Scheduling method for UWB and related product

Abstract

The invention discloses a scheduling method for a UWB (Ultra Wideband) and related products, which can be applied to a UWB-based wireless personal local area network system, a sensing system, a positioning system, a ranging system or a communication system, and can also be applied to a wireless local area network system supporting a next generation Wi-Fi (Wireless Fidelity) protocol of IEEE (Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers) 802.11 ax, such as 802.11 be, Wi-Fi7, and 802.11 series protocols such as 802.11 be next generation, Wi-Fi8 and the like. The method comprises the steps that scheduling information is generated, the scheduling information comprises a first field and a second field, the first field is used for indicating a time unit used for transmitting a UWB signal in a first period when the UWB device transmits the UWB signal, and the second field is used for indicating a scheduling period when the UWB device transmits the UWB signal; sending scheduling information; by periodically transmitting UWB signals, signaling overhead can be reduced.

Description

[0001] This application is a divisional application. The application number of the original application is 202211275259.8, and the original application date is October 18, 2022. The entire contents of the original application are incorporated into this application by reference. Technical Field

[0002] The present application relates to the field of communications, and in particular to a scheduling method and related products for UWB. Background Art

[0003] Ultra wideband (UWB) technology is a wireless communication and sensing ranging technology that uses nanosecond non-sinusoidal narrow pulses to transmit signals, so it occupies a wide spectrum range. Due to its narrow pulses and extremely low radiation spectrum density, the UWB system has the advantages of strong multipath resolution, low power consumption, and strong confidentiality, and has attracted widespread attention in the industry.

[0004] Since the Federal Communications Commission of the United States approved UWB technology to enter the civilian field in 2002, many world-renowned large companies, research institutions, and standardization organizations have actively invested in the research, development, and standardization of ultra-wideband wireless communication technology. Among them, the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) has incorporated UWB technology into its IEEE 802 series of wireless standards and released the wireless personal area network (WPAN) standard IEEE 802.15.4a based on UWB technology, as well as its evolved version IEEE 802.15.4z. Currently, the formulation of the next generation UWB WPAN standard IEEE 802.15.4ab has also been put on the agenda. The IEEE 802.15.4ab standard plans to make a comprehensive upgrade of UWB.

[0005] Scheduling information for UWB applications (such as ranging, sensing, positioning, communication, etc.) is used to schedule one or more UWB devices to implement UWB applications. Currently, existing scheduling schemes for UWB usually have the problem of large signaling overhead. Therefore, it is necessary to study scheduling schemes for UWB that can reduce signaling overhead. Summary of the invention

[0006] The embodiment of the present application discloses a scheduling method for UWB, which can reduce signaling overhead.

[0007] In a first aspect, an embodiment of the present application provides a scheduling method for UWB, the method comprising: generating scheduling information, the scheduling information comprising a first field and a second field, the first field being used to indicate a time unit for a UWB device to transmit a UWB signal, and the second field being used to indicate a scheduling period for the UWB device to transmit the UWB signal; and sending the scheduling information. Optionally, the first field is used to indicate a time unit for transmitting a UWB signal in the first scheduling period of the UWB device.

[0008] In an embodiment of the present application, the first field is used to indicate the time unit for the UWB device to transmit the UWB signal, and the second field is used to indicate the scheduling period for the UWB device to transmit the UWB signal; by combining the first field and the second field, multiple time units allocated to the UWB device for transmitting the UWB signal can be indicated, which occupies fewer bits and can reduce signaling overhead.

[0009] In a possible implementation manner, the scheduling information further includes a third field, and the third field is used to indicate the number of repetitions of the UWB signal transmitted by the UWB device.

[0010] In this implementation, the third field included in the scheduling information is used to indicate the number of repetitions of the UWB device transmitting the UWB signal, and can flexibly indicate the number of repetitions of the UWB device transmitting the UWB signal.

[0011] In a possible implementation, the scheduling information implicitly indicates (or non-explicitly) the number of repetitions of the UWB signal transmitted by the UWB device. For example, any scheduling information defaults to 16 repetitions of the UWB signal transmitted by the UWB device, and the scheduling information does not need to indicate the number of repetitions of the UWB signal transmitted by the UWB device through the information carried. In other words, the UWB device does not need to know the number of repetitions of transmitting the UWB signal through the scheduling information. For example, the UWB device is pre-configured with the number of repetitions of transmitting the UWB signal.

[0012] In this implementation, the scheduling information implicitly indicates (or non-explicitly) the number of repetitions of the UWB signal transmitted by the UWB device, which can reduce the occupied bits.

[0013] In a possible implementation manner, the scheduling information further includes a fourth field, and the fourth field is used to instruct the UWB device to periodically transmit the UWB signal.

[0014] In this implementation, the fourth field is used to instruct the UWB device to periodically transmit the UWB signal, which can enable the UWB device to periodically transmit the UWB signal, thereby saving signaling overhead.

[0015] In a possible implementation manner, the scheduling information further includes an address of the UWB device, and the length of the address of the UWB device is 2 bytes or 8 bytes.

[0016] In this implementation, the scheduling information also includes the address of the UWB device so that the UWB device can know the time unit to be occupied by the UWB transmission.

[0017] In a possible implementation manner, the time unit is a time unit for transmitting the UWB signal in a first scheduling period.

[0018] In this implementation, the time unit indicated by the first field is the time unit for transmitting the UWB signal in the first scheduling period. The first field and the second field can be combined to determine the time unit for transmitting the UWB signal in each scheduling period, which can reduce signaling overhead.

[0019] In a possible implementation, the first field is a time unit bitmap, the time unit bitmap is used to indicate whether the time unit is used for the UWB device to transmit the UWB signal, the scheduling information also includes a bitmap offset, the bitmap offset is used to determine the starting time unit for the UWB device to transmit the UWB signal within a measurement cycle, and the time unit corresponding to the first bit of the time unit bitmap is the starting time unit. For example, the measurement can be one or more tasks of ranging, perception, positioning, or communication tasks. Optionally, the measurement cycle is a ranging round. It should be noted that the measurement cycle is a larger cycle than the scheduling cycle, and the measurement cycle is a time cycle for completing one or more measurement tasks. The measurement cycle is a whole cycle for completing ranging, perception, or positioning tasks. The scheduling cycle refers to the period during which the UWB device transmits the UWB signal within a measurement cycle or a communication cycle. For example, a measurement cycle includes 8 scheduling cycles of the UWB device, and the UWB transmits the UWB signal in the third time unit and the fifth time unit of each scheduling cycle, and does not transmit the UWB signal in other time units. The measurement cycle may include a control phase, a measurement phase, and a reporting phase.

[0020] In this implementation, the bitmap offset determines the starting time unit for the UWB device to transmit the UWB signal within a measurement period, that is, the time unit corresponding to the first bit of the time unit bitmap; combining the bitmap offset and the time unit bitmap, the time unit used to transmit the UWB signal in the first scheduling period can be accurately determined, the length of the time unit bitmap can be reduced, and thus signaling overhead can be saved.

[0021] In a possible implementation manner, the scheduling information further includes a field for indicating the length of the time unit bitmap.

[0022] In this implementation, the scheduling information also includes a field for indicating the length of the time unit bitmap, which can accurately determine the length of the time unit bitmap and further determine the time unit corresponding to each bit in the time unit bitmap.

[0023] In a possible implementation manner, the value of the bitmap offset is the number of time units before the start time unit in a measurement period.

[0024] In this implementation, the value of the bitmap offset is the number of time units before the start time unit in a measurement cycle, so that the UWB device can use this value to quickly and accurately determine the start time unit for transmitting the UWB signal.

[0025] In a possible implementation, the first field is a time unit bitmap, and the time unit bitmap is used to indicate whether the time unit is used for the UWB device to transmit the UWB signal. The scheduling information also includes a bitmap offset, and the bitmap offset is used to determine the starting time unit for the UWB device to transmit the UWB signal within a communication cycle. The time unit corresponding to the first bit of the time unit bitmap is the starting time unit.

[0026] In this implementation, the bitmap offset determines the starting time unit for the UWB device to transmit the UWB signal within a communication cycle, that is, the time unit corresponding to the first bit of the time unit bitmap; combined with the bitmap offset and the time unit bitmap, the time unit used to transmit the UWB signal within the first scheduling cycle can be accurately determined, which can reduce the length of the time unit bitmap and save signaling overhead. The scheduling cycle refers to the period during which the UWB device transmits the UWB signal within a measurement cycle or a communication cycle. The communication cycle is the time period for completing one or more communication tasks. The scheduling cycle refers to the period during which the UWB device transmits the UWB signal within a communication cycle. For example, a communication cycle includes 8 scheduling cycles of the UWB device, and the UWB transmits the UWB signal in the third time unit and the fifth time unit of each scheduling cycle, and does not transmit the UWB signal in other time units.

[0027] In a possible implementation manner, the value of the bitmap offset is the number of time units before the start time unit in a communication cycle.

[0028] In this implementation, the value of the bitmap offset is the number of time units before the start time unit in a communication cycle, so that the UWB device can use this value to quickly and accurately determine the start time unit for transmitting the UWB signal.

[0029] In a possible implementation, the time unit bitmap includes K bits, where K is an integer greater than 0, and when one of the K bits takes a set value, the set value indicates that the time unit corresponding to the bit is used for the UWB device to transmit the UWB signal.

[0030] In this implementation manner, it can be accurately indicated whether each time unit is used for the UWB device to transmit the UWB signal.

[0031] In a possible implementation manner, the scheduling information further includes a fifth field, and the fifth field is used to indicate an address type of the UWB device, where the address type of the UWB device includes a short address and an extended address.

[0032] In this implementation, the fifth field is used to indicate the address type of the UWB device so as to be applicable to UWB devices with different address types.

[0033] In a possible implementation, the scheduling information also includes a sixth field and a scheduling list, the sixth field is used to indicate the number of list elements in the scheduling list, one list element in the scheduling list is used to schedule a UWB device, and the first field and the second field correspond to a list element in the scheduling list.

[0034] In this implementation, the number of list elements in the scheduling list can be accurately indicated.

[0035] In a possible implementation, the time unit is any one of the following: a time slot (e.g., a ranging time slot), a ranging schedule time unit (RSTU), a sensing schedule time unit (SSTU). The time unit may also be other time lengths. A sensing schedule time unit is a time unit that can be used to determine the duration of a sensing block, a sensing round, or a sensing time slot.

[0036] In this implementation, the time unit can be flexibly configured according to the actual application scenario.

[0037] In a possible implementation, the method is applied to ranging, perception, or positioning scenarios.

[0038] In this implementation, in a ranging, sensing, or positioning scenario using UWB, signaling overhead can be reduced by executing the scheduling method of the first aspect.

[0039] In one possible implementation, the method is applied to application scenarios with a repetitive periodic transmission structure, such as ranging based on narrow-band assisted multi-millisecond (NBA-MMS), positioning based on uplink-time difference of arrival (UL-TDOA), positioning based on downlink-time difference of arrival (DL-TDOA), perception, and the like.

[0040] In this implementation, the method is applied to an application scenario with a repeated periodic transmission structure, which can effectively reduce signaling overhead.

[0041] In a second aspect, an embodiment of the present application provides another scheduling method for UWB, the method comprising: receiving first scheduling information, the first scheduling information comprising a first field and a second field, the first field being used to indicate a time unit for a UWB device to transmit a UWB signal, and the second field being used to indicate a scheduling period for the UWB device to transmit the UWB signal; transmitting the UWB signal according to the first scheduling information.

[0042] In an embodiment of the present application, the first field is used to indicate the time unit for the UWB device to transmit the UWB signal, and the second field is used to indicate the scheduling period for the UWB device to transmit the UWB signal; by combining the first field and the second field, multiple time units allocated to the UWB device for transmitting the UWB signal can be indicated, which occupies fewer bits and can reduce signaling overhead.

[0043] In a possible implementation manner, the scheduling information further includes a third field, and the third field is used to indicate the number of repetitions of the UWB signal transmitted by the UWB device.

[0044] In a possible implementation, the scheduling information implicitly indicates (or non-explicitly) the number of repetitions of the UWB signal transmitted by the UWB device. For example, any scheduling information defaults to 16 repetitions of the UWB signal transmitted by the UWB device, and the scheduling information does not need to indicate the number of repetitions of the UWB signal transmitted by the UWB device through the information carried. In other words, the UWB device does not need to know the number of repetitions of transmitting the UWB signal through the scheduling information. For example, the UWB device is pre-configured with the number of repetitions of transmitting the UWB signal.

[0045] In a possible implementation manner, the scheduling information further includes a fourth field, and the fourth field is used to instruct the UWB device to periodically transmit the UWB signal.

[0046] In a possible implementation manner, the scheduling information further includes an address of the UWB device, and the length of the address of the UWB device is 2 bytes or 8 bytes.

[0047] In a possible implementation manner, the time unit is a time unit for transmitting the UWB signal in a first scheduling period.

[0048] In one possible implementation, the first field is a time unit bitmap, and the time unit bitmap is used to indicate whether the time unit is used for the UWB device to transmit the UWB signal. The first scheduling information also includes a bitmap offset, and the bitmap offset is used to determine the starting time unit for the UWB device to transmit the UWB signal within a measurement period, and the time unit corresponding to the first bit of the time unit bitmap is the starting time unit. Optionally, the measurement period is a ranging round. It should be noted that the measurement period is a larger period compared to the scheduling period, and the measurement period is the time period for completing one or more measurement tasks. The measurement period is an entire period for completing ranging, perception, positioning, or communication tasks, and the scheduling period is a period for a UWB device to transmit a UWB signal. The scheduling period is multiple periods within a measurement period.

[0049] In a possible implementation manner, the scheduling information further includes a field for indicating the length of the time unit bitmap.

[0050] In a possible implementation manner, the value of the bitmap offset is the number of time units before the start time unit in a measurement period.

[0051] In a possible implementation, the first field is a time unit bitmap, and the time unit bitmap is used to indicate whether the time unit is used for the UWB device to transmit the UWB signal. The first scheduling information also includes a bitmap offset, and the bitmap offset is used to determine the starting time unit for the UWB device to transmit the UWB signal within a communication cycle. The time unit corresponding to the first bit of the time unit bitmap is the starting time unit.

[0052] In a possible implementation, the value of the bitmap offset is the number of time units before the start time unit in a communication cycle.

[0053] In a possible implementation, the time unit bitmap includes K bits, where K is an integer greater than 0, and when one of the K bits takes a set value, the set value indicates that the time unit corresponding to the bit is used for the UWB device to transmit the UWB signal.

[0054] In a possible implementation manner, the scheduling information further includes a fifth field, and the fifth field is used to indicate an address type of the UWB device, where the address type of the UWB device includes a short address and an extended address.

