Communication method and apparatus, electronic device, and related product

Abstract

A communication method is provided that includes transmitting a first frame that includes a first field indicating that one or more first fragments of a first multi-millisecond (MMS) packet transmitted by an initiator and one or more second fragments of a second MMS packet transmitted by a responder are not interleaved in time; transmitting the one or more first fragments of the first MMS packet within a first time period; and receiving the one or more second fragments of the second MMS packet within a second time period, the second time period being after the first time period.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] This invention generally relates to the field of ultra-wideband (UWB) technology, and more specifically, to communication methods and apparatus, electronic devices and related products. Background Technology

[0002] Ultra-wideband (UWB) technology is increasingly being used for indoor positioning and other location services, such as access control and asset location. In addition to traditional ranging use cases, other use cases such as device-free sensing, downlink time difference of arrival (DL-TDOA), and long-range ranging are also under active investigation.

[0003] To address long-distance ranging use cases, UWB multi-millisecond (MMS) ranging was introduced in 802.15.4ab. Several schemes have been proposed for UWB MMS ranging. However, there is still room for improvement in UWB MMS ranging schemes. Summary of the Invention

[0004] Embodiments of the present invention provide communication methods and apparatus, electronic devices, and related products.

[0005] According to the first aspect, a communication method is described. The method can be applied to an initiator, such as an initiator, components within the initiator (e.g., circuits, chips, or chip systems), or logic modules or software capable of implementing all or part of the functions of the initiator.

[0006] The method includes: sending a first frame including a first field indicating that one or more first fragments of a first multi-millisecond (MMS) packet sent by an initiator and one or more second fragments of a second MMS packet sent by a responder are not time-interleaved; sending the one or more first fragments of the first MMS packet within a first time period; and receiving the one or more second fragments of the second MMS packet within a second time period, the second time period being after the first time period.

[0007] In this scenario, the initiator transmits only within the first time period according to the instruction in the first frame, and the responder receives only within the first time period according to the instruction in the first frame. Furthermore, the initiator receives only within the second time period according to the instruction in the first frame, and the responder transmits only within the second time period according to the instruction in the first frame. Therefore, the initiator and the responder do not need to frequently switch between transmitting and receiving, thereby reducing the operational complexity for both parties.

[0008] In one possible design, the first frame is the start of ranging (SOR) frame.

[0009] Since the SOR frame is an existing frame, the scheme is backward compatible.

[0010] In one possible design, the method further includes: receiving an advertising response (ADV-RESP) frame including a second field, the second field being used to request that the one or more first fragments and the one or more second fragments not be time-interleaved; sending the first frame includes: sending the SOR frame in response to the ADV-RESP frame.

[0011] In this scenario, the responder may request that the one or more first fragments and the one or more second fragments not be interleaved in time. The initiator may determine that the one or more first fragments and the one or more second fragments are not interleaved in time based on the responder's request. The initiator can obtain the responder's request and thus determine the transmission mode of the MMS packets used for ranging (i.e., whether the MMS packets are interleaved or not), thereby improving communication performance.

[0012] In one possible design, the method further includes: sending a first polling frame for initiating ranging measurements before sending the one or more first fragments of the first MMS packet; and receiving a first response frame for initiating the transmission of the second MMS packet after sending the one or more first fragments of the first MMS packet and before receiving the one or more second fragments of the second MMS packet.

[0013] In one possible design, the first frame is a first polling frame for initiating ranging measurements, and the method further includes: receiving a first response frame after sending the one or more first fragments and before receiving the one or more second fragments, the first response frame initiating the transmission of the second MMS packet.

[0014] Since the first polling frame is an existing frame, the scheme is backward compatible.

[0015] In one possible design, the first polling frame also indicates whether a second response frame is required or not to indicate acknowledgment of the first polling frame.

[0016] In one possible design, the first polling frame also indicates the need for a second response frame to acknowledge the first polling frame, and the first MMS packet is sent after the second response frame is received.

[0017] In this scenario, the initiator sends the first MMS packet after receiving the second response frame. Otherwise, the initiator may not send the first MMS packet. Therefore, if the responder is ready to receive the first MMS packet, the initiator can send the first MMS packet; if the responder is not ready to receive the first MMS packet, the initiator can choose not to send it, thereby improving the communication efficiency between the initiator and the responder.

[0018] In one possible design, the method further includes: sending a second polling frame in response to the first response frame, wherein receiving the second MMS packet includes: receiving the second MMS packet after sending the second polling frame.

[0019] In this scenario, the responder sends the second MMS packet after receiving the second polling frame. Otherwise, the responder may not send the second MMS packet. Therefore, if the initiator is prepared to receive the second MMS packet, the responder can send the second MMS packet; if the initiator is not prepared to receive the second MMS packet, the responder may not send it, thereby improving the communication efficiency between the initiator and the responder.

[0020] In one possible design, the first frame also includes a third field indicating the ranging mode, which is either a single-sided TWR (SS-TWR) or a double-sided TWR (DS-TWR) with three MMS packets.

[0021] In one possible design, the ranging mode is SS-TWR, and the one or more first fragments and the one or more second fragments each include one or more ranging sequence fragments (RSFs). The method further includes: after receiving the second MMS packet, receiving a second report frame and / or sending a first report frame within the second time period. The first report frame indicates the timing measurement result obtained by the initiator, and the second report frame carries the timing measurement result obtained by the responder. The timing measurement result is obtained through the RSFs of the first MMS packet and the second MMS packet.

[0022] In one possible design, the ranging mode is the DS-TWR with three MMS packets, and the method further includes: sending one or more third fragments of the third MMS packet during a third time period, the third time period being after the second time period; after sending the one or more third fragments, receiving a fourth report frame and / or sending a third report frame during the third time period, the third report frame carrying the timing measurement result obtained by the initiator, and the fourth report frame carrying the timing measurement result obtained by the responder.

[0023] In one possible design, the method further includes: after receiving the one or more second fragments and before sending the one or more third fragments, sending a third polling frame for initiating a third UWB MMS packet for DS-TWR.

[0024] In one possible design, the first polling frame also indicates a third response frame that requires confirmation of the third polling frame, and the third MMS packet is sent after the third response frame is received.

[0025] In one possible design, the first frame further includes a fourth field indicating the type of at least one of the timing measurement results carried in the third report frame and the timing measurement results carried in the fourth report frame.

[0026] Therefore, the responder can know which type of timing measurement result needs to be included in the report frame.

[0027] In one possible design, the one or more first fragments, the one or more second fragments, and the one or more third fragments each comprise one or more ranging integrity fragments (RIFs), or the one or more first fragments and the one or more second fragments each comprise one or more ranging sequence fragments (RSFs), and the fourth field comprises at least one of the following: The first subfield indicates whether a Type 1 timing measurement result is required in at least one of the third or fourth report frames, the Type 1 timing measurement result being obtained through the first RIF of the first MMS packet, the second MMS packet, and the third MMS packet; The second subfield indicates whether a Type 2 timing measurement result is required in at least one of the third or fourth reporting frames, the Type 2 timing measurement result being obtained through the last RIF of the first MMS packet, the second MMS packet, and the third MMS packet; The third subfield indicates whether a Type 3 timing measurement result is required in at least one of the third or fourth report frames, the Type 3 timing measurement result being obtained through the first RIF of the first MMS packet and the second MMS packet, and the last RIF of the third MMS packet; or The fourth subfield indicates whether an RSF timing measurement result is required in at least one of the third or fourth report frames, the RSF timing measurement result being obtained through the RSF of the first MMS packet, the second MMS packet, and the third MMS packet.

[0028] In one possible design, the first polling frame also indicates the number of time periods in the ranging measurement.

[0029] Therefore, the responder can know the number of time periods to be used for ranging measurement, and thus can perform the corresponding ranging measurement.

[0030] In one possible design, the first polling frame also indicates the number of time slots within at least one time period.

[0031] Therefore, the responder can know the duration of at least one of these time periods.

[0032] In one possible design, the first field is either the management MAC configuration field or the round control field of the first frame.

[0033] Since the management MAC configuration field or the round control field is an existing field, this scheme is backward compatible.

[0034] According to the second aspect, a communication method is described. The method can be applied to a responder, such as a responder, components within the responder (e.g., circuits, chips, or chip systems), or logic modules or software capable of implementing all or part of the responder's functionality.

[0035] The method includes: receiving a first frame including a first field indicating that one or more first fragments of a first multi-millisecond (MMS) packet sent by an initiator and one or more second fragments of a second MMS packet sent by a responder are not time-interleaved; receiving the one or more first fragments of the first MMS packet during a first time period; and sending the one or more second fragments of the second MMS packet during a second time period after the first time period.

[0036] In one possible design, the first frame is the start of ranging (SOR) frame.

[0037] In one possible design, the method further includes sending an advertising response (ADV-RESP) frame including a second field, the second field being used to request that the one or more first fragments and the one or more second fragments not be time-interleaved, wherein the SOR frame responds to the ADV-RESP frame.

[0038] In one possible design, the method further includes: receiving a first polling frame for initiating ranging measurements before receiving the one or more first fragments of the first MMS packet; and sending a first response frame for initiating the transmission of the second MMS packet after receiving the one or more first fragments of the first MMS packet and before sending the one or more second fragments of the second MMS packet.

[0039] In one possible design, the first frame is a first polling frame for initiating ranging measurements, and the method further includes: after receiving the one or more first fragments and before sending the one or more second fragments, sending a first response frame, the first response frame initiating the transmission of the second MMS packet.

[0040] In one possible design, the first polling frame also indicates whether a second response frame is required or not to indicate acknowledgment of the first polling frame.

[0041] In one possible design, the first polling frame also indicates the need for a second response frame to acknowledge the first polling frame, and the first MMS packet is received after the second response frame is sent.

[0042] In one possible design, the method further includes: receiving a second polling frame in response to the first response frame, wherein sending the second MMS packet includes: sending the second MMS packet after receiving the second polling frame.

[0043] In one possible design, the first frame also includes a third field indicating the ranging mode, which is either a single-sided TWR (SS-TWR) or a double-sided TWR (DS-TWR) with three MMS packets.

[0044] In one possible design, the ranging mode is SS-TWR, and the one or more first fragments and the one or more second fragments each include one or more ranging sequence fragments (RSFs). The method further includes: after sending the second MMS packet, sending a second report frame and / or receiving a first report frame within the second time period, wherein the first report frame indicates the timing measurement result obtained by the initiator, and the second report frame carries the timing measurement result obtained by the responder, wherein the timing measurement result is obtained through the RSFs of the first MMS packet and the second MMS packet.

[0045] In one possible design, the ranging mode is the DS-TWR with three MMS packets, and the method further includes: receiving one or more third fragments of a third MMS packet during a third time period, the third time period being after the second time period; after receiving the one or more third fragments, sending a fourth report frame and / or receiving a third report frame during the third time period, the third report frame carrying the timing measurement result obtained by the initiator, and the fourth report frame carrying the timing measurement result obtained by the responder.

[0046] In one possible design, the method further includes receiving a third polling frame after sending the one or more second fragments and before receiving the one or more third fragments, the third polling frame being used to initiate a third UWB MMS packet for DS-TWR.

[0047] In one possible design, the first polling frame also indicates a third response frame that requires confirmation of the third polling frame, and the third MMS packet is received after the third response frame is sent.

[0048] In one possible design, the first frame further includes a fourth field indicating the type of at least one of the timing measurement results carried in the third report frame and the timing measurement results carried in the fourth report frame.

[0049] In one possible design, the one or more first fragments, the one or more second fragments, and the one or more third fragments each comprise one or more ranging integrity fragments (RIFs), or the one or more first fragments and the one or more second fragments each comprise one or more ranging sequence fragments (RSFs), and the fourth field comprises at least one of the following: The first subfield indicates whether a Type 1 timing measurement result is required in at least one of the third or fourth report frames, the Type 1 timing measurement result being obtained through the first RIF of the first MMS packet, the second MMS packet, and the third MMS packet; The second subfield indicates whether a Type 2 timing measurement result is required in at least one of the third or fourth reporting frames, the Type 2 timing measurement result being obtained through the last RIF of the first MMS packet, the second MMS packet, and the third MMS packet; The third subfield indicates whether a Type 3 timing measurement result is required in at least one of the third or fourth report frames, the Type 3 timing measurement result being obtained through the first RIF of the first MMS packet and the second MMS packet, and the last RIF of the third MMS packet; or The fourth subfield indicates whether an RSF timing measurement result is required in at least one of the third or fourth report frames, the RSF timing measurement result being obtained through the RSF of the first MMS packet, the second MMS packet, and the third MMS packet.

[0050] In one possible design, the first polling frame also indicates the number of time periods in the ranging measurement.

[0051] In one possible design, the first polling frame also indicates the number of time slots within at least one time period.

[0052] In one possible design, the first field is either the management MAC configuration field or the round control field of the first frame.

[0053] According to a third aspect, a communication device is described. The communication device has the functions of the first aspect. For example, the communication device includes corresponding modules, units, or means for performing the operations of the first aspect. Specifically, the modules, units, or means can be implemented in software, in hardware, or a combination of software and hardware.

[0054] According to the fourth aspect, a communication device is described. The communication device has the functions of the second aspect. For example, the communication device includes corresponding modules, units, or means for performing the operations of the second aspect. Specifically, the modules, units, or means can be implemented in software, in hardware, or a combination of software and hardware.

[0055] According to the fifth aspect, another communication device is described. The communication device includes a memory and one or more processors. The memory stores some or all of a computer program or instructions necessary for implementing the functions of the first aspect. The one or more processors can execute the computer program or instructions, which, when executed, enable the communication device to implement the methods in any possible design or implementation of the first aspect.

[0056] In some embodiments, the communication device may further include an interface circuit, and the processor is configured to communicate with another device or component through the interface circuit.

[0057] The communication device may be an initiator, a module in the initiator, or a chip in the initiator responsible for communication functions, such as a modem chip (also known as a baseband chip) or a SoC chip or SIP chip that includes a modem module.

[0058] According to the sixth aspect, another communication device is described. The communication device includes a memory and one or more processors. The memory stores some or all of a computer program or instructions necessary for implementing the functions of the second aspect. The one or more processors can execute the computer program or instructions, such that, when executed, the communication device is able to implement the methods in any possible design or implementation of the second aspect.

[0059] In some embodiments, the communication device may further include an interface circuit, and the processor is configured to communicate with another device or component through the interface circuit.

[0060] The communication device may be a responder, a module in the responder, or a chip in the responder responsible for communication functions, such as a modem chip (also known as a baseband chip) or a SoC chip or SIP chip that includes a modem module.

[0061] According to the seventh aspect, a communication system is described, the communication system comprising a first communication device for implementing the method in any possible design or implementation of the first aspect and a second communication device for implementing the method in any possible design or implementation of the second aspect.

[0062] According to an eighth aspect, a computer-readable storage medium is described. The computer-readable storage medium stores computer-readable instructions that, when read and executed by a computer, enable the computer to perform any of the possible designs in the first to second aspects.

[0063] According to a ninth aspect, this application provides a computer program product. When a computer reads and executes the computer program product, it enables the computer to perform any of the possible methods in the design of the first to second aspects.

[0064] This application includes various embodiments, not only method embodiments but also other embodiments, such as apparatus embodiments and embodiments related to non-transitory computer-readable storage media. Embodiments may be combined, alone or in combination, with the features disclosed herein. Attached Figure Description

[0065] To better understand the invention and its other aspects and further features, reference is made to the following description, which is used in conjunction with the accompanying drawings.

[0066] Figure 1 An exemplary communication system according to some embodiments is shown.

[0067] Figure 2 The block-based time structure is shown.

