Method and apparatus for transmitting or receiving scheduling information in ultra-wideband wireless network system

Abstract

Disclosed are a method and an apparatus for transmitting or receiving scheduling information in an ultra-wideband (UWB) wireless network system. A method performed by a first device in a UWB wireless network system, according to an embodiment of the present disclosure, may comprise the steps of: generating, by the first device, a scheduling information element (IE) for scheduling of one or more second devices; and transmitting, to the one or more second devices, a frame including the scheduling IE. The scheduling IE may include a first field for a scheduling type and a second field for one or more scheduling list elements for the one or more second devices. On the basis of a slot-by-slot scheduling type or a continuous slot scheduling type being indicated by the first field, each scheduling list element may be defined to include recipient address information according to indication information regarding the presence of recipient address information.

Description

Method and device for transmitting or receiving scheduling information in an ultra-wideband wireless network system

[0001] The present disclosure relates to a method and device for transmitting or receiving scheduling information in an ultra-wideband wireless network system.

[0002] Low-rate (LR) wireless networks can support low-data-rate connectivity between fixed or mobile devices with limited battery consumption requirements. For example, LR wireless networks can be applied to wireless personal area networks (WPANs). The Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) 802.15.4 standard defines various techniques for the physical layer (PHY) and radio access control (MAC) sublayer for LR wireless networks. For example, the IEEE 802.15.4 standard defines various modes that support precise ranging.

[0003] Ultra-wideband (UWB) wireless networks can support transmitting large amounts of information at low power over a very wide bandwidth (e.g., frequency bands of 3.1 GHz to 10.6 GHz). For example, UWB technology can support converting digitally encoded information into impulse signals with very short time durations, such as sub-nanoseconds, and transmitting them wirelessly. The IEEE 802.15.4z standard defines ultra-wideband (UWB) technology related to ranging technology. For example, the IEEE 802.15.4z standard includes high-rate pulse frequency (HRP) PHY technology, which supports high-speed data communications (e.g., 27-31 Mbps) and accurate two-way ranging and positioning, and high-rate pulse frequency (LRP) PHY technology, which supports various modes for low-speed data communications (e.g., Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) applications). Furthermore, the IEEE 802.15.4z standard includes UWB PHY technology that improves the integrity and accuracy of ranging measurements, and MAC technology that supports the exchange of ranging-related information between devices participating in ranging and the control of time-of-flight (TOF) ranging procedures. Recently, the IEEE 802.15.4ab standard is under discussion for the advancement of UWB PHY / MAC, including improvements to wireless network technology based on the IEEE 802.15.4z standard.

[0004] The technical problem of the present disclosure is to provide a method and device for transmitting or receiving scheduling information in a UWB wireless network system.

[0005] An additional technical problem of the present disclosure is to provide a method and device for transmitting or receiving a control message based on a receiver address in a UWB wireless network system.

[0006] The technical problems to be achieved in the present disclosure are not limited to the technical problems mentioned above, and other technical problems not mentioned can be clearly understood by a person having ordinary skill in the technical field to which the present disclosure belongs from the description below.

[0007] According to one aspect of the present disclosure, a method performed by a first device in an ultra-wideband (UWB) wireless network system may include: generating, by the first device, a scheduling information element (scheduling IE) for scheduling one or more second devices; and transmitting, to the one or more second devices, a frame including the scheduling IE. Here, the scheduling IE may include a first field for a scheduling type and a second field for one or more scheduling list elements for the one or more second devices. Here, based on whether a per-slot scheduling type or a consecutive slot scheduling type is indicated by the first field, each scheduling list element may be defined to include receiver address information according to indication information related to the presence or absence of receiver address information.

[0008] A method performed by a second device in an ultra-wideband (UWB) wireless network system according to an additional aspect of the present disclosure may include: receiving a frame from a first device, the frame including a scheduling information element (scheduling IE) for scheduling the second device; and obtaining the scheduling IE based on decoding the frame. Here, the scheduling IE may include a first field for a scheduling type and a second field for one or more scheduling list elements for the one or more second devices. Here, based on whether a per-slot scheduling type or a consecutive slot scheduling type is indicated by the first field, each scheduling list element may be defined to include receiver address information according to indication information related to the presence or absence of receiver address information.

[0009] According to the present disclosure, a method and device for transmitting or receiving scheduling information in a UWB wireless network system can be provided.

[0010] According to the present disclosure, a method and device for transmitting or receiving a control message based on a receiver address in a UWB wireless network system can be provided.

[0011] The effects that can be obtained from the present disclosure are not limited to the effects mentioned above, and other effects that are not mentioned will be clearly understood by a person having ordinary skill in the art to which the present disclosure pertains from the description below.

[0012] The accompanying drawings, which are incorporated in and are part of the detailed description to aid in understanding the present disclosure, provide embodiments of the present disclosure and, together with the detailed description, describe the technical features of the present disclosure.

[0013] FIG. 1 illustrates a block diagram of a wireless communication device according to one embodiment of the present disclosure.

[0014] FIG. 2 is a diagram for explaining an HRP UWB PPDU format to which the present disclosure can be applied.

[0015] FIG. 3 is a diagram showing the RMARKER position according to the STS packet setting in the HRP-ERDEV PPDU format to which the present disclosure can be applied.

[0016] FIG. 4 is a diagram for explaining two-way ranging techniques to which the present disclosure can be applied.

[0017] FIG. 5 is a diagram for explaining examples of formats of RMI IE, RCPCS IE, RRMC IE, and RRTI IE to which the present disclosure can be applied.

[0018] FIG. 6 illustrates an example message sequence chart for SS-TWR applying deferred response time results to which the present disclosure may be applied.

[0019] FIG. 7 illustrates an example message sequence chart for SS-TWR applying embedded response time results to which the present disclosure may be applied.

[0020] FIG. 8 illustrates an example of a message sequence chart for SS-TWR using SP3 packets to which the present disclosure may be applied.

[0021] FIG. 9 illustrates an example of a message sequence chart for a DS-TWR to which delayed response time information to which the present disclosure may be applied.

[0022] FIG. 10 illustrates an example of a message sequence chart for DS-TWR to which embedded ranging time information to which the present disclosure may be applied.

[0023] FIG. 11 is a diagram illustrating the role of a device in a ranging procedure to which the present disclosure can be applied.

[0024] Figure 12 shows examples of ARC IE, RDM IE, RBU IE, RR IE, and SRRE IE formats to which the present disclosure can be applied.

[0025] FIG. 13 is a diagram for explaining a ranging block structure and ranging phase to which the present disclosure can be applied.

[0026] FIG. 14 illustrates examples of timing diagrams for various multi-device ranging to which the present disclosure may be applied.

[0027] FIG. 15 shows a time diagram in an example of a block-based mode to which the present disclosure can be applied.

[0028] FIG. 16 is a diagram illustrating examples of various transmission offsets to which the present disclosure can be applied.

[0029] FIG. 17 illustrates an example of a message sequence chart for a one-to-many SS-TWR to which the present disclosure may be applied.

[0030] FIG. 18 illustrates an example of a message sequence chart for an SP3 one-to-many SS-TWR to which the present disclosure may be applied.

[0031] FIG. 19 illustrates the format of a scheduling information element (IE) to which the present disclosure can be applied.

[0032] FIG. 20 illustrates the format of a scheduling list element according to the value of the scheduling list type field to which the present disclosure can be applied.

[0033] FIG. 21 is a drawing for explaining the operation of the first device according to the present disclosure.

[0034] FIG. 22 is a drawing for explaining the operation of a second device according to the present disclosure.

[0035] FIG. 23 illustrates the format of a scheduling list element corresponding to a specific scheduling list type according to an embodiment of the present disclosure.

[0036] FIG. 24 illustrates the format of a scheduling IE and the format of a scheduling list element according to an embodiment of the present disclosure.

[0037] FIG. 25 illustrates the format of a scheduling IE and the format of a scheduling list element according to an embodiment of the present disclosure.

[0038] FIG. 26 illustrates a message sequence of an RCM including a scheduling IE according to an embodiment of the present disclosure.

[0039] FIG. 27 illustrates an example of a scheduling IE content field format and a scheduling list element format according to an embodiment of the present disclosure.

[0040] FIG. 28 illustrates another example of a scheduling IE content field format and a scheduling list element format according to an embodiment of the present disclosure.

[0041] FIG. 29 illustrates another example of a scheduling IE content field format and a scheduling list element format according to an embodiment of the present disclosure.

[0042] Hereinafter, preferred embodiments of the present disclosure will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings. The detailed description set forth below, together with the accompanying drawings, is intended to explain exemplary embodiments of the present disclosure and is not intended to represent the only embodiments in which the present disclosure may be practiced. The following detailed description includes specific details to provide a thorough understanding of the present disclosure. However, one of ordinary skill in the art will appreciate that the present disclosure may be practiced without these specific details.

[0043] In some cases, to avoid obscuring the concepts of the present disclosure, known structures and devices may be omitted or illustrated in block diagram form focusing on the core functions of each structure and device.