[0055] In a possible implementation, the scheduling information also includes a sixth field and a scheduling list, the sixth field is used to indicate the number of list elements in the scheduling list, one list element in the scheduling list is used to schedule a UWB device, and the first field and the second field correspond to a list element in the scheduling list.

[0056] In a possible implementation, the time unit is any one of the following: a time slot (eg, a ranging time slot), an RSTU, or an SSTU. The time unit may also be other time lengths.

[0057] In a possible implementation, the method is applied to ranging, perception, or positioning scenarios.

[0058] In a possible implementation, the method is applied to an application scenario with a repetitive periodic transmission structure, such as NBA-MMS-based ranging, UL-TDOA-based positioning, DL-TDOA-based positioning, perception and other scenarios.

[0059] In a possible implementation, the method further includes: receiving second scheduling information, the format of the second scheduling information being different from the format of the first scheduling information; and transmitting the UWB signal according to the first scheduling information includes: transmitting the UWB signal according to the first scheduling information according to the order in which the first scheduling information and the second scheduling information are received.

[0060] In this implementation, according to the order of the received scheduling information in different formats, the UWB signal is transmitted according to one of the scheduling information, which can save power consumption.

[0061] For the technical effects brought about by various possible implementations of the first aspect, reference may be made to the introduction to the technical effects of the first aspect or various possible implementations of the first aspect.

[0062] In a third aspect, an embodiment of the present application provides a communication device, which has the function of implementing the behavior in the method embodiment of the first aspect above. The communication device may be a communication device, or a component of a communication device (such as a processor, a chip, or a chip system, etc.), or a logic module or software that can implement all or part of the functions of the communication device. The functions of the communication device can be implemented by hardware, or by hardware executing corresponding software implementations, and the hardware or software includes one or more modules or units corresponding to the above functions. In a possible implementation, the communication device includes a transceiver module and a processing module, wherein: the processing module is used to generate scheduling information, the scheduling information includes a first field and a second field, the first field is used to indicate the time unit of the UWB device to transmit the UWB signal, and the second field is used to indicate the scheduling period of the UWB device to transmit the UWB signal; the transceiver module is used to send the scheduling information.

[0063] Possible implementations of the communication device of the third aspect may refer to various possible implementations of the first aspect.

[0064] For the technical effects brought about by various possible implementation methods of the third aspect, reference may be made to the introduction to the technical effects of the first aspect or various possible implementation methods of the first aspect.

[0065] In a fourth aspect, an embodiment of the present application provides a communication device, which has the function of implementing the behavior in the method embodiment of the second aspect above. The communication device may be a communication device, or a component of a communication device (such as a processor, a chip, or a chip system, etc.), or a logic module or software that can implement all or part of the functions of the communication device. The functions of the communication device may be implemented by hardware, or by hardware executing corresponding software, and the hardware or software includes one or more modules or units corresponding to the above functions. In a possible implementation, the communication device includes a transceiver module and a processing module, wherein: the transceiver module is used to receive first scheduling information, the first scheduling information includes a first field and a second field, the first field is used to indicate the time unit of the UWB device to transmit the UWB signal, and the second field is used to indicate the scheduling period of the UWB device to transmit the UWB signal; the processing module is used to transmit the UWB signal according to the first scheduling information.

[0066] In a possible implementation, the transceiver module is also used to receive second scheduling information, and the format of the second scheduling information is different from the format of the first scheduling information; the processing module is specifically used to transmit the UWB signal according to the first scheduling information based on the order in which the first scheduling information and the second scheduling information are received.

[0067] Possible implementations of the communication device of the fourth aspect may refer to various possible implementations of the second aspect.

[0068] For the technical effects brought about by various possible implementation methods of the fourth aspect, reference may be made to the introduction to the technical effects of the second aspect or various possible implementation methods of the second aspect.

[0069] In a fifth aspect, an embodiment of the present application provides another communication device, which includes a processor, the processor is coupled to a memory, the memory is used to store programs or instructions, and when the program or instructions are executed by the processor, the communication device executes the method shown in the first aspect or the second aspect.

[0070] In the embodiment of the present application, in the process of executing the above method, the process of sending information (or signal) in the above method can be understood as the process of outputting information based on the instructions of the processor. When outputting information, the processor outputs the information to the transceiver so that it can be transmitted by the transceiver. After the information is output by the processor, it may also need to be processed in other ways before it reaches the transceiver. Similarly, when the processor receives input information, the transceiver receives the information and inputs it into the processor. Furthermore, after the transceiver receives the information, the information may need to be processed in other ways before it is input into the processor.

[0071] For operations such as sending and / or receiving involved by the processor, unless otherwise specified or unless they conflict with the actual function or internal logic in the relevant description, they can be generally understood as instructions output based on the processor.

[0072] During the implementation process, the processor may be a processor specifically used to execute these methods, or may be a processor that executes computer instructions in a memory to execute these methods, such as a general-purpose processor, etc. For example, the processor may also be used to execute a program stored in the memory, and when the program is executed, the communication device executes the method as shown in the first aspect or any possible implementation of the first aspect.

[0073] In a possible implementation, the memory is located outside the communication device. In a possible implementation, the memory is located inside the communication device.

[0074] In a possible implementation, the processor and the memory may also be integrated into one device, that is, the processor and the memory may also be integrated together.

[0075] In a possible implementation, the communication device further includes a transceiver, and the transceiver is used to receive a signal or send a signal.

[0076] In a sixth aspect, an embodiment of the present application provides another communication device, which includes a processing circuit and an interface circuit, wherein the interface circuit is used to acquire data or output data; the processing circuit is used to execute the method shown in the above-mentioned first aspect or the above-mentioned second aspect.

[0077] In the seventh aspect, an embodiment of the present application provides a computer-readable storage medium, in which a computer program is stored. The computer program includes program instructions, and when the program instructions are executed, the computer executes the method shown in the first aspect or the second aspect above.

[0078] In an eighth aspect, an embodiment of the present application provides a computer program product, which includes a computer program, and the computer program includes program instructions, which, when executed, enable the computer to execute the method shown in the first aspect or the second aspect above.

[0079] In a ninth aspect, an embodiment of the present application provides a communication system, comprising the communication device described in the third aspect or any possible implementation of the third aspect, and the communication device described in the fourth aspect or any possible implementation of the fourth aspect.

[0080] In the tenth aspect, an embodiment of the present application provides a chip, including a processor and a communication interface, wherein the processor reads instructions stored in a memory through the communication interface to execute the method shown in the first aspect or the fourth aspect. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0081] In order to more clearly illustrate the technical solutions in the embodiments of the present application or the background technology, the drawings required for use in the embodiments of the present application or the background technology will be described below.

[0082] Figure 1 It is a schematic diagram of various stages of a distance measuring wheel in the prior art;

[0083] Figure 2 A schematic diagram of DL-TDOA positioning based on UWB signals;

[0084] Figure 3 A schematic diagram of an example of a star topology;

[0085] Figure 4 A schematic diagram of an example of a point-to-point topology or a mesh topology;

[0086] Figure 5 An example of a UWB system to which the technical solution provided in the embodiments of the present application is applicable;

[0087] Figure 6 A flowchart of a scheduling method for UWB provided in an embodiment of the present application;

[0088] Figure 7 A flowchart of another scheduling method for UWB provided in an embodiment of the present application;

[0089] Figure 8 A schematic diagram of a scheduling indication in a ranging scenario provided in an embodiment of the present application;

[0090] Fig. 9A An example of a list element in the scheduling information provided in an embodiment of the present application;

[0091] Fig. 9B Another example of a list element in the scheduling information provided in an embodiment of the present application;

[0092] Fig.10 A schematic diagram of a time unit for transmitting a UWB signal by a UWB device 1 provided in an embodiment of the present application;

[0093] Fig.11A A schematic diagram of a time unit for transmitting a UWB signal by another UWB device 1 provided in an embodiment of the present application;

[0094] Fig. 11B A schematic diagram of a time unit for transmitting a UWB signal by another UWB device 1 provided in an embodiment of the present application;

[0095] Fig. 12A Another example of a list element in the scheduling information provided in an embodiment of the present application;

[0096] Fig. 12B Another example of a list element in the scheduling information provided in an embodiment of the present application;

[0097] Fig.13 An example of a bitmap indicating whether a time unit is used for a UWB device to transmit a UWB signal in the prior art;

[0098] Fig.14 An example of a time unit bitmap indicating whether a time unit is used for UWB device 1 to transmit a UWB signal provided in an embodiment of the present application;

[0099] Fig.15 A timing diagram of a multi-millisecond transmission ranging process provided in an embodiment of the present application;

[0100] Fig.16 is a typical set of scheduling modes that can complete the DL-TDOA positioning process;

[0101] Fig.17 A schematic diagram of scheduling of 8-repetition DL-TDOA positioning provided in an embodiment of the present application;

[0102] Fig.18 A schematic diagram of the structure of a communication device 1800 provided in an embodiment of the present application;

[0103] Fig.19 A schematic diagram of the structure of another communication device 190 provided in an embodiment of the present application;

[0104] Fig. 20 A schematic diagram of the structure of another communication device 200 provided in an embodiment of the present application. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0105] The terms "first" and "second" in the specification, claims and drawings of the present application are only used to distinguish different objects, rather than to describe a specific order. It is understood that the various digital numbers involved in the embodiments of the present application are only for the convenience of description and are not used to limit the scope of the embodiments of the present application. The size of the sequence number of the above-mentioned processes does not mean the order of execution, and the execution order of each process should be determined by its function and inherent logic. In addition, the terms "including" and "having" and any of their variations are intended to cover non-exclusive inclusions. For example, a process, method, system, product or equipment, etc., comprising a series of steps or units, is not limited to the listed steps or units, but optionally also includes steps or units that are not listed, etc., or optionally also includes other steps or units inherent to these processes, methods, products or equipment, etc.

[0106] The "embodiment" mentioned in this article means that the specific features, structures or characteristics described in conjunction with the embodiment can be included in at least one embodiment of the present application. The appearance of this phrase in various places in the specification does not necessarily refer to the same embodiment, nor is it an independent or alternative embodiment that is mutually exclusive with other embodiments. It can be explicitly and implicitly understood by those skilled in the art that the embodiments described herein can be combined with other embodiments.

[0107] The terms used in the following embodiments of the present application are only for the purpose of describing specific embodiments, and are not intended to be used as limitations to the present application. As used in the specification and the appended claims of the present application, the singular expressions "one", "a kind of", "said", "above", "the" and "this" are intended to also include plural expressions, unless there is a clear contrary indication in its context. It should also be understood that the term "and / or" used in the present application refers to and includes any or all possible combinations of one or more listed items. For example, "A and / or B" can represent: only A exists, only B exists, and A and B exist at the same time, wherein A, B can be singular or plural. The term "multiple" used in the present application refers to two or more. In the textual description of the present application, the character " / " generally indicates that the front and back associated objects are a kind of "or" relationship.

[0108] It can be understood that in each embodiment of the present application, "A corresponds to B" means that there is a corresponding relationship between A and B, and B can be determined according to A. However, it should also be understood that determining (or generating) B according to (or based on) A does not mean that B is determined (or generated) only according to (or based on) A, and B can also be determined (or generated) according to (or based on) A and / or other information.

[0109] In order to facilitate understanding of the solutions of the present application, the terms and technical solutions involved in the embodiments of the present application are first introduced below.

[0110] Ranging round, positioning round, sensing round, measurement cycle, communication cycle.

[0111] In the IEEE 802.15.4z standard, a single ranging process is defined as a ranging round. In the IEEE 802.15.4z standard, a ranging round is defined as: a ranging round is a period of sufficient duration to complete one entire range-measurement cycle involving the set of ERDEVs participating in the ranging exchange. The minimum processing time unit of each ranging round is a ranging slot. In a ranging round, there are three phases: ranging control phase, ranging phase, and measurement report phase. Figure 1 Schematic diagram of various stages of a distance measuring wheel in the prior art. Figure 1 In the IEEE 802.15.4z standard, the ranging control phase includes one ranging time slot, while in the IEEE 802.15.4ab standard currently under discussion, the ranging control phase may include more than one ranging time slot.

[0112] In an embodiment of the present application, a single positioning process, i.e., a process of completing a positioning task, is defined as a positioning wheel. The positioning wheel may be called by other names, which are not limited in the present application. The positioning wheel may be a time period (or time cycle) sufficient to complete a complete positioning task. The meaning of the positioning wheel is similar to that of the ranging wheel, except that one is a time period corresponding to ranging, and the other is a time period corresponding to positioning. The minimum processing time unit of each positioning wheel is a positioning slot. In a positioning wheel, it can be divided into three phases: positioning control phase, positioning phase, and positioning report phase.

[0113] In an embodiment of the present application, a single perception process, that is, a process of completing a perception task, is defined as a perception round. The perception wheel can be other names, which are not limited in this application. A perception wheel can be a time period (or time cycle) sufficient to complete a complete perception task. The meaning of a perception wheel is similar to that of a ranging wheel, the difference being that one is a time period corresponding to ranging, and the other is a time period corresponding to perception. The minimum processing time unit of each perception wheel is a sensing slot. In a perception wheel, it can be divided into three phases: a sensing control phase, a sensing phase, and a sensing report phase.

[0114] A measurement cycle is a time period during which one or more UWB devices complete one or more measurement tasks. A measurement task may be a ranging task, a positioning task, a sensing task, etc. A measurement cycle may be a ranging wheel, a positioning wheel, or a sensing wheel. A communication cycle is a time period during which one or more UWB devices complete one or more communication tasks.

[0115] In addition, it should be noted that the names of the different stages in a single measuring wheel (such as a ranging wheel, a sensing wheel, a positioning wheel, etc.) are only examples and do not constitute any limitation on the scope of protection of the present application. For example, the above-mentioned measurement control stage can be understood as a stage for configuring the required parameters in the measuring wheel. For another example, the above-mentioned measurement stage can be understood as a stage for performing measurements. For another example, the above-mentioned measurement result reporting stage can be understood as a stage for reporting measurement results, and can also be called the end of the measurement stage. In addition, it should be noted that in each embodiment of the present application, the size of each field represents the number of bits occupied by each field.

[0116] UWB Positioning

[0117] UWB can be used for indoor positioning. The principles and methods of UWB positioning include but are not limited to: UL-TDOA, DL-TDOA. Figure 2 FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram of DL-TDOA positioning based on UWB signals. DL-TDOA positioning based on UWB signals can be called UWB DL-TDOA positioning. Figure 2 In the figure, A, B, and C represent point devices, and arrows represent the direction of the UWB positioning / ranging signal. Figure 2 It can be seen that taking UWBDL-TDOA positioning as an example, this method arranges three or more anchor devices in the indoor space, and the anchor devices perform two-way UWB signal interaction to provide positioning signals for the tag devices; the tag device listens to the UWB positioning / ranging interaction signals between the anchor devices and calculates the arrival time difference between each signal, thereby calculating its own position and realizing the positioning function.