[0068] Figure 3 An example of a UWB MMS ranging session is shown.

[0069] Figure 4 An example of an SS-TWR operation with two messages is shown.

[0070] Figure 5 An example of a DS-TWR operation with three messages is shown.

[0071] Figure 6 Examples of narrowband-assisted multi-millisecond ranging and UWB-driven UWB MMS ranging are shown.

[0072] Figure 7 An example of SS-TWR is shown.

[0073] Figure 8 A device interaction diagram of method 800 according to some embodiments is shown.

[0074] Figure 9 An example of an SS-TWR according to some embodiments is shown.

[0075] Figure 10 An example of a DS-TWR according to some embodiments is shown.

[0076] Figure 11 Another example of a DS-TWR according to some embodiments is shown.

[0077] Figure 12 Another example of a DS-TWR according to some embodiments is shown.

[0078] Figure 13 An example of an O2M DS-TWR according to some embodiments is shown.

[0079] Figure 14 An example of an O2O DS-TWR according to some embodiments is shown.

[0080] Figure 15 Examples of timing measurement results of different types according to some embodiments are shown.

[0081] Figure 16 A schematic diagram of an ADV-RESP compact frame according to some embodiments is shown.

[0082] Figure 17 A schematic diagram of a compact SOR frame according to some embodiments is shown.

[0083] Figure 18 A schematic diagram of a polling compact frame is shown according to some embodiments.

[0084] Figure 19 Another schematic diagram of a polling compact frame according to some embodiments is shown.

[0085] Figure 20 An example of managing MAC configuration fields according to some embodiments is shown.

[0086] Figure 21 A schematic diagram of a response compact frame according to some embodiments is shown.

[0087] Figure 22 A schematic diagram of an initiator reporting a compact frame is shown according to some embodiments.

[0088] Figure 23A schematic diagram of another responder reporting a compact frame is shown according to some embodiments.

[0089] Figure 24 A schematic diagram of another initiator reporting a compact frame is shown according to some embodiments.

[0090] Figure 25 A schematic diagram of another responder reporting a compact frame is shown according to some embodiments.

[0091] Figure 26 A device interaction diagram of method 2600 according to some embodiments is shown.

[0092] Figure 27 A schematic diagram of the message content field of a polling compact frame is shown according to some embodiments.

[0093] Figure 28 An example of OWR according to some embodiments is shown.

[0094] Figure 29 A block diagram of a communication device according to some embodiments of the present invention is shown.

[0095] Figure 30 A block diagram of an electronic device according to one or more embodiments is shown. Detailed Implementation

[0096] Ultra-wideband (UWB) technology is increasingly being used for indoor positioning and other location services, such as access control and asset location. Besides dedicated equipment and tags, UWB radios are becoming increasingly prevalent in other devices, such as high-end smartphones. The UWB physical layer (PHY) and media access control (MAC) are standardized by the IEEE, with the latest related publications being IEEE 802.15.4-2020 and IEEE 802.15.4z. Furthermore, task force 802.15.4ab is actively researching enhancements to UWB technology.

[0097] In addition to traditional ranging use cases, other use cases such as device-aware, downlink time difference of arrival (DL-TDOA), and long-range ranging are also under active research. To address long-range ranging use cases, 802.15.4ab introduced multi-millisecond (MMS) ranging. The key concept of MMS ranging is to distribute the UWB ranging frame into multiple segments, which are transmitted over multiple milliseconds (ms), thereby overcoming the 37 nJ transmit energy limit per millisecond. In MMS ranging, the number of segments required for ranging depends on the distance to be measured and channel conditions, and therefore can be dynamically adjusted even within the same ranging session. MMS ranging can be further enhanced by a high-performance narrowband (NB) radio, which provides time synchronization for the UWB radio and is also used for control signaling. This is called NBA-UWB MMS ranging.

[0098] To facilitate understanding of the solutions in this invention, relevant terms will be introduced below.

[0099] Controller: The device that controls the UWB session and defines the session parameters. Controlled party: The device that participates in the UWB session using the session parameters received from the controller.

[0100] Initiator: A device that initiates UWB switching by sending UWB switching messages. The initiator can be a controlling party or a controlled party following instructions from other controlling parties. Responder: A device that responds to messages received from the initiator and participates in UWB switching. The responder can be a controlling party or a controlled party.

[0101] Anchor device: A device that serves as a reference point to determine the position of a tag. Tag: A device that receives signals from the anchor device to determine its position.

[0102] Notifying device: A device that periodically broadcasts data packets containing information about itself, allowing other devices to discover and connect to it. Observing device: A device that listens for the data packets broadcast by the notifying device and takes appropriate action based on the received data packets.

[0103] Figure 1 An exemplary communication system 100 is shown. (As...) Figure 1As shown, in communication system 100, first device 110 can perform ranging with one or more other devices (e.g., second device 120 and third device 130). The ranging can be used for TWR ranging applications or OWR applications, such as Angle of Arrival (AoA) and Time Difference of Arrival (TDOA).

[0104] In some embodiments, the first device 110 may be a controller, while the second device 120 and the third device 130 may be controlled parties. In some embodiments, the first device 110 may be an initiator, while the second device 120 and the third device 130 may be responders. In some embodiments, the first device 110 may be an anchor device, while the second device 120 and the third device 130 may be tags. In other embodiments, the second device may be an initiator, while the first device 110 and the third device 130 may be observers.

[0105] It should be understood that the number of devices in the communication system 100 can be two or more, and no limitation is made here.

[0106] Figure 2 The block-based time structure defined in 802.15.4z is shown for block-based ranging mode. Each ranging block consists of an integer number of ranging rounds, where a ranging round is a period of time sufficient to complete a full ranging cycle involving a group of enhanced ranging capable devices (ERDEVs) participating in ranging exchanges. Each ranging round is further subdivided into an integer number of ranging slots, where a ranging slot is a period of time sufficient to transmit at least one ranging frame (RFRAME). Block-based mode uses a structured timeline, and by default, the ranging block structure is periodic. It should be understood that... Figure 2 Unmarked blocks in the data can be used for distance measurement or not; no limitation is made here.

[0107] Figure 3 An example of a UWB MMS ranging (MMS ranging for short) session in IEEE 802.15.4ab is shown. An MMS ranging session may include initialization and setup phases, followed by one or more ranging periods. During the initialization and setup phases, frames are transmitted on the initialization channel, while during the ranging period, frames are transmitted on the ranging channel. Although the same channel can be used for both the initialization and ranging channels, it is more likely that one or more well-known channels will be used as the initialization channel.

[0108] During the initialization and setup phases, the initiator and responder can negotiate a ranging configuration different from the default configuration defined in 802.15.4ab. The initiator can send advertising poll (ADV-POLL) frames at any time or interval, at its own discretion. If the responder intends to participate in the ranging session with the initiator, it can listen for incoming ADV-POLL frames and respond with an advertising response (ADV-RESP) frame. Once the initiator receives the ADV-RESP frame, it can send a start of ranging (SOR) frame, which indicates the time offset at which the first ranging period should begin. Figure 3 As shown, the ranging period may include a ranging control phase, a ranging phase, and a reporting phase. The ranging control phase can begin at the start of the ranging period. The initiator can begin the ranging control phase by sending a POLL frame to the responder at the start of the first ranging time slot of the ranging round. The responder can receive the POLL frame and then respond to it by sending a RESP frame to the initiator. The POLL and RESP frames enable the initiator and responder to achieve time and frequency synchronization.

[0109] During the ranging phase, the initiator and responder may exchange UWB MMS packets (MMS packets for short) containing one or more range sequence fragments. An MMS packet may include one or more ranging sequence fragments (RSFs) and / or one or more ranging integrity fragments (RIFs). RSFs are used to perform ranging measurements, while RIFs are used to check the integrity of the ranging measurements. An MMS packet can be a pure RSF MMS packet, a pure RIF MMS packet, or a hybrid MMS packet. A pure RSF MMS packet may contain only RSFs. A pure RIF MMS packet may contain only RIFs. A hybrid MMS packet may include both RSFs and RIFs. In a hybrid MMS packet format used for ranging integrity, the RIF may follow the RSF.

[0110] Once the initiator or responder has completed receiving all fragments in the ranging phase, the reporting phase can begin. In this phase, the initiator and / or responder generates a ranging measurement report and sends an RPRT frame carrying the ranging measurement report to the peer device.

[0111] Several ranging and positioning methods are described in IEEE 802.15.4z, such as single-sided two-way ranging (SS-TWR) and double-sided two-way ranging (DS-TWR). SS-TWR involves measuring the round-trip time of a single message from one device to another and the response sent back to the originating device. DS-TWR is an extension of SS-TWR; it uses and combines two round-trip time measurements, providing reduced-error time-of-flight (TOF) results even in the presence of uncorrected clock frequency offsets and with considerable response delays. During the ranging phase, a ranging marker (RMARKER) is used to measure the timestamp reported in the ranging measurement report.

[0112] In a ranging session, there may be multiple responders for a single initiator. The ranging operations of each responder are similar and will not be described in detail here.

[0113] Figure 4 An example of an SS-TWR operation with two messages is shown. Figure 4 As shown, devices A and B can accurately measure the message sending and receiving times, and the obtained TOF can be estimated using equation (1) (expressed as...). ): (1) in, T round It is the round-trip time. T reply This is the response time.

[0114] Figure 5 An example of a DS-TWR operation with three messages is shown. Figure 5 As shown, device A initiates the first round-trip time measurement, device B responds, then device B initiates the second round-trip time measurement, and device A responds, thus completing a full DS-TWR exchange. T prop It is the propagation time of RMARKER between devices.

[0115] Each device can accurately measure the message sending and receiving times, and the obtained TOF can be estimated using equation (2) (expressed as...). ): (2) in, T round It is the round-trip time. Treply This is the response time.

[0116] Figure 4 or Figure 5 Device A in the text can be the initiator. Figure 4 or Figure 5 Device B in the diagram can be a responder.

[0117] For all conventional PHYs (e.g., 802.15.4z), the RMARRER is defined as the start time of the first symbol on the local antenna after the start-of-frame delimiter (SFD) of the RFRAME. For MMS packets, the RMARRERs for RSF and RIF are referred to as the RSF-RMARKER and RIF-RMARKER, respectively. For pure RSF MMS packets or hybrid MMS packets, the RSF-RMARKER is defined as the peak value of the first pulse in the first RSF. For pure RIF MMS packets or hybrid MMS packets, each RIF includes two RIF-RMARKERs, defined as the peak value of the first pulse and the peak value of the last pulse, respectively.

[0118] An MMS packet may include X RSFs and Y RIFs, where X and Y are integers greater than 1. X and Y may be the same value or different values. The values ​​of X and / or Y may be the same or different between different MMS packets. The embodiment shows that each MMS packet includes X RSFs and Y RIFs.

[0119] like Figure 6 As shown, there are two modes of MMS ranging: (1) Narrowband Assisted Multi-Millisecond (NBA UWB MMS) ranging, in which ranging fragments are transmitted using UWB, while control signals are transmitted using narrowband (using the O-QPSK PHY specified in IEEE 802.15.4-2020); and (2) UWB-Driven UWB MMS ranging, in which control frames and ranging fragments are transmitted using UWB. In UWB-Driven UWB MMS ranging, the start of an MMS packet is indicated only by a UWB packet consisting of a SYNC field and an SFD field. An MMS packet can be a pure RSF MMS packet consisting of one or more ranging sequence fragments (RSF), a pure RIF MMS packet consisting of one or more ranging integrity fragments (RIF), or a hybrid MMS packet consisting of both RSF and RIF. In the hybrid MMS packet format used for ranging integrity, one or more RIFs can be located after the RSF.

[0120] The MMS ranging discussed in IEEE 802.15.4ab targets SS-TWR and assumes that the initiator and one or more responders participate in the ranging session by sending time-interleaved UWB MMS packets.

[0121] Figure 7 An example of SS-TWR in a traditional scheme is shown. During the initialization and setup phases, the initiator sends an advertising poll (ADV-POLL) frame. The responder monitors and receives the ADV-POLL frame and responds with an advertising response (ADV-RESP) frame. Once the initiator receives the ADV-RESP frame, it sends a start of ranging (SOR) frame, indicating the time offset at which the ranging cycle should begin. Subsequently, the initiator can begin the ranging control phase by sending a POLL frame to the responder at the start of the first ranging slot of the ranging round. The responder receives this POLL frame and then responds by sending a response (RESP) frame to the initiator. The POLL and RESP frames enable time and frequency synchronization between the initiator and responder.

[0122] During the ranging phase, the initiator sends MMS packets comprising multiple RSFs (i.e., I-RSF-1, I-RSF-2, ..., I-RSF-X) and multiple RIFs (i.e., I-RIF-1, I-RIF-2, ..., I-RIF-Y); the responder sends packets comprising multiple RSFs (i.e., R-RSF-1, R-RSF-2, ..., R-RSF-X) and multiple RIFs (i.e., R-RIF-1, R-RIF-2, ..., R-RIF-Y). Furthermore, the multiple I-RSFs and multiple R-RSFs are interleaved in time, meaning they are sent sequentially. Similarly, the multiple I-RIFs and multiple R-RIFs are also interleaved in time, meaning they are sent sequentially. Any two RSFs or RIFs are timed 1 ms apart, while the last RSF and the first RIF are timed 2 ms apart.

[0123] During the measurement reporting phase, at least one of the initiator and the responder sends a report frame to the peer device. The report frame sent by the responder may indicate the response time calculated by the responder, while the report frame sent by the initiator may indicate the round-trip time calculated by the initiator. The responder calculates the response time based on the reception time of the RMARRER in its first RSF from the initiator and the transmission time of the RMARRER in its first RSF. Figure 4 In T replyThe initiator sends a response time to the initiator in its report frame. Similarly, the initiator calculates the round-trip time based on the transmission time of the RMARRER in its first RSF and the reception time of the RMARRER from the responder's first RSF. Figure 4 In T round ), and sends the round-trip time to the responder in its report frame.

[0124] However, IEEE 802.15.4ab does not specify how to perform TWR using non-interleaved MMS packets, and it does not fully disclose the signaling aspects of enabling TWR using non-interleaved MMS packets.

[0125] For at least one of the above issues, a scheme is proposed to enhance the initialization and setup phases of UWB MMS ranging, and also to enhance the ranging and reporting phases of UWB MMS ranging to enable TWR using non-interleaved MMS packets.

[0126] This invention is applicable to any application scenario that uses UWB MMS ranging, such as tags, smartphones, laptops, remote keys, vehicles, door locks, garages, hotel rooms, or elevators.

[0127] Figure 8 A device interaction diagram of method 800 according to some embodiments is shown. (Reference) Figure 8 Device interaction involves an initiator and a responder. Method 800 can be implemented in communication system 100. The initiator can be... Figure 1 Device 110 in the middle, the responder can be Figure 1 The equipment in question is 120 or 130.

[0128] Step 801: The initiator sends a first frame to the responder. Accordingly, the responder receives the first frame. The first frame includes a first field indicating that one or more first fragments of the first multi-millisecond (MMS) packet sent by the initiator and one or more second fragments of the second MMS packet sent by the responder are not time-interleaved.

[0129] Two MMS packets are not interleaved, meaning that one MMS packet is sent only after the other MMS packet has been transmitted. In other words, fragments of one MMS packet are not sent alternately with fragments of another MMS packet.

[0130] Step 802: The initiator sends one or more first fragments of the first MMS packet within a first time period. Accordingly, the responder receives one or more first fragments of the first MMS packet.

[0131] The time period can be a sub-round of the ranging round or the ranging round itself.

[0132] Step 803: The responder sends one or more second fragments of the second MMS packet within the second time period. Correspondingly, the initiator receives one or more second fragments of the second MMS packet. The second time period follows the first time period.