[0044] In the present disclosure, when a component is said to be "connected," "coupled," or "connected" to another component, this may include not only a direct connection but also an indirect connection in which another component exists between them. Furthermore, the terms "comprises" or "has" in the present disclosure specify the presence of the mentioned features, steps, operations, elements, and / or components, but do not exclude the presence or addition of one or more other features, steps, operations, elements, components, and / or groups thereof.

[0045] In this disclosure, terms such as “first,” “second,” etc. are used only to distinguish one component from another and are not used to limit the components, and do not limit the order or importance between the components unless specifically stated otherwise. Accordingly, within the scope of this disclosure, a first component in one embodiment may be referred to as a second component in another embodiment, and similarly, a second component in one embodiment may be referred to as a first component in another embodiment.

[0046] The terminology used herein is for the purpose of describing particular embodiments and is not intended to limit the scope of the claims. As used in the description of the embodiments and the appended claims, the singular forms "a," "an," and "the" are intended to include the plural forms as well, unless the context clearly dictates otherwise. The term "and / or" as used herein may refer to any one of the associated enumerated items, or is meant to refer to and encompass any and all possible combinations of two or more of them. Furthermore, the use of " / " between words in this disclosure has the same meaning as "and / or" unless otherwise stated.

[0047] The examples of the present disclosure can be applied to various wireless communication systems. For example, the examples of the present disclosure can be applied to a wireless network based on the IEEE 802.15 standard (e.g., Zigbee, Bluetooth, etc.). In particular, the examples of the present disclosure can be applied to a wireless network based on the IEEE 802.15.4 standard, and further, can be applied to a newly proposed IEEE 802.15.4ab standard-based UWB wireless network, or a next-generation UWB wireless network after IEEE 802.15.4ab. The wireless communication system to which the examples of the present disclosure are applied is not limited to a wireless network of the IEEE 802.15 series, and can be applied to a wireless local area network (WLAN) technology or Wi-Fi technology of the IEEE 802.11 series, or can be applied to a cellular wireless communication system (e.g., a technology of the Long Term Evolution (LTE) series of the 3rd Generation Partnership Project (3GPP) standard, and 5G New Radio (NR), etc.).

[0048] The IEEE 802.15.4ab standard, which includes techniques to further enhance the UWB PHY / MAC, is under discussion. For example, the IEEE 802.15.4ab standard includes: additional coding, preamble, and modulation techniques to support improved link budget and / or reduced airtime; additional channels and operating frequencies; interference mitigation techniques to support higher device density and higher traffic use cases; improvements to the accuracy, precision, reliability, and interoperability of high-integrity ranging; techniques to reduce complexity and power consumption; definition of hybrid operation with narrowband signaling to assist UWB; improved native discovery and connection setup mechanisms; sensing capabilities to support presence detection and environment mapping; mechanisms to support high data-rate streaming, allowing throughputs of at least 50 Mbps, as well as low-power, low-latency streaming; Support for peer-to-peer, peer-to-multipeer, station-to-infrastructure protocols and infrastructure synchronization mechanisms is being discussed.

[0049] Below, technical features to which examples of the present disclosure can be applied are described.

[0050] FIG. 1 illustrates a block diagram of a wireless communication device according to one embodiment of the present disclosure.

[0051] The first device (100) and the second device (200) illustrated in FIG. 1 may be replaced with various terms such as a terminal, a wireless device, a WTRU (Wireless Transmit Receive Unit), a UE (User Equipment), an MS (Mobile Station), a UT (user terminal), an MSS (Mobile Subscriber Station), an MSS (Mobile Subscriber Unit), an SS (Subscriber Station), an AMS (Advanced Mobile Station), a WT (Wireless terminal), or simply a user. In addition, the first device (100) and the second device (200) may be replaced with various terms such as an access point (AP), a BS (Base Station), a fixed station, a Node B, a BTS (Base Transceiver System), a network, an AI (Artificial Intelligence) system, an RSU (road side unit), a repeater, a router, a relay, a gateway, etc.

[0052] If the devices (100, 200) illustrated in FIG. 1 support ranging, they may be referred to as RDEV (ranging-capable device) or ERDEV (enhanced ranging-capable device). For example, the devices (100, 200) illustrated in FIG. 1 may be referred to by various terms, such as a transmitting device, a receiving device, a transmitting RDEV, a receiving RDEV, a transmitting ERDEV, and a receiving ERDEV. For example, the devices (110, 200) may be referred to as an initiator, a responder, an originator, a recipient, a controller, a controlee, and the like, depending on their roles in ranging operations. The role of a device is not fixed, but may be relatively determined based on its relationship with other devices. When a device interacts with multiple devices, the device may perform multiple roles.

[0053] Referring to FIG. 1, a first device (100) and a second device (200) can transmit and receive wireless signals through various UWB wireless network technologies (e.g., IEEE 802.15.4 series). The first device (100) and the second device (200) can include interfaces for a medium access control (MAC) layer and a physical layer (PHY) that follow the provisions of the IEEE 802.15.4 standard. The IEEE 802.15.4-based PHY and MAC are included in a UWB subsystem, and the UWB subsystem can further include a UWB command interface (UCI) corresponding to an interface between a UWB controller and a host. The UWB subsystem can exchange messages with a host system through the UCI.

[0054] In addition, the first device (100) and the second device (200) may additionally support various communication standards (e.g., standards of the IEEE 802.15 series, IEEE 802.11 series, 3GPP LTE series, 5G NR series, etc.) other than the UWB wireless network technology. In addition, the device of the present disclosure may be implemented as various devices such as a mobile phone, a vehicle, a personal computer, an AR (Augmented Reality) device, a VR (Virtual Reality) device, etc. In addition, the device of the present specification may support various communication services such as voice calls, video calls, data communications, autonomous driving, MTC (Machine-Type Communication), M2M (Machine-to-Machine), D2D (Device-to-Device), and IoT (Internet-of-Things).

[0055] A first device (100) includes one or more processors (102) and one or more memories (104), and may further include one or more transceivers (106) and / or one or more antennas (108). The processor (102) controls the memories (104) and / or the transceivers (106), and may be configured to implement the descriptions, functions, procedures, proposals, methods, and / or operational flowcharts disclosed in the present disclosure. For example, the processor (102) may process information in the memories (104) to generate first information / signals, and then transmit a wireless signal including the first information / signals via the transceivers (106). Furthermore, the processor (102) may receive a wireless signal including second information / signals via the transceivers (106), and then store information obtained from signal processing of the second information / signals in the memory (104). The memory (104) may be connected to the processor (102) and may store various information related to the operation of the processor (102). For example, the memory (104) may perform some or all of the processes controlled by the processor (102), or may store software code including instructions for performing the descriptions, functions, procedures, proposals, methods, and / or operation flowcharts disclosed in the present disclosure. Here, the processor (102) and the memory (104) may be part of a communication modem / circuit / chip designed to implement UWB wireless network technology (e.g., IEEE 802.15.4 series). The transceiver (106) may be connected to the processor (102) and may transmit and / or receive wireless signals via one or more antennas (108). The transceiver (106) may include a transmitter and / or a receiver. The transceiver (106) may be used interchangeably with an RF (Radio Frequency) unit. In the present disclosure, a device may also mean a communication modem / circuit / chip.

[0056] The second device (200) includes one or more processors (202), one or more memories (204), and may further include one or more transceivers (206) and / or one or more antennas (208). The processor (202) controls the memories (204) and / or the transceivers (206), and may be configured to implement the descriptions, functions, procedures, proposals, methods, and / or operational flowcharts disclosed in the present disclosure. For example, the processor (202) may process information in the memory (204) to generate third information / signals, and then transmit a wireless signal including the third information / signals via the transceivers (206). Furthermore, the processor (202) may receive a wireless signal including fourth information / signals via the transceivers (206), and then store information obtained from signal processing of the fourth information / signals in the memory (204). The memory (204) may be connected to the processor (202) and may store various information related to the operation of the processor (202). For example, the memory (204) may perform some or all of the processes controlled by the processor (202), or may store software code including instructions for performing the descriptions, functions, procedures, proposals, methods and / or operation flowcharts disclosed in the present disclosure. Here, the processor (202) and the memory (204) may be part of a communication modem / circuit / chip designed to implement UWB wireless network technology (e.g., IEEE 802.15.4 series). The transceiver (206) may be connected to the processor (202) and may transmit and / or receive wireless signals via one or more antennas (208). The transceiver (206) may include a transmitter and / or a receiver. The transceiver (206) may be used interchangeably with an RF unit. In the present disclosure, a device may also mean a communication modem / circuit / chip.