[0118] The following introduces prior art 1 and prior art 2 related to the scheduling scheme provided in the embodiment of the present application.

[0119] Prior art 1:

[0120] Prior art 1 provides a scheduling information element for UWB ranging purposes, namely, ranging device management information element (RDM IE). Table 1 shows the format of RDMIE in the prior art.

[0121] Table 1

[0122] Bits:0 1 2-7 Octets:variable SIU Address Size RDM List Length RDM List

[0123] Specifically, the meanings of some fields in Table 1 are as follows:

[0124] The SIU field (slot index used) indicates the access mode adopted by the current ranging process. If SIU=0, the current RDM IE is used to manage the ranging process based on contention access. If SIU=1, the current RDM IE is used to manage the ranging process based on scheduling access.

[0125] The Address Size field is used to indicate the address type of the device involved in the ranging process. If Address Size = 0, it means that the addresses of the devices involved in the current RDM List are all short addresses, that is, the address length is 2 bytes. If Address Size = 1, it means that the addresses of the devices involved in the current RDM List are all extended addresses (long addresses), that is, the address length is 8 bytes.

[0126] The RDM List Length field is used to indicate the number of elements in the RDM List, that is, the number of list elements in the format shown in Table 2. Table 2 is the format of the list elements in the RDM List in the prior art 1. In the embodiment of the present application, the list element may be referred to as a scheduling list element.

[0127] The RDM List field is a list, where the format of each element in the list is shown in Table 2.

[0128] Table 2

[0129] Bits:0 1-7 Octets:2 / 8 Ranging Role Ranging Slot Index Address

[0130] Specifically, the meanings of some fields in Table 2 are as follows:

[0131] The Ranging Role field is used to indicate the ranging role of the device corresponding to the Address field of the current list element. If Ranging Role = 0, it means that the device is a ranging responder. If Ranging Role = 1, it means that the device is a ranging initiator.

[0132] The Ranging Slot Index field is used to indicate the index of the time slot allocated to the device participating in ranging corresponding to the current list element. The address of the device is determined by the Address field in Table 2.

[0133] The Address field is used to indicate the address of the device participating in ranging corresponding to the current list element.

[0134] Assuming that there are N (an integer greater than 0) devices in the ranging system currently using prior art 1, and each device needs to call S (an integer greater than 0) time slots at most, the message length M required for the scheduling IE proposed in prior art 1 can be expressed as:

[0135] Assuming that all N devices are short-address devices, the message length of IE is (M=1+3*N*S) bytes;

[0136] Assuming that all N devices are long address devices, the message length of IE is (M=1+9*N*S) bytes.

[0137] From the above analysis, it can be found that the scheduling IE of the prior art 1 has the following disadvantages:

[0138] Large signaling overhead: When the number of devices N is fixed, the length of the scheduling IE will increase as S increases. For example, taking the short address as an example, when S=32, the length of the scheduling IE is (M=1+96*N) bytes; when S=64, the length of the scheduling IE is (M=1+192*N) bytes. Therefore, when the number of devices N is fixed, if the number of time slots S currently required to be scheduled by the system is large (for example, when S≥64), it will lead to large signaling overhead.

[0139] Limited flexibility: Each list element of the RDM IE of prior art 1 (Table 2) can only allow a device to indicate one time slot, and cannot indicate multiple time slots, resulting in limited flexibility of the RDM IE indication scheduling. Specifically, if a device needs to indicate multiple time slots, multiple list elements as shown in Table 2 are required, which will lead to redundant signaling indications, that is, the aforementioned signaling overhead problem.

[0140] Prior art 2:

[0141] Prior art 2 provides a bitmap-based scheduling information element (IE) format for UWB purposes. Table 3 shows the format of the bitmap-based scheduling IE provided by prior art 2.

[0142] Table 3

[0143] Octets:1 Variable value (1 or more octets) Control Scheduling List

[0144] The Control field occupies one byte (octet) in size, and the Scheduling List field occupies one or more bytes in size. Table 4 shows the format of the Control field of the bitmap-based scheduling IE provided by the prior art 2.

[0145] Table 4

[0146] Bits:0 1-7 Address Type Scheduling List Length

[0147] When Address Type is 0, it means that the device address is a short address, that is, the address length is 2 bytes (16 bits); when Address Type is 1, it means that the device address is a long address (or extended address), that is, the address length is 8 bytes (64 bits). The device address here refers to the address of the device scheduled by the bitmap-based scheduling IE, that is, the address of the device involved in the scheduling list.

[0148] Scheduling List Length indicates the number of list elements in the Scheduling List field. List elements are carried in the Scheduling List field. Table 5 shows the format of a list element in the Scheduling List in the prior art 2.

[0149] Table 5

[0150]

[0151] The bitmap in Table 5 represents a one-dimensional bit string, such as 0000100100100000. Bitmap Size is used to indicate the length of the bitmap, wherein the relationship between the Bitmap Size value and the length of the bitmap is shown in Table 6. Table 6 shows the relationship between the Bitmap Size value and the length of the bitmap.

[0152] Table 6

[0153] Bitmap Size value meaning 0 1 byte bitmap (8 bit bitmap) 1 2-byte bitmap (16-bit bitmap) 2 4-byte bitmap (32-bit bitmap) 3 8-byte bitmap (64-bit bitmap)

[0154] For example, the bitmap shown in Table 7 represents a bit string with a length of 8, that is, it represents 8 time slots (each bit corresponds to a time slot), that is, the corresponding Bitmap Size value is 0. Among them, if a certain bit is 1, it means that the device participating in the ranging corresponding to the list element corresponding to the bitmap sends a UWB signal in the time slot corresponding to the bit. Correspondingly, if a certain bit is 0, it means that the device does not send a UWB signal in the time slot corresponding to the bit being 0.

[0155] Table 7

[0156] 0 1 0 1 1 0 1 1

[0157] The bitmap shown in Table 7 represents time slots 1 to 8 (or time slots 0 to 7) from left to right. The bits corresponding to time slots 2, 4, 5, 7, and 8 are all 1, indicating that the device sends UWB signals in time slots 2, 4, 5, 7, and 8. The bits corresponding to time slots 1, 3, and 6 are all 0, indicating that the device does not send UWB signals in time slots 1, 3, and 6.

[0158] It should be noted that the description method of the bitmap such as Table 7 in this document defaults to a left-to-right representation method. That is, the bitmap represents the order of time slots from near to far from left to right. For example, for a bitmap with a length of 1 byte, the bitmap represents time slots 1 to 8 (or time slots 0 to 7) from left to right. On the other hand, the description of the bitmap in the embodiment of the present application can also be described from right to left, that is, it represents the order of time slots from near to far. The embodiment of the present application does not impose any limitation on the description order of the bitmap. The entire text is illustrated with examples from left to right.

[0159] Assuming that there are N (an integer greater than 0) devices in the system currently using prior art 2, and each device needs to call S (an integer greater than 0) time slots at most, the message length M required for the scheduling IE proposed in prior art 2 can be expressed as:

[0160] Assuming that all N devices are short-address devices, then

[0161] Assuming that all N devices are long address devices, then

[0162] Among them, the symbol Indicates rounding up.

[0163] From the above analysis, it can be found that the scheduling IE of the prior art 2 has the following disadvantages:

[0164] Large signaling overhead: When the number of devices N is fixed, the message length of the scheduling IE will increase as S increases. Taking the short address as an example, when S=32, the length of the scheduling IE is (M=1+N*7) bytes; when S=64, the length of the scheduling IE is (M=1+11*N) bytes. Therefore, when the number of devices N is fixed, if the number of time slots S currently required to be scheduled by the system is large (for example, when S≥64), it will lead to large signaling overhead.

[0165] Redundancy of message representation: Prior art 2 uses a bitmap to indicate whether a time slot is used to transmit a UWB signal. For time slots that are not used for transmission, the bit still needs to be set to 0, which makes the message representation inflexible and leads to unnecessary message representation redundancy.

[0166] For UWB applications with a repetitive periodic transmission structure, such as narrow-band assisted multi-millisecond (NBA-MMS), DL-TDOA / UL-TDOA positioning, sensing and other applications, using only a bitmap to indicate whether a time slot is used to transmit a UWB signal will lead to unnecessary repetition redundancy, and when the number of repetitions is large, it will lead to greater representation redundancy.

[0167] As can be seen from the above description, the scheduling information elements provided by the prior art 1 and the prior art 2 both have the disadvantage of large overhead. In order to avoid the problem of large signaling overhead caused by the scheduling information elements provided by the prior art 1 or the prior art 2, the embodiment of the present application provides a scheduling scheme for UWB with less signaling overhead. The following introduces the topological structure and system applicable to the scheduling scheme for UWB provided by the embodiment of the present application.

[0168] The scheduling scheme for UWB provided in the embodiment of the present application can work in a star topology, a point-to-point topology, or a mesh topology. The scheduling scheme for UWB provided in the embodiment of the present application can also work in other topologies, which are not limited in the embodiment of the present application. Figure 3 A schematic diagram of an example of a star topology is shown in FIG. Figure 3 As shown, the star topology involves a central control node, e.g. Figure 3 The personal area network (PAN) coordinator or coordinator shown, and data communication between one or more other devices. The scheduling scheme for UWB provided in the embodiment of the present application is applicable to data communication / perception / ranging / positioning between a central control node and one or more other devices in a star topology. Figure 4 Schematic diagram of an example of a point-to-point topology or a mesh topology. The scheduling scheme for UWB provided in the embodiment of the present application is also applicable to point-to-point topology or mesh topology ( Figure 4 ), communication / perception / ranging / positioning between different devices. Figure 3 and Figure 4 In the figure, the black nodes are full function devices (FFD) and the white nodes are reduced function devices (RFD). FFD can act as a PAN coordinator or coordinator, while RFD cannot act as a PAN coordinator or coordinator. FFD devices can communicate with each other and with RFD devices. RFD devices cannot communicate directly with each other, but can only communicate with FFD devices, or forward data outward through an FFD device. In the UWB system, FFD can be an anchor device or a tag device with strong computing power (such as a UWB tag mounted on a smartphone); while RFD is a tag device with only partial computing power.

[0169] The technical solution of the embodiment of the present application is mainly applicable to UWB systems, such as UWB systems that support the next generation standard of IEEE 802.15.4a standard, IEEE 802.15.4z standard, IEEE 802.15.4ab standard, or IEEE 802.15.4ab standard. It is easy for those skilled in the art to understand that the various aspects involved in the present application can be extended to other networks using various standards or protocols, such as BLUETOOTH (Bluetooth), high performance wireless LAN (high performance radio LAN, HIPERLAN) (a wireless standard similar to the IEEE 802.11 standard, mainly used in Europe) and wide area network (WAN), personal area network (personal area network, PAN) or other networks known now or developed later. Therefore, regardless of the coverage range and wireless access protocol used, the various aspects provided by the embodiment of the present application can be applied to any suitable wireless network.

[0170] See also Figure 5 , Figure 5 An example of a UWB system to which the technical solution provided in the embodiment of the present application is applicable. The UWB system includes one or more anchor points, one or more tags, Figure 5Only one anchor point, tag 1 and tag 2 are shown. Among them, the protocols supported by the anchor point and the tag may include IEEE 802.15.4a, IEEE 802.15.4z, IEEE802.15.4ab and other protocols. Of course, with the continuous evolution and development of communication technology, the WLAN protocol may also include the next generation protocol of IEEE802.15.4ab, etc. The anchor point may be an access point, and the tag may be a station (STA). Both the access point and the STA support the WLAN protocol, which may include IEEE 802.11be (or Wi-Fi 7, EHT protocol).

[0171] An access point is a device with wireless communication function, supports communication using WLAN protocol, and has the function of communicating with other devices in the WLAN network (such as stations or other access points). Of course, it can also have the function of communicating with other devices. In the UWB system, there are one or more access point (AP) type stations and one or more non-access point type stations (none access point station, non-AP STA). For ease of description, this article refers to access point type stations as access points (APs) and non-access point type stations as stations (STAs).

[0172] The access point can be a complete device, or a chip or processing system installed in the complete device. The device installed with these chips or processing systems can implement the methods and functions of the embodiments of the present application under the control of the chip or processing system (i.e., AP). The AP in the embodiments of the present application is a device that provides services for stations (STAs), and can support, for example, IEEE 802.15.4a, IEEE 802.15.4z, IEEE 802.15.4ab or its next generation. For example, AP can be a communication entity such as a communication server, a router, a switch, a bridge, a computer, a mobile phone, etc. AP may include an anchor, a macro base station, a micro base station (also called a small station), a pico base station, a femto base station, a relay station, an access point, a gNB, a transmission reception point (TRP), an evolved Node B (eNB), a radio network controller (RNC), a home base station (e.g., home evolved NodeB, or homeNode B, HNB), a base band unit (BBU), a WiFi access point (AP), an integrated access and backhaul (IAB), etc. Of course, AP may also be a chip and a processing system in these various forms of devices, so as to realize the methods and functions of the embodiments of the present application.

[0173] A station is a device with wireless communication function, supports communication using WLAN protocol, and has the ability to communicate with other stations or access points in the WLAN network. For example, STA is any communication device that allows a user to communicate with an AP and then communicate with a WLAN. The communication device can be a complete device, or a chip or processing system installed in the complete device. Devices installed with these chips or processing systems can implement the methods and functions of the embodiments of the present application under the control of the chip or processing system (i.e., station). STA may include tag devices / smart tag devices, mobile phones, mobile stations (MS), tablet computers (pads), computers with wireless transceiver functions (such as laptops), virtual reality (VR) devices, augmented reality (AR) devices, wireless terminals in industrial control, wireless terminals in self-driving, wireless terminals in remote medical, wireless terminals in smart grids, wireless terminals in transportation safety, wireless terminals in smart cities, wireless terminals in smart homes, subscriber units, cellular phones, wireless data cards, personal digital assistants (PDA) computers, tablet computers, laptop computers, machine type communication (MTC) terminals, etc. Stations may include various handheld devices with wireless communication functions, vehicle-mounted devices, wearable devices, computing devices, or other processing devices connected to wireless modems. Optionally, the station can be a handheld device (handset) with wireless communication function, a vehicle-mounted device, a wearable device or a terminal in the Internet of Things, the Internet of Vehicles, 5G and any form of terminal in the communication system evolved after 5G, etc., which is not limited by this application. The station can support IEEE 802.15 series protocols, such as IEEE 802.15.4a, IEEE 802.15.4z, and IEEE 802.15.4ab.