[0133] exist Figure 8 In the example shown, the initiator and responder send a first MMS packet and a second MMS packet that are not time-interleaved, according to the instructions in the first frame. In this case, the initiator only sends during the first time period, and the responder only receives during the first time period, according to the instructions in the first frame. Furthermore, the initiator only receives during the second time period, and the responder only sends during the second time period, according to the instructions in the first frame. Therefore, the initiator and responder do not need to frequently switch between sending and receiving, thus reducing the operational complexity for both parties.

[0134] For ease of understanding, embodiments of the present invention will be described for different situations.

[0135] Case 1: The first frame is the start of ranging (SOR) frame.

[0136] In Case 1, the initiator can send an SOR frame before the ranging phase begins, thus notifying the responder in advance of the TWR mode (i.e., whether to use non-interleaved MMS packets).

[0137] In some embodiments, the responder may also send an advertising response (ADV-RESP) frame including a second field. The second field is used to request that one or more first fragments and one or more second fragments not be time-interleaved. Accordingly, the initiator receives the ADV-RESP frame. In this case, step 802: the initiator responds to the ADV-RESP frame by sending an SOR frame.

[0138] In this scenario, the responder can request that one or more first fragments and one or more second fragments not be interleaved in time. The initiator can then determine, based on the responder's request, that one or more first fragments and one or more second fragments not be interleaved in time. By obtaining the responder's request, the initiator can determine the transmission mode of the MMS packets used for ranging (i.e., whether the MMS packets are interleaved or not), thereby improving communication performance.

[0139] In some embodiments, before sending one or more first fragments of the first MMS packet, the initiator also sends a first polling frame for initiating a ranging measurement. Accordingly, the responder receives the first polling frame. The first polling frame may also indicate that the first and second MMS packets are not time-interleaved, to reconfirm the content indicated in the SOR.

[0140] The responding party may also send a first response frame after receiving one or more first fragments of the first MMS packet and before sending one or more second fragments of the second MMS packet. The first response frame initiates the transmission of the second MMS packet. Accordingly, the initiating party receives the first response frame after sending one or more first fragments of the first MMS packet and before receiving one or more second fragments of the second MMS packet.

[0141] In this scenario, after sending the first polling frame and the first MMS packet, the initiator receives the first response frame and the second MMS packet; similarly, after receiving the first polling frame and the first MMS packet, the responder sends the first response frame and the second MMS packet. Therefore, the initiator and responder do not need to frequently switch between sending and receiving, thus reducing the operational complexity for both parties.

[0142] Case 2: The first frame is the first polling frame used to initiate the ranging measurement.

[0143] In scenario 2, the responder sends a first response frame after receiving one or more first fragments and before sending one or more second fragments. The first response frame is used to initiate the transmission of the second MMS packet. Correspondingly, the initiator receives the first response frame after sending one or more first fragments and before receiving one or more second fragments.

[0144] In this scenario, since the first polling frame is an existing frame, using it as the first frame ensures backward compatibility of the implementation. Furthermore, the initiator and responder do not need to frequently switch between sending and receiving, thereby reducing the operational complexity for both parties.

[0145] In some embodiments of Case 1 and Case 2, the first frame also includes a third field indicating the ranging mode, which may be a single-sided TWR (SS-TWR) or a double-sided TWR (DS-TWR) with 3 MMS packets.

[0146] In this scenario, the responder can determine which ranging mode to apply for ranging and can further perform ranging based on that mode.

[0147] The embodiments in Case 1 and Case 2 can be applied respectively. Figures 9 to 14Each example shown.

[0148] The following will combine Figures 9 to 15 Examples of ranging modes in two different designs are described.

[0149] Design 1: The ranging mode is SS-TWR.

[0150] In Design 1, one or more first fragments and one or more second fragments may each include one or more ranging sequence fragments (RSFs).

[0151] In this scenario, the responder may also send a second report frame within a second time period after sending the second MMS packet. This second report frame carries the timing measurement results obtained by the responder. The timing measurement results are obtained through the RSF of the first MMS packet and the RSF of the second MMS packet.

[0152] The initiator may also send a first report frame, which indicates the timing measurement results obtained by the initiator. Similarly, the timing measurement results are obtained through the RSF of the first MMS packet and the RSF of the second MMS packet.

[0153] Figure 9 An example of SS-TWR according to some embodiments is shown. In this example, there are two sub-rounds in the ranging round, the report frame is sent at the end of the second sub-round, and the MMS packets are not interleaved.

[0154] During the initialization and setup phases, the NB is used to send control frames. The initiator can first send an ADV-POLL frame. The responder can monitor and receive the ADV-POLL frame and respond with an ADV-RESP frame. Once the initiator receives the ADV-RESP frame, the initiator can send an SOR frame (i.e., a SOR compact frame), which indicates the time offset at which the ranging period should begin.

[0155] In the ranging round following the initialization and setup phases, ranging is performed using UWB. Each ranging round consists of two sub-rounds.

[0156] In the first sub-round, the initiator may begin the ranging control phase by sending a first POLL frame to the responder at the start of the first ranging time slot of the first sub-round. The responder may then receive the first POLL frame. Subsequently, during the ranging phase of the first sub-round, the initiator may send a first MMS packet comprising multiple RSFs (i.e., I-RSF-1, I-RSF-2, ..., I-RSF-X) and multiple RIFs (i.e., I-RIF-1, I-RIF-2, ..., I-RIF-Y). The responder may then receive the first MMS packet. Any two RSFs or RIFs may be timed 1 ms apart, while the last RSF and the first RIF may be timed 2 ms apart.

[0157] In the second sub-round, the responder can initiate the ranging control phase by sending a first RESP frame to the initiator at the beginning of the first ranging time slot of the second sub-round, and the first RESP frame instructs the responder to send a second MMS packet. The first POLL frame and the first RESP frame enable time and frequency synchronization between the initiator and the responder. Subsequently, during the ranging phase of the second sub-round, the responder can send a second MMS packet comprising multiple RSFs and multiple RIFs. Accordingly, the initiator can receive the second MMS packet.

[0158] Subsequently, in the measurement reporting phase of the second sub-round, at least one of the initiator and the responder may send a report frame to the peer device. The report frame may indicate the response time or round-trip time calculated by the initiator or the responder, respectively. The response time and round-trip time can be obtained based on the first RSF-RMARKER of the RSF. The obtained TOF can be estimated using the above equation (1), and the distance between the initiator and the responder can be obtained accordingly.

[0159] Design 2: The ranging mode is DS-TWR with 3 MMS packets.

[0160] In the ranging session in Design 2, each responder communicating with an initiator uses 3 MMS packets for ranging; that is, 3 MMS packets are transmitted between the initiator and each responder.

[0161] In some embodiments of Design 2, the initiator may also send one or more third fragments of the third MMS packet during a third time period, which follows the second time period. Accordingly, the responder may receive one or more third fragments of the third MMS packet during the third time period.

[0162] Furthermore, in one implementation of Design 2, at least one of the initiator or responder can send a report carrying the timing measurement results.

[0163] In one example, the responder may also send a fourth report frame within a third time period after receiving one or more third fragments. This fourth report frame carries the timing measurement results obtained by the responder. Accordingly, the initiator may receive the fourth report frame. The timing measurement results are obtained using the RSF and / or RIF of the first, second, and third MMS packets.

[0164] In another example, the initiator may also send a third report frame within a third time period after sending one or more third fragments. This third report frame carries the timing measurement results obtained by the initiator. Accordingly, the responder can receive the third report frame. The timing measurement results are obtained using the RSF and / or RIF of the first, second, and third MMS packets.

[0165] In some embodiments of Design 2, the initiator may also send a third polling frame after receiving one or more second fragments and before sending one or more third fragments. The third polling frame is used to initiate a third MMS packet for DS-TWR. Correspondingly, the responder may receive the third polling frame after sending one or more second fragments and before receiving one or more third fragments.

[0166] Figure 10 An example of a DS-TWR according to some embodiments of Design 2 is shown. During the initialization and setup phases, the NB is used to send control frames. The initiator may first send an ADV-POLL frame. The responder may monitor and receive the ADV-POLL frame and respond with an ADV-RESP frame. Once the initiator receives the ADV-RESP frame, the initiator may send an SOR frame, which indicates the time offset at which the ranging period should begin.

[0167] In the ranging round following the initialization and setup phases, ranging is performed using UWB. The ranging round consists of three sub-rounds.

[0168] In the first sub-round, the initiator can begin the ranging control phase by sending the first POLL frame to the responder at the start of the first ranging time slot of the first sub-round. The responder can then receive the first POLL frame. Subsequently, during the ranging phase of the first sub-round, the initiator can send the first MMS packet. The responder can then receive the first MMS packet. Any two adjacent RSFs or RIFs can be timed 1 ms apart, while the last RSF and the first RIF can be timed 2 ms apart.

[0169] In the second sub-round, the responder can initiate the ranging control phase by sending a first RESP frame to the initiator at the beginning of the first ranging time slot of the second sub-round, and the first RESP frame instructs the responder to send a second MMS packet. The first POLL frame and the first RESP frame enable time and frequency synchronization between the initiator and the responder. Subsequently, during the ranging phase of the second sub-round, the responder can send the second MMS packet. Accordingly, the initiator can receive the second MMS packet.

[0170] In the third sub-round, the initiator may begin the ranging control phase by sending a third POLL frame to the responder at the start of the first ranging time slot of the third sub-round. The responder may then receive the third POLL frame. Subsequently, during the ranging phase of the third sub-round, the initiator may send a third MMS packet. The responder may then receive the third MMS packet. Next, during the measurement reporting phase of the third sub-round, at least one of the initiator and the responder may send a report frame to the peer device. The report frame may indicate the response time or round-trip time calculated by the initiator or the responder, respectively.

[0171] exist Figure 10 In the example shown, three sub-rounds are allocated within the ranging round, with one MMS packet sent in each sub-round. These three MMS packets are not time-interleaved; that is, one MMS packet is sent only after another has finished transmitting. The third MMS packet is sent by the initiator in the third sub-round to enable DS-TWR. Furthermore, a time slot is allocated for a single control (polling or response) frame in each sub-round. Additionally, a first or second report frame, indicating the measurement result calculated based on the three MMS packets, is sent in the third sub-round. Since the initiator and responder may not send report frames in the first or second sub-round, a ranging phase for sending the first or second report frame may or may not exist in the first or second sub-round.

[0172] Figure 11 Another example of a DS-TWR according to some embodiments is shown. This example is similar to... Figure 10 The example shown differs in that it uses UWB-driven MMS ranging. In this example, the initiator and responder perform TWR using time-non-interleaved MMS packets. Furthermore, in the case of UWB-driven MMS ranging, both control frames and MMS packets are transmitted in UWB, and a short UWB frame including the SYNC and SFD fields precedes each MMS packet.

[0173] In some embodiments of Design 1 or Design 2, the first polling frame also indicates whether or not a second response frame is required to acknowledge the first polling frame.

[0174] In some examples, the first polling frame also indicates the need for a second response frame to acknowledge the first polling frame, and after receiving the second response frame, the first MMS packet is sent.

[0175] In this scenario, the initiator sends the first MMS packet after receiving the second response frame. Otherwise, the initiator might not send the first MMS packet. Therefore, if the responder is prepared to receive the first MMS packet, the initiator can send it; if the responder is not prepared to receive it, the initiator can choose not to send it, thus improving communication efficiency between the initiator and the responder.

[0176] In some embodiments of Design 1 or Design 2, the initiator sends a second polling frame in response to the first response frame. Accordingly, the responder receives the second polling frame. After receiving the second polling frame, the responder sends a second MMS packet. Accordingly, after sending the second polling frame, the initiator receives the second MMS packet.

[0177] In this scenario, the responder sends a second MMS packet after receiving the second polling frame. Otherwise, the responder may not send a second MMS packet. Therefore, if the initiator is prepared to receive the second MMS packet, the responder can send it; if the initiator is not prepared to receive it, the responder can choose not to send it, thus improving communication efficiency between the initiator and the responder.

[0178] In some embodiments, the first polling frame also indicates a third response frame that requires confirmation of the third polling frame, and after receiving the third response frame, a third MMS packet is sent.

[0179] Figure 12 Another example of a DS-TWR according to some embodiments is shown. Similar to Figure 10 The example shown uses time-non-interleaved Narrowband Assisted (NBA) MMS packets in the DS-TWR between the initiator and responder. The key difference is that... Figure 12In the example shown, the polling compact frame indicates that a response is required for each control frame (i.e., the first polling frame, the first response frame, and the third polling frame). In this case, the responder can send a response compact frame after receiving the first polling frame in the first sub-round and after receiving the third polling frame in the third sub-round, respectively. Furthermore, the initiator can send a second polling frame in response to the first response frame in the second sub-round. Additionally, if a response to every control frame is not required, the control phase in each sub-round has two more time slots than the control phase in each sub-round. If no response compact frame or polling compact frame is received in any sub-round, the TWR may be aborted, and a report frame may not be sent.

[0180] In some embodiments of Design 1 or Design 2, there can be multiple responders corresponding to one initiator in a ranging session, each responder performing ranging in a similar manner. The TWR between one initiator and multiple responders can be referred to as a one-to-many (O2M) TWR.

[0181] Figure 13 An exemplary O2M DS-TWR is shown between the initiator and two responders of an NBA UWB MMS packet that is not time-interleaved. Figure 13 The example shown includes an initialization and setup phase and four sub-rounds.

[0182] During the initialization and setup phase, the initiator may send an ADV-POLL frame to the responders (i.e., the first and second responders). The responders may receive the ADV-POLL frame. The ADV-POLL frame may be broadcast. Subsequently, each responder may send an ADV-RESP frame to the initiator; that is, each responder sends one ADV-RESP to the initiator. Each ADV-RESP may be unicast. The initiator may receive the ADV-RESP frame. Next, the initiator may send a SOR frame indicating the time offset to the responders. The responders may receive the SOR frame. The SOR frame may be broadcast.

[0183] In the first sub-round, the initiator can send a first polling frame, initiate a DS-TWR with the two responders, and schedule the first responder to the second sub-round and the second responder to the third sub-round. Accordingly, the responders can receive the first polling frame. The first polling frame can be broadcast. Within a fixed time interval after sending the first polling frame, the initiator can send a first MMS packet to the responders. Accordingly, the responders can receive the first MMS packet. The first MMS packet can also be broadcast.

[0184] Since the first responder is scheduled to the second sub-round, in the second sub-round, the first responder can send a first response frame and a second MMS packet to the initiator. Accordingly, the initiator can receive the first response frame and the second MMS packet.

[0185] Since the second responder is scheduled to the third sub-round, in the third sub-round, the second responder can send a second response frame and a third MMS packet to the initiator. Accordingly, the initiator can receive the second response frame and the third MMS packet.

[0186] In the fourth sub-round, the initiator may send a second polling frame and a fourth MMS packet to the responder. Correspondingly, the responder may receive the second polling frame and the fourth MMS packet. After all four MMS packets have been transmitted or received, if the initiator and / or responder requests a report frame for DS-TWR, report preparation continues. Next, in the reporting phase of the fourth sub-round, at least one of the initiator and the first responder may send a report frame to the peer device. Similarly, the second responder may send a report frame to the peer device. The order in which the responders send report frames is the same as the order in which the second and third MMS packets are transmitted. That is, in the reporting phase, the first responder sends its own report frame first, the second responder then sends the second report frame, and the initiator sends its own report frame last. Each report frame may indicate the response time or round-trip time calculated by the initiator or responder.