[0057] Hereinafter, the hardware elements of the device (100, 200) will be described in more detail. Although not limited thereto, one or more protocol layers may be implemented by one or more processors (102, 202). For example, one or more processors (102, 202) may implement one or more layers (e.g., functional layers such as PHY, MAC). One or more processors (102, 202) may generate one or more Protocol Data Units (PDUs) and / or one or more Service Data Units (SDUs) according to the descriptions, functions, procedures, proposals, methods, and / or operational flowcharts disclosed in the present disclosure. One or more processors (102, 202) may generate messages, control information, data, or information according to the descriptions, functions, procedures, proposals, methods, and / or operational flowcharts disclosed in the present disclosure. One or more processors (102, 202) can generate signals (e.g., baseband signals) including PDUs, SDUs, messages, control information, data or information according to the functions, procedures, proposals and / or methods disclosed in the present disclosure, and provide the signals to one or more transceivers (106, 206). One or more processors (102, 202) can receive signals (e.g., baseband signals) from one or more transceivers (106, 206) and obtain PDUs, SDUs, messages, control information, data or information according to the descriptions, functions, procedures, proposals, methods and / or operational flowcharts disclosed in the present disclosure.

[0058] One or more processors (102, 202) may be referred to as a controller, a microcontroller, a microprocessor, or a microcomputer. One or more processors (102, 202) may be implemented by hardware, firmware, software, or a combination thereof. For example, one or more Application Specific Integrated Circuits (ASICs), one or more Digital Signal Processors (DSPs), one or more Digital Signal Processing Devices (DSPDs), one or more Programmable Logic Devices (PLDs), or one or more Field Programmable Gate Arrays (FPGAs) may be included in one or more processors (102, 202). The descriptions, functions, procedures, proposals, methods, and / or operational flowcharts disclosed in this disclosure may be implemented using firmware or software, and the firmware or software may be implemented to include modules, procedures, functions, etc. The descriptions, functions, procedures, proposals, methods and / or operation flowcharts disclosed in this disclosure may be implemented using firmware or software configured to perform one or more processors (102, 202) or stored in one or more memories (104, 204) and driven by one or more processors (102, 202). The descriptions, functions, procedures, proposals, methods and / or operation flowcharts disclosed in this disclosure may be implemented using firmware or software in the form of codes, instructions and / or sets of instructions.

[0059] One or more memories (104, 204) may be coupled to one or more processors (102, 202) and may store various forms of data, signals, messages, information, programs, codes, instructions, and / or commands. The one or more memories (104, 204) may be configured as ROM, RAM, EPROM, flash memory, hard drives, registers, cache memory, computer-readable storage media, and / or combinations thereof. The one or more memories (104, 204) may be located internally and / or externally to the one or more processors (102, 202). Additionally, the one or more memories (104, 204) may be coupled to the one or more processors (102, 202) via various technologies, such as wired or wireless connections.

[0060] One or more transceivers (106, 206) can transmit user data, control information, wireless signals / channels, etc., as mentioned in the methods and / or flowcharts of the present disclosure, to one or more other devices. One or more transceivers (106, 206) can receive user data, control information, wireless signals / channels, etc., as mentioned in the descriptions, functions, procedures, proposals, methods and / or flowcharts of the present disclosure, from one or more other devices. For example, one or more transceivers (106, 206) can be coupled to one or more processors (102, 202) and can transmit and receive wireless signals. For example, one or more processors (102, 202) can control one or more transceivers (106, 206) to transmit user data, control information, or wireless signals to one or more other devices. Additionally, one or more processors (102, 202) may control one or more transceivers (106, 206) to receive user data, control information, or wireless signals from one or more other devices. Additionally, one or more transceivers (106, 206) may be coupled to one or more antennas (108, 208), and one or more transceivers (106, 206) may be configured to transmit and receive user data, control information, wireless signals / channels, or the like, as referred to in the descriptions, functions, procedures, proposals, methods, and / or operational flowcharts disclosed in the present disclosure, via one or more antennas (108, 208). In the present disclosure, one or more antennas may be multiple physical antennas or multiple logical antennas (e.g., antenna ports). One or more transceivers (106, 206) can convert received user data, control information, wireless signals / channels, etc. from RF band signals to baseband signals in order to process the received user data, control information, wireless signals / channels, etc. using one or more processors (102, 202).One or more transceivers (106, 206) may convert user data, control information, wireless signals / channels, etc. processed by one or more processors (102, 202) from baseband signals to RF band signals. For this purpose, one or more transceivers (106, 206) may include an (analog) oscillator and / or filter.

[0061] For example, the transceiver (106, 206) of FIG. 1 can perform transmission and reception operations of signals (e.g., packets or PPDUs (Physical layer Protocol Data Units) according to IEEE 802.15.4, etc.). In addition, in the present disclosure, operations in which various devices generate transmission and reception signals or perform data processing or calculations in advance for transmission and reception signals can be performed in the processor (102, 202) of FIG. 1. For example, an example of an operation for generating a transmission / reception signal or performing data processing or operation in advance for a transmission / reception signal may include an operation for determining / obtaining / configuring / computing / decoding / encoding bit information of field(s) included in a PPDU, an operation for determining / configuring / obtaining time resources or frequency resources, etc. used for field(s) included in a PPDU, an operation for determining / configuring / obtaining a specific sequence, etc. used for field(s) included in a PPDU, an operation for determining / configuring / obtaining a power control operation and / or a power saving operation applied to a device, and an operation for determining / obtaining / configuring / computing / decoding / encoding an ACK signal. Additionally, in the examples below, various information (e.g., information related to fields / subfields / control fields / parameters / power, etc.) used by various devices for determining / acquiring / configuring / operating / decoding / encoding transmission / reception signals can be stored in the memory (104, 204) of FIG. 1.

[0062] In the UWB band, devices can perform medium access based on the CSMA / CA (Carrier Sense Multiple Access with Collision Avoidance) mechanism. The CSMA / CA mechanism can perform CCA (Clear Channel Assessment), which senses the wireless channel or medium for a predetermined period of time before the device begins transmitting. Sensing can be performed, for example, using an energy detection (ED) method based on a predetermined threshold. If the sensing result indicates that the medium is idle, the device initiates transmission through the medium. Conversely, if the medium is detected to be occupied or busy, the device may not initiate transmission but wait for a delay period (e.g., a random backoff period) for medium access before attempting transmission. By applying a random backoff period, multiple devices are expected to wait for different periods of time before attempting transmission, thereby minimizing collisions.

[0063] In addition, when a superframe structure is applied, a slotted CSMA-CA mechanism may be applied to data transmission in the CAP (contention access period) of the active portion among the active portion and the inactive portion of the interval between beacons. The CSMA-CA mechanism may not be applied to data transmission within the active portion and in the CFP (contention free period). When a superframe structure is not applied, an unslotted CSMA-CA mechanism may be applied to transmission of all data frames except for an ACK frame for a data request command.

[0064] Ranging Measurement

[0065] Ranging involves measuring the distance between two devices, and a device with ranging capability may be referred to as a ranging-capable device (RDEV) or enhanced ranging-capable device (ERDEV).

[0066] FIG. 2 is a diagram for explaining an HRP UWB PPDU format to which the present disclosure can be applied.

[0067] Figures 2(a) to 2(g) illustrate the encoding process of an HRP UWB PPDU. Through the encoding process, an HRP UWB PPDU having a format including a synchronization header (SHR), a PHY header (PHR), and a PHY payload field can be generated.

[0068] Figure 2(a) shows a PSDU (PHY service data unit) received from MAC through a PHY SAP (service access point). The PSDU may include a MAC PDU.

[0069] In Fig. 2(b), Reed-Solomon encoding can be applied to the PSDU to generate a PHY payload field. The PHY payload field in Fig. 2(b) is non-spread and corresponds to a state before convolution encoding is applied.

[0070] In Fig. 2(c), a PHR field may be added before the PHY payload field. The PHR field may have a size of 19 bits, from bits 0 to 18. For example, bits 0-1 may correspond to a data rate field, bits 2-8 may correspond to a frame length field, bit 9 may correspond to a ranging field, bit 10 may correspond to a reserved field, bits 11-12 may correspond to a preamble duration field, and bits 13-18 may correspond to a SECDED (single error correct, double error detect) field. The data rate field may indicate a data rate value applied to the PHY payload field. The frame length field may indicate the length of a PSDU. The ranging field may indicate whether the corresponding frame is a RFRAME (ranging frame). The preamble duration field may indicate the length (in symbol units) of the SYNC field of the SHR.

[0071] In Fig. 2(d), convolution encoding is applied to generate a coded PHY payload field, and in Fig. 2(e), spreading can be applied to the PHY payload field.

[0072] In Fig. 2(f), an SHR may be added before the PHR. The SHR field may include a SYNC field (or preamble code) and a start-of-frame delimiter (SFD) field.

[0073] In FIG. 2(g), modulation is applied to the SHR, PHR, and PHY payload fields, and the PPDU encoding procedure is terminated. A default coding rate may be applied to the SHR field.

[0074] The PHR field may have a format including data rate (2 bits), frame length (7 bits), ranging (1 bit), reserve (1 bit), preamble duration (2 bits), and SECDED (6 bits) for base pulse repetition frequency (BRFP) mode, or may have a format including A1 (1 bit), A0 (1 bit), PHY payload length (10 bits), ranging (1 bit), and SECDED (6 bits) for higher pulse repetition frequency (HPRF) mode. The A1 and A0 fields may also indicate the size of an additional gap between the payload and the STS. For the PHR field, in the BPRF mode, BPM-BPSK (burst position modulation-binary phase shift keying) with a coding rate of 850 kb / s or 6.8 Mb / s may be applied, in the HPRF mode, modulation with a coding rate of 3.9 Mb / s, 7.8 Mb / s, 15.6 Mb / s, or 31.2 Mb / s may be applied, and in other cases, BPM-BPSK with a coding rate of 850 kb / s or 110 kb / s may be applied. For the PHY payload field, in the HPRF mode, modulation with a coding rate of 6.8 Mb / s, 7.8 Mb / s, 27.2 Mb / s, or 31.2 Mb / s may be applied, and in other cases, BPM-BPSK with a coding rate indicated in the PHR may be applied.