[0174] The following describes a scheduling scheme for UWB provided in an embodiment of the present application in conjunction with the accompanying drawings.

[0175] Figure 6A flowchart of a scheduling method for UWB provided in an embodiment of the present application. Figure 6 The method shown can be applied to ranging, perception, positioning, communication and other scenarios, for example, it is applicable to ranging based on NBA-MMS, positioning based on DL-TDOA, positioning based on UL-TDOA, perception and other scenarios. Figure 6 As shown, the method includes:

[0176] 601. The sending end generates scheduling information.

[0177] The transmitter can be a UWB device that supports the UWB standard. The transmitter can be an AP or a station. The transmitter can be an FFD or an RFD. The transmitter can be an initiator of ranging, perception, positioning, or communication, that is, a ranging initiator, a perception initiator, a positioning initiator, or a communication initiator; it can also be a responder of ranging, perception, positioning, or communication, that is, a ranging responder, a perception responder, a positioning responder, or a communication responder; it can also be a third-party device (which can be called a controller device), that is, not an initiator or responder of ranging, perception, positioning, or communication. For example, the transmitter is a third-party device, and the scheduling information is a ranging control message (RCM). After receiving the scheduling information, all initiators / rangers participating in the ranging process interpret the information related to themselves in the scheduling information (such as the time slot subscript corresponding to the transmission, etc.), and perform the corresponding ranging process in the measurement phase.

[0178] The scheduling information includes a first field and a second field. The above-mentioned first field is used to indicate the time unit for the UWB device to transmit the UWB signal. For example, the first field is used to indicate the time unit within the first scheduling period for the UWB device to transmit the UWB signal. For example, the first field may be called a time unit index field, or a slot index field, or a starting slot index field. The embodiment of the present application does not limit the name of the first field. The second field is used to indicate the scheduling period (which may be referred to as period) for the UWB device to transmit the UWB signal. The second field may be called a period index field or other fields. The following describes the implementation of the first field and the second field in conjunction with the example of scheduling information.

[0179] In a possible implementation, the scheduling information further includes a third field, and the third field is used to indicate the number of repetitions of the UWB signal transmitted by the UWB device, that is, the number of repetitions of the UWB transmission. The value represented by the R bits included in the third field is used to indicate the number of repetitions of the UWB signal transmitted by the UWB device, and R is an integer greater than 0, for example, R is any one of 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, etc. For example, the third field may be called a repetition index field or other fields. Optionally, the third field represents a continuous value, for example, 1 to 32 times, etc. The embodiment of the present application does not impose any restrictions on the number that the third field can represent. Optionally, the third field represents a non-continuous natural number. For example, the third field can represent any number in a numerical combination (including multiple non-continuous natural numbers), such as 8, 16, 32, 64, 128, etc. For example, when the value of the third field is 1 (ie, repetition index = 1), the number of periodic transmissions of UWB signals (or periodic UWB transmissions) is 16 times. For another example, when the value of the third field is 2 (i.e., repetition index = 2), the number of periodic UWB transmissions is 32. The embodiment of the present application does not impose any restrictions on the non-continuous values ​​that the third field can represent. In this implementation, the third field is used to indicate the number of repetitions of the UWB device transmitting the UWB signal. By combining the first field and the second field, the time unit in each scheduling period in which the UWB device transmits the UWB signal can be indicated, which occupies fewer bits and can reduce signaling overhead.

[0180] In one possible implementation, the scheduling information implicitly indicates (or non-explicitly) the number of repetitions of the UWB signal transmitted by the UWB device. For example, any scheduling information defaults to 16 repetitions of the UWB signal transmitted by the UWB device, and the scheduling information does not need to carry information to indicate the number of repetitions of the UWB signal transmitted by the UWB device. In other words, the UWB device does not need to know the number of repetitions of transmitting the UWB signal through the scheduling information. For example, the UWB device is pre-configured with the number of repetitions of transmitting the UWB signal. In this implementation, the scheduling information implicitly indicates (or non-explicitly) the number of repetitions of the UWB signal transmitted by the UWB device, which can reduce the occupied bits.

[0181] In a possible implementation, the scheduling information further includes the address of the UWB device, and the length of the address of the UWB device is 2 bytes or 8 bytes. In this implementation, the scheduling information further includes the address of the UWB device so that the UWB device knows the time unit to be occupied by its UWB transmission.

[0182] In a possible implementation, the scheduling information includes a control field and a scheduling list field. The scheduling list field includes one or more list elements. The first field, the second field, the third field and the address of the UWB device may be included in the same list element.

[0183] 602. The sending end sends scheduling information.

[0184] A possible implementation of step 602 is as follows: the transmitter sends the scheduling information by broadcasting or multicasting. Another possible implementation of step 602 is as follows: the transmitter sends the scheduling information to one or more UWB devices to be scheduled (i.e., the receiving end) by unicasting. Correspondingly, the receiving end receives the scheduling information from the transmitter.

[0185] 603. The receiving end transmits the UWB signal according to the scheduling information.

[0186] The receiving end can be an anchor point or a tag. The receiving end can be an FFD or an RFD. The receiving end is a UWB device scheduled by the above-mentioned scheduling information, and the receiving end receives the scheduling information from the transmitting end. The receiving end can be an initiator of ranging, perception, positioning, or communication, or a responder of ranging, perception, positioning, or communication. For example, a list element in the scheduling information includes a first field, a second field, a third field, and an address 1; the first field is used to indicate the time unit used to transmit the UWB signal in the first scheduling period in which the UWB device 1 (i.e., the receiving end) transmits the UWB signal, the second field is used to indicate the scheduling period for the UWB device 1 to transmit the UWB signal, the third field is used to indicate the number of repetitions of the UWB device 1 transmitting the UWB signal, and the address 1 is the address of the UWB device 1; the list element is used to schedule the UWB device 1. Step 603 is optional. In actual applications, there can be multiple receiving ends that receive the scheduling information and transmit the UWB signal according to the scheduling information, thereby completing ranging, perception, positioning, or communication.

[0187] The receiving end may transmit UWB signals according to the scheduling information: according to the scheduling information, the receiving end may sense, measure distance, locate, or communicate by transmitting UWB signals. It should be understood that the scheduling information indicates the time units for UWB device 1 to transmit UWB signals, and UWB device 1 may transmit UWB signals for sensing, measuring distance, locating, or communicating at these time units. In some embodiments, the scheduling information indicates the time units for multiple UWB devices to transmit UWB signals, that is, the scheduling information schedules multiple receiving ends to sense, measure distance, locate, or communicate by transmitting UWB signals; multiple UWB devices sense, measure distance, locate, or communicate by transmitting UWB signals according to the scheduling information.

[0188] In an embodiment of the present application, the first field is used to indicate the time unit used by the UWB device to transmit the UWB signal, and the second field is used to indicate the scheduling period for the UWB device to transmit the UWB signal; by combining the first field and the second field, multiple time units allocated to the UWB device for transmitting the UWB signal can be indicated, occupying fewer bits and reducing signaling overhead.

[0189] Figure 7 A flowchart of another scheduling method for UWB provided in an embodiment of the present application. Figure 7 The method flow in is Figure 6 A possible implementation of the method described herein. In this implementation, according to the order of the received scheduling information in different formats, the UWB signal is transmitted according to one of the scheduling information, which can save power consumption. Figure 7 As shown, the method includes:

[0190] 701. A first transmitting end sends first scheduling information.

[0191] The first sender can be Figure 6 At the sending end, the first scheduling information may be Figure 6 The receiving end receives the first scheduling information from the first transmitting end. The receiving end here can be Figure 6 The receiving end in .

[0192] 702. The second sending end sends second scheduling information.

[0193] The second sender can be Figure 6 The sender in Figure 6 The transmitting end in the receiving end receives the second scheduling information from the second transmitting end. Correspondingly, the receiving end receives the second scheduling information from the second transmitting end. The format of the above-mentioned second scheduling information is different from the format of the above-mentioned first scheduling information. The second transmitting end may be the initiator of ranging, perception, positioning, or communication; it may also be the responder of ranging, perception, positioning, or communication; it may also be a third-party device, that is, it is not the initiator and responder of ranging, perception, positioning, or communication. The difference between the format of the above-mentioned second scheduling information and the format of the above-mentioned first scheduling information may be that one or more fields in the second scheduling information are not included in the first scheduling information, or one or more fields in the first scheduling information are not included in the second scheduling information. For example, the second scheduling information includes the second field, and the first scheduling information does not include the second field. It can be understood that if the fields in the first scheduling information and the fields in the second scheduling information are not exactly the same, the format of the second scheduling information is different from the format of the first scheduling information.

[0194] 703. The receiving end transmits a UWB signal according to the first scheduling information and the second scheduling information according to the order in which the first scheduling information and the second scheduling information are received.

[0195] A possible implementation of step 703 is as follows: the first scheduling information and the second scheduling information are scheduling information received successively by the receiving end in the control phase of the same working period (for example, the ranging control phase of the same ranging round); the receiving end transmits the UWB signal according to the first scheduling information received first. The receiving end may transmit the UWB signal only according to the first scheduling information received first, and may not decode the second scheduling information received later, which can save energy consumption.

[0196] Another possible implementation of step 703 is as follows: the first scheduling information and the second scheduling information are scheduling information received successively by the receiving end in the control phase of the same working period (for example, the ranging control phase of the same ranging round); the receiving end transmits the UWB signal according to the first scheduling information received later. The receiving end may transmit the UWB signal only according to the first scheduling information received later, and may not decode the second scheduling information received earlier, which can save energy consumption.

[0197] In the embodiment of the present application, the receiving end transmits the UWB signal according to one of the scheduling information according to the order of the received scheduling information in different formats, which can save power consumption.

[0198] The following describes the application of the scheduling solution for UWB provided in the embodiments of the present application in the ranging scenario with reference to the accompanying drawings. Figure 8 A schematic diagram of a scheduling indication in a ranging scenario provided in an embodiment of the present application. Figure 8 In the ranging control phase, the controller device sends the scheduling information provided in the embodiment of the present application to the initiator, responder 1, and responder 2, wherein the controller device may be the above-mentioned sending end, and responder 1 or responder 2 may be the above-mentioned receiving end. Figure 8 As shown, the controller device sends the scheduling information provided by the embodiment of the present application to all initiators and / or responders participating in the ranging in the ranging control phase, and the scheduling information may be RCM or other messages; all initiators and / or responders participating in the ranging, after receiving the scheduling information, all initiators and / or responders interpret the information related to themselves in the scheduling information, and execute the corresponding ranging process in the measurement phase; in the measurement reporting phase, the initiator and / or responder may report the measurement results obtained in the measurement phase. Figure 8The application of the scheduling scheme for UWB provided in the embodiment of the present application in the ranging scenario is shown. It can be understood that the scheduling scheme for UWB provided in the embodiment of the present application can also be used for perception, DL-TDOA positioning, UL-TDOA positioning, communication, etc., which will not be repeated here. This article specifically describes the case where the controller device is a third-party device. When the controller device is an initiator or responder, the scheme described in this article is also applicable and will not be repeated.

[0199] Figure 8 The scheduling information provided by the embodiments of the present application is described as being used in the ranging control phase. Figure 8 This is only an example of the use of the scheduling information provided in the embodiment of the present application in the control phase of the measurement cycle. The scheduling information provided in the embodiment of the present application can also be used in the measurement phase and the measurement reporting phase. Among them, under normal circumstances, for the use of the scheduling information provided in the embodiment of the present application in the measurement phase and the measurement reporting phase, the corresponding scheduling instructions will be used in the next round. Among them, the next round may be a round adjacent to the current round, or it may also be a round that is at least one round apart from the current round. For example, if the current measurement application is ranging. For the use of the scheduling information provided in the embodiment of the present application in the ranging phase and the measurement reporting phase, the corresponding scheduling instructions will be used in the next ranging round. Among them, the next ranging round may be a ranging round adjacent to the current ranging round, or it may also be a ranging round that is at least one ranging round apart from the current ranging round.

[0200] The scheduling information provided by the embodiment of the present application may include a control field and a scheduling list field. The following introduces examples of list elements in the scheduling list field in the scheduling information and examples of the control field.

[0201] Example 1: Example of a list element in the schedule list field in the schedule information.

[0202] The list elements include the first field, the second field, the third field and address 1, see Fig. 9A . Fig. 9A This is an example of a list element in the scheduling information provided in the embodiment of the present application. Fig. 9AAs shown, a list element in the scheduling information includes a first field (time unit index field), a second field (period index field), a third field (repetition index field) and address 1; the first field is used to indicate the time unit used to transmit the UWB signal in the first scheduling period for UWB device 1 to transmit the UWB signal, the second field is used to indicate the scheduling period for UWB device 1 to transmit the UWB signal, the third field is used to indicate the number of repetitions for UWB device 1 to transmit the UWB signal, and address 1 is the address of UWB device 1. It can be understood that Fig. 9A The list element shown is used to indicate the time unit to be occupied by UWB device 1 to transmit the UWB signal, that is, to schedule UWB device 1. The first field is used to indicate the starting time unit for UWB device 1 to transmit the UWB signal. UWB device 1 can be regarded as the UWB device involved in the list element. The length of address 1 is 2 bytes or 8 bytes. In other words, a time unit indicated by the first field can be the starting time unit for the UWB device to transmit the UWB signal. In other words, a time unit indicated by the first field can be the time unit for the UWB device to transmit the UWB signal in the first scheduling cycle. Optionally, the first field is used to indicate the subscript of the starting time unit for the UWB device to transmit the UWB signal, and the specific method is similar to the RangingSlot Index field in the prior art 1, which will not be repeated here. Referring to Table 2, the Ranging Slot Index field in the prior art 1 occupies 7 bits. Exemplarily, the first field occupies 7 bits, and the first field indicates the subscript of the starting time unit assigned to the UWB device 1 in the same way as the RangingSlot Index field in the prior art 1.