[0187] As mentioned above, the time period can be a ranging round. In this case, the ranging period can include multiple ranging rounds, and the length of each ranging round can be the same.

[0188] When the time period is a ranging round, the process is similar to that when the time period is a sub-round. Some key differences include: 1. Each MMS packet is sent in a separate round, and multiple (e.g., X) consecutive rounds are assigned to the same pair of initiators and one or more responders for the ranging session in each ranging block.

[0189] The controller can ensure that multiple (e.g., X) consecutive rounds are assigned to the same pair of initiators and one or more responders for each ranging block by scheduling a set of X consecutive rounds to the same pair of initiators and one or more responders. This also means that features such as skipping rounds need to be disabled to ensure that multiple consecutive rounds are assigned to the same pair of initiators and responders.

[0190] For SS-TWR, the number of consecutive rounds can be obtained by X=N+1; for DS-TWR, it can be obtained by X=N+2, where N is the number of responders. The number of responders also implicitly indicates the number of rounds allocated by TWR in the ranging round. For SS-TWR with 2 non-interleaved MMS packets, the number of rounds equals the number of responders plus 1. For DS-TWR with 3 non-interleaved MMS packets, the number of rounds equals the number of responders plus 2. In both the SS-TWR with 2 non-interleaved MMS packets and the DS-TWR with 3 non-interleaved MMS packets, the last round is used for the initiator's final MMS packet and report frame.

[0191] 2. All three rounds have two time slots allocated during the control phase.

[0192] 3. Since all ranging rounds last for the same duration, there are time slots in all three rounds during the reporting phase, but the reporting frame is only sent in the third round and not in the first two rounds.

[0193] The time period for the ranging round can be applied to O2O SS-TWR, O2M SS-TWR, O2O DS-TWR or O2MDS-TWR. Figure 14 This example demonstrates O2O DS-TWR using non-interleaved MMS packets when the time period is a ranging round. In this example, each time period is a round, using NBA MMS packets that are not interleaved in time. Figure 14 As shown, the first round corresponds to the first time period in method 800, the second round corresponds to the second time period in method 800, and the third round corresponds to the third time period in method 800.

[0194] In this example, during the initialization and setup phases, an ADV-RESP frame can be used to request that the MMS packets to be sent be non-interleaved. A SOR frame can indicate that the MMS packets to be sent are non-interleaved.

[0195] Following the initialization and setup phases, in the first round, the initiator can begin the control phase by sending a first POLL frame to the responder at the start of the first ranging time slot of the first round. The message control field of the first POLL frame can be set to 0x40 or 0x50 to initiate the initiator's first MMS packet with non-interleaved O2O TWR, or set to 0xC0 or 0xD0 to initiate the initiator's first MMS packet with non-interleaved O2M TWR. The responder can then receive the first POLL frame. Subsequently, in the ranging phase of the first round, the initiator can send a first MMS packet comprising multiple RSFs (i.e., I-RSF-1, I-RSF-2, ..., I-RSF-X) and multiple RIFs (i.e., I-RIF-1, I-RIF-2, ..., I-RIF-Y). The responder can then receive the first MMS packet. Any two adjacent RSFs or RIFs can be time-separated by 1 ms, while the last RSF and the first RIF can be time-separated by 2 ms.

[0196] In the second round, the responder can initiate the control phase by sending a first RESP frame to the initiator at the beginning of the first ranging time slot of the second round. The first RESP frame can also instruct the responder to send a second MMS packet. The first POLL frame and the first RESP frame enable time and frequency synchronization between the initiator and responder. Subsequently, during the ranging phase of the second round, the responder can send a second MMS packet comprising multiple RSFs (i.e., R-RSF-1, R-RSF-2, ..., R-RSF-X) and multiple RIFs (i.e., R-RIF-1, R-RIF-2, ..., R-RIF-Y). The initiator can then receive the second MMS packet.

[0197] In the third round, the initiator can begin the ranging control phase by sending a second POLL frame to the responder at the start of the first ranging time slot of the third round. The responder can then receive the second POLL frame. The message control field of the second POLL frame can be set to 0x40 to initiate the initiator's non-interleaved O2O TWR third MMS packet, or set to 0xC0 to initiate the initiator's non-interleaved O2M TWR third MMS packet. Subsequently, during the ranging phase of the third round, the initiator can send a third MMS packet comprising multiple RSFs (i.e., I-RSF-1, I-RSF-2, ..., I-RSF-X) and multiple RIFs (i.e., I-RIF-1, I-RIF-2, ..., I-RIF-Y). The responder can then receive the third MMS packet.

[0198] After all three MMS packets have been transmitted or received, report preparation continues if the requesting initiator or responder sends a compact report frame for DS-TWR. Next, in the third round of measurement reporting, at least one of the initiator and responder may send a report frame to the peer device. The report frame may indicate the response time or round-trip time calculated by the initiator or responder, respectively.

[0199] In some embodiments of Design 1 or Design 2, the first frame further includes a fourth field indicating the type of at least one timing measurement result carried in the third report frame and the fourth report frame.

[0200] In some embodiments, one or more first fragments, one or more second fragments, and one or more third fragments each comprise one or more ranging integrity fragments (RIFs), or one or more first fragments and one or more second fragments each comprise one or more ranging sequence fragments (RSFs). Furthermore, the fourth field comprises at least one of the first subfield, the second subfield, the third subfield, and the fourth subfield.

[0201] The first subfield indicates whether a Type 1 timing measurement result is required in at least one of the third or fourth reporting frames. The Type 1 timing measurement result is obtained through the first RIF of the first MMS packet, the second MMS packet, and the third MMS packet.

[0202] The second subfield indicates whether a Type 2 timing measurement result is required in at least one of the third or fourth reporting frames. The Type 2 timing measurement result is obtained through the last RIF of the first, second, and third MMS packets.

[0203] The third subfield indicates whether a Type 3 timing measurement result is required in at least one of the third or fourth report frames. The Type 3 timing measurement result is obtained through the first RIF of the first MMS packet and the second MMS packet, and the last RIF of the third MMS packet.

[0204] The fourth subfield indicates whether RSF timing measurement results are required in at least one of the third or fourth report frames, which are obtained through the RSF of the first, second, and third MMS packets.

[0205] Figure 15Examples of different types of timing measurement results are shown. As mentioned above, each RIF can include two RMARRERs: a start RMARRER and an end RMARRER. The start RMARRER is located at the beginning of the RIF, and the end RMARRER is located at the end of the RIF. For timing measurements of the first RIF with an MMS packet, the start RMARRER is used. For timing measurements of the last RIF with an MMS packet, the end RMARRER is used. RSFs are not shown in the figure, but timing measurements using RSFs are performed using the RMARRER in the first RSF.

[0206] Type 1 timing measurement results can refer to the response time 1 and round-trip time 1 measured between the first RIF of the first two MMS packets and the first RIF of the third MMS packet, such as... Figure 15 As shown. The initiator can record the TX-RX round-trip time between the transmission time of the first RIF of its first MMS packet and the reception time of the first RIF of the second MMS packet from the responder. Furthermore, the initiator can also record the RX-TX response time between the reception time of the first RIF of the second MMS packet from the responder and the transmission time of the first RIF of its third MMS packet. The responder can record the RX-TX response time between the reception time of the first RIF of the first MMS packet from the initiator and the transmission time of the first RIF of its second MMS packet. The responder can also record the TX-RX round-trip time between the transmission time of the first RIF of its second MMS packet and the reception time of the first RIF of the third MMS packet from the initiator.

[0207] Type 2 timing measurement results can refer to the response time 2 and round-trip time 2 measured between the last RIF of the first two MMS packets and the last RIF of the third MMS packet, such as... Figure 15 As shown. The initiator can record the TX-RX round-trip time between the transmission time of the last RIF of its first MMS packet and the reception time of the last RIF of the second MMS packet from the responder. Furthermore, the initiator can also record the RX-TX reply time between the reception time of the last RIF of the second MMS packet from the responder and the transmission time of the last RIF of its third MMS packet. The responder can record the RX-TX reply time between the reception time of the last RIF of the first MMS packet from the initiator and the transmission time of the last RIF of its second MMS packet. The responder can also record the TX-RX round-trip time between the transmission time of the last RIF of its second MMS packet and the reception time of the last RIF of the third MMS packet from the initiator.

[0208] Type 3 timing measurement results can refer to the response time 3 and round-trip time 3 measured between the first RIF of the first two MMS packets and the last RIF of the third MMS packet, such as... Figure 15 As shown. The initiator can record the TX-RX round-trip time between the transmission time of the first RIF of its first MMS packet and the reception time of the first RIF of the second MMS packet from the responder. Furthermore, the initiator can also record the RX-TX response time between the reception time of the first RIF of the second MMS packet from the responder and the transmission time of the last RIF of its third MMS packet. The responder can record the RX-TX response time between the reception time of the first RIF of the first MMS packet from the initiator and the transmission time of the first RIF of its second MMS packet. The responder can also record the TX-RX round-trip time between the transmission time of the first RIF of its second MMS packet and the reception time of the last RIF of the third MMS packet from the initiator.

[0209] In some embodiments of Design 1 or Design 2, the first polling frame also indicates the number of time periods in the ranging measurement. The number of time periods can be the number of sub-rounds or the number of rounds. Therefore, the responder can know the number of time periods to be used for the ranging measurement. In one implementation, the first polling frame also indicates the number of time slots within at least one time period. Therefore, the responder can know the duration of at least one of these time periods. The first field is the round control field of the first frame. Since the round control field is an existing field, this scheme is backward compatible.

[0210] It should be understood that the UWB-driven version, based on the example given by NBA-UWB MMS ranging, can also be implemented in a similar manner, i.e., transmitting control frames and MMS packets over UWB. In the UWB-driven version, a single frequency band is sufficient, eliminating the need for a separate NB radio, thus allowing the use of fewer frequency bands.

[0211] For ease of understanding, the frame structure of different frames in different embodiments will be described below.

[0212] ADV-RESP frames can also be called ADV-RESP compact frames. Figure 16 It is based on Figures 9 to 14 The diagram shown is an example of an ADV-RESP compact frame. Some key fields in the ADV-RESP compact frame will be introduced below.

[0213] ADV-RESP compact frames may include a frame type field, a compact frame ID field, a responder RPA hash field, a message control field, a message content field, and an FCS field.

[0214] The frame type field can indicate the type of frame. For example, a frame type field set to "b100" indicates that the frame type is a compact frame.

[0215] The Compact Frame ID field indicates the type of the compact frame. For example, the Compact Frame ID field can be set to indicate that the type of the compact frame is an advertising response (ADV-RESP) compact frame (e.g., 1).

[0216] The responder's RPA hash field carries RPA_hash, which, together with RPA_prand carried in the announcement polling frame, represents the responder's private address. The responder's RPA_hash is given by bits 0 to 23 of h(key=IdentityResolvingKey (IRK), data=RPA_prand), where h() is the AES-128 block cipher, and IRK and the initiator's RPA_prand are taken as input.

[0217] The FCS field carries a cyclic redundancy check (CRC).

[0218] The message control fields are set to different values ​​to indicate different subtypes of the announcement response compact frame. For example, 0x00 indicates an announcement response compact frame that carries all configuration fields; 0x10 indicates an announcement response compact frame that carries only the required configuration fields.

[0219] When the message control field is set to 0x00, it includes multiple configuration fields. These configuration fields may include the NB channel mapping field, management PHY configuration field, management MAC configuration field, ranging PHY configuration field, and ranging MAC configuration field.

[0220] The NB channel mapping field can be used to transmit NB channels that are permitted to be used between one or more initiators and one or more responders. The management PHY configuration field can indicate the configuration of the PHY used for control (i.e., NB PHY or UWB PHY). The management MAC configuration field can be used to configure ranging blocks and can indicate that MMS packets used for ranging are not interleaved in time. The ranging PHY configuration field can indicate the configuration of the PHY used for ranging (i.e., UWB PHY). The ranging MAC configuration field can indicate the MAC aspect configuration of the ranging PHY (i.e., UWB PHY).

[0221] When the message control field is set to 0x10, it is similar to the message control field when it is set to 0x00. The key difference is that when the message control field is set to 0x00, all configuration fields exist, while when the message control field is set to 0x10, the configuration fields are optional, and there are two additional optional fields: the SMC TLV field and the MMS ranging mode configuration field.

[0222] When the message control field is set to 0x10, the message control field may include a bitmap field and some optional configuration fields, which may or may not be present. These optional configuration fields may include the NB channel mapping field, management PHY configuration field, management MAC configuration field, ranging PHY configuration field, ranging MAC configuration field, SMC TLV field, and MMS ranging mode configuration field.

[0223] The NB channel mapping field, management PHY configuration field, management MAC configuration field, ranging PHY configuration field, and ranging MAC configuration field are the same as the fields described above, and you can refer to the relevant descriptions.

[0224] The presence of a bitmap field indicates the existence of optional configuration fields. The SMC TLV field can be a list of supported message control commands. This can be used by the responder to signal to the initiator which compact frames and message control values ​​are supported. The MMS ranging mode configuration indicates the requested ranging mode configuration.

[0225] SOR frames can also be called SOR compact frames. Figure 17 It is based on Figures 9 to 14 The example shown is a schematic diagram of a SOR compact frame. Some key fields in the SOR compact frame will be introduced below.

[0226] SOR compact frames may include a frame type field, a compact frame ID field, an RPA hash field, a message control field, a message content field, and an FCS field.

[0227] The frame type field can indicate the type of frame. For example, a frame type field set to "b100" indicates that the frame type is a compact frame.

[0228] The compact frame ID field can indicate the type of compact frame. For example, the compact frame ID field can be set to a value that indicates the type of compact frame is SOR compact frame (e.g., 2).

[0229] The RPA hash field can indicate the responder's private address. When a SOR compact frame is sent to a single responder, the RPA hash field can carry the RPA_hash, which, along with the RPA_prand carried in the advertisement poll frame, represents the responder's private address. When a SOR compact frame is sent to multiple responders, the RPA hash field can carry the RPA_hash carried in the advertisement poll frame.

[0230] The message control field can be set to different values ​​to indicate different subtypes of the SOR compact frame. For example, 0x00 indicates a range start compact frame carrying all configuration fields; 0x10 indicates a range start compact frame carrying only the required configuration fields.

[0231] When the message control field is set to 0x00 and 0x10, the obtained message content fields are similar. However, when the message control field is set to 0x00, all configuration fields are present, while when the message control field is set to 0x10, the configuration fields are optional, and there are two additional optional fields: the starting block index field and the MMS ranging mode configuration field.

[0232] When the message control field is set to 0x00, the message content field can include a time offset field, an NB channel seed field, and configuration fields. Configuration fields can include an NB channel mapping field, a management PHY configuration field, a management MAC configuration field, a ranging PHY configuration field, and a ranging MAC configuration field.

[0233] The Time Offset field specifies a time offset of 1 / 499.2 MHz resolution between the first symbol of the SOR compact frame and the first symbol of the subsequent polling frame used to initiate the ranging session. The NB Channel Seed field specifies a key in the range of 0 to 255 for input to the channel switching function (MSB padded with zeros). The NB Channel Mapping field can be used to transmit NB channels that are allowed to be used between the initiator and responder. The Management PHY Configuration field indicates the configuration of the PHY used for control (i.e., NBPHY or UWB PHY). The Management MAC Configuration field can be used to configure, for example... Figure 9 The ranging block is shown. The ranging PHY configuration field indicates the configuration of the PHY (i.e., UWB PHY) used for ranging. The ranging MAC configuration field indicates the MAC configuration of the ranging PHY (i.e., UWB PHY).