[0075] FIG. 3 is a diagram showing the RMARKER position according to the STS packet setting in the HRP-ERDEV PPDU format to which the present disclosure can be applied.

[0076] The STS (Scrambled Timestamp Sequence) field may contain a sequence of pseudo-randomized pulses. For example, the STS may contain a sequence of pseudo-random pulses based on AES (Advanced Encryption Standard)-128, and may be utilized for accurate positioning in spread spectrum-based positioning technology in UWB communications.

[0077] The PPDU STS packet structure settings may vary depending on whether the STS field is included and its location.

[0078] Figure 3(a) shows the format corresponding to STS packet setting 0 (i.e., no STS field exists in the PPDU). This format can be defined as mandatory.

[0079] Figure 3(b) shows the format corresponding to STS packet setup 1 (i.e., the STS field is located immediately after the SFD field and before the PHR field). This format can be defined mandatorily.

[0080] Figure 3(c) shows the format corresponding to STS packet setup 2 (i.e., the STS field is located after the PHY payload field). This format may be defined as optional.

[0081] Figure 3(d) shows the format corresponding to STS packet setup 3 (i.e., the STS field is located immediately after the SFD field, there is no PHR field, and there is no Data field (i.e., the PHY payload field)). This format can be defined mandatorily.

[0082] PPDU formats such as those in the examples in Fig. 3 may also be referred to as HRP-ERDEV PPDU formats. In Fig. 3, arrows indicate the RMARKER (ranging marker) reference locations in each format. The RMARKER can be a reference for timestamp measurement or a ranging counter.

[0083] For example, RMARKER can be defined as the time at the local antenna of the start of the first symbol following the SFD of RFRAME. The next higher layer can estimate the relative clock offset between the local reference clocks of the remote transmitter and receiver based on the reporting of the SRMARKER receive ranging counter value for one or more STS segments.

[0084] The ranging counter supported by RDEV corresponds to a set of behavioral properties and capabilities of RDEV that produce ranging counter values. The ranging counter value is an unsigned integer and can be defined to be at least 32 bits long. The unit of the ranging counter is 2 of a 499.2 MHz chip period for the HRP UWB PHY. -7 is defined as approximately 15.65 picoseconds (ps), which is 20 times the base chipping rate of 1 MHz for the LRP UWB PHY. -20 is defined as and is approximately 0.9537 ps.

[0085] The ranging capability can be enabled in the RDEV using the MCPS (MAC common part sublayer)-DATA.request primitive and the MLME (MAC sublayer management entity)-RX-ENABLE.request primitive. A primitive can mean a set of commands or parameters exchanged between layers or sublayer entities within a device. For example, an originator can request the ranging capability using the MCPS-DATA.request primitive, and a recipient can activate the ranging capability using the MLME-RX-ENABLE.request primitive.

[0086] Ranging and Localization Methods

[0087] The ranging and localization methods supported by RDEVs and ERDEVs can be based on time-stamping capabilities. Time-based techniques such as single-sided two-way ranging (SS-TWR), double-sided two-way ranging (DS-TWR), and one-way ranging / time difference of arrival (OWR / TDOA) are described below.

[0088] FIG. 4 is a diagram for explaining two-way ranging techniques to which the present disclosure can be applied.

[0089] In the example of Figure 4(a), SS-TWR includes the measurement of the round-trip delay of a single message from one device to another and the response sent to the sending device. Device A initiates the message exchange, device B sends the response, and T_prop corresponds to the propagation time of the RMARKER between the devices.

[0090] Each device precisely measures the transmission and reception times of message frames, allowing it to calculate T_round and T_reply through simple subtraction. The resulting TOF can be estimated as ^T_prop using the formula below.

[0091]

[0092] If the device can estimate the relative clock offset between itself and the remote device, the accuracy of TOF can be improved by the following formula:

[0093]

[0094] Here, C_offs corresponds to the value measured by the receiver of device A relative clock offset between itself and the transmitter of remote device B.

[0095] In the example of Fig. 4(b), DS-TWR corresponds to an extension of SS-TWR, and two round trip times are used and combined to produce a TOF result by reducing errors in the case where an uncorrected clock frequency offset exists even if the response delay is long. Device A initiates the first round trip time measurement, device B responds to it, and then device B initiates the second round trip time measurement, and device A responds to it, thereby completing the entire DS-TWR exchange. T_prop corresponds to the propagation time of the RMARKER between devices.

[0096] Each device precisely measures the transmission and reception times of message frames, allowing it to calculate T_round and T_reply through simple subtraction. The resulting TOF can be estimated as ^T_prop using the formula below.

[0097]

[0098] The example in Fig. 4(c) corresponds to reducing the DS-TWR through the four messages in Fig. 4(b) to three messages. That is, the response to the first round-trip time measurement can be used as the initiation message for the second round-trip time measurement.

[0099] Next, we describe the TDOA method. TDOA is a technique for locating wireless devices (e.g., radio frequency identification (RFID) devices) based on the relative arrival times of a single message or multiple messages. OWR can be used for TDOA. There are two cases for TDOA. In one case, a message is periodically broadcast by a mobile device, and the arrival times of the broadcast messages at multiple fixed nodes synchronized in a predetermined manner can be compared. Typically, the message transmitted by the mobile device can be referred to as a blink. In the other case, multiple synchronized nodes can sequentially broadcast messages according to a known transmission time offset. For any pair of fixed synchronized nodes, the difference in the arrival times of the blinks in the first case, or the difference in the arrival times of the broadcast messages received by the mobile device in the second case, positions the mobile device on a hyperbolic surface. By combining the results from multiple such pairs, the intersection point between the sets of hyperbolic surfaces can be derived, thereby determining the location of the mobile device. In a second case, the transmission offset can be taken into account when calculating the difference in arrival times of messages from synchronized nodes.

[0100] RFID devices typically use the shortest possible blink message (e.g., a multipurpose frame) to reduce power consumption. A multipurpose frame can be 12 octets long and include a short frame control field, a sequence number field, and may not include a destination address field, an extended source address field, or a frame check sequence (FCS).

[0101] Synchronization of fixed nodes can be achieved by distributing clock signals over a wire, or wireless synchronization techniques can be applied. Using UWB messages transmitted between fixed nodes (and known / pre-measured TOF), the relative clock frequency offset and drift between fixed nodes can be calculated. This information can be used to correct the arrival times of blink messages to a common time base, making TDOA data meaningful.

[0102] Setup procedure before ranging exchange

[0103] To reduce power consumption, ranging can be defined as disabled by default. Enabling ranging on all RDEVs participating in a TWR exchange can be performed by a higher layer. Furthermore, if optional capabilities are used, some coordination of the preamble and channel selection can be assumed prior to the TWR exchange.

[0104] Finish-up procedure after ranging exchange

[0105] At the end of a TWR exchange, each device can maintain transmit (TX) and receive (RX) ranging counter values ​​related to round-trip time measurements or response times. To calculate TOF, all of these values ​​are required at the node where the calculation is performed. This can be accomplished using out-of-band (OOB) signaling, custom messages, and ranging measurement information (RMI) information elements (IEs).

[0106] FIG. 5 is a diagram for explaining examples of formats of RMI IE, RCPCS IE, RRMC IE, and RRTI IE to which the present disclosure can be applied.

[0107] Figure 5(a) shows an example of the RMI IE format.

[0108] The RMI IE can be used to send one or more ranging-related measurements to one or more devices. The RMI IE content field can have a format similar to the example in Figure 5(a).

[0109] A value of 1 in the reply time present field may indicate that an RX-to-TX (or TX-to-RX) reply time field is present in each RMI list element, and a value of 0 may indicate that it is not present. The RX-to-TX (or TX-to-RX) reply time may correspond to T_reply described with reference to FIG. 4.

[0110] A value of 1 in the round-trip time present field may indicate that a TX-to-RX round-trip time field exists in each RMI list element, and a value of 0 may indicate that it does not exist. The TX-to-RX round-trip time may correspond to T_round described with reference to FIG. 4.

[0111] A value of 1 in the TOF presence field may indicate that the TOF field exists in each RMI list element, and a value of 0 may indicate that it does not exist.

[0112] A value of 1 in the AOA azimuth present field may indicate that the AOA azimuth field is present in each RMI list element, and a value of 0 may indicate that it is not present.

[0113] A value of 1 in the AOA elevation present field may indicate that the AOA elevation field is present in each RMI list element, and a value of 0 may indicate that it is not present.