[0203] The third field is optional. For example, a list element includes the first field, the second field, and address 1 (see Fig. 9B ), the UWB device 1 is pre-configured with a repetition number of transmitting the UWB signal, for example, the UWB device 1 is pre-configured with a repetition number of transmitting the UWB signal as 16. Fig. 9B Another example of a list element in the scheduling information provided in the embodiment of the present application. Fig. 9B As shown, a list element in the scheduling information includes a first field (time unit index field), a second field (period index field) and address 1; the first field is used to indicate the time unit used to transmit the UWB signal in the first scheduling period of UWB device 1 transmitting the UWB signal, the second field is used to indicate the scheduling period of UWB device 1 transmitting the UWB signal, address 1 is the address of UWB device 1, and the scheduling information implicitly indicates the number of repetitions of UWB device 1 transmitting the UWB signal. It can be understood that Fig. 9BThe shown list elements are used to indicate the time units to be occupied by the UWB device 1 for transmitting the UWB signal, that is, to schedule the UWB device 1 . Fig. 9A and Fig. 9B Two examples of list elements in the scheduling information are shown. It should be understood that the format of each list element in the scheduling information is the same, and each list element is used to schedule a UWB device.

[0204] The value represented by the second field is used to indicate the scheduling period for UWB device 1 to transmit UWB signals. Optionally, the second field (i.e., the period index field) represents a continuous value, such as 1 to 32 or 1 to 64. The value represented by the P bits included in the second field is used to indicate the scheduling period for UWB device 1 to transmit UWB signals, where P is an integer greater than 0, for example, P is any one of 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, etc. For example, the value represented by the second field is the number of time units corresponding to the scheduling period, such as 1 to 32 time units. The embodiment of the present application does not impose any restrictions on the number of time units that can be represented by the second field. The unit of the value represented by the second field can be a single time unit or multiple time units. The time unit can be a time slot, such as a ranging time slot, or an RSTU, or a perception scheduling time unit. The perception scheduling time unit is a time unit that can be used to determine the duration of a perception block, a perception round, or a perception time slot; it can also be other time lengths, which are not limited by the embodiment of the present application.

[0205] Optionally, the second field represents a non-continuous natural number. The natural number represented by the H bits included in the second field is used to indicate the scheduling period for UWB device 1 to transmit UWB signals, and H is an integer greater than 0, for example, H is any one of 1, 2, 3, etc. Optionally, the second field represents any one of a group of time units (including multiple time units), such as 8, 16, 32, 64, 128, etc. time units. For example, when the value of the second field is 0 (i.e., period index = 0), the scheduling period for the periodic transmission of UWB signals by the UWB device is 8 time units, that is, the scheduling period for UWB transmission is 8 time units. For another example, when the value of the second field is 1 (i.e., period index = 1), the scheduling period for the periodic transmission of UWB signals by the UWB device is 16 time units, that is, the scheduling period for UWB transmission is 16 time units. For example, the first field indicates the starting time unit of the UWB device 1 transmitting the UWB signal, and the second field indicates that the period of the UWB device 1 transmitting the UWB signal is 8 time units, that is, there will be 8 time units between any two UWB transmissions. The embodiment of the present application does not impose any limitation on the non-continuous value that the second field can represent.

[0206] Table 8 shows an example of a list element in the scheduling list field in the scheduling information provided by an embodiment of the present application.

[0207] Table 8

[0208]

[0209] Referring to Table 8, the first field occupies 7 bits, namely bit 0 to bit 6; the second field occupies 4 bits, namely bit 7 to bit 10; the third field occupies 5 bits, namely bit 11 to bit 15; and address 1 occupies 2 bytes or 8 bytes. It can be understood that Table 8 is only an example of a list element in the scheduling list field in the scheduling information, and the number of bits and positions occupied by each field in the first field, the second field, and the third field in the list element are not limited.

[0210] The first field may be the Ranging Slot Index field in the prior art 1. Exemplarily, the first field is used to indicate that the starting time unit for the UWB device 1 to transmit the UWB signal is time unit 1, the second field is used to indicate that the scheduling period for the UWB device 1 to transmit the UWB signal is 8 time units, that is, 8 time units are spaced between any two UWB transmissions, the third field is used to indicate that the number of repetitions of the UWB device 1 transmitting the UWB signal is 8, and the first field, the second field, and the third field are combined to indicate the time unit 1, time unit 9, time unit 17, ..., time unit 57 used by the UWB device 1 to transmit the UWB signal, see Fig.10 . Fig.10 A schematic diagram of a time unit for transmitting a UWB signal by a UWB device 1 provided in an embodiment of the present application. Fig.10 As shown, the black rectangle represents the time unit to be occupied by UWB device 1 to transmit UWB signals (i.e., the time unit used to transmit UWB signals), the white rectangle represents the time unit not to be occupied by UWB device 1 to transmit UWB signals (i.e., the time unit not used to transmit UWB signals), the number above the time unit represents the sequence number of the time unit, time unit 1 is the first field used to indicate the starting time unit of UWB device 1 transmitting UWB signals, the scheduling period for UWB device 1 to transmit UWB signals is 8 time units, and the number of repetitions of UWB device 1 transmitting UWB signals is 8.

[0211] Example 2: Example of a list element in the schedule list field in the schedule information.

[0212] The list elements include the first field, the second field, the third field and address 1, see Fig. 9A. The second field, the third field, and address 1 in Example 2 may refer to the second field, the third field, and address 1 in Example 1, respectively. In other words, the second field in Example 2 may be the same as the second field in Example 1, the third field in Example 2 may be the same as the third field in Example 1, and address 1 in Example 2 may be the same as address 1 in Example 1. The third field is optional. For example, a list element includes a first field, a second field, and address 1 (see Fig. 9B ), the UWB device 1 pre-configures the number of repetitions for transmitting the UWB signal, for example, the UWB device 1 pre-configures the number of repetitions for transmitting the UWB signal to be 16.

[0213] The first field is used to indicate the number of time units before the start time unit in the measurement cycle (which can be replaced by the communication cycle) where the start time unit of the UWB device 1 transmits the UWB signal. In other words, the first field is used to indicate the number of time units before the start time unit of the UWB device 1 transmitting the UWB signal in the measurement cycle, and the measurement cycle includes the start time unit. The measurement cycle refers to the time period in which the UWB device completes one or more measurement tasks. The measurement cycle can be a ranging wheel (or ranging cycle), a sensing wheel, a positioning wheel, etc. The number of time units indicated by the first field is equal to the number of time units between the first time unit of the measurement cycle and the above-mentioned start time unit plus 1. Assuming that the number of time units indicated by the first field is T, the time units in the measurement cycle are time unit 0 (first time unit), time unit 1, time unit 2, ... in chronological order, then the start time unit is time unit T, and T is an integer greater than 1. For any UWB device, the first time unit of the measurement cycle is known, so any UWB device can determine the start time unit of transmitting the UWB signal based on the first field. With measuring wheel (see Figure 1 ), each ranging time slot in the ranging wheel is a time unit, the first ranging time slot in the ranging wheel is time unit 0, the second ranging time slot is time unit 1, the third ranging time slot is time unit 2, and so on; if the first field is used to indicate that the number of time units before the starting time unit in the ranging wheel where the UWB device 1 transmits the UWB signal is T, then the starting time unit is time unit T. For any UWB device, the first ranging time slot of the ranging wheel is known, so the starting time unit for transmitting the UWB signal can be determined according to the first field.

[0214] The bits included in each field in the list element in Example 2 can be found in Table 8. The first field in Example 2 can occupy 7 bits, namely bit0 to bit 6, or can occupy fewer bits, for example, occupy 5 bits and reserve 2 bits. It should be understood that the length of the list element in Example 2 is equal to the length of the list element in Example 1, both of which are 4 bytes (corresponding to the short address) or 10 bytes (corresponding to the extended address).

[0215] Example 3: Example of a list element in the schedule list field in the schedule information.

[0216] The list elements include the first field, the second field, the third field and address 1, see Fig. 9A . The second field in Example 3 may be the same as the second field in Example 1, the third field in Example 3 may be the same as the third field in Example 1, and Address 1 in Example 3 may be the same as Address 1 in Example 1. The third field is optional. The first field is a time unit bitmap. Optionally, the list element also includes a bitmap size field, i.e., a field for indicating the length of the time unit bitmap. Optionally, the list element also includes a reserved field, which includes one or more reserved bits. The embodiment of the present application does not limit the size and position of the bitmap size field. The embodiment of the present application does not limit the size and position of the reserved field.

[0217] The first field is a time unit bitmap, which corresponds to multiple time units (for example, time unit 1 to time unit 8). The time unit bitmap is used to indicate whether the time unit is used for UWB device 1 to transmit UWB signals. For UWB device 1, the time unit corresponding to each bit in the time unit bitmap is known. For example, the time unit corresponding to the first bit in the time unit bitmap is the first time unit in the measurement period. In one possible implementation, the time unit bitmap is used to indicate the time unit to be occupied for transmitting UWB signals in each scheduling period for UWB device 1 to transmit UWB signals, that is, the time unit used to transmit UWB signals. Optionally, the K bits in the time unit bitmap correspond one-to-one to the K time units in each scheduling period for UWB device 1 to transmit UWB signals, and each scheduling period is K time units, where K is an integer greater than 1. For example, the time unit bitmap includes 8 bits, and each scheduling period in which UWB device 1 transmits a UWB signal includes 8 time units. The time unit bitmap is used to indicate that the third time unit and the fifth time unit in each scheduling period in which UWB device 1 transmits a UWB signal are used for UWB device 1 to transmit a UWB signal, and other time units are not used for UWB device 1 to transmit a UWB signal. In this example, the 8 time units corresponding to the 8 bits included in the time unit bitmap are the 8 time units in the first scheduling period in which UWB device 1 transmits a UWB signal. If the number of time units corresponding to the bits in the time unit bitmap is the same as the number of time units included in a scheduling period, the second field is optional. For example, the time unit bitmap is used to indicate that the third time unit and the fifth time unit in each scheduling period (including 8 time units) in which the UWB device 1 transmits the UWB signal are used to transmit the UWB signal, the second field (optional) is used to indicate that the scheduling period in which the UWB device 1 transmits the UWB signal is 8 time units, the third field (optional) is used to indicate that the number of repetitions of the UWB device 1 transmitting the UWB signal is 8, and the first field, the second field, and the third field are combined to indicate that the time unit in which the UWB device 1 transmits the UWB signal is the third time unit and the fifth time unit in each scheduling period, see Fig.11A . Fig.11A A schematic diagram of a time unit for transmitting a UWB signal by another UWB device 1 provided in an embodiment of the present application. Fig.11AAs shown, the black rectangle represents the time unit used by UWB device 1 to transmit UWB signals, the white rectangle represents the time unit not used by UWB device 1 to transmit UWB signals, the number above the time unit represents the sequence number of the time unit, the time unit for UWB device 1 to transmit UWB signals is the third time unit and the fifth time unit in each scheduling cycle, the scheduling cycle for UWB device 1 to transmit UWB signals is 8 time units, the number of repetitions of UWB device 1 transmitting UWB signals is 8, and the earliest 8 time units are the first scheduling cycle.

[0218] Optionally, the K bits in the time unit bitmap correspond one-to-one to the consecutive K time units (e.g., the first K time units or the last K time units) in each scheduling period in which the UWB device 1 transmits a UWB signal, and each scheduling period is Q time units, where Q is an integer greater than K. For example, the time unit bitmap includes 8 bits, and each scheduling period in which the UWB device 1 transmits a UWB signal includes 16 time units. The 8 bits in the time unit bitmap correspond one-to-one to the first 8 time units in each scheduling period in which the UWB device 1 transmits a UWB signal. The time unit bitmap is used to indicate that the third time unit and the fifth time unit in each scheduling period in which the UWB device 1 transmits a UWB signal are used for the UWB device 1 to transmit the UWB signal, and other time units are not used for the UWB device 1 to transmit the UWB signal. For example, the time unit bitmap is used to indicate that the third time unit and the fifth time unit in each scheduling period (including 8 time units) in which the UWB device 1 transmits the UWB signal are used for the UWB device 1 to transmit the UWB signal, the second field is used to indicate that the scheduling period for the UWB device 1 to transmit the UWB signal is 16 time units, the third field (optional) is used to indicate that the number of repetitions of the UWB device 1 transmitting the UWB signal is 8, and the first field, the second field, and the third field are combined to indicate that the time unit for the UWB device 1 to transmit the UWB signal is the third time unit and the fifth time unit in each scheduling period, see Fig. 11B . Fig. 11B A schematic diagram of a time unit for transmitting a UWB signal by another UWB device 1 provided in an embodiment of the present application. Fig. 11B As shown, the black rectangle represents the time unit used by UWB device 1 to transmit UWB signals, the white rectangle represents the time unit not used by UWB device 1 to transmit UWB signals, the time unit for UWB device 1 to transmit UWB signals is the third time unit and the fifth time unit in each scheduling cycle, the number above the time unit represents the sequence number of the time unit, the scheduling cycle for UWB device 1 to transmit UWB signals is 16 time units, for example, the earliest 16 time units are the first scheduling cycle, and the number of repetitions of UWB device 1 transmitting UWB signals is 8.

[0219] In Example 3, the second field and the third field may occupy one byte in total (see Table 9 below), address 1 may occupy 2 bytes or 8 bytes, the time unit bitmap may occupy one or more bytes, and the bitmap size field and the reserved field may occupy one byte in total. It can be seen that a list element in Example 3 may occupy 5 bytes (corresponding to a short address) or 11 bytes (corresponding to an extended address).

[0220] Example 4: Example of a list element in the schedule list field in the schedule information.

[0221] The list element includes a first field, a second field, a third field, a bitmap offset, and address 1. The bitmap offset may be referred to as a bitmap offset field. The second field in Example 4 may be the same as the second field in Example 1, the third field in Example 4 may be the same as the third field in Example 1, and the address 1 in Example 4 may be the same as the address 1 in Example 1. The third field is optional. Fig. 12A Another example of list elements in scheduling information provided in an embodiment of the present application. Fig. 12B Another example of a list element in the scheduling information provided in the embodiment of the present application. Fig. 12A and Fig. 12B As shown, a list element in the scheduling information includes a first field (time unit index field), a second field (period index field), a third field (repetition index field), a bitmap offset, and address 1; the first field is used to indicate the time unit used for UWB device 1 to transmit the UWB signal in the first scheduling period in which UWB device 1 transmits the UWB signal, the second field is used to indicate the scheduling period for UWB device 1 to transmit the UWB signal, the third field is used to indicate the number of repetitions of UWB device 1 transmitting the UWB signal, and address 1 is the address of UWB device 1. Optionally, the list element also includes a bitmap size field, that is, a field used to indicate the length of the time unit bitmap. Optionally, the list element also includes a reserved field, and the reserved field includes one or more reserved bits.