[0234] When the message control field is set to 0x10, the message content field can include a time offset field, an NB channel seed field, an existence bitmap field, and optional configuration fields. Optional configuration fields can include an NB channel mapping field, a management PHY configuration field, a management MAC configuration field, a ranging PHY configuration field, a ranging MAC configuration field, a start block index field, and an MMS ranging mode configuration field.

[0235] The time offset field, NB channel seed field, existence bitmap field, NB channel mapping field, management PHY configuration field, management MAC configuration field, ranging PHY configuration field, and ranging MAC configuration field are the same as those described when the message control field is set to 0x00.

[0236] The presence of a bitmap field indicates whether optional configuration fields are available. The start block index field indicates the index of the first ranging block in the ranging session. The MMS ranging mode configuration indicates the requested ranging mode configuration.

[0237] Polling frames can also be called polling compact frames. Figure 18 It is based on Figures 9 to 14 The example shown is a schematic diagram of a polling compact frame. Some key fields in the polling compact frame will be introduced below.

[0238] Polling compact frames can include a frame type field, a compact frame ID field, an RPA hash field, an RPA Prand field, a message control field, a message content field, and an FCS field.

[0239] The frame type field can indicate the type of frame. For example, setting the frame type field to "b100" (i.e., setting the three bits to "1", "0", and "0" respectively) indicates a compact frame.

[0240] The Compact Frame ID field indicates the type of compact frame. For example, the Compact Frame ID field can be set to indicate a value that indicates a polled compact frame (e.g., a value of 3 for a one-to-one polled compact frame or a value of 8 for a one-to-many polled compact frame).

[0241] The RPA hash field can indicate RPA_hash, which together with RPA_prand indicated by the RPA Prand field represents the initiator's private address. RPA_hash is given by bits 0 to 23 of h(key=IdentityResolvingKey (IRK), data=RPA_prand), where h() is the AES-128 block cipher, and IRK and the initiator's RPA_prand are taken as input.

[0242] The RPA Prand field can indicate RPA_prand, which is a 3-byte random number generated by the initiator.

[0243] The message control field can be set to different values ​​to indicate different subtypes of the polling compact frame. For example, 0x60 or 0xE0 indicates a polling compact frame used to initiate a TWR ranging round, where 0x60 is used for one-to-one ranging and 0xE0 is used for one-to-many ranging. A TWR ranging round can be an SS-TWR ranging round or a DS-TWR ranging round. 0x70 or 0xF0 indicates a polling compact frame used to initiate an MMS packet sent by the initiator, except for the first MMS packet in the TWR. For example, 0x70 or 0xF0 indicates a polling compact frame used to initiate a third MMS packet for TWR or to initiate OWR, where 0x70 is used for OWR or one-to-one TWR and 0xF0 is used for one-to-many TWR.

[0244] A polling compact frame with the message control field set to 0x60 is used to initiate a one-to-one ranging TWR ranging round. For example, in Figures 9 to 12 and Figure 14 In the process shown, the initiator sends a polling compact frame with the message control field set to 0x60 to initiate a TWR ranging round for one-to-one ranging at the start of the first sub-round.

[0245] When the message control field is set to 0x60, the message content field may include the round control field, the number of slots per sub-round field, the request bitmap field, the existence bitmap field, the NB channel mapping field, the management PHY configuration field, the management MAC configuration field, the ranging PHY configuration field, the ranging MAC configuration field, the block index field, and the round index field.

[0246] The Round Control field indicates control information regarding the ranging round. The Number of Slots per Sub-round field indicates the number of slots allocated to each sub-round, excluding the last sub-round. The number of slots for the last sub-round can be obtained by adding two slots to each report frame (maximum one report frame per responder, maximum one report frame per initiator).

[0247] The Request Bitmap field can indicate that the initiator requests one or more fields from the responder to be included in a specific field within the applicable response compact frame. The Existence Bitmap field can indicate whether optional fields are present. The NB Channel Mapping field can be used to transmit NB channels permitted for use between the initiator and responder.

[0248] The PHY configuration field can indicate the configuration of the PHY (i.e., NB PHY or UWB PHY) used for control. The MAC configuration field can be used to configure, for example... Figure 9The ranging block is shown. The ranging PHY configuration field indicates the configuration of the PHY (i.e., UWB PHY) used for ranging. The ranging MAC configuration field indicates the MAC configuration of the ranging PHY (i.e., UWB PHY).

[0249] The block index field indicates the index of the current ranging block. The round index field indicates the index of the current ranging round.

[0250] Round control fields may include fields for requiring responses, number of MMS packets, non-interleaving fields, sub-round number fields, and reserved fields.

[0251] The Response Field is valid for DS-TWRs that use three MMS packets and indicates whether a response frame needs to be sent for each frame that initiates the transmission of the first, second, and third MMS packets: 0 indicates no response is needed, and 1 indicates a response is needed.

[0252] When the required response field is set to 1, the responder can send a response compact frame after receiving polling compact frames in the first and third sub-rounds, and the initiator can send a polling compact frame after receiving response compact frames in the first and second sub-rounds. In this case, the control phase in each sub-round will have two time slots. If no response compact frame or polling compact frame is received in either sub-round, the TWR may be aborted, and a report frame may not be sent.

[0253] exist Figure 10 In the example shown, the response field needs to be set to 0. Figure 12 In the example shown, the response field needs to be set to 1.

[0254] The MMS packet count field indicates the number of MMS packets used for DS-TWR: 0 indicates 3 MMS packets, and 1 indicates 2 MMS packets.

[0255] exist Figure 10 In the example, the number of MMS packets field indicates 0 (i.e., 3 MMS packets).

[0256] The non-interleaved field indicates whether the sent MMS packets are interleaved or not in time: 0 indicates that the MMS packets are interleaved, and 1 indicates that the MMS packets are not interleaved.

[0257] exist Figure 10 In the example, the non-interleaving field indicates 1 (i.e., MMS packets are not interleaved).

[0258] The sub-round number field can indicate the number of sub-rounds allocated in a ranging round and may only be relevant if the non-interleaving field is set to 1 or the number of MMS packets is set to 0. In one possible design, the sub-round number field can be set to the number of sub-rounds allocated in the ranging round minus 1 to indicate the number of sub-rounds allocated in the ranging round. For example, if the value of the sub-round number field is N, and N is a positive integer, then the number of sub-rounds is (N+1).

[0259] exist Figure 10 In the example, the sub-turn number field is set to 2, indicating that the sub-turn number is 3.

[0260] A polling compact frame with a message control field set to 0xE0 is used to initiate a TWR ranging round for one-to-many ranging. In this case, the message content field is the same as that of a polling compact frame with a message control field set to 0x60, except that the message content field also includes a number of responders field, a number of timeslots per responder field, and a responder address list field. Furthermore, the round control field does not include the sub-round number field.

[0261] In this context, the Quantity of Responders field can indicate the number of respondents selected to participate in the ranging phase. In one possible design, the Quantity of Responders field could be set to the number of respondents selected to participate in the ranging phase minus 1, thus indicating the total number of respondents selected to participate in the ranging phase.

[0262] The number of responders field also implicitly indicates the number of sub-rounds allocated in the ranging round. For SS-TWR or DS-TWR with 2 interleaved MMS packets, the number of sub-rounds equals the number of responders; for DS-TWR with 3 interleaved MMS packets, the number of sub-rounds equals the number of responders plus 1; the last sub-round is used for the initiator's final MMS packet. For SS-TWR with 2 non-interleaved MMS packets, the number of sub-rounds equals the number of responders plus 1. For DS-TWR with 3 non-interleaved MMS packets, the number of sub-rounds equals the number of responders plus 2. In both the SS-TWR with 2 non-interleaved MMS packets and the DS-TWR with 3 non-interleaved MMS packets, the last sub-round is used for the initiator's final MMS data.

[0263] The Slot Count field for each responder can indicate the number of ranging slots in each sub-round, excluding the last sub-round. The slot count for the last sub-round can be obtained by adding 2 slots to each report frame. In one possible design, the value of the Slot Count field for each responder can be set to the ranging slot count minus 1 to indicate the number of ranging slots in each sub-round, excluding the last sub-round. For example, if the Slot Count field for each sub-round is M, where M is a positive integer, then the number of slots allocated to each sub-round is (M+1). Since the last sub-round can be used to send and / or receive one or more report frames, the slot count for the last sub-round can be obtained by adding 2 slots to each report frame.

[0264] The responder address list field indicates the addresses of the responders selected to participate in the ranging phase. Each address has three octets, and there is one address for each selected responder.

[0265] During the control phase of the second sub-round, the responding party that receives a polling compact frame (message control = 0x60) that requires the response field to be set to 0 may not send any response compact frame.

[0266] The responder of a polling compact frame that receives a message control field set to 0x60 or 0xE0 and has an uninterleaved field set to 1 (uninterleaved) may not send a response compact frame and a second MMS packet in the first sub-round, but may send a response compact frame and a second MMS packet in the second sub-round.

[0267] A polling compact frame with a message control field set to 0x70 (for O2O) or 0xF0 (for O2M) is used to initiate the third MMS packet for DS-TWR. At the start of the third sub-round, the initiator sends a polling compact frame with a message control field set to 0x70 or 0xF0 to initiate the third MMS packet for DS-TWR. If the required response field carried in the polling compact frame in the first sub-round (message control = 0x60) is set to 0, the responder receiving a polling compact frame with a message control field set to 0x70 or 0xF0 may not send any response MMS packet.

[0268] When the message control field is set to 0x70 or 0xF0, the message content field may include a payload length field and a payload field. The payload length field indicates the length of the payload field. When used with DS-TWR, the payload length field is set to 0x00, indicating that the payload field length is one octet. When a third MMS packet for DS-TWR is initiated using a polling compact frame, the payload field is set to 0x00.

[0269] In some embodiments, the first field is the management MAC configuration field of the first frame. Additionally, the fourth field may be carried within the management MAC configuration field of the first frame. It should be understood that the first field can be any other field from the first frame.

[0270] For example, in case 1, the SOR frame may carry a management MAC configuration field, which is an example of the first field during the initialization and setup phase. In case 2, the first polling frame may carry a management MAC configuration field, which is an example of the first field used to configure the ranging block during the ranging control phase.

[0271] The second field can be carried in the management MAC configuration field of the ADV-RESP frame during the initialization and setup phases to request that one or more first fragments and one or more second fragments not be interleaved in time.

[0272] A diagram illustrating the management MAC configuration field in at least one of the ADV-RESP frames, SOR frames, or first polling frames is shown below. Figure 20 As shown below, some key fields in the MAC configuration management will be introduced.

[0273] The management MAC configuration fields may include the ranging time slot duration field, ranging round duration field, ranging block duration field, channel switching field, measurement report request field, TWR mode field, non-interleaving field, RcpPollSlots field, RcpResponseSlots field, RpDuration field, DS-TWR report bitmap field, MrpFirstSlots field, MrpSecondSlots field, MrpThirdSlots field, and reserved fields.

[0274] The ranging slot duration field indicates the duration of the ranging slot. The ranging slot duration in the ranging scheduling time unit (RSTU) is given by the following equation: (ranging slot duration field value + 1) × 300.

[0275] The ranging round duration field indicates the ranging round duration in units of ranging time slots, with a value ranging from 1 to 255. The value 0 is reserved.

[0276] The range block duration field indicates the range block duration in range rounds, with a value ranging from 1 to 255. The value 0 is reserved.

[0277] The channel switching field can indicate the status of the channel switching mechanism, where a value of 0 encodes a disabled state and a value of 1 encodes an enabled state.

[0278] The measurement report request field is independently established by the responder and the initiator in the notification response compact frame and the ranging start compact frame, and can indicate whether the receiving device is requested to send a report compact frame.

[0279] The TWR mode field can indicate the TWR mode to be executed, as shown in Table 1.

[0280] Table 1 TWR Mode

[0281] The non-interleaved field indicates whether the sent MMS packets are interleaved or not in time, where 0 indicates that the MMS packets are interleaved and 1 indicates that the MMS packets are not interleaved.

[0282] The RcpPollSlots field indicates the duration of a time slot in the ranging control phase, measured in time slots (used by the initiator to transmit polling compact frames), with a value ranging from 0 to 15.

[0283] The RcpResponseSlots field indicates the duration of a time slot in the ranging control phase, measured in time slots (used by the responder to transmit response compact frames), with a value ranging from 0 to 15.

[0284] The RpDuration field indicates the duration of the MMS ranging phase, measured in ranging time slots (used by the initiator and responder to transmit RSF and RIF fragments), with a value ranging from 1 to 4095.

[0285] The MrpFirstSlots field can indicate the duration of the first set of slots in units of ranging slots (which can be used by the initiator or responder to transmit report compact frames), with a value ranging from 0 to 15.

[0286] The MrpSecondSlots field can be used to encode the duration of the second set of time slots in units of ranging time slots (which the responder can use to transmit report compact frames), with a value range of 0 to 15.

[0287] The MrpThirdSlots field can be used to encode the duration of a third set of time slots in units of ranging time slots (which can be used by the initiator or responder to transmit report compact frames), with a value ranging from 0 to 15. The MrpThirdSlots field may only be valid in time-sensitive one-to-many ranging.

[0288] The DS-TWR report bitmap field indicates the desired timing to be included in the report compact frame. This field is only valid in compact frames sent by the initiator, and is only valid when the TWR mode field is set to 1 or 2 to indicate DS-TWR; otherwise, it is reserved. The DS-TWR report bitmap fields are shown in Table 2.

[0289] Table 2

[0290] The RSF time field can be set to 1 to indicate that the timing measurement results of the RSF-based RMARRKER exist in the compact frame of the DS-TWR report.

[0291] The Type 1 time field can be set to 1 to indicate that the Type 1 timing measurement result of the RIF-based RMARRKER exists in the DS-TWR report compact frame.

[0292] The Type 2 time field can be set to 1 to indicate that the Type 2 timing measurement results of RIF-based RMARRKER exist in the DS-TWR report compact frame.

[0293] The Type 3 time field can be set to 1 to indicate that the Type 3 timing measurement result of the RIF-based RMARRKER exists in the DS-TWR report compact frame.

[0294] The definitions of Type 1, Type 2 and Type 3 timing measurement results depend on the DS-TWR mode used, and will be described later for each DS-TWR mode.

[0295] It should be understood that when the time period is a round rather than a sub-round, the number of slots per sub-round can become the number of slots per round, and can similarly indicate the number of slots allocated to each round. Furthermore, the sub-round number field can become the round number field, and can similarly indicate the number of rounds in a ranging session.

[0296] Figure 19 It is based on Figures 9 to 14 The example shown is another illustration of a polling compact frame. Some key fields in the polling compact frame will be introduced below.

[0297] The general format of polling compact frames can be compared with... Figure 18 The polling compact frames shown are identical. The difference may lie in the fact that, in this example, the message control field is set to a different value to indicate that non-interleaved transmission will be used. For the O2O case, the message control field can be set to 0x40 or 0x50; for the O2M case, the message control field can be set to 0xC0 or 0xD0. In this case, the TWR mode (SS or DS) is indicated by the SOR frame during the initialization and setup phases.

[0298] When the message control field is set to 0x40 or 0xC0, the message content field can be set to 0x0000.

[0299] When the message control field is set to 0x50 or 0xD0, the message content field may include a request bitmap field, an existence bitmap field, and multiple configuration fields, each of which is optional. These configuration fields may include NB channel mapping fields, management PHY configuration fields, management MAC configuration fields, ranging PHY configuration fields, ranging MAC configuration fields, block index fields, and round index fields. Descriptions of the NB channel mapping fields, management PHY configuration fields, management MAC configuration fields, ranging PHY configuration fields, ranging MAC configuration fields, block index fields, and round index fields can be found in [link to relevant documentation]. Figure 18 The details will not be elaborated here.