[0114] A value of 1 in the AOA FOM (figure of merit) presence field indicates that an AOA azimuth FOM field exists in each RMI list element if an AOA azimuth field exists, and that an AOA elevation FOM field exists in each RMI list element if an AOA elevation field exists, and a value of 0 may indicate that neither an AOA azimuth FOM field nor an AOA elevation FOM field exists.

[0115] The address size specifier field can specify the size of the addresses used in the RMI list field (e.g., 2 or 8).

[0116] A value of 0 in the deferred mode field may indicate that the corresponding RMI IE is embedded in the RFRAME, and a value of 1 may indicate that the corresponding RMI IE is included in the deferred message transmitted in the next measurement report phase.

[0117] The RMI list length field can specify the number of elements in the RMI list field. The fields included in the RMI list field are as shown in Fig. 5(a).

[0118] Figure 5(b) shows an example of the RCPCS IE format.

[0119] The RCPCS (ranging channel and preamble code selection) IE can be used to indicate channel selection and / or TX / RX preamble code selection for dynamic preamble code and channel selection (DPS). DPS can include modifying the long preamble to protect against attacking devices intercepting ranging. The RCPCS IE content field can have a format similar to the example in FIG. 5(b).

[0120] A value of 1 in the CCIP (CCI present) field indicates that the CCI field exists, and a value of 0 indicates that it does not exist.

[0121] A value of 1 in the DDP (DPS Duration Present) field may indicate that the DPS duration field exists, and a value of 0 may indicate that it does not exist.

[0122] A value of 1 in the PSP (preamble sequence selection present) field indicates that the preamble sequence selection fields, i.e., the TX preamble code field, the RX preamble code field, and the PSR (preamble symbol repetitions) field, are present, and a value of 0 may indicate that they are not present.

[0123] The channel number field may indicate the UWB channel number for an upcoming ranging exchange.

[0124] The CCI (channel configuration interval) field can specify a channel configuration interval. The channel configuration interval can correspond to the time in RSTU (ranging scheduling time units) between the transmission of the corresponding IE and the reconfiguration of the specified channel.

[0125] RSTU is 416 chips (approximately 833.33ns) for HRP UWB PHY (416 chips = 416 / 499.2*10 6 ) corresponds to 1 microsecond (us) for LRP UWB PHY (= 1 chip at 1MHz base chip rate).

[0126] The DPS Duration field can specify the effective time duration of the DPS. The duration can be specified in RSTU units for ERDEV and in symbol units for non-ERDEV.

[0127] The TX Preamble Code field may indicate the DPS preamble code to be used for transmission during an upcoming ranging exchange by the transmitting side of the IE.

[0128] The RX Preamble Code field may indicate the DPS preamble code that the transmitting side of the IE will use for reception during an upcoming ranging exchange.

[0129] The PSR field may indicate the number of preamble symbol repetitions to be used for the SYNC of each RFRAME of the upcoming ranging transmission.

[0130] The MLMR-DPS.request and MLME-DPS.confirm primitives can be applied to the optional DPS mode of ranging. The ConfigTime parameter of the MLME-DPS.request primitive can be used to specify a future point in time at which the preamble code and / or channel number will be applied. The time at which the DPS change will be applied can be exchanged via the CCI field of the RCPCS IE.

[0131] Basic ranging exchange

[0132] The recipient may turn on or enable ranging in the MAC on the recipient side based on the MLME-RX-ENABLE.request primitive from the next higher layer.

[0133] After ranging is turned on at the receiver side MAC (i.e., by receiving the MLME-RX-ENABLE.request primitive), all received RFRAMEs can generate TX / RX ranging counters.

[0134] An originator can send data to a recipient based on the MCPS-DATA.request primitive.

[0135] The receiver can generate a ranging report for all RFRAMEs and send an ACK frame to the sender.

[0136] A sender can activate Tx-to-Rx turnaround (i.e., repeat data transmission and ACK reception) by receiving an ACK frame from the receiver. The next higher layer may not be involved in this.

[0137] Ranging reporting may include the issue of an MCPS-DATA.confirm primitive on the sender side (i.e., reporting the result of an MCPS-DATA.request primitive invoke), and an MCPS-DATA.indication primitive on the receiver side (i.e., indicating the receipt of data from the sender, or indicating that ranging information is available upon receipt of a packet from the sender).

[0138] Until ranging is disabled, the receiver may generate ranging reports and transmit ACKs to the sender, activate Tx-to-Rx turnaround based on receiving the sender's ACK frame, and repeat the ranging reports.

[0139] Ranging Procedure

[0140] First, we explain the control of ranging and the transfer of results.

[0141] Measurements can be exchanged between RDEVs to complete ToF calculations. To this end, the TWR can be controlled through information elements, and ranging data can be exchanged between RDEVs.

[0142] Specifically, the information elements can be used to transmit ranging data between RDEVs participating in ranging exchange and to control TWR. For various ranging methods, depending on the required use case, the measurement results from both devices can be combined to complete the TOF calculation between RDEVs participating in ranging exchange. That is, one device can transmit its ranging measurement results to another device. The information elements can be specified to provide a mechanism for controlling TWR and to support the transmission of ranging information between devices participating in ranging exchange. To ensure the integrity of the information transmission, a secure private data communication capability can be used.

[0143] Below, we describe the ranging procedure for SS-TWR that applies the deferred response time results.

[0144] FIG. 6 illustrates an example message sequence chart for SS-TWR applying deferred response time results to which the present disclosure may be applied.

[0145] In the message sequence diagram for ranging exchange, RRMC IE(0) may represent an RRMC IE that includes a ranging control information field with a value of 0 (i.e., a ranging initiation message for SS-TWR). The AR (Acknowledgment Request) field in the MAC header may indicate whether an ACK is requested.

[0146] The next higher layer of the initiator may have sufficient information to calculate the TOF between devices using the formula described above at the time of receiving the RMI IE (e.g., FIG. 5(a)).

[0147] An initiator may initiate a ranging exchange by issuing an MCPS-DATA.request primitive to request ranging response time information and transmit a ranging frame containing a Ranging Request Measurement and Control (RRMC) information element that includes a ranging control information field.

[0148] Figure 5(c) shows an example of the RRMC IE format.

[0149] The RRMC IE transmits a ranging request and may include information that controls the ranging procedure.

[0150] The response time request, round trip time request, TOF request, AOA azimuth request, and AOA elevation request fields in the RRMC IE format can indicate that the corresponding information is requested if the value is 1, and that the corresponding information is not requested if the value is 0.

[0151] The ranging control information field may have a value of 0 to indicate that the frame is a ranging initiation message for SS-TWR, a value of 1 to indicate that the frame is a response to a ranging initiation message for SS-TWR, a value of 2 to indicate that the frame is a ranging initiation message for DS-TWR, and a value of 3 to indicate that the frame is a continuing DS-TWR and initiates a second round trip time measurement.

[0152] The address size field can specify the size of the addresses used in the RRMC address list field. If the value of the address size field is 0, all addresses in the RRMC address list element can correspond to short addresses. If the value of the address size field is 1, all addresses in the RRMC address list element can correspond to extended addresses.

[0153] The RRMC Address List Length field can indicate the number of addresses in the RRMC Address List field. If no address is provided (e.g., in the case of unicast ranging where the target device can be identified by the destination address in the MHR (MAC header), the RRMC Address List Length field can be omitted.

[0154] If the RRMC IE is a broadcast message, and the sender wants to receive responses to the ranging request from all devices, the RRMC Address List Length and RRMC Address List fields may be omitted. Alternatively, if the sender wants to receive responses to the ranging request from specific devices (or a set of devices), the RRMC Address List Length and RRMC Address List fields may be used to select a set of devices for the response.

[0155] For SS-TWR, since the initiator generally calculates the TOF, the responder can request the TOF result by setting the TOF request field of the RRMC IE included in the response message.

[0156] For DS-TWR, since the responder typically computes the TOF, the initiator can request the TOF result by including the RRMC IE in the two messages it sends to perform the DS-TWR exchange.

[0157] If the initiator requests different information from multiple respondents, multiple RRMC IEs may be included in a single broadcast message.

[0158] The RRMC Address List field may contain a list of addresses to which the RRMC IE is directed.

[0159] With respect to the ranging report (or response ranging frame), the initiator side may complete the round-trip time measurement, and the MCPS-DATA.confirm primitive may provide a ranging report defining the round-trip time to the initiator side. On the receiver side, the MCPS-DATA.indication primitive may provide a response-side ranging report defining the response time for the round-trip time measurement.

[0160] Figure 5(d) shows an example of the RRTI (Ranging Reply Time Instantaneous) IE format.

[0161] In association with one or more frames containing an RRMC IE with the Response Time Request field set to 1, an RRTI IE may be included in the response frame to transmit the response time of the response frame.

[0162] The address size specifier field can be defined as shown in the table below.

[0163] The value of the address size specifier field is Address Size. 000 octets, address does not exist. 01 Reserved. 102 octets, short address (16 bits). 118 octets, extended address (64 bits).

[0164] The RRTI list length field can indicate the number of elements in the RRTI list field. The RRTI list field can contain RRTI list elements.