[0222] The first field is a time unit bitmap, which corresponds to multiple time units. The time unit bitmap is used to indicate whether the time unit is used for UWB device 1 to transmit UWB signals. In a possible implementation, the time unit bitmap is used to indicate the time unit used for UWB device 1 to transmit UWB signals in each scheduling period in which UWB device 1 transmits UWB signals, that is, the time unit to be occupied by UWB device 1 to transmit UWB signals. Optionally, the K bits in the time unit bitmap correspond one-to-one to the K time units in each scheduling period in which UWB device 1 transmits UWB signals, and each scheduling period is K time units, where K is an integer greater than 1. For example, the time unit bitmap includes 8 bits, and each scheduling period in which UWB device 1 transmits UWB signals includes 8 time units. The time unit bitmap is used to indicate that the third time unit and the fifth time unit in each scheduling period in which UWB device 1 transmits UWB signals are used for UWB device 1 to transmit UWB signals, and other time units are not used for UWB device 1 to transmit UWB signals. Optionally, the K bits in the time unit bitmap correspond one-to-one to the consecutive K time units (e.g., the first K time units or the last K time units) in each scheduling period in which the UWB device 1 transmits a UWB signal, and each scheduling period is Q time units, where Q is an integer greater than K. For example, the time unit bitmap includes 8 bits, and each scheduling period in which the UWB device 1 transmits a UWB signal includes 16 time units. The 8 bits included in the time unit bitmap correspond one-to-one to the earliest eight time units in the scheduling period, and the time unit bitmap is used to indicate that the third time unit and the fifth time unit in each scheduling period in which the UWB device 1 transmits a UWB signal are used for the UWB device 1 to transmit the UWB signal, and other time units are not used for the UWB device 1 to transmit the UWB signal.

[0223] In a possible implementation, the above-mentioned scheduling information also includes a field for indicating the length of the time unit bitmap, which may be referred to as a bitmap size field. The meaning of the field for indicating the length of the time unit bitmap can be found in Tables 5 and 6, which will not be described in detail here. In this implementation, the scheduling information also includes a field for indicating the length of the time unit bitmap, which can accurately determine the length of the time unit bitmap, and then determine the time unit corresponding to each bit in the time unit bitmap. The embodiment of the present application does not limit the size and position of the bitmap size field.

[0224] The bitmap offset is used to determine the starting time unit for transmitting the UWB signal by the UWB device 1 in a measurement cycle (which can be replaced by a communication cycle). Optionally, the bitmap offset is used to indicate the number of time units before the starting time unit in the measurement cycle where the starting time unit for transmitting the UWB signal by the UWB device 1 is located. In other words, the bitmap offset is used to indicate the number of time units before the starting time unit for transmitting the UWB signal by the UWB device 1 in the measurement cycle, and the measurement cycle includes the starting time unit. For example, the value of the bitmap offset is the number of time units before the starting time unit in a measurement cycle. Optionally, the bitmap offset is used to indicate the number of unused time units before the starting time unit in the measurement cycle where the starting time unit for transmitting the UWB signal by the UWB device 1 is located. For example, the value of the bitmap offset is the number of unused time units before the starting time unit in a measurement cycle. Optionally, the value of the bitmap offset is equal to the number of time units between the first time unit of the measurement cycle and the above-mentioned starting time unit plus 1. Assuming that the value of the bitmap offset is T, the time units in the measurement period are time unit 0 (the first time unit), time unit 1, time unit 2, ... in chronological order, then the starting time unit is time unit T, where T is an integer greater than 1. For any UWB device, the first time unit of the measurement period is known, so any UWB device can determine the starting time unit for transmitting the UWB signal based on the bitmap offset, that is, the time unit corresponding to the first bit of the time unit bitmap. The time unit corresponding to the first bit of the time unit bitmap is the starting time unit for UWB device 1 to transmit the UWB signal.

[0225] The bitmap offset can represent a continuous numerical value. For example, the bitmap offset can represent the number of time units, such as 0 to 15 time units. The embodiment of the present application does not impose any restrictions on the number of time units that the bitmap offset can represent. The bitmap offset can also represent a non-continuous natural number. For example, the bitmap offset can represent any one of a certain group of time unit numbers, such as 0, 1, 4, 8, 16, 32, etc. For example, if the value of the bitmap offset is 3, it means that the number of time units before the start time unit in the measurement period is 8; the value of the bitmap offset is 4, which means that the number of time units before the start time unit in the measurement period is 16. The embodiment of the present application does not impose any restrictions on the non-continuous numerical values ​​that the bitmap offset can represent. The embodiment of the present application does not impose any restrictions on the unit of the numerical value of the bitmap offset, which can be one time unit, multiple time units, or RSTU.

[0226] Combining the bitmap offset, the first field and the second field can determine the time unit used to transmit the UWB signal in each scheduling period in which the UWB device 1 transmits the UWB signal, and reduce unnecessary representation overhead in the bitmap, thereby reducing the representation overhead of the scheduling information. Fig.13 This is an example of a bitmap indicating whether a time unit is used for a UWB device to transmit a UWB signal in the prior art. Fig.13 As shown, each rectangle indicates whether a time unit is used for a UWB device to transmit a UWB signal. The number above each rectangle indicates the timing of the time unit represented by the rectangle. A black rectangle indicates a time unit used for a UWB device to transmit a UWB signal. A white rectangle indicates a time unit not used for a UWB device to transmit a UWB signal. Time unit 0 to time unit 15 are 16 time units corresponding to a bitmap including 16 bits. The time unit corresponding to the first bit of the bitmap (i.e. Fig.13 The time unit 0 in the bitmap is the first time unit of the measurement cycle. The bitmap is used to indicate whether each time unit from time unit 0 to time unit 15 is used for the UWB device to transmit the UWB signal. For example, if a bit in the bitmap is 1, it means that the time unit corresponding to the bit is used for the UWB device to transmit the UWB signal. Fig.13 The bitmap in indicates that time unit 4, time unit 7, and time unit 10 in the measurement cycle are used for the UWB device to transmit UWB signals, and other time units in the measurement cycle are not used for the UWB device to transmit UWB signals. The bitmap occupies 2 bytes, namely 16 bits.

[0227] Bitmap offset can reduce unnecessary representation overhead in the bitmap, thereby reducing the scheduling message representation overhead. Fig.13 It can be observed that the first four time units in the measurement cycle are not used for the UWB device to transmit UWB signals, which will result in a waste of bitmap representation. Therefore, it is possible to consider using a bitmap offset to represent the number of time units before the start time unit of the UWB device transmitting the UWB signal, thereby reducing the length of the bitmap. Specifically, the bitmap offset is used to represent the number of time units before the start time unit of the UWB device transmitting the UWB signal. For example, Bitmap Offset = 3 means that time units 0 to 3 are not used. Accordingly, Fig.13 The time unit of the UWB device transmitting the UWB signal can be further divided into Fig.14 express. Fig.14 This is an example of a time unit bitmap indicating whether a time unit is used for UWB device 1 to transmit a UWB signal. Fig.14As shown, each rectangle indicates whether a time unit is used for UWB device 1 to transmit UWB signals, and the number above each rectangle indicates the timing of the time unit represented by the rectangle. The black rectangle indicates the time unit used for UWB device 1 to transmit UWB signals, and the white rectangle indicates the time unit not used for UWB device 1 to transmit UWB signals; time unit 0 to time unit 7 are 8 time units corresponding to a time unit bitmap including 8 bits, and the time unit corresponding to the first bit of the time unit bitmap (i.e. Fig.14 The time unit 0 in the measurement cycle is determined based on the bitmap bias. The time unit bitmap is used to indicate whether each time unit from time unit 0 to time unit 7 is used for UWB device 1 to transmit UWB signals. For example, if a bit in the time unit bitmap is 1, it means that the time unit corresponding to the bit is used for UWB device 1 to transmit UWB signals. Assuming that the number of time units before the starting time unit for UWB device 1 to transmit UWB signals is 4, that is, time units 0 to 3 in the measurement cycle are not used for UWB device 1 to transmit UWB signals, then the time unit corresponding to the first bit of the time unit bitmap is time unit 4 in the measurement cycle, and the time units corresponding to the time unit bitmap are time unit 4, time unit 5, ..., time unit 11 in chronological order. The time units in the measurement cycle are time unit 0, time unit 1, time unit 2, ... in chronological order. By Fig.14 It can be seen that the representation of the first four unnecessary time units is moved to the bitmap offset field in the schedule list field. Therefore, the time unit bitmap can be completed with 8 bits. In other words, the time unit bitmap only needs 1 byte at this time, and does not need Fig.13 In other words, the time unit bitmap and the bitmap offset jointly determine the transmission order of the UWB device 1 transmitting the UWB signal.

[0228] The first field, i.e., the time unit bitmap, is used to indicate the time unit used for UWB device 1 to transmit UWB signals in the first scheduling period in which UWB device 1 transmits UWB signals. The bitmap offset is used to determine the starting time unit for UWB device 1 to transmit UWB signals in a measurement period. It can be understood that the first field and the bitmap offset jointly determine the UWB transmission in the first scheduling period, while the second field and the third field further determine the period and repetition of the periodic UWB transmission. For the second scheduling period, the third scheduling period, ..., the Xth scheduling period of UWB device 1, the order of UWB signal transmission in each scheduling period is the same as the transmission order in the first period. X is the number of repetitions indicated by the third field, and X is an integer greater than 1. For example, the scheduling periods of UWB device 1 are, in order, the first scheduling period, the second scheduling period, the third scheduling period, ..., the Xth scheduling period. The first field and the bitmap offset jointly determine that the first time unit and the third time unit in the first scheduling period are used for UWB device 1 to transmit UWB signals. The second field and the third field further determine that the first time unit and the third time unit in the second scheduling period, the third scheduling period, ..., the Xth scheduling period are used for UWB device 1 to transmit UWB signals. The time units in each scheduling period are, in order, the first time unit, the second time unit, the third time unit, ..., the Cth time unit, where C is the number of time units included in the scheduling period and C is an integer greater than 1. That is to say, for the periodic UWB transmission process of any UWB device, by determining the time unit used to transmit the UWB signal in its first scheduling period (reflected by the first field or by the first field and the bitmap offset), the scheduling period (reflected by the second field), and the number of repeated transmissions (reflected by the third field), the periodic UWB transmission process can be fully determined, that is, the specific time unit allocated to any UWB device for periodic UWB transmission can be fully determined.

[0229] Table 9, Table 10, Table 11, and Table 12 are four examples of list elements in the scheduling information provided in the embodiments of the present application.

[0230] Table 9

[0231]

[0232]

[0233] Referring to Table 9, the bitmap size field occupies 2 bits, namely bit 0 to bit 1; the bitmap offset occupies 4 bits, namely bit 2 to bit 5; the reserved field occupies 2 bits, namely bit 6 to bit 7; the time unit bitmap occupies 1 or more bytes, namely the length of the time unit bitmap is a variable value; address 1 occupies 2 bytes or 8 bytes; the second field occupies 4 bits, and the third field occupies 4 bits. It can be understood that Table 9 is only an example of a list element in the scheduling list field in the scheduling information, and the number of bits occupied by each field in the list element and the position of each field are not limited.

[0234] Table 10

[0235]

[0236] Referring to Table 10, the Ranging Role field and the Receiver Address Presence field (receiver address presence field) of the prior art appear in the format of the list element provided in the embodiment of the present application. That is to say, the scheduling information provided in the embodiment of the present application may allow the Ranging Role field and the Receiver Address Presence field to appear, or may allow one of the Ranging Role field and the Receiver Address Presence field to appear, such as in the form of Tables 11 and 12 below, which is not limited in the embodiment of the present application.

[0237] Table 11

[0238]

[0239] Table 12

[0240]

[0241] Table 10, Table 11, and Table 12 are examples of placing fields in the prior art (e.g., Ranging Role field, ReceiverAddressPresence field) in the scheduling information provided in the embodiment of the present application. It should be understood that other fields in the prior art may also be placed in the scheduling information provided in the embodiment of the present application. The embodiment of the present application does not impose any restrictions on the sequential position and field size between the BitmapOffset field, the Ranging Role field, the ReceiverAddressPresence field, etc. Table 10, Table 11, and Table 12 are only examples.

[0242] Referring to Tables 9 to 12, the list elements in Example 4 may occupy 5 bytes (corresponding to the short address) or 11 bytes (corresponding to the extended address).

[0243] Example 5: Example of a list element in the schedule list field in the schedule information.

[0244] The list elements include a first field, a second field, a third field, a fourth field, a bitmap offset, and address 1. The first field in Example 5 may be the same as the first field in Example 4, the second field in Example 5 may be the same as the second field in Example 4, the third field in Example 5 may be the same as the third field in Example 4, the address 1 in Example 5 may be the same as the address 1 in Example 4, and the bitmap offset in Example 5 may be the same as the bitmap offset in Example 4. The fourth field may be referred to as a periodic mode field (Period Mode field) or other fields. The Period Mode field is used to indicate that the UWB device periodically transmits a UWB signal. In other words, the Period Mode field is used to trigger each UWB device scheduled by the scheduling information to periodically transmit a UWB signal. In other words, the Period Mode field is used to indicate the triggering of the periodic transmission mode. The Period Mode field can be regarded as a periodic transmission mode trigger field. The Period Mode field may occupy one or more bits. Exemplarily, the Period Mode field includes 1 bit. If the value of the bit is 1, the Period Mode field is used to indicate that the UWB device transmits the UWB signal periodically, and the scheduling information includes fields related to the transmission periodicity, such as the second field and the third field; if the value of the bit is 0, the Period Mode field is used to indicate that the UWB device transmits the UWB signal through other transmission modes, and the scheduling information does not include fields related to the transmission periodicity, such as the scheduling list field in the scheduling information is the same as the scheduling list field in Table 3. In other words, if the Period Mode field indicates that the UWB device transmits the UWB signal periodically, the scheduling information includes the first field and the second field; if the Period Mode field indicates that the UWB device transmits the UWB signal according to other modes, the scheduling information does not include the first field and the second field, and the scheduling list in the scheduling information may be the same as the scheduling list in the scheduling information element in the prior art 1 (or prior art 2). It should be understood that the list elements in the above examples 1 to 4 can all indicate that the UWB device 1 transmits the UWB signal periodically. In the embodiment of the present application, the periodic transmission mode refers to a mode in which the UWB device periodically transmits UWB signals according to the scheduling information provided in the embodiment of the present application, and other transmission modes refer to any mode other than the periodic transmission mode.

[0245] Table 13 shows an example of a list element in the scheduling information provided by an embodiment of the present application.

[0246] Table 13

[0247]

[0248] The meaning of each sub-segment in Table 13 is the same as the meaning of each field in Table 9. The difference between Table 13 and Table 9 is that bit 6 is the Period Mode field (i.e., the fourth field). For example, when Period Mode = 1, the Period Index field, Repetition Index field and other fields related to transmission periodicity appear and take effect; when Period Mode = 0, the Period Index field, Repetition Index field and other fields related to transmission periodicity do not appear. It can be understood that Table 13 is only an example of a list element in the scheduling list field in the scheduling information, and the number of bits occupied by each field in the list element and the position of each field are not limited.