[0300] In one example, the initiator sends a polling compact frame with the message control field set to 0x40 or 0xC0 at the start of the first round, followed by the transmission of the first MMS packet.

[0301] The responder of a polling compact frame with the Receive Message Control field set to 0x40, 0xC0, 0x50, or 0xD0 may not send a response compact frame or response MMS packet in the first round (i.e., the second MMS packet), but may send both a response compact frame and a response MMS packet in the second round.

[0302] A response frame can also be called a response compact frame. Figure 21 It is based on Figures 9 to 14 The example shown is a schematic diagram of a response compact frame. Some key fields in a response compact frame will be described below. A response compact frame can be an O2O or O2M response compact frame.

[0303] A response compact frame may include a frame type field, a compact frame ID field, a responder RPA hash field, a message control field, a message content field, and an FCS field.

[0304] The general format of a response compact frame is similar to Figure 18 The example shows a polling compact frame, but the compact frame ID field is set to a different value (e.g., 4 for a one-to-one response compact frame and 9 for a one-to-many response compact frame), and the RPA Prand field is absent. The RPA hash field carries an RPA_hash, which, together with the RPA_prand carried in the polling compact frame, represents the responder's private address. The RPA_hash is calculated using the responder's IRK and the RPA_prand carried in the polling compact frame.

[0305] A response compact frame with the message control field set to 0x20 can be used for non-interleaved MMS packets from the initiating responder (e.g., a second MMS packet), or to provide short-term parameters requested by the initiator.

[0306] When the message control field is set to 0x20, the message content field may include a bitmap field, an NB channel mapping field, a management PHY configuration field, a management MAC configuration field, a ranging PHY configuration field, a ranging MAC configuration field, and a zero-padding field.

[0307] The descriptions of the presence bitmap field, NB channel mapping field, management PHY configuration field, management MAC configuration field, ranging PHY configuration field, and ranging MAC configuration field in the message content fields of the response compact frame can be found in the descriptions of the presence bitmap field, NB channel mapping field, management PHY configuration field, management MAC configuration field, ranging PHY configuration field, and ranging MAC configuration field in the message content fields of the polling compact frame; the details will not be elaborated here.

[0308] When the size of the message content field without a zero-padding field is less than 5 octets, the zero-padding field is included in the response compact frame and consists of 1, 2, or 3 octets with a value of 0, wherein the number of padding octets is determined to make the message content field have a size of 5 octets.

[0309] A response compact frame with the message control field set to 0x30 can be used by the initiating responder's non-interleaved MMS packet without providing any short-lived parameters. In this case, the message content field has five octets with values ​​of 0.

[0310] The report frame sent by the initiator can also be called the initiator report frame or the initiator report compact frame. Figure 22 It is based on Figures 9 to 14 The example shown is a schematic diagram of the initiator report compact frame. Some key fields in the initiator report compact frame will be introduced below.

[0311] The initiator's report of a compact frame may include a frame type field, a compact frame ID field, an initiator's RPA hash field, a message control field, a message content field, and an FCS or MIC field.

[0312] The frame type field can indicate the type of frame. For example, a frame type field set to "b100" indicates a compact frame.

[0313] The Compact Frame ID field indicates the type of compact frame. For example, the Compact Frame ID field is set to a specific value (e.g., 5 for one-to-one initiator report, 11 for one-to-many initiator report, 17 for one-to-one initiator security report, or 19 for one-to-many initiator security report) to indicate that the type of compact frame is an initiator report compact frame.

[0314] The initiator's RPA hash field can indicate the initiator's private address.

[0315] The FCS field can indicate the CRC of a non-security report frame. When the frame is a security report (e.g., for authentication or encryption), the FCS field is replaced by the MIC field. The MIC field can carry a Message Integrity Code (MIC) for security purposes.

[0316] Message control fields can be set to specific values ​​(e.g., 0xAB for O2O or 0xEF for O2M) to indicate that the frame is used for DS-TWR. In this case, message control fields may include report control fields, report list fields, and pass-through fields.

[0317] The report control fields may include a DS-TWR report bitmap field and a report quantity field. The DS-TWR report bitmap field indicates the timing fields included in each report carried by the report list field. A description of the DS-TWR report bitmap field can be found in Table 2.

[0318] The Report Quantity field indicates the number of reports carried in the Report List field, one report per responder. For one-to-one ranging, it can indicate one report, while for one-to-many ranging, it can indicate two or more reports.

[0319] The report list field can carry one or more reports, the number of which is indicated by the report quantity field. For O2O ranging, the report list field may carry one report. For O2M ranging, each report in the report list field corresponds to a responder and is ordered in the same order as the ranging phase performed by the responder. The report list field may include at least one of the following fields: RSF round-trip time, RX to TX response time 1, TX to RX round-trip time 1 / 3, RX to TX response time 2, TX to RX round-trip time 2, and RX to TX response time 3.

[0320] When an RSF round-trip time field is present, it can indicate the round-trip time between the RMFARKER of the originator's RSF and the RMFARKER of the responder's RSF, as measured at the originator's location.

[0321] When the RX to TX response time 1 field is present, it can indicate the type 1 response time measured at the initiator's RIF RMARRER and the responder's RIF RMARRER.

[0322] When the Type 1 or Type 3 time field is set to 1 in the DS-TWR report bitmap, the TX to RX round trip time 1 / 3 field is present. When present, it indicates the Type 1 or Type 3 round trip time measured at the originator's RIF RMARRER and the responder's RIF RMARRER.

[0323] When the RX to TX response time 2 field exists, it can indicate the type 2 response time measured at the initiator's RIF RMARRER and the responder's RIF RMARRER.

[0324] When the TX to RX round-trip time 2 field is present, it can indicate the Type 2 round-trip time between the RMARRER of the RIF at the originator and the RIF at the responder, as measured at the originator's location.

[0325] When the RX to TX response time 3 field is present, it can indicate the type 3 response time measured at the initiator's RIF RMARRER and the responder's RIF RMARRER.

[0326] Pass-through fields can carry data from the next higher layer. In the case of a security report frame, the pass-through field will be encrypted or authenticated.

[0327] The report frame sent by the responder can also be called the responder report frame or the responder report compact frame. Figure 23 It is based on Figures 9 to 14 The example shown is a schematic diagram of a responder report compact frame. Some key fields in the responder report compact frame will be introduced below.

[0328] The responder's report of a compact frame may include a frame type field, a compact frame ID field, a responder RPA hash field, a message control field, a message content field, and an FCS or MIC field.

[0329] The frame type field can indicate the type of frame. For example, a frame type field set to "b100" indicates a compact frame.

[0330] The Compact Frame ID field can indicate the type of compact frame. For example, the Compact Frame ID field is set to a specific value (e.g., 6 for one-to-one responder report, 10 for one-to-many responder report, 18 for one-to-one responder security report, or 20 for one-to-many responder security report) to indicate that the type of compact frame is a responder report compact frame.

[0331] The responder's RPA hash field can indicate the responder's private address.

[0332] The FCS field can indicate the CRC of a non-security report frame. In the case of a security report frame, the FCS field is replaced by the MIC field. The MIC field can carry a Message Integrity Code (MIC) used for security (authentication or encryption).

[0333] The message control field can be set to a specific value (e.g., 0xAB or 0xEF) to indicate that the frame is used for DS-TWR. When the message control field is set to 0xAB, the message content field may include a report control field, a pass-through field, and multiple timing measurement fields. When the message control field is set to 0xEF, the message content field may include a report control field, a pass-through field, multiple timing measurement fields, and multiple configuration fields. The configuration fields are related to... Figure 12 The fields interpreted by the compact response frame shown are the same.

[0334] Pass-through fields can carry data from the next higher layer. In the case of a security report frame, pass-through fields can be encrypted or authenticated.

[0335] The report control fields may include DS-TWR report bitmap fields as shown in Table 2, and indicate timing fields included in the frame.

[0336] The timing measurement field mentioned above may include one or more of the following fields: The RSF Response Time field, when present, indicates the response time measured at the initiator's RSF RMARRER and the responder's RSF RMARRER.

[0337] The RX to TX response time 1 / 3 field exists when the Type 1 time field or Type 3 time field is set to 1 in the DS-TWR report bitmap, and when it exists, it can indicate the Type 1 or Type 3 response time measured at the initiator's RIF RMARRER and the responder's RIF RMARRER.

[0338] The TX to RX round trip time 1 field, when present, indicates the Type 1 round trip time between the RMARRER of the originator's RIF and the RMARRER of the responder's RIF, as measured at the originator's location.

[0339] The RX to TX response time 2 field, when present, indicates the Type 2 response time measured at the initiator's RIF RMARRER and the responder's RIF RMARRER.

[0340] The TX to RX round trip time 2 field, when present, indicates the Type 2 round trip time between the RMARRER of the RIF at the originator and the RFARRER of the RIF at the responder, as measured at the originator's location.

[0341] The TX to RX round trip time 3 field, when present, indicates the Type 3 round trip time measured at the originator's RIF RMARRER and the responder's RIF RMARRER.

[0342] In O2M ranging, each responder requiring a report may need one initiator report frame. For O2M DS-TWR, multiple initiator report frames are sent at the end of the reporting phase. Figure 24 This is a schematic diagram of an initiator report compact frame in the O2M scenario according to some embodiments. Some key fields in the initiator report compact frame will be introduced below.

[0343] The general format of the compact frame in the initiator's report is similar to Figure 22 The initiator report compact frame shown, except that the report control field and RSF round-trip time field are absent and there is only a single report set (for one responder), sends one initiator report frame for each responder.

[0344] In this example, the initiator reporting a compact frame may include a frame type field, a compact frame ID field, an initiator RPA hash field, a message control field, a message content field, and an FCS or MIC field. Descriptions of the frame type field, compact frame ID field, initiator RPA hash field, message control field, message content field, and FCS or MIC field can be found in [reference needed]. Figure 13 The details of the example shown are not repeated here.

[0345] When the message control field is set to 0xAB, the message content field may optionally include the following fields: RX to TX response time 1, TX to RX round trip time 1 / 3, RX to TX response time 2, TX to RX round trip time 2, RX to TX response time 3, and pass-through field. Descriptions of the RX to TX response time 1, TX to RX round trip time 1 / 3, RX to TX response time 2, TX to RX round trip time 2, RX to TX response time 3, and pass-through field can be found in [reference needed]. Figure 13 The details of the example shown are not repeated here.

[0346] Figure 25 This is a schematic diagram of a responder report compact frame in the O2M scenario according to some embodiments. Some key fields in the responder report compact frame will be described below.

[0347] like Figure 25 The general format of the responder's report compact frame shown is similar to Figure 23 The responder report compact frame shown has all timing measurement fields present except for the report control field and the RSF round-trip time field.

[0348] like Figure 25 As shown, the responder report of a compact frame may include a frame type field, a compact frame ID field, a responder RPA hash field, a message control field, a message content field, and an FCS or MIC field.

[0349] When the message control field is set to 0xAB, the message content field may include the RX to TX response time 1 / 3 field, the TX to RX round trip time 1 field, the RX to TX response time 2 field, the TX to RX round trip time 2 field, the TX to RX round trip time 3 field, and the pass-through field.

[0350] When the message control field is set to 0xEF, the message content field may include the RX to TX reply time 1 / 3 field, the TX to RX round trip time 1 field, the RX to TX reply time 2 field, the TX to RX round trip time 2 field, the TX to RX round trip time 3 field, the existence bitmap field, the NB channel mapping field, the management PHY configuration field, the management MAC configuration field, the ranging PHY configuration field, the ranging MAC configuration field, and the pass-through field.

[0351] Figure 25 The descriptions of each field shown are for reference. Figure 12 The example shown is not detailed here.

[0352] Furthermore, this invention provides another communication method involving signaling interaction to enable OWR using MMS packets. See also... Figure 26 The interactive devices involve an initiator (or the initiator's chip, module, or circuit) and a responder (or the responder's chip, module, or circuit). Communication method 2600 may include the following steps: Step 2601: The initiator determines the third polling frame, which indicates the initiation of OWR and indicates the type of OWR and information related to that type of OWR.

[0353] Step 2602: The initiator sends a third round of query frames; accordingly, the responder can receive the third round of query frames and determine to execute OWR based on the third round of query frames.

[0354] For example, an initiator can initiate an OWR by sending a third polling frame. The third polling frame can carry OWR-related information, including OWR-related details. A responder receiving the third polling frame can begin executing an OWR by receiving one or more MMS packets from the initiator.

[0355] In the communication method according to an embodiment of the present invention, the initiator determines and sends a third polling frame indicating the initiation of an OWR, the OWR type, and information associated with that OWR type. Therefore, an OWR with one or more MMS packets can be easily initiated and started, and this process can be highly efficient. Thus, the communication method according to an embodiment of the present invention can provide signaling interaction between the initiator and the responder to enable an OWR using one or more MMS packets.

[0356] To improve signaling interaction between the initiator and responder, and to enable OWR using one or more MMS packets, some setup is included in the third polling frame. It should be noted that the third polling frame can refer to the first polling frame.

[0357] In some embodiments, the third polling frame includes a second message control field, the value of which indicates that an OWR should be initiated.

[0358] In the communication method according to an embodiment of the present invention, the value of the second message control field indicates the initiation of OWR, a process that may be easy to implement.

[0359] In some embodiments, the third polling frame further includes a second message content field, which includes a seventh subfield and an eighth subfield, wherein the value of the seventh subfield indicates the type of OWR and the value of the eighth subfield indicates information related to the type of OWR.

[0360] In the communication method according to an embodiment of the present invention, when the value of the second message control field indicates that an OWR is initiated, the second message content field can be adjusted accordingly to conform to the OWR, and this process may also be easy to implement.

[0361] In some embodiments, the types of OWR include a first type of OWR based on downlink time difference of arrival (DL-TDOA), a second type of OWR based on angle of arrival (AoA), or a third type of OWR based on uplink time difference of arrival (UL-TDOA).

[0362] In the communication method according to an embodiment of the present invention, different types of OWR can be initiated, and OWR applications can be extended.

[0363] For example, the third polling frame can be a polling compact frame as described above. The message control field in the polling compact frame can be set to a specific value to initiate OWR. When the message control field in the polling compact frame is set to a specific value to initiate OWR, the message content field will be set accordingly to conform to OWR.

[0364] For example, a polling compact frame with a message control field set to a specific value (e.g., 0x70) can also be used to initiate an OWR. It should be noted that a specific value such as 0x70 is descriptive, not restrictive, and other values ​​are also possible.

[0365] When used Figure 27 When OWR is shown, the message control field is set to a specific value (e.g., 0x70) for the message content field of a polled compact frame.

[0366] The message content field may include a payload length field and a payload field.

[0367] The payload length field is established as a value representing the length of a payload field that is two or more octets. The first octet of the payload field can carry a message type field, which indicates the different subtypes of the OWR message. For example: 0x00: OWR for the label (for UL-TDOA) 0x01: OWR of the anchor point (for UL-TDOA) 0x02: OWR from the initiator (used for DL-TDOA), where the initial signal of the OWR comes from the initiator; 0x03: Response OWR (for DL-TDOA), where the initial signal for OWR comes from the response side; 0x04: The initiator's final OWR (for DL-TDOA) is a combination of the initiator's OWR (for DL-TDOA) and the responder's OWR (for DL-TDOA), and the initial signal of the OWR comes from the initiator; 0x05: OWR (for AoA).

[0368] The remaining eight bytes of the payload field carry a type-related payload field, which contains information related to the OWR application specified by the message type field.

[0369] In some embodiments, the communication method 2600 includes step 2603, wherein the initiator sends an MMS packet comprising more than one MMS fragment.