[0165] The RX-to-TX reply time field of the RRTI list field may be set to a value indicating the difference between the transmission time of the response RFRAME containing the RRTI IE and the reference time specified by the upper layer (i.e., T_reply in the example of Fig. 4(a)). The reference time may correspond to the reception time (based on RMARKER) of the RFRAME containing the RRMC IE with the response time request field set to 1.

[0166] The address field of the RRTI list field may be set to the address of the device sending the RRMC IE requesting the response time. In unicast ranging, the address field may be omitted. In scheduled multi-node ranging, the address field may be omitted if the response times of other RDEVs are negotiated in advance and the order is determined.

[0167] Below, we describe the ranging procedure for SS-TWR that applies embedded response time results.

[0168] FIG. 7 illustrates an example message sequence chart for SS-TWR applying embedded response time results to which the present disclosure may be applied.

[0169] For SS-TWR that applies the response time result, the ranging exchange can be initiated by a ranging frame that requests ranging response time information and includes an RRMC IE with the Ranging Control Information field set to 0. The responding device can complete the round-trip measurement by transmitting a response frame that includes an embedded RRTI (ranging reply time instantaneous) IE. If the device has the capability to generate the RRTI IE, the number of messages required for ranging measurement can be minimized, thus saving power. However, it may take time to calculate the arrival time of the received ranging message and prepare the RRTI IE value. In some cases, this time may be known a priori in an OOB manner, and the RRTN (ranging reply time negotiation) IE may provide a mechanism to indicate to the device a preferred response time, i.e., the time required to prepare a frame containing the RRTI IE. If this time is known, the ranging initiating device can expect a response message after a certain time and save energy by delaying turning on the receiver until then. This can be applied to both SS-TWR and DS-TWR ranging exchanges.

[0170] In Figure 7, RRMC IE(0) represents an RRMC IE containing a ranging control information field with a value of 0. The communication of the RRTN IE in the dotted box may be performed at any convenient time before the ranging exchange is initiated, or the preferred response time information may be known in advance or exchanged via OOB. Upon receiving the MCPS-DATA.indication primitive containing the responder's RRTI IE, the next higher layer of the initiator may have sufficient information to calculate the TOF between the two devices according to the formula described above.

[0171] Below, the ranging procedure for SS-TWR with fixed response time is described.

[0172] FIG. 8 illustrates an example of a message sequence chart for SS-TWR using a scrambled timestamp sequence packet configuration option three (SP3) packet to which the present disclosure may be applied.

[0173] If the responding device has precise control over the transmission time of its response message relative to the arrival time of the ranging initiation message, the response time (i.e., Treply) can have a fixed, known value agreed upon among the devices participating in the ranging exchange. In this case, it may not be necessary to embed the Treply in the response message or transmit it separately in an additional message. The resulting ranging accuracy may depend on how precisely the responding device controls the transmission time of its response message. For example, in TOF, a 1 ns error may correspond to a ranging error of approximately 30 cm.

[0174] HRP-ERDEV PPDU format SP3 can be used for fixed response times.

[0175] In the example of Figure 8, the initiation message in the dotted box may represent communication for agreement and coordination on the use of SP3 packets between devices and all other parameters necessary to allow ongoing communication. While only a single message is shown in the example of Figure 8, a series of messages in each direction may exist to agree on all parameters. For example, the RRNT IE may be used to agree on a fixed response time.

[0176] In each device, the next higher layer may use the MLME-STS.request primitive to configure the SP3 packet format across all devices and to set personal area network information base (PIB) attributes (e.g., phyHrpUwbStsKey, phyHrpUwbStsVCounter, phyHrpUwbStsVUpper96, etc.) to configure the behavior appropriately. Once the upper layer has selected the SP3 packet configuration, subsequent MCPS-DATA primitives relate to SP3 packets until the upper layer changes the packet configuration using the MLME-STS.request primitive.

[0177] The MCPS-DATA.request primitive can be used to initiate a ranging exchange, in which mode the PPDU may not convey MAC data. Although not shown, it can be assumed that the invocation of the MLME-RXENABLE.request primitive turns on the receiver at the appropriate time to receive the PPDU. Since the PHY is configured for SP3 packets, the PHY notifies the MAC layer of the receipt of the PPDU at the end of the scrambled timestamp sequence (STS), and similarly, the MAC, which is aware of the SP3 configuration, can deliver the RxRangingCounter value of the RangingReportDescriptor parameter of the MCPS-DATA.indication primitive. Furthermore, assuming that the RangingStsFom of the RangingReportDescriptor is acceptable, the upper layer can initiate the response by invoking the MCPS-DATA.request primitive specifying the RangingTxTime according to an agreed-upon fixed response time.

[0178] Assuming that the SP3 packet response is received at the initiating device and that the RangingStsFom of the RangingReportDescriptor parameter of the MCPS-DATA.indication primitive is acceptable, the initiating device may have sufficient information to compute the TOF between the devices according to the aforementioned formula based on the known fixed response time.

[0179] The ranging exchange may be repeated multiple times until the upper layers reach a mutual agreement. To resume PHY and MAC data interactions, the next upper layer can use the MLME-STS.request primitive to restore the STS packet settings to values ​​that allow such data interactions. This is illustrated in the last dotted box in Figure 8.

[0180] LRP-REDEV may also support challenge-response ranging with fixed response times, eliminating the need for data messages carrying response times.

[0181] Below, the DS-TWR ranging procedure to which delayed response time information is applied is described.

[0182] FIG. 9 illustrates an example of a message sequence chart for a DS-TWR to which delayed response time information to which the present disclosure may be applied.

[0183] A DS-TWR may essentially include the completion of a SS-TWR exchange initiated by each device, and the combination of their results. A DS-TWR may be initiated by the next higher layer transmitting a ranging data frame carrying a RRMC IE with the Ranging Control Information field set to 2 (i.e., RRMC IE(2)). This frame and its ACK may define a first round trip time measurement. Conveying the RRMC IE in the MCPS-DATA.indication primitive may notify the next higher layer to initiate a second round trip time measurement by transmitting a data frame in the other direction. This data frame may include an RRMC IE with the Ranging Control Information field set to 3 (i.e., RRMC IE(3)) to indicate a continuation of the exchange, and may request the result of the response time and the first round trip time measurement by having both the Response Time Request and Round Trip Time Request fields set to 1. An ACK for this message may complete the second round-trip time measurement. A subsequent message from the initiator may convey the result of the first round-trip time measurement and the response time of the second round-trip time measurement via the RMI IE. When the responder receives the second MCPS-DATA.indication primitive (containing the RMI IE), it may have sufficient information to calculate the TOF between the devices according to the formula described above. Subsequent reporting of the ranging result to the initiator using the RMI IE may be performed depending on the value of the TOF request field of the initiating RRMC IE.

[0184] Below, the DS-TWR ranging procedure that applies embedded ranging time information is described.

[0185] FIG. 10 illustrates an example of a message sequence chart for DS-TWR to which embedded ranging time information to which the present disclosure may be applied.

[0186] For the 3-message DS-TWR exchange of FIG. 4(c) described above, it is required that the initiator side can embed the response time as part of the completion of the second round trip time measurement. In the example of FIG. 10, the DS-TWR can be initiated by an RFRAME carrying an RRMC IE with the TOF Request field set to 0 (i.e., the initiator side does not request ranging reporting) and the Ranging Control Information field set to 2 (i.e., RRMC IE(2)).

[0187] The responder side may initiate the second measurement using an RFRAME carrying an RRMC IE (i.e., RRMC IE(3)) with the Ranging Control Information field set to 3 to indicate the continuation of the exchange after completing the first round trip timing measurement. In this RRMC IE, both the Response Time Request and Round Trip Time Request fields may be set to 1 to request the result of the first round trip timing measurement and the response time for the second round trip timing measurement. The initiator may complete the exchange by sending a final RFRAME containing the result of the first round trip timing in the RMI IE and the response time for the second round trip timing measurement in the RRTI IE.

[0188] When the responder receives the second MCPS-DATA.indication primitive, it may have sufficient information to calculate the TOF between the devices according to the formula described above. If the initiator of the ranging exchange wants to know the result, the initiator may set the TOF request field of the initiating RRMC IE to a value requesting that the responder send the result in the RMI IE of a subsequent message at the end of the exchange.

[0189] Below, we describe other procedures for adjusting RDEV and ERDEV.

[0190] For successful interoperability of HRP-ERDEV when STS is used, the transmitter and receiver need to be aligned with respect to the seeds (i.e., STS key and data values ​​V) used to generate the STS at the transmitter and to generate the sequence for correlating with the received STS at the receiver. For the coordination of these values, the Secure Private Data Communication capability can be used, and the seeds can be transmitted between devices using the Ranging STS Key and Data (RKSD) IE. The counter values ​​within the RSKD IE can relate to the current packet or future packets, as indicated by the current packet (CP) field of the IE. Upper layers can use the received RSKD IE information (e.g., via PIB attributes such as phyHrpUwbStsKey, phyHrpUwbStsVUpper96, phyHrpUwbStsVCounter) and set the STS seeds appropriately for future packet transmission and reception. The header IE version of the RSKD IE can be used to synchronize the STS generator using information transmitted with the secured payload IE and data.