[0249] Referring to Table 13, the list elements in Example 5 may occupy 5 bytes (corresponding to the short address) or 11 bytes (corresponding to the extended address).

[0250] Example 6: Example of a list element in the schedule list field in the schedule information.

[0251] The list elements include a first field, a second field, a third field, a fourth field (Period Index field), and Address 1. The first field in Example 6 may be the same as the first field in Example 1, the second field in Example 6 may be the same as the second field in Example 1, the third field in Example 6 may be the same as the third field in Example 1, Address 1 in Example 6 may be the same as Address 1 in Example 1, and the fourth field in Example 6 may be the same as the fourth field in Example 5.

[0252] Table 14 shows an example of a list element of scheduling information provided by an embodiment of the present application.

[0253] Table 14

[0254]

[0255] Referring to Table 14, the fourth field (Period Mode field) occupies 1 bit, namely bit 0; the first field occupies 7 bits, namely bit 1 to bit 7; the second field occupies 4 bits, namely bit 8 to bit 11; the third field occupies 4 bits, namely bit 12 to bit 15; address 1 occupies 2 bytes or 8 bytes. It can be understood that Table 14 is only an example of a list element in the scheduling list field in the scheduling information, and the number of bits and positions occupied by each field in the first field, the second field, the third field and the fourth field in the list element are not limited. In the format of the list element shown in Table 14, when PeriodMode=1, the fields related to the transmission periodicity such as the Period Index field and the Repetition Index field appear and take effect; when Period Mode=0, the fields related to the transmission periodicity such as the Period Index field and the Repetition Index field do not appear.

[0256] Referring to Table 14, the list elements in Example 6 can occupy 4 bytes (corresponding to short addresses) or 10 bytes (corresponding to extended addresses).

[0257] In the above-mentioned Examples 1 to 6, the first field is used to indicate the time unit used for transmitting the UWB signal within the first scheduling period of the UWB device 1, and the second field is used to indicate the scheduling period for the UWB device 1 to transmit the UWB signal; by combining the first field and the second field, multiple time units allocated to the UWB device 1 for transmitting the UWB signal can be indicated, which occupies fewer bits and can reduce the signaling overhead.

[0258] Example 7: An example of a control field in scheduling information.

[0259] The control field in the scheduling information includes a fourth field, a fifth field, and a sixth field. The fourth field in Example 7 may be the same as the fourth field in Example 5. The fifth field is used to indicate the address type of the above-mentioned UWB device, and the address types of the UWB device include short addresses (2 bytes in length) and extended addresses (8 bytes in length). The fifth field may be called the address type field. For example, the fifth field includes 1 bit. If the value of the bit is 0 (that is, Address Type is 0), the fifth field indicates that the address of the UWB device is a short address, that is, the address length is 2 bytes (16 bits); if the value of the bit is 1 (that is, Address Type is 1), the fifth field indicates that the address of the UWB device is a long address (or extended address), that is, the address length is 8 bytes (64 bits). The sixth field is used to indicate the number of list elements in the above-mentioned scheduling list. The sixth field may be called the scheduling list length field.

[0260] Table 15 shows an example of the control field in the scheduling information provided by an embodiment of the present application.

[0261] Table 15

[0262]

[0263] Referring to Table 15, the fifth field occupies 1 bit, namely bit 0; the sixth field occupies 6 bits, namely bit 1 to bit 6; the fourth field occupies 1 bit, namely bit 7. The fourth field is optional. For example, the control field includes the fifth field and the sixth field, but does not include the fourth field. The scheduling information indicates by default that the UWB device periodically transmits the UWB signal or the fourth field is located in the scheduling list field. The control field in the scheduling information provided in the embodiment of the present application occupies one byte. Table 15 is only an example of the control field in the scheduling information provided in the embodiment of the present application. It can be understood that Table 15 is only an example of the control field in the scheduling information, and the number of bits occupied by each field in the control field and the position of each field are not limited. Referring to Table 15, the control field in the scheduling information provided in the embodiment of the present application occupies one byte. The embodiment of the present application does not limit the position of the fourth field, and the fourth field can also be in the list element (see Table 13 and Table 14).

[0264] In Example 7, the control field in the scheduling information includes a fourth field, a fifth field, and a sixth field. The fourth field is used to instruct the UWB device to periodically transmit the UWB signal. The control field in the scheduling information can instruct the UWB device to periodically transmit the UWB signal, thereby reducing the signaling overhead by instructing the UWB device to periodically transmit the UWB signal. Example 8: An example of a control field in the scheduling information.

[0265] The control field in the scheduling information includes a second field, a third field, a fourth field, a fifth field, and a sixth field. The second field in Example 8 may be the same as the second field in Example 1, the third field in Example 8 may be the same as the third field in Example 1, the fourth field in Example 8 may be the same as the fourth field in Example 7, the fifth field in Example 8 may be the same as the fifth field in Example 7, and the sixth field in Example 8 may be the same as the sixth field in Example 7.

[0266] Table 16 shows an example of the control field in the scheduling information provided by an embodiment of the present application.

[0267] Table 16

[0268]

[0269] The fields related to transmission periodicity in the embodiments of the present application can be placed in the list elements (see Tables 8 to 14) or in the control field (see Table 16), which is not limited in the embodiments of the present application. In the control field shown in Table 16, when Period Mode = 1, the fields related to transmission periodicity such as the Period Index field and the Repetition Index field appear and take effect; when Period Mode = 0, the fields related to transmission periodicity such as the Period Index field and the Repetition Index field do not appear.

[0270] Examples of scheduling list fields and control fields in scheduling information are provided above. It should be understood that an example of scheduling information includes the scheduling list field in Example 1 and the control field in Example 7. Another example of scheduling information includes the scheduling list field in Example 2 and the control field in Example 7. Yet another example of scheduling information includes the scheduling list field in Example 3 and the control field in Example 7. An example of scheduling information includes the scheduling list field in Example 4 and the control field in Example 7. An example of scheduling information includes the scheduling list field in Example 5, and the control field shown in Table 2 or Table 4. An example of scheduling information includes the scheduling list field in Example 6, and the control field shown in Table 2 or Table 4. An example of scheduling information includes the control field in Example 8 and the scheduling list field shown in Table 5. An example of scheduling information includes the control field in Example 8 and scheduling list field 1, and a list element in the scheduling list field 1 includes the time unit index field and address 1 shown in Table 8. It should be understood that only some examples of scheduling information provided in embodiments of the present application are shown here, not all examples.

[0271] The following compares the signaling overhead of the scheduling information provided in the embodiment of the present application, the signaling overhead of the scheduling information element of the prior art 1, and the signaling overhead of the scheduling information element of the prior art 2. Table 17 shows the signaling overhead of the scheduling information element of the prior art 1, the signaling overhead of the scheduling information element of the prior art 2, the signaling overhead of scheduling information 1, and the signaling overhead of scheduling information 2. The signaling overhead of scheduling information 1 is equal to the signaling overhead of the scheduling information including the scheduling list field in Example 1 and the control field in Example 7. The signaling overhead of scheduling information 1 is also equal to the signaling overhead of the scheduling information including the scheduling list field in Example 2 and the control field in Example 7. The signaling overhead of scheduling information 2 is equal to the signaling overhead of the scheduling information including the scheduling list field in Example 3 and the control field in Example 7. The signaling overhead of scheduling information 2 is also equal to the signaling overhead of the scheduling information including the scheduling list field in Example 4 and the control field in Example 7.

[0272] Table 17

[0273]

[0274] In Table 17, S represents the number of time units that the UWB device needs to call, and N represents the number of UWB devices in the system that participate in the current UWB application. S is an integer greater than 0, and N is an integer greater than 0. It can be seen from Table 17 that the scheduling information provided by the embodiment of the present application does not depend on the number of time units S, that is, the size of the scheduling information provided by the embodiment of the present application will not increase with the increase of the number of time units S. That is, when the same number of time units S needs to be scheduled, and when the number S is large, the message size of the scheduling information provided by the embodiment of the present application is smaller than the message size of the scheduling IE of the prior art 1 and the prior art 2, thereby effectively saving the air interface resource overhead required to transmit the scheduling information and reducing the air interface time required to transmit the scheduling information.

[0275] The following further compares the signaling overhead of the scheduling information provided in the embodiment of the present application, the signaling overhead of the scheduling IE of the prior art 1, and the signaling overhead of the scheduling IE of the prior art 2 with examples.

[0276] Fig.15 A timing diagram of a multi-millesecond (MMS) ranging process provided in an embodiment of the present application. Fig.15 The time units used for transmitting UWB signals during the ranging process by the initiator, responder 1, and responder 2 are shown respectively. Assume that there are three devices currently participating in the MMS ranging process, namely, one initiator device and two responder devices. Fig.15The serial number above the timing diagram in the figure indicates the timing subscript. If a time unit is scheduled and allocated for transmitting UWB signals, the corresponding time unit is set to gray; conversely, if a time unit is not scheduled and allocated for transmitting UWB signals, the corresponding time unit is set to white.

[0277] Depend on Fig.15 It can be seen that the period between two consecutive transmissions of any device is 4 time units, that is, after a UWB transmission, the next transmission needs 4 time units. Fig.15 The initiator transmits UWB signals in time unit 1, time unit 5, time unit 9, etc., and 4 time units pass between adjacent UWB signals. Assuming that the value of the second field (Period Index field) in the scheduling information is 0 to 15, corresponding to 0, 1, 2, 4, 8, 16, 32, 64, 128, 256, 512, 1024, 2048, 4096, 8192, 16384 time units, then PeriodIndex = 3 should be obtained, indicating that the period is 4 time units.

[0278] On the other hand, by Fig.15 It can be seen that the number of transmissions of any UWB device is 8, that is, the number of repetitions of UWB transmission is 8. Assuming that the value of the third field (Repetition Index field) in the scheduling information is 0 to 15, corresponding to 1 to 16 repetitions, then Period Index = 7, indicating that the number of repetitions is 8.

[0279] On the other hand, by Fig.15 It can be seen that the starting time unit for the initiator to transmit the UWB signal is time unit 1, the starting time unit for responder 1 to transmit the UWB signal is time unit 2, and the starting time unit for responder 2 to transmit the UWB signal is time unit 3.

[0280] Assumptions Fig.15 The devices shown are all short address devices, that is, the length of the address of each device is 2 bytes.

[0281] Assumptions Fig.15 The address of the initiator is shown as Address 0, the address of responder 1 is Address 1, and the address of responder 2 is Address 2.

[0282] Accordingly, it can be seen from the description of the above Table 10 that for Fig.15 The MMS ranging process shown in the figure, the Control field in the scheduling information provided in the embodiment of the present application should have the configuration shown in the following Table 18:

[0283] Table 18

[0284]

[0285] In Table 18, bit 7 is the value of the Period Mode field. If the value of the Period Mode field is 1, the Period Mode field indicates (or triggers) the above-mentioned periodic transmission mode, and the scheduling information includes field scheduling information related to the transmission periodicity; if the value of the Period Mode field is 0, the Period Mode field indicates (or triggers) other transmission modes, and the scheduling information does not include fields related to the transmission periodicity.

[0286] Furthermore, the scheduling list field in the scheduling information provided in the embodiment of the present application is shown in Table 19 below.

[0287] Table 19

[0288]

[0289] Accordingly, by Fig.15 It can be seen that S = 32, N = 3. S represents the number of time units, and N represents the number of devices. Therefore, Fig.15 In the case shown, the message consumption size of each scheduling information is compared as shown in Table 20 below.

[0290] Table 20

[0291]

[0292] The scheduling information of the present application in Table 20 may be the scheduling information including the scheduling list field in Example 1 and the control field in Example 5, or may be the scheduling information including the scheduling list field in Example 2 and the control field in Example 5. As can be seen from Table 20, the scheduling information proposed in the present application can significantly reduce the message size overhead compared with the prior art 1 and the prior art 2.

[0293] Fig.16 is a typical set of scheduling modes that can complete the DL-TDOA positioning process. In this set of scheduling modes, three anchor devices (anchor), namely Fig.16 Anchor point 1, anchor point 2, anchor point 3 in Fig.16 The scheduling method shown transmits UWB signals to perform DL-TDOA positioning. Fig.16 The DL-TDOA scheduling mode shown needs to be repeated 8 times, and there is no interval between two adjacent DL-TDOA positioning processes. The scheduling situation at this time is Fig.17 shown. Fig.17A schematic diagram of scheduling 8-repetition DL-TDOA positioning provided in an embodiment of the present application. Fig.16 and Fig.17 In the figure, each rectangle represents a time unit. The gray rectangle represents a time unit that is scheduled to be used for transmitting UWB signals, and the white rectangle represents a time unit that is not scheduled to be used for transmitting UWB signals. Since a complete DL-TDOA process is completed within 8 time units, Fig.17 The two adjacent DL-TDOA processes shown have no interval in between.

[0294] against Fig.17 In the scheduling situation shown in FIG. 1, Period Mode = 1 needs to be enabled, and then the Period Index field (second field) and the Repetition Index field (third field) can be used to effectively compress Fig.17 Assuming that the Period index field can represent period values ​​such as 0, 1, 4, 8, 16, and 32 time units, and the Repetition Index field can represent 1 to 16 repetitions, then set the Period index field to 0 (indicating that there is no interval between two adjacent DL-TDOA measurements, and the next measurement starts immediately after the previous measurement is completed), and set the RepetitionIndex field to 7 (the subscript starts at 0, so it means 8 repetitions), then the Fig.17 Assuming that the Period index field can represent period values ​​such as 0, 1, 4, 8, 16, and 32 time units, and the RepetitionIndex field can represent 1 to 16 repetitions, then set the Period index field to 8 (indicating that the scheduling period is 8 time units) and the Repetition Index field to 7 (the subscript starts at 0, so it means 8 repetitions), then Fig.17 Dispatch instructions for the situation.

[0295] Accordingly, by Fig.17 It can be seen that S = 64, N = 3. Therefore, Fig.17 In the case shown, the signaling consumption of each scheduling information is compared as shown in Table 21.

[0296] Table 21

[0297]

[0298]

[0299] The scheduling information of the present application in Table 21 may be scheduling information including the scheduling list field in Example 3 and the control field in Example 5, or may be scheduling information including the scheduling list field in Example 4 and the control field in Example 5. As can be seen from Table 21, the scheduling information proposed in the present application can significantly reduce the message size overhead compared with the prior art 1 and the prior art 2.

