending a synchronization signal in a first time unit, the synchronization signal is used for time synchronization between the first node and the second node, the first time unit is configured to send a first bandwidth signal; receiving a synchronization response signal from the first node during the first time unit; sending a first ranging signal in a second time unit, where the first ranging signal is used to measure the distance between the first node and the second node, the second time unit is configured to send a second bandwidth signal, the bandwidth occupied by the second bandwidth signal is greater than the bandwidth occupied by the first bandwidth signal, and the first time unit and the second time unit are both included in the ranging time unit of the second node; A first ranging response signal is received from the first node in the second time unit.

11. The method according to claim 10, characterized in that The bandwidth occupied by the second bandwidth signal is greater than or equal to 500 MHz, and the second bandwidth signal is a nanosecond-level pulse signal.

12. The method according to claim 11, characterized in that The pulse repetition frequency of the second bandwidth signal is located at [16.1 MHz, 111.09 MHz].

13. The method according to any one of claims 10 to 12, characterized in that: The sending time of the first ranging signal is separated from the sending time of the synchronization signal by a first time length, and the first time length is predefined or configured.

14. The method according to any one of claims 10 to 13, characterized in that: A second time period is separated from a time point of receiving the first ranging response signal and a time point of receiving the synchronization response signal, and the second time period is predefined or configured.

15. The method according to any one of claims 10 to 14, characterized in that: The method further comprises: A second ranging signal is sent to the first node in the second time unit.

16. The method according to claim 15, characterized in that The sending time of the second ranging signal is separated from the sending time of the first ranging signal by a third time length, and the third time length is predefined or configured.

17. The method according to any one of claims 10 to 16, characterized in that: The method further comprises: A measurement value is sent within a third time unit, the third time unit is included in the ranging time unit of the second node, the third time unit is configured to send the first bandwidth signal, and the measurement value includes the time when the second node receives the first ranging response signal.

18. The method according to any one of claims 10 to 17, characterized in that: The method further comprises: A control signal is received, where the control signal is the first bandwidth signal, and the control signal includes one or more of the following: access network time information or ranging duration information, where the ranging duration includes one or more of the following: the number N of ranging time units, the duration occupied by the ranging time unit, the duration occupied by the first time unit, the duration occupied by the second time unit, or the duration occupied by the third time unit.

19. A communication device, characterized in that: include: A transceiver module, configured to receive a synchronization signal from a second node in a first time unit, and send a synchronization response signal in the first time unit in response to the synchronization signal, wherein the synchronization signal is used for time synchronization between the communication device and the second node, and the first time unit is configured to send a first bandwidth signal; and to receive a first ranging signal from the second node in a second time unit, and send a first ranging response signal in the second time unit in response to the first ranging signal, wherein the first ranging signal is used to measure the distance between the communication device and the second node, and the second time unit is configured to send a second bandwidth signal, wherein the bandwidth occupied by the second bandwidth signal is greater than the bandwidth occupied by the first bandwidth signal, and both the first time unit and the second time unit are included in the ranging time unit of the second node; The processing module is used to determine the time of receiving the synchronization signal.

20. The device according to claim 19, characterized in that The bandwidth occupied by the second bandwidth signal is greater than 500 MHz, and the second bandwidth signal is a nanosecond-level pulse signal.

21. The device according to claim 19 or 20, characterized in that The transceiver module is also used for: A measurement value is received from the second node within a third time unit, wherein the third time unit is included in a ranging time unit of the second node, the third time unit is configured to send the first bandwidth signal, and the measurement value includes a reception time of the first ranging response signal.

22. The device according to any one of claims 19 to 21, characterized in that The transceiver module is also used for: A broadcast control signal, wherein the control signal includes one or more of the following: access network time information or ranging duration information, wherein the ranging duration includes one or more of the following: the number N of ranging time units, the duration occupied by the ranging time unit, the duration occupied by the first time unit, the duration occupied by the second time unit, or the duration occupied by the third time unit, wherein the control signal is the first bandwidth signal.

23. A communication device, characterized in that: include: a transceiver module, configured to send a synchronization signal in a first time unit and receive a synchronization response signal from a first node, wherein the synchronization signal is used for time synchronization between the first node and the communication device, and the first time unit is configured to send a first bandwidth signal; and used to send a first ranging signal in a second time unit, and receive a first ranging response signal from the first node, wherein the first ranging signal is used to measure the distance between the first node and the communication device, the second time unit is configured to send a second bandwidth signal, the bandwidth occupied by the second bandwidth signal is greater than the bandwidth occupied by the first bandwidth signal, and the first time unit and the second time unit are both included in the ranging time unit of the second node; The processing module is used to determine the time of receiving the first ranging response signal.

24. The device according to claim 23, characterized in that The bandwidth occupied by the second bandwidth signal is greater than 500 MHz, and the second bandwidth signal is a nanosecond-level pulse signal.

25. The device according to claim 23 or 24, characterized in that The transceiver module is also used for: A measurement value is sent within a third time unit, wherein the third time unit is included in a ranging time unit of the second node, the third time unit is configured to send the first bandwidth signal, and the measurement value includes a time for receiving the first ranging response signal.

26. The device according to any one of claims 23 to 25, characterized in that The method further comprises: Receive a control signal, where the control signal includes one or more of the following: access network time information or ranging duration information, where the ranging duration includes one or more of the following: the number N of ranging time units, the duration occupied by the ranging time unit, the duration occupied by the first time unit, the duration occupied by the second time unit, or the duration occupied by the third time unit, wherein the control signal is the first bandwidth signal.

27. A communication device, characterized in that: It includes a processor and an interface circuit, wherein the interface circuit is used to receive signals from other communication devices outside the communication device and transmit them to the processor or send signals from the processor to other communication devices outside the communication device, and the processor is used to implement the method as described in any one of claims 1 to 9 or to implement the method as described in any one of claims 10 to 18 through a logic circuit or by executing code instructions.

28. A communication system, characterized in that: include: A first node and a second node, wherein the first node is used to implement the method according to any one of claims 1 to 9, and the second node is used to implement the method according to any one of claims 10 to 18.

29. A computer-readable storage medium, characterized in that: The storage medium stores a computer program or an instruction. When the computer program or the instruction is executed by the communication device, the method according to any one of claims 1 to 9 is implemented, or the method according to any one of claims 10 to 18 is implemented.

30. A computer program product, characterized in that The device comprises a computer program or an instruction, and when the computer program or the instruction is executed by the device, the method according to any one of claims 1 to 9 is executed, or the method according to any one of claims 10 to 18 is executed.

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