[0370] like Figure 28As shown, the initiator can send a polling frame, followed by I-1 and I-2, which are two fragments of an MMS packet. A polling frame and an MMS packet can refer to an OWR MMS message. Figure 28 In this case, four OWR MMS messages are sent. In fact, the number of OWR MMS messages is determined by the application.

[0371] Figure 29 A block diagram of a communication device according to some embodiments of the present invention is shown.

[0372] like Figure 29 As shown, the communication device 2900 can be applied to the initiator and may include: The sending module 2901 is used to send a first frame including a first field, the first field indicating that one or more first fragments of a first multi-millisecond (MMS) packet sent by the initiator and one or more second fragments of a second MMS packet sent by the responder are not interleaved in time, and to send one or more first fragments of the first MMS packet within a first time period. The receiving module 2902 is configured to receive one or more second fragments of a second MMS packet during a second time period, which is after the first time period.

[0373] In one possible implementation, the first frame is the start of ranging (SOR) frame.

[0374] In one possible implementation, the receiving module 2902 is further configured to receive an advertising response (ADV-RESP) frame including a second field, the second field being used to request that one or more first fragments and one or more second fragments not be interleaved in time; the sending module 2901 is further configured to send an SOR frame in response to the ADV-RESP frame.

[0375] In one possible implementation, the sending module 2901 is further configured to send a first polling frame for initiating ranging measurement before sending one or more first fragments of the first MMS packet; the receiving module 2902 is further configured to receive a first response frame after sending one or more first fragments of the first MMS packet and before receiving one or more second fragments of the second MMS packet, the first response frame being used to initiate the transmission of the second MMS packet.

[0376] In one possible implementation, the first frame is a first polling frame used to initiate ranging measurements. The receiving module 2902 is also used to receive a first response frame after sending one or more first fragments and before receiving one or more second fragments. The first response frame initiates the transmission of a second MMS packet.

[0377] In one possible implementation, the first polling frame also indicates whether a second response frame is required or not to indicate acknowledgment of the first polling frame.

[0378] In one possible implementation, the first polling frame also indicates the need for a second response frame to acknowledge the first polling frame, and after receiving the second response frame, a first MMS packet is sent.

[0379] In one possible implementation, the sending module 2901 is further configured to send a second polling frame in response to the first response frame; the receiving module 2902 is further configured to receive a second MMS packet after the sending module 2901 sends the second polling frame.

[0380] In one possible implementation, the first frame also includes a third field indicating the ranging mode, which is either a single-sided TWR (SS-TWR) or a double-sided TWR (DS-TWR) with three MMS packets.

[0381] In one possible implementation, the ranging mode is SS-TWR, and one or more first fragments and one or more second fragments each include one or more ranging sequence fragments (RSFs). After the receiving module 2902 receives the second MMS packet, during the second time period, the receiving module 2902 is also used to receive a second report frame and / or the sending module 2901 is also used to send a first report frame. The first report frame indicates the timing measurement result obtained by the initiator, and the second report frame carries the timing measurement result obtained by the responder. The timing measurement result is obtained through the RSFs of the first MMS packet and the second MMS packet.

[0382] In one possible implementation, the ranging mode is DS-TWR with 3 MMS packets. The sending module 2901 is also used to send one or more third fragments of the third MMS packet within a third time period, which is after the second time period. After sending one or more third fragments, the receiving module 2902 is also used to receive a fourth report frame and / or send a third report frame within the third time period. The third report frame carries the timing measurement result obtained by the initiator, and the fourth report frame carries the timing measurement result obtained by the responder.

[0383] In one possible implementation, the sending module 2901 is further configured to send a third polling frame after the receiving module 2902 receives one or more second fragments and before the sending module 2901 sends one or more third fragments. The third polling frame is used to initiate a third UWB MMS packet for DS-TWR.

[0384] In one possible implementation, the first polling frame also indicates the need for a third response frame to acknowledge the third polling frame, and after receiving the third response frame, a third MMS packet is sent.

[0385] In one possible implementation, the first frame also includes a fourth field indicating the type of at least one timing measurement result carried in the third report frame and the fourth report frame.

[0386] In one possible implementation, one or more first fragments, one or more second fragments, and one or more third fragments each include one or more ranging integrity fragments (RIFs), or one or more first fragments and one or more second fragments each include one or more ranging sequence fragments (RSFs).

[0387] The fourth field includes at least one of the following: The first subfield indicates whether a Type 1 timing measurement result is required in at least one of the third or fourth reporting frames. The Type 1 timing measurement result is obtained through the first RIF of the first MMS packet, the second MMS packet, and the third MMS packet. The second subfield indicates whether a Type 2 timing measurement result is required in at least one of the third or fourth reporting frames. The Type 2 timing measurement result is obtained through the last RIF of the first, second, and third MMS packets. The third subfield indicates whether a Type 3 timing measurement result is required in at least one of the third or fourth report frames. The Type 3 timing measurement result is obtained through the first RIF of the first MMS packet and the second MMS packet, and the last RIF of the third MMS packet; or The fourth subfield indicates whether RSF timing measurement results are required in at least one of the third or fourth report frames, which are obtained through the RSF of the first, second, and third MMS packets.

[0388] In one possible implementation, the first polling frame also indicates the number of time periods in the ranging measurement.

[0389] In one possible implementation, the first polling frame also indicates the number of time slots within at least one time period.

[0390] In one possible implementation, the first field is the management MAC configuration field or round control field of the first frame.

[0391] It should be noted that the communication device provided in the embodiments of the present invention can implement all the method steps related to the initiator in the method embodiments and can achieve the same technical effect. The same parts and beneficial effects between this embodiment and the method embodiments will not be repeated here.

[0392] like Figure 29 As shown, the communication device 2900 can be applied to the responder and may include: The receiving module 2902 is configured to receive a first frame including a first field, the first field indicating that one or more first fragments of a first multi-millisecond (MMS) packet sent by the initiator and one or more second fragments of a second MMS packet sent by the responder are not interleaved in time, and to receive one or more first fragments of the first MMS packet within a first time period. The sending module 2901 is used to send one or more second fragments of the second MMS packet during a second time period, which is after the first time period.

[0393] In one possible implementation, the first frame is the start of ranging (SOR) frame.

[0394] In one possible implementation, the sending module 2901 is further configured to send an advertising response (ADV-RESP) frame including a second field, the second field being used to request that one or more first fragments and one or more second fragments not be interleaved in time, and that the SOR frame responds to the ADV-RESP frame.

[0395] In one possible implementation, the receiving module 2902 is further configured to receive a first polling frame for initiating ranging measurement before receiving one or more first fragments of the first MMS packet; the sending module 2901 is further configured to send a first response frame after the receiving module 2902 receives one or more first fragments of the first MMS packet and before the receiving module 2902 sends one or more second fragments of the second MMS packet, the first response frame being used to initiate the transmission of the second MMS packet.

[0396] In one possible implementation, the first frame is a first polling frame used to initiate ranging measurement. The sending module 2901 is also used to send a first response frame after the receiving module 2902 receives one or more first fragments and before the sending module 2901 sends one or more second fragments. The first response frame initiates the transmission of the second MMS packet.

[0397] In one possible implementation, the first polling frame also indicates whether a second response frame is required or not to indicate acknowledgment of the first polling frame.

[0398] In one possible implementation, the first polling frame also indicates the need for a second response frame to acknowledge the first polling frame, and after sending the second response frame, the first MMS packet is received.

[0399] In one possible implementation, the receiving module 2902 is further configured to receive a second polling frame in response to a first response frame; the sending module 2901 is further configured to send a second MMS packet after the receiving module 2902 receives the second polling frame.

[0400] In one possible implementation, the first frame also includes a third field indicating the ranging mode, which is either a single-sided TWR (SS-TWR) or a double-sided TWR (DS-TWR) with three MMS packets.

[0401] In one possible implementation, the ranging mode is SS-TWR, and one or more first fragments and one or more second fragments each include one or more ranging sequence fragments (RSFs). After sending the second MMS packet, during the second time period, the sending module 2901 is also used to send a second report frame and / or the receiving module 2902 is also used to receive a first report frame. The first report frame indicates the timing measurement result obtained by the initiator, and the second report frame carries the timing measurement result obtained by the responder. The timing measurement result is obtained through the RSFs of the first MMS packet and the second MMS packet.

[0402] In one possible implementation, the ranging mode is DS-TWR with 3 MMS packets. The receiving module 2902 is also used to send one or more third fragments of the third MMS packet within a third time period, which is after the second time period. After receiving one or more third fragments, within the third time period, the sending module 2901 is also used to receive a fourth report frame and / or the receiving module 2902 receives a third report frame. The third report frame carries the timing measurement result obtained by the initiator, and the fourth report frame carries the timing measurement result obtained by the responder.

[0403] In one possible implementation, the receiving module 2902 is further configured to receive a third polling frame after the sending module 2901 sends one or more second fragments and before the receiving module 2902 receives one or more third fragments. The third polling frame is used to initiate a third UWB MMS packet for DS-TWR.

[0404] In one possible implementation, the first polling frame also indicates the need for a third response frame to acknowledge the third polling frame, and after sending the third response frame, a third MMS packet is received.

[0405] In one possible implementation, the first frame also includes a fourth field indicating the type of at least one timing measurement result carried in the third report frame and the fourth report frame.

[0406] In one possible implementation, one or more first fragments, one or more second fragments, and one or more third fragments each include one or more ranging integrity fragments (RIFs), or one or more first fragments and one or more second fragments each include one or more ranging sequence fragments (RSFs), and the fourth field includes at least one of the following: The first subfield indicates whether a Type 1 timing measurement result is required in at least one of the third or fourth reporting frames. The Type 1 timing measurement result is obtained through the first RIF of the first MMS packet, the second MMS packet, and the third MMS packet. The second subfield indicates whether a Type 2 timing measurement result is required in at least one of the third or fourth reporting frames. The Type 2 timing measurement result is obtained through the last RIF of the first, second, and third MMS packets. The third subfield indicates whether a Type 3 timing measurement result is required in at least one of the third or fourth report frames. The Type 3 timing measurement result is obtained through the first RIF of the first MMS packet and the second MMS packet, and the last RIF of the third MMS packet; or The fourth subfield indicates whether RSF timing measurement results are required in at least one of the third or fourth report frames, which are obtained through the RSF of the first, second, and third MMS packets.

[0407] In one possible implementation, the first polling frame also indicates the number of time periods in the ranging measurement.

[0408] In one possible implementation, the first polling frame also indicates the number of time slots within at least one time period.

[0409] In one possible implementation, the first field is the management MAC configuration field or round control field of the first frame.

[0410] It should be noted that the communication device provided in the embodiments of the present invention can implement all the method steps related to the responder in the method embodiments and can achieve the same technical effect. The same parts and beneficial effects between this embodiment and the method embodiments will not be repeated here.

[0411] Figure 30 A structural diagram of a communication device according to one or more embodiments of the present invention is shown. Figure 30 As shown, the communication device 3000 may include: a processor 3001, communicatively coupled to a memory 3002 via an interface 3003; the memory 3002 stores computer-executable instructions; the processor 3001 executes the computer-executable instructions stored in the memory 3002 to perform the communication method implemented by the AMP reader or carrier source described above. It should be noted that the memory 3002 may or may not be included in the communication device, depending on actual needs.

[0412] This invention includes various embodiments, not only method embodiments but also other embodiments, such as apparatus embodiments and embodiments related to non-transitory computer-readable storage media. Embodiments may be combined, alone or in combination, with the features disclosed herein.

[0413] Although the invention has been described with reference to illustrative embodiments, this description is not intended to limit the invention. Various modifications and combinations of the illustrative embodiments, as well as other embodiments of the invention, will be apparent to those skilled in the art upon reference to this specification.

[0414] Additionally or alternatively, features disclosed herein in the context of any particular embodiment may be implemented in other embodiments. For example, method embodiments may be implemented in apparatus, system, and / or computer program product embodiments. Furthermore, while embodiments are described primarily in the context of methods and apparatus, other implementations are contemplated as instructions stored in a non-transitory computer-readable medium, etc. Such a medium may store programs or instructions to perform any of the methods consistent with the present invention.

[0415] Some embodiments of the present invention provide a computer-readable storage medium (e.g., a non-transitory computer-readable storage medium). The computer-readable storage medium stores program instructions that, when executed on a network device / terminal device, cause the network device / terminal device to perform one or more steps of the beam management method as described in any of the foregoing embodiments.

[0416] For example, computer-readable storage media include, but are not limited to, magnetic storage devices (e.g., hard disks, floppy disks, or magnetic tapes), optical disks (e.g., compact disks, CDs, or DVDs), smart cards, and flash memory devices (e.g., erasable programmable read-only memory (EPROMs), cards, memory sticks, or key drives). The various computer-readable storage media described in embodiments of the present invention can represent one or more devices and / or other machine-readable storage media for storing information. The term "computer-readable storage medium" can include, but is not limited to, wireless channels and various other media capable of storing, including, and / or carrying instructions and / or data.

[0417] Some embodiments of the present invention also provide a computer program product. The computer program product includes program instructions carried on a non-transitory computer-readable storage medium. When executed on a network device / terminal device, the computer program instructions cause the network device / terminal device to perform one or more steps of the data transmission method described in the above embodiments.

[0418] The beneficial effects of the computer-readable storage medium and the computer program product are the same as those of the data transmission method described in the above embodiments, and will not be repeated here.

[0419] The above description is merely a specific implementation of the present invention, but the scope of protection of the present invention is not limited thereto. Any modifications or substitutions falling within the technical scope of the present invention should be included within the scope of protection of the present invention. Therefore, the scope of protection of the present invention should be determined by the scope of the claims.

[0420] In some aspects of the invention, a computer program comprising instructions is provided. When these instructions are executed by a processor, the processor can implement the method of the invention.

[0421] In some aspects of the present invention, an integrated circuit is provided. The integrated circuit includes one or more logic circuits for performing the steps of the data transmission method of the present invention.

[0422] In some aspects of the invention, an apparatus is provided that includes a module (e.g., at least one processor) for implementing the methods of the invention. The apparatus may be a device (i.e., a terminal device or a network device) or a module or component within a device. At least one processor can execute instructions stored in a computer-readable medium to implement the methods described above.

[0423] The device may be a communication device or a device implemented within a communication device. For example, a device implemented in a communication device may be an integrated circuit, which, in some contexts, may have other names such as chip, modem, modem chip, baseband chip, or baseband processor. In some implementations, one or more integrated circuits may be packaged as a system-on-a-chip, system-in-package, or multi-chip module. The device may include one or more integrated circuits, or may include one or more integrated circuits and other discrete components.

[0424] It should be understood that any module, component, or device disclosing executable instructions herein may include or otherwise access one or more non-transitory computer / processor-readable storage media for storing information, such as computer / processor-readable instructions, data structures, program modules, and / or other data. A non-exhaustive list of examples of non-transitory computer / processor-readable storage media includes: magnetic tape cassettes, magnetic tape, disk storage, or other magnetic storage devices; compact disc read-only memory (CD-ROM), digital video disc or digital multifunction disc (i.e., DVD), Blu-ray disc™, or other optical storage devices; volatile and non-volatile, removable and non-removable media, random-access memory (RAM), read-only memory (ROM), electrically erasable programmable read-only memory (EEPROM), flash memory, or other storage technologies implemented in any method or technology. Any of these non-transitory computer / processor storage media may be part of a device or apparatus, or may be accessed or connected to a device or apparatus. Computer / processor-readable / executable instructions used to implement the methods, applications, or modules described herein may be stored by such non-transitory computer / processor-readable storage media or otherwise preserved.