[0300] It should be noted that the scheduling information provided in the embodiments of the present application (hereinafter referred to as the newly designed scheduling IE) can be recognized and processed by devices (anchor points or tags) that need to perform ranging or sensing functions. As a possible implementation method, the corresponding identification and processing method of the newly designed scheduling IE is similar to the identification and processing method of the nested IE (for example, RDM IE) specified in the existing protocol 802.15.4z, and reference may be made to the identification and processing method of the nested IE in the existing protocol 802.15.4z. For example, the upper layer protocol of the transmitting device configures the scheduling IE and passes it to the medium access control (MAC) layer of the transmitting device. For example, the MAC layer of the receiving device passes the received scheduling IE to the upper layer protocol of the receiving device, and the upper layer of the protocol identifies and processes the scheduling IE.

[0301] As a possible implementation manner, the newly designed scheduling IE may be transmitted through a narrowband frequency band.

[0302] As another possible implementation manner, the newly designed scheduling IE may also be transmitted through the UWB frequency band.

[0303] For ease of understanding, the newly designed scheduling IE is introduced in detail below in conjunction with Table 22.

[0304] Table 22 below is an extension and continuation of Table 7-18 (Table 7-18) of the existing 802.15.4z protocol. For the sake of brevity, the existing definition of Table 7-18 in the protocol is not reflected in Table 22 below. Specifically, it can be seen from Table 22 below that the newly designed scheduling IE can be added to the nested IE list defined in Table 7-18 (Table 7-18) of the existing 802.15.4z protocol as a new IE in the 802.15.4ab protocol or subsequent version protocols. Specifically, a reserved sub-ID value (Sub-ID value) in the nested IE list defined in Table 7-18 (Table 7-18) of the existing 802.15.4z protocol can be used to indicate the newly designed scheduling IE.

[0305] Table 22

[0306] Sub-ID value IE Name Data Used by Created by T (Newly added scheduling IE) X Upper Layer Upper Layer

[0307] Among them, T in Table 22 can be any one or more values ​​among 0x5d-0x7f. Table 22 can be an extension and continuation of the nested IE list defined in Table-7-18 of the existing 802.15.4z protocol. X in Table 22 indicates that the newly designed scheduling IE belongs to the Data type IE.

[0308] The structure of a communication device that can implement the scheduling method provided in an embodiment of the present application is described below in conjunction with the accompanying drawings.

[0309] Fig.18 A schematic diagram of the structure of a communication device 1800 provided in an embodiment of the present application. The communication device 1800 may correspond to the functions or steps implemented by the transmitting end in the above-mentioned various method embodiments, and may also correspond to the functions or steps implemented by the receiving end in the above-mentioned various method embodiments. The communication device may include a processing module 1810 and a transceiver module 1820. In a possible implementation, a storage unit may also be included, which may be used to store instructions (codes or programs) and / or data. The processing module 1810 and the transceiver module 1820 may be coupled to the storage unit, for example, the processing module 1810 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. For example, the transceiver module 1820 may include a sending module and a receiving module. The sending module may be a transmitter, and the receiving module may be a receiver. The entity corresponding to the transceiver module 1820 may be a transceiver or a communication interface.

[0310] In some possible implementations, the communication device 1800 can implement the behaviors and functions of the transmitter in the above method embodiments. For example, the communication device 1800 can be a transmitter, or a component (such as a chip or circuit) used in the transmitter. The transceiver module 1820 can be used to perform Figure 6 , Figure 7 In the embodiment of the present invention, all receiving or sending operations performed by the sending end, such as Figure 6 In step 602 of the illustrated embodiment, Figure 7 Step 701, step 702, and / or other processes used to support the technology described herein in the embodiment shown. Processing module 1810 is used to execute Figure 6 , Figure 7 In the embodiment of the present invention, all operations performed by the transmitting end except the sending and receiving operations, such as Figure 6 Step 601 in the embodiment shown.

[0311] In some possible implementations, the communication device 1800 can implement the behaviors and functions of the receiving end in the above method embodiments. For example, the communication device 1800 can be a receiving end, or a component (such as a chip or circuit) used in the receiving end. The transceiver module 1820 can be used to perform Figure 6 , Figure 7 In the embodiment of the present invention, all receiving or sending operations performed by the receiving end, such as Figure 6 In step 602 of the illustrated embodiment, Figure 7 Step 701, step 702 in the illustrated embodiment, and / or other processes for supporting the technology described herein. Processing module 1810 is used to execute all operations performed by the receiving end except for the sending and receiving operations, such as Figure 6 In step 603 of the embodiment shown, Figure 7 Step 703 in the embodiment shown.

[0312] Fig.19 A schematic diagram of the structure of another communication device 190 provided in an embodiment of the present application. Fig.19 The communication device in the communication method may be the above-mentioned sending end or the above-mentioned receiving end.

[0313] like Fig.19 As shown, the communication device 190 includes at least one processor 1910 and a transceiver 1920 .

[0314] In some embodiments of the present application, the processor 1910 and the transceiver 1920 may be used to execute the functions or operations executed by the transmitting end. The transceiver 1920 may, for example, execute Figure 6 , Figure 7 The processor 1910 is used to perform all receiving or sending operations performed by the transmitting end in the embodiment of Figure 6 , Figure 7 All operations performed by the transmitting end except the sending and receiving operations in the embodiment.

[0315] In some embodiments of the present application, the processor 1910 and the transceiver 1920 may be used to execute the functions or operations executed by the receiving end. The transceiver 1920 may, for example, execute Figure 6 , Figure 7 The processor 1910 is used to execute all operations except the receiving and sending operations performed by the receiving end.

[0316] The transceiver 1920 is used to communicate with other devices / apparatuses via a transmission medium. The processor 1910 uses the transceiver 1920 to send and receive data and / or signaling, and is used to implement the method in the above method embodiment. The processor 1910 can implement the functions of the processing module 1810, and the transceiver 1920 can implement the functions of the transceiver module 1820.

[0317] Optionally, the transceiver 1920 may include a radio frequency circuit and an antenna. The radio frequency circuit is mainly used for converting baseband signals and radio frequency signals and processing radio frequency signals. The antenna is mainly used for transmitting and receiving radio frequency signals in the form of electromagnetic waves. Input and output devices, such as a touch screen, a display screen, a keyboard, etc., are mainly used to receive data input by a user and output data to the user.

[0318] Optionally, the communication device 190 may further include at least one memory 1930 for storing program instructions and / or data. The memory 1930 is coupled to the processor 1910. The coupling in the embodiment of the present application is an indirect coupling or communication connection between devices, units or modules, which may be electrical, mechanical or other forms, and is used for information exchange between devices, units or modules. The processor 1910 may operate in conjunction with the memory 1930. The processor 1910 may execute program instructions stored in the memory 1930. At least one of the at least one memory may be included in the processor.

[0319] The processor 1910 can read the software program in the memory 1930, interpret and execute the instructions of the software program, and process the data of the software program. When data needs to be sent wirelessly, the processor 1910 performs baseband processing on the data to be sent, and outputs the baseband signal to the RF circuit. The RF circuit performs RF processing on the baseband signal and then sends the RF signal outward in the form of electromagnetic waves through the antenna. When data is sent to the communication device, the RF circuit receives the RF signal through the antenna, converts the RF signal into a baseband signal, and outputs the baseband signal to the processor 1910. The processor 1910 converts the baseband signal into data and processes the data.

[0320] In another implementation, the above-mentioned RF circuit and antenna can be arranged independently of the processor performing baseband processing. For example, in a distributed scenario, the RF circuit and antenna can be arranged independently of the communication device in a remote manner.

[0321] The specific connection medium between the transceiver 1920, the processor 1910 and the memory 1930 is not limited in the embodiment of the present application. Fig.19 The memory 1930, the processor 1910 and the transceiver 1920 are connected via a bus 1940. Fig.19The connection between other components is only for illustration and is not intended to be limiting. The bus can be divided into an address bus, a data bus, a control bus, etc. For ease of representation, Fig.19 Only one thick line is used in the diagram, but this does not mean that there is only one bus or only one type of bus.

[0322] In the embodiments of the present application, the processor may be a general-purpose processor, a digital signal processor, an application-specific integrated circuit, a field programmable gate array or other programmable logic device, a discrete gate or transistor logic device, or a discrete hardware component, and may implement or execute the methods, steps, and logic block diagrams disclosed in the embodiments of the present application. The general-purpose processor may be a microprocessor or any conventional processor, etc. The steps of the method disclosed in the embodiments of the present application may be directly embodied as being executed by a hardware processor, or may be executed by a combination of hardware and software modules in the processor.

[0323] Fig. 20 FIG. 2 is a schematic diagram of the structure of another communication device 200 provided in an embodiment of the present application. Fig. 20 As shown, Fig. 20 The communication device shown includes a logic circuit 2001 and an interface 2002 . Fig.18 The processing module 1810 in can be implemented by a logic circuit 2001. Fig.18 The transceiver module 1820 in the embodiment can be implemented with an interface 2002. The logic circuit 2001 can be a chip, a processing circuit, an integrated circuit or a system on chip (SoC) chip, etc., and the interface 2002 can be a communication interface, an input and output interface, etc. In the embodiment of the present application, the logic circuit and the interface can also be coupled to each other. The embodiment of the present application does not limit the specific connection method of the logic circuit and the interface.

[0324] In some embodiments of the present application, the logic circuit and interface may be used to execute the functions or operations performed by the above-mentioned transmitting end, etc.

[0325] In some embodiments of the present application, the logic circuit and interface may be used to execute the functions or operations performed by the above-mentioned receiving end, etc.

[0326] The present application also provides a computer-readable storage medium, in which a computer program or instruction is stored. When the computer program or instruction is executed on a computer, the computer executes the method of the above embodiment.

[0327] The present application also provides a computer program product, which includes instructions or a computer program. When the instructions or the computer program are run on a computer, the method in the above embodiment is executed.

[0328] The present application also provides a communication system, comprising the above-mentioned transmitting end and the above-mentioned receiving end.

[0329] The present application also provides a chip, which includes: a communication receiver and processor; the communication interface is used for sending and receiving signals of the above-mentioned chip; the processor is used to execute computer program instructions so that the communication device including the above-mentioned chip executes the method in the above-mentioned embodiment.

[0330] In the above embodiments, it can be implemented in whole or in part by software, hardware, firmware or any combination thereof. When implemented using software, it can be implemented in whole or in part in the form of a computer program product. The above computer program product includes one or more computer programs or instructions. When the above computer program or instruction is loaded and executed on a computer, the above process or function of the embodiment of the present application is executed in whole or in part. The above computer may be a general-purpose computer, a special-purpose computer, a computer network, a network device, a user device or other programmable device. The above computer program or instruction may be stored in a computer-readable storage medium, or transmitted from one computer-readable storage medium to another computer-readable storage medium. For example, the above computer program or instruction may be transmitted from one website site, computer, server or data center to another website site, computer, server or data center by wired or wireless means. The above computer-readable storage medium may be any available medium that a computer can access or a data storage device such as a server or data center that integrates one or more available media. The above available medium may be a magnetic medium, such as a floppy disk, a hard disk, or a tape; it may also be an optical medium, such as a digital video disc; it may also be a semiconductor medium, such as a solid-state hard disk. The computer-readable storage medium may be a volatile or nonvolatile storage medium, or may include both volatile and nonvolatile types of storage media.

[0331] In the various embodiments of the present application, unless otherwise specified or provided for in any logical conflict, the terms and / or descriptions between the different embodiments are consistent and may be referenced to each other, and the technical features in the different embodiments may be combined to form new embodiments according to their inherent logical relationships.

Claims

1. A scheduling method for ultra-wideband UWB, characterized in that: include: Generate scheduling information, the scheduling information including a first field and a second field, the first field is used to indicate a time unit for a UWB device to transmit a UWB signal, and the second field is used to indicate a scheduling period for the UWB device to transmit the UWB signal; The scheduling information is sent.

2. The method according to claim 1, characterized in that The scheduling information further includes a third field, and the third field is used to indicate the number of repetitions of the UWB signal transmitted by the UWB device.

3. The method according to claim 1 or 2, characterized in that: The scheduling information further includes a fourth field, and the fourth field is used to instruct the UWB device to periodically transmit the UWB signal.

4. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 3, characterized in that The scheduling information also includes the address of the UWB device, and the length of the address of the UWB device is 2 bytes or 8 bytes.

5. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 4, characterized in that The time unit is a time unit for transmitting the UWB signal in the first scheduling period.

6. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 5, characterized in that The first field is a time unit bitmap, which is used to indicate whether a time unit is used for the UWB device to transmit the UWB signal. The scheduling information also includes a bitmap offset, which is used to determine the starting time unit for the UWB device to transmit the UWB signal within a measurement period. The time unit corresponding to the first bit of the time unit bitmap is the starting time unit.

7. The method according to claim 6, characterized in that The scheduling information also includes a field for indicating the length of the time unit bitmap.

8. The method according to claim 6 or 7, characterized in that: The value of the bitmap offset is the number of time units before the start time unit in a measurement cycle.

9. The method according to any one of claims 6 to 8, characterized in that The time unit bitmap includes K bits, where K is an integer greater than 0. When one of the K bits takes a set value, the set value indicates that the time unit corresponding to the bit is used for the UWB device to transmit the UWB signal.

10. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 9, characterized in that The scheduling information further includes a fifth field, and the fifth field is used to indicate the address type of the UWB device. The address type of the UWB device includes a short address and an extended address.

11. The method according to claim 10, characterized in that The scheduling information also includes a sixth field and a scheduling list, the sixth field is used to indicate the number of list elements in the scheduling list, one list element in the scheduling list is used to schedule a UWB device, and the first field and the second field correspond to one list element in the scheduling list.

12. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 11, characterized in that The time unit is any one of the following: a time slot, a ranging scheduling time unit RSTU.

13. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 12, characterized in that The method is applied to ranging, perception, or positioning scenarios.

14. A communication device, characterized in that: The method comprises a module or a unit for implementing the method according to any one of claims 1 to 13.

15. A computer-readable storage medium, characterized in that: The computer-readable storage medium stores a computer program, wherein the computer program includes program instructions, and when the program instructions are executed, the computer is enabled to perform the method according to any one of claims 1 to 13.

16. A communication device, characterized in that: The device comprises a processor, the processor is coupled to a memory, the memory stores computer program instructions, and the processor is configured to execute the computer program instructions so that the communication device performs the method according to any one of claims 1 to 13.

17. A chip, characterized in that: include: A communication interface, used for sending and receiving signals of the chip; as well as A processor, configured to execute computer program instructions so that a communication device including the chip executes the method according to any one of claims 1 to 13.

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