[0191] When a frame containing an RSKD IE header IE is received, the IE may be passed to the next upper layer to set properties such as phyHrpUwbStsKey, phyHrpUwbStsVUpper96, and phyHrpUwbStsVCounter appropriately for STS generation. If a frame containing an RSKD IE header IE does not pass the encoding security processing, for example, if the receiver does not have a key to validate the message integrity code (MIC), the RSKD IE may be passed to the next upper layer via the HeaderIeList parameter of the MLME-COMM-STATUS.indication primitive.

[0192] Multi-node ranging

[0193] Multi-node ranging can involve ranging between two or more devices. Each device can perform a role in multi-node ranging.

[0194] FIG. 11 is a diagram illustrating the role of a device in a ranging procedure to which the present disclosure can be applied.

[0195] A controller may correspond to an ERDEV that sends a ranging control message (RCM) and defines ranging parameters. The RCM may correspond to a data frame containing an advanced control (ARC) IE. A controlee may correspond to an ERDEV that uses the ranging parameters provided by the controller through the RCM. An initiator corresponds to an ERDEV that sends the first ranging message after the RCM and initiates a ranging exchange, and the initiator may be either the controller or the controlee. A responder corresponds to an ERDEV that responds to a ranging initiation message received from the initiator, and the responder may be either the controller or the controlee.

[0196] The next higher layer of the controller can determine the ranging parameters and the role of the ERDEV participating in the ranging exchange (i.e., initiator or responder).

[0197] For example, in Fig. 11(a), an example is shown in which a controller transmitting a ranging control message (RCM) is an initiator transmitting a ranging initiation message in a ranging exchange, and a controllable receiving the RCM is a responder receiving the ranging initiation message in a ranging exchange and transmitting a ranging response message. In Fig. 11(b), an example is shown in which a controller transmitting an RCM is a responder receiving the ranging initiation message in a ranging exchange and transmitting a ranging response message, and a controllable receiving the RCM is an initiator transmitting a ranging initiation message in a ranging exchange.

[0198] A ranging session can be defined as a group of ERDEVs participating in a continuous ranging procedure established by an initial set of ranging parameters. A ranging session can include only one controller and one or more initiators. The controller can set the initial ranging parameters and update the parameters during the ranging session.

[0199] Figure 12 shows examples of ARC IE, RDM IE, RBU IE, RR IE, and SRRE IE formats to which the present disclosure can be applied.

[0200] Figure 12(a) shows an example of the ARC IE format.

[0201] A controller can use the ARC IE to transmit ranging configuration information to a controlled entity. The ARC IE can be transmitted to a single controller via a unicast frame or to multiple controllers via a broadcast frame.

[0202] The controlee can use the ARC IE to send its preferred ranging parameters to the controller along with the Ranging Change Request (RCR) IE.

[0203] Each field of ARC IE can be defined as follows:

[0204] Meaning of the value of the multi-node mode field 0 Single device to single device (unicast) 1 Multi-node one-to-many 2 Multi-node many-to-many 3 Reserved

[0205] Meaning of the value of the ranging round usage field 0 OWR (one-way ranging) 1 SS-TWR (single-sided two-way ranging) 2 DS-TWR (double-sided two-way ranging) 3 Ranging ancillary information exchange

[0206] The value of the STS packet config field. The resulting STS packet configuration. 0 The STS field is not included in the PPDU (Figure 3(a)). 1 STS packet structure #1 (Figure 3(b)). 2 STS packet structure #2 (Figure 3(c)). 3 STS packet structure #3 (Figure 3(d)).

[0207] The value of the schedule mode field is the selected ranging schedule mode and behavior. 0 Contention-based ranging is used for subsequent ranging rounds, and the RDM IE and RCPS IE are used for controlled participation. 1 Scheduled-based ranging is used for subsequent ranging rounds, and participation and time slot allocation for ranging is fixed or controlled through the use of the RDM IE.

[0208] The contention-based ranging type corresponds to a method in which the controller is unaware of the presence or number of controllees, and thus ERDEVs perform contention-based ranging. Because collisions can occur, filtering of incorrect or erroneous ranging results may be required at higher layers. The initiator or responder may compete to transmit within an appropriate time slot. If the initiator and responder compete, the ranging contention phase structure (RCPS) information element is added to the ARC information element to specify different phases (e.g., distinguished by slot index) in the RCM. Upon receiving the RCM, the controllee is informed that it has been selected to participate in a ranging round. The time-scheduled ranging type corresponds to a method in which the controller is aware of all controllees and specifies a precise schedule for ranging transmissions. The controller can select devices participating in ranging, assign them ranging roles (i.e., initiator or responder), and allocate time slots through the RDM (ranging device management) IE. If the device roles and transmission schedules are pre-specified, such as through OOB signaling, the RDM IE can be omitted.

[0209] Whether deferred mode is allowed in the measurement report. 0RRTI IE is embedded in the response frame so that the round-trip measurement is completed immediately. 1Round-trip time or response time is reported in the measurement reporting phase.

[0210] The value of the time structure indicator field. The selected ranging time structure behavior. 0 The time structure is interval-based, and the RIU IE is used to control ranging interval updates. 1 The time structure is block-based, and the RR IE is used to control ranging interval updates.

[0211] The RCM Validity Rounds field indicates the number of consecutive ranging rounds controlled by the RCM, which can be used to define a set of ranging rounds. The MMRCR (multiple message receipt confirmation request) field can indicate whether multiple message receipt confirmation is requested.

[0212] The content control field can indicate whether other fields are present in the ARC IE. Bits 0, 1, 2, and 3 of the content control field correspond to a field indicating the presence of a ranging block duration (RBD) field (i.e., RBDP), a field indicating the presence of a ranging round duration (RRD) field (i.e., RRDP), a field indicating the presence of a ranging slot duration (RSD) field (i.e., RSDP), and a field indicating the presence of a session ID field (i.e., SIP), respectively. Bits 4-7 of the content control field may be reserved.

[0213] The RBD field can indicate the duration (in RSTU units) of the ranging block.

[0214] The RRD field can indicate the duration of a ranging round (in units of ranging slots, i.e., the number of ranging slots within a ranging round).

[0215] The RSD field can indicate the duration (in RSTU units) of the ranging slot.

[0216] The SID field can indicate a unique identifier for each controller.

[0217] If the ranging block structure is identical to the previously specified duration, one or more of the duration fields (e.g., RBD field, RRD field, RSD field) may not be present in the ACI IE of the current RCM. In this case, other fields (e.g., Schedule Mode field, STS Packet Configuration field, etc.) may be used to update the corresponding ranging parameters.

[0218] Figure 12(b) shows an example of the RDM (ranging device management) IE format.

[0219] The RDM IE can be used by the controller to exchange scheduling information between ERDEVs for a set of ranging rounds specified in the same RCM.

[0220] The SIU (slot index usage) field can indicate whether the slot index of an RDM list element is used. If the value is 0, the RDM IE can be used to assign ranging roles (i.e., initiator or responder) to controllable parties for contention-based ranging. If the value is 1, the RDM IE can be used to allocate time slots and assign ranging roles to controllable parties for scheduling-based ranging.

[0221] The address size field indicates the size of the address used in the RDM list field, with 0 indicating that a short address (16 bits) is used and 1 indicating that an extended address (64 bits) is used.

[0222] The RDM list length field can indicate the number of RDM list elements.

[0223] The ranging role field in the RDM list can indicate the initiator or responder. The ranging slot index field in the RDM list can indicate the slot index assigned to the device with the corresponding address. The address field in the RDM list can indicate the address of each device participating in ranging.

[0224] Figure 12(c) shows an example of the RBU (ranging block update) IE format.

[0225] The RBU IE can be used by the controller to inform the controllable(s) of the updated ranging block structure.

[0226] The relative ranging block index field may indicate the number of remaining ranging blocks according to the current configuration before switching to a new configuration.

[0227] The updated block duration field may indicate the duration (in RSTU units) of the new ranging block.

[0228] The updated ranging round duration field may indicate a ranging round duration value that is an integer multiple of the ranging slot duration within the new ranging block structure.

[0229] The updated ranging slot duration can indicate the duration (in RSTU units) of a ranging slot within the new ranging block structure.

[0230] Figure 12(d) shows an example of the RR (Ranging Round) IE format.

[0231] The ranging block index field can indicate the index of a ranging block.

[0232] The hopping mode field can indicate whether hopping mode is supported for the ranging block.

[0233] The round index field can indicate a ranging round index within a ranging block.

[0234] The transmission offset field may indicate the transmission offset value (in RSTU units) of a ranging round within a block. The transmission offset may have a maximum value equal to the maximum slot duration minus the packet duration.

[0235] For the current ranging round (i.e., the ranging round in the ranging block with block index i), the RR IE may be included in the RCM of the ranging block with block index i. In this case, the RR IE may correspond to information that supports ERDEV synchronization for the block structure.