[0425] It should be noted that the message in this invention can be replaced with information, which can be carried in a single message or in more than one single message.

[0426] The terms “device” and “equipment” are used interchangeably.

[0427] The terms “first,” “second,” and “third” are used for descriptive purposes only and should not be construed as indicating or implying relative importance or implicitly indicating the number of technical features indicated. Therefore, a feature defined by “first,” “second,” or “third” may explicitly or implicitly include one or more features.

[0428] In this invention, the term "an" or "a" is defined to mean "at least one", that is, unless otherwise stated, these terms do not exclude multiple items.

[0429] In this invention, terms such as “basically,” “generally,” and “about” that modify the values, conditions, or characteristics of the exemplary embodiments are to be understood as meaning that the value, condition, or characteristic is defined within a tolerance that is acceptable for proper operation of the intended application of the exemplary embodiments.

[0430] In this invention, unless otherwise stated, the terms “connected” and “coupled” and their derivatives and variations refer herein to any direct or indirect structural or functional connection or coupling between two or more elements. For example, the connection or coupling between elements can be acoustic, mechanical, optical, electrical, thermal, logical, or any combination thereof.

[0431] In this invention, expressions such as “matched,” “matched,” and “already matched,” including their variations and derivatives, refer to conditions in which two or more elements are either identical or within a predetermined tolerance of each other. That is, these terms imply not only a “complete” or “identical” match of two elements, but also a “basic,” “approximate,” or “subjective” match of two or more elements, and a higher or better match among multiple matching possibilities.

[0432] In this invention, the expression "based on" means "at least partially based on," that is, the expression can mean "fully based on" or "partially based on," and therefore should not be interpreted in a limited way. More specifically, the expression "based on" can also be understood as meaning "dependent on," "represents," "indicates," "associated with," or similar expressions.

[0433] In this invention, the terms "system" and "network" are used interchangeably in different embodiments of this application. "At least one" means one or more, and "multiple" means two or more. The term "and / or" describes the association relationship between related objects, indicating that three relationships may exist. For example, A and / or B can represent three cases: only A exists, A and B exist simultaneously, and only B exists, where A and B can be singular or plural. The character " / " generally indicates an "or" relationship between related objects. "At least one of the following items" or similar expressions indicate any combination of these items, including a single item or any combination of multiple items. For example, "at least one of A, B, or C" includes: only A; only B; only C; A and B; A and C; B and C; or A, B, and C; "at least one of A, B, and C" can also be understood as: only A; only B; only C; A and B; A and C; B and C; or A, B, and C. In addition, unless otherwise stated, the ordinal numbers such as "first" and "second" in the embodiments of this application are used to distinguish multiple objects, and are not used to limit the order, time order, priority or importance of multiple objects.

[0434] Those skilled in the art will understand that the embodiments of this application can be provided as a method, apparatus (or system), computer-readable storage medium, or computer program product. Therefore, this application can take the form of a purely hardware embodiment, a purely software embodiment, or an embodiment combining software and hardware. Furthermore, this application can take the form of a computer program product implemented on one or more computer-readable storage media (including, but not limited to, disk storage, optical storage, etc.) including computer-readable program code.

[0435] This application is described with reference to flowchart illustrations and / or block diagrams of methods, apparatus (systems), and computer program products according to this application. It should be understood that computer program instructions can be used to implement each process and / or block in the flowchart illustrations and / or block diagrams, as well as combinations of processes and / or blocks in the flowchart illustrations and / or block diagrams. These computer program instructions can be provided to a processor of a general-purpose computer, special-purpose computer, embedded processor, or other programmable data processing apparatus, causing the machine to execute these instructions. When executed by a processor of any computer or programmable data processing apparatus, the instructions cause the apparatus to implement a specific function described in one or more processes in the flowchart illustrations and / or one or more blocks in the block diagram. The computer program instructions can also be stored in a computer-readable storage medium capable of instructing a computer or another programmable data processing apparatus to operate in a particular manner, such that the instructions stored in the computer-readable storage medium produce an article of manufacture including instruction means. The instruction means implement a specific function in one or more processes in the flowchart illustrations and / or one or more blocks in the block diagram.

[0436] Computer program instructions can also be loaded into a computer or another programmable data processing device to perform a series of operations and steps within the computer or another programmable device, thereby generating a computer-implemented process. Therefore, the instructions that execute within the computer or another programmable device provide steps for implementing one or more processes in a flowchart and / or one or more blocks in a block diagram.

[0437] Obviously, those skilled in the art can make various modifications and variations to this application without departing from its scope. This application is intended to cover such modifications and variations, provided they fall within the protection scope defined by the appended claims and their equivalents.

Claims

1. A communication method, characterized in that, include: Send a first frame including a first field, the first field indicating that one or more first fragments of a first multi-millisecond (MMS) packet sent by the initiator and one or more second fragments of a second MMS packet sent by the responder are not time-interleaved; Send the one or more first fragments of the first MMS packet within the first time period; The second time period is received during one or more second fragments of the second MMS packet, wherein the second time period is after the first time period.

2. The method according to claim 1, characterized in that, The first frame is the start of ranging (SOR) frame.

3. The method according to claim 2, characterized in that, Also includes: Receive an advertising response (ADV-RESP) frame including a second field, the second field being used to request that the one or more first fragments and the one or more second fragments not be time-interleaved, wherein, Sending the first frame includes: The SOR frame is sent in response to the ADV-RESP frame.

4. The method according to claim 2 or 3, characterized in that, Also includes: Before sending the first fragment of the first MMS packet, a first polling frame for initiating a ranging measurement is sent; After sending the first fragment of the first MMS packet and before receiving the first fragment of the second MMS packet, a first response frame is received, the first response frame being used to initiate the transmission of the second MMS packet.

5. The method according to claim 1, characterized in that, The first frame is the first polling frame used to initiate ranging measurements, and the method further includes: After sending the one or more first fragments and before receiving the one or more second fragments, a first response frame is received, the first response frame initiating the transmission of the second MMS packet.

6. The method according to any one of claims 2 to 5, characterized in that, The first polling frame also indicates whether a second response frame is required or not to acknowledge the first polling frame.

7. The method according to claim 6, characterized in that, The first polling frame also indicates the need for a second response frame to acknowledge the first polling frame, and after receiving the second response frame, the first MMS packet is sent.

8. The method according to claim 7, characterized in that, Also includes: In response to the first response frame, a second polling frame is sent, wherein receiving the second MMS packet includes: After sending the second polling frame, the second MMS packet is received.

9. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 8, characterized in that, The first frame also includes a third field indicating the ranging mode, which is either single-sided two-way ranging (SS-TWR) or double-sided two-way ranging (DS-TWR) with 3 MMS packets.

10. The method according to claim 9, characterized in that, The ranging mode is SS-TWR, and the one or more first slices and the one or more second slices each include one or more ranging sequence fragments (RSFs). The method further includes: After receiving the second MMS packet, a second report frame is received and / or a first report frame is sent within the second time period. The first report frame indicates the timing measurement result obtained by the initiator, and the second report frame carries the timing measurement result obtained by the responder. The timing measurement result is obtained through the RSF of the first MMS packet and the second MMS packet.

11. The method according to claim 9, characterized in that, The ranging mode is the DS-TWR with 3 MMS packets, and the method further includes: One or more third fragments of a third MMS packet are sent during a third time period, which is after the second time period; After sending the one or more third fragments, a fourth report frame is received and / or a third report frame is sent during the third time period. The third report frame carries the timing measurement results obtained by the initiator, and the fourth report frame carries the timing measurement results obtained by the responder.

12. The method according to claim 11, characterized in that, Also includes: After receiving the one or more second fragments and before sending the one or more third fragments, a third polling frame is sent, the third polling frame being used to initiate a third UWB MMS packet for DS-TWR.

13. The method according to claim 12, characterized in that, The first polling frame also indicates the need for a third response frame to acknowledge the third polling frame, and after receiving the third response frame, the third MMS packet is sent.

14. The method according to any one of claims 11 to 13, characterized in that, The first frame also includes a fourth field, which indicates the type of at least one of the timing measurement results carried in the third report frame and the timing measurement results carried in the fourth report frame.

15. The method according to claim 14, characterized in that, The one or more first fragments, the one or more second fragments, and the one or more third fragments each include one or more ranging integrity fragments (RIFs), or the one or more first fragments and the one or more second fragments each include one or more ranging sequence fragments (RSFs). The fourth field includes at least one of the following: The first subfield indicates whether a Type 1 timing measurement result is required in at least one of the third or fourth report frames, the Type 1 timing measurement result being obtained through the first RIF of the first MMS packet, the second MMS packet, and the third MMS packet; The second subfield indicates whether a Type 2 timing measurement result is required in at least one of the third or fourth reporting frames, the Type 2 timing measurement result being obtained through the last RIF of the first MMS packet, the second MMS packet, and the third MMS packet; The third subfield indicates whether a type 3 timing measurement result is required in at least one of the third or fourth reporting frames, the type 3 timing measurement result being obtained through the first RIF of the first MMS packet and the second MMS packet and the last RIF of the third MMS packet; or The fourth subfield indicates whether an RSF timing measurement result is required in at least one of the third or fourth report frames, the RSF timing measurement result being obtained through the RSF of the first MMS packet, the second MMS packet, and the third MMS packet.

16. The method according to any one of claims 4 to 15, characterized in that, The first polling frame also indicates the number of time periods in the ranging measurement.

17. The method according to any one of claims 4 to 16, characterized in that, The first polling frame also indicates the number of time slots within at least one time period.

18. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 17, characterized in that, The first field is the management MAC configuration field or round control field of the first frame.

19. A communication method, characterized in that, include: Receive a first frame including a first field, the first field indicating that one or more first fragments of a first multi-millisecond (MMS) packet sent by the initiator and one or more second fragments of a second MMS packet sent by the responder are not time-interleaved; Receive one or more first fragments of the first MMS packet within a first time period; One or more second fragments of the second MMS packet are sent during a second time period, which follows the first time period.

20. The method according to claim 19, characterized in that, The first frame is the start of ranging (SOR) frame.

21. The method according to claim 20, characterized in that, Also includes: Send an advertising response (ADV-RESP) frame including a second field, the second field being used to request that the one or more first fragments and the one or more second fragments not be time-interleaved, wherein the SOR frame responds to the ADV-RESP frame.

22. The method according to claim 20 or 21, characterized in that, Also includes: Before receiving the one or more first fragments of the first MMS packet, a first polling frame for initiating a ranging measurement is received; After receiving the first fragment of the first MMS packet and before sending the first fragment of the second MMS packet, a first response frame is sent, the first response frame being used to initiate the transmission of the second MMS packet.

23. The method according to claim 19, characterized in that, The first frame is the first polling frame used to initiate ranging measurements, and the method further includes: After receiving the one or more first fragments and before sending the one or more second fragments, a first response frame is sent, which initiates the transmission of the second MMS packet.

24. The method according to any one of claims 20 to 23, characterized in that, The first polling frame also indicates whether a second response frame is required or not to acknowledge the first polling frame.

25. The method according to claim 24, characterized in that, The first polling frame also indicates the need for a second response frame to acknowledge the first polling frame, and after sending the second response frame, the first MMS packet is received.

26. The method according to claim 25, characterized in that, Also includes: Receiving a second polling frame in response to the first response frame, wherein sending the second MMS packet includes: After receiving the second polling frame, the second MMS packet is sent.

27. The method according to any one of claims 19 to 26, characterized in that, The first frame also includes a third field indicating the ranging mode, which is either single-sided TWR (SS-TWR) or double-sided TWR (DS-TWR) with 3 MMS packets.

28. The method according to claim 27, characterized in that, The ranging mode is SS-TWR, and the one or more first slices and the one or more second slices each include one or more ranging sequence fragments (RSFs). The method further includes: After sending the second MMS packet, a second report frame is sent and / or a first report frame is received within the second time period. The first report frame indicates the timing measurement result obtained by the initiator, and the second report frame carries the timing measurement result obtained by the responder. The timing measurement result is obtained through the RSF of the first MMS packet and the second MMS packet.

29. The method according to claim 27, characterized in that, The ranging mode is the DS-TWR with 3 MMS packets, and the method further includes: During a third time period, one or more third fragments of a third MMS packet are received, the third time period being after the second time period; After receiving the one or more third fragments, a fourth report frame is sent and / or a third report frame is received within the third time period. The third report frame carries the timing measurement results obtained by the initiator, and the fourth report frame carries the timing measurement results obtained by the responder.

30. The method according to claim 29, characterized in that, Also includes: After sending the one or more second fragments and before receiving the one or more third fragments, a third polling frame is received, the third polling frame being used to initiate a third UWB MMS packet for DS-TWR.

31. The method according to claim 30, characterized in that, The first polling frame also indicates a third response frame that requires confirmation of the third polling frame, and the third MMS packet is received after the third response frame is sent.

32. The method according to any one of claims 29 to 31, characterized in that, The first frame also includes a fourth field, which indicates the type of at least one of the timing measurement results carried in the third report frame and the timing measurement results carried in the fourth report frame.

33. The method according to claim 32, characterized in that, The one or more first fragments, the one or more second fragments, and the one or more third fragments each include one or more ranging integrity fragments (RIFs), or the one or more first fragments and the one or more second fragments each include one or more ranging sequence fragments (RSFs). The fourth field includes at least one of the following: The first subfield indicates whether a Type 1 timing measurement result is required in at least one of the third or fourth report frames, the Type 1 timing measurement result being obtained through the first RIF of the first MMS packet, the second MMS packet, and the third MMS packet; The second subfield indicates whether a Type 2 timing measurement result is required in at least one of the third or fourth reporting frames, the Type 2 timing measurement result being obtained through the last RIF of the first MMS packet, the second MMS packet, and the third MMS packet; The third subfield indicates whether a type 3 timing measurement result is required in at least one of the third or fourth reporting frames, the type 3 timing measurement result being obtained through the first RIF of the first MMS packet and the second MMS packet and the last RIF of the third MMS packet; or The fourth subfield indicates whether an RSF timing measurement result is required in at least one of the third or fourth report frames, the RSF timing measurement result being obtained through the RSF of the first MMS packet, the second MMS packet, and the third MMS packet.

34. The method according to any one of claims 22 to 33, characterized in that, The first polling frame also indicates the number of time periods in the ranging measurement.

35. The method according to any one of claims 22 to 34, characterized in that, The first polling frame also indicates the number of time slots within at least one time period.

36. The method according to any one of claims 19 to 35, characterized in that, The first field is the management MAC configuration field or round control field of the first frame.

37. A communication device, characterized in that, Includes units for performing the method according to any one of claims 1 to 36.

38. An electronic device, characterized in that, Includes processing circuitry for performing the method according to any one of claims 1 to 36.

39. A chip, characterized in that, It includes an input / output (I / O) interface and a processor, wherein the processor is used to call and run a computer program stored in a memory to cause a device on which the chip is mounted to perform the method according to any one of claims 1 to 36.

40. An electronic device, characterized in that, include: One or more processors; A computer-readable storage medium coupled to the one or more processors and storing instructions executable by the processors, wherein the instructions, when executed by the processors, configure the electronic device to perform the method according to any one of claims 1 to 36.

41. A communication system, characterized in that, It includes a first communication device and a second communication device, wherein the first communication device is used to perform the method according to any one of claims 1 to 18, and the second communication device is used to perform the method according to any one of claims 17 to 36.

42. A computer-readable medium, characterized in that, The computer-readable medium carries program code that, when executed by a computer device, causes the computer device to perform the method according to any one of claims 1 to 36.

43. A computer program product, characterized in that, The computer program product includes program code that, when executed on a computer or processor, performs the method according to any one of claims 1 to 36.

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