[0236] For the next ranging round (i.e., the ranging round in the next ranging block with block index i+1), when the last message of the current ranging round (i.e., the ranging block with block index i) is transmitted from the controller to the controlled party(ies), the RR IE may be transmitted within the final message to inform the ranging round information for the ranging block with block index i+1.

[0237] If the last message within the current ranging round (i.e., ranging block with block index i) is transmitted from the controllable, the controllable can transmit a RR IE in the RCM of the next ranging block with block index i+1 to inform the ranging round information for the ranging block with block index i+2.

[0238] In this case, the RCM in the ranging block with block index i+1 may contain two RR IEs. One RR IE may be applied to the ranging round of the ranging block with block index i+1, and the other RR IE may be applied to the ranging round of the ranging block with block index i+2.

[0239] Figure 12(e) shows an example of the SRRR (SP3 ranging request reports) IE format.

[0240] The SRRR IE can be used to request reporting of AOA and / or response time and / or round-trip time measurements from a requestor to a provider.

[0241] Each of the requester address size specifier field and the provider address size specifier field can have values ​​of 00, 01, 10, and 11 as shown in Table 1 above, and can indicate that the address does not exist, or that a short address (16 bits) or an extended address (64 bits) is used.

[0242] The RAOA (report of AOA) field can indicate whether a report on AOA is requested.

[0243] The RRT (report of reply time) field can indicate whether a report on the response time is requested.

[0244] The RRTT (report of round-trip time) field can indicate whether to request a report on the round-trip time.

[0245] The RTOF (report of TOF) field can indicate whether a report on TOF is requested.

[0246] The Requester Address field may be set to the address of the device transmitting the signal for which AOA is being measured or initiating ranging.

[0247] The Provider Address field can be set to the address of the device measuring AOA.

[0248] Ranging block and round structure

[0249] FIG. 13 is a diagram for explaining a ranging block structure and ranging phase to which the present disclosure can be applied.

[0250] In Fig. 13(a), a ranging block is a time interval for performing ranging, and one ranging block can include N ranging rounds.

[0251] A ranging round is a time sufficient for ERDEVs participating in a ranging exchange to complete a ranging measurement cycle, and one ranging round may include M ranging slots.

[0252] A ranging slot may correspond to a time sufficient for transmission of one or more RFRAMEs.

[0253] The slot duration, or the number of slots included in a ranging round, may vary between ranging rounds. To achieve this, the controller can send an RCM to the controlled party(ies) that changes the ranging round settings.

[0254] The RCM (ranging control message) is the first message transmitted by the controller and may be transmitted in the first slot of a ranging round. The RCM may include configuration information for ranging parameters.

[0255] RCUM (ranging control update message) is a message transmitted by the controller in the last slot of the ranging round(s) specified by the RCM to update ranging parameters for the next ranging round(s). The IE(s) included in the RCM for updating ranging parameters may be included in the RCUM.

[0256] A RIUM (ranging interval update message) is a message sent by the controller to update the interval between ranging blocks and to facilitate synchronization between participating ERDEVs. The RCUM contains the scheduled time of the first RIUM, and may contain the scheduled time of the next RIUM (if used) before the start of the next ranging block.

[0257] Figure 13(b) describes the phases in the ranging procedure.

[0258] RCP (ranging control phase) corresponds to the phase in which the controller transmits RCM.

[0259] RP (ranging phase) can include RIP (ranging initiation phase), RRP (ranging response phase), and RFP (ranging final phase).

[0260] RIP corresponds to the phase where the initiator sends ranging initiation message(s) to the responder(s).

[0261] RRP corresponds to the phase in which the responder(s) send response message(s) to the initiator.

[0262] RFP corresponds to the phase in which the initiator sends ranging final message(s) to the responder, and can only be used in DS-TWR.

[0263] MRP (measurement report phase) is the phase in which participating ERDEVs exchange service information related to ranging measurements.

[0264] RCUP (ranging control update phase) corresponds to the phase in which the controller transmits RCUM, and if RCUP exists, the phase can be located in the last slot of the set of ranging rounds specified by RCM.

[0265] RIUP (ranging interval update phase) corresponds to the phase in which the controller transmits RIUM.

[0266] FIG. 14 illustrates examples of timing diagrams for various multi-device ranging to which the present disclosure may be applied.

[0267] Fig. 14(a) is an example of OWR, Fig. 14(b) is an example of SS-TWR, Fig. 14(c) is an example of a combination of RCP and RIP in SS-TWR, Fig. 14(d) is an example of DS-TWR, Fig. 14(e) is an example of many-to-many SS-TWR, and Fig. 14(b) is an example of many-to-many DS-TWR.

[0268] Below we will explain the ranging mode.

[0269] In interval-based mode, the average time of ranging rounds is variable, and a time structure can be applied with adaptive spacing.

[0270] In block-based mode, the average duration of ranging rounds is constant. That is, ranging blocks with the same duration can be repeated in block-based mode.

[0271] Ranging mode selection can be determined based on the OOB mechanism or the time structure indicator field within the ARC IE.

[0272] FIG. 15 shows a time diagram in an example of a block-based mode to which the present disclosure can be applied.

[0273] In block-based mode, the ranging block structure can utilize a structured timeline. The ranging block structure setup can include specifying the ranging block duration (RBD), ranging round duration (RRD), and ranging slot duration (RSD) based on the corresponding fields in the ARC IE.

[0274] The number of ranging rounds is equal to the ranging block duration divided by the ranging round duration.

[0275] The number of ranging slots is equal to the ranging round duration divided by the ranging slot duration.

[0276] An ERDEV receiving an RCM can set up an associated timeline for ranging based on the initial ranging block structure and the values ​​of fields within the ARC IE. The ranging block structure can be set up and / or fixed by the next higher layer.

[0277] The ranging block structure can be repeatedly transmitted by the controller in every RCM (e.g., via the ARC IE). When a change or update of the ranging block structure (i.e., a new ranging block duration, ranging round duration, and / or ranging slot duration) is required, the controller can transmit an RBU IE for the new configuration. The RBU IE can be transmitted via the RCM or the final data frame in the ranging message sequence. Each time an RBU IE is transmitted, the controller can decrement the Relative Ranging Block Index by one until it becomes 0. This can indicate whether the new configuration is to be used in the next block and whether the RCM ARC IE of the next block includes the new configuration.

[0278] Below we will explain indexing.

[0279] For ranging blocks, the block index is given as 0 for the first ranging block, and relative block indices are determined for the remaining blocks using block index 0 as a reference.

[0280] For a ranging round, if one ranging block contains N ranging rounds, the round index is given as 0 for the first ranging round in the current ranging block, and relative round indices (e.g., 1, ..., M-1) are determined for the remaining N-1 rounds using round index 0 as a reference.

[0281] For ranging slots, if one ranging round includes M ranging slots, the slot index is given as 0 for the first ranging slot in the current ranging round, and relative slot indices (e.g., 1, ..., M-1) are determined for the remaining M-1 slots using slot index 0 as a reference.

[0282] A new ranging message exchange can be sent / received as the first RCM in the ranging slot with index 0 of the ranging round with index 0 of the ranging block with index 0. That is, the RCM packet can be sent at the beginning of the first ranging slot of the first ranging round. The RCM can include a RR IE to inform information related to the ranging rounds within the current ranging block.

[0283] FIG. 16 is a diagram illustrating examples of various transmission offsets to which the present disclosure can be applied.

[0284] The RR IE included in the RCM may include transmission offset information as information associated with the ranging round within the current ranging block. In subsequent ranging rounds, the controller may initiate transmission in each slot based on a different transmission offset. The transmission offset may have a value less than the ranging slot duration minus the UWB packet duration. The transmission offset may be expressed as a multiple of the RSTU.

[0285] Transmit offsets can be applied across ranging rounds. That is, the same transmit offset can be applied to all packet transmissions within the same ranging round. The next higher layer of the controller can select the transmit offset and communicate it to all other devices via the RR IE. The controller can also vary the transmit offset for each ranging round based on the power required to reduce interference.

[0286] One-to-many ranging procedure

[0287] FIG. 17 illustrates an example of a message sequence chart for a one-to-many SS-TWR to which the present disclosure may be applied.

[0288] In a ranging procedure for a one-to-many TWR, the ranging exchange is initiated by an initiator sending a RRMC IE, which may be included in a ranging initiation message that is broadcast to multiple responders.

[0289] An RRMC IE with the Ranging Control Information field set to 0 (i.e., RRMC IE(0)) may be sent as an SS-TWR Ranging Initiation message. The Response Time Request field of the RRMC IE may be set to 1 to request a response time from the response ERDEV.

[0290] The RRMC IE transmitted via the MCPS-DATA.indication primitive from each of Responder-1 to Responder-N may signal to the next higher layer that a ranging response should be performed. Each responder may insert the RequestRrtiTxList parameter into the RRTI IE (as a response to the response time request in the RRMC IE) and transmit an RRMC IE with the Ranging Control Information field set to 1 (i.e., RRMC IE(1)) to the initiator. Here, the response RFRAMEs may be transmitted in a unicast manner to the initiator.

[0291] When the initiator receives each ranging response frame, the initiator has enough information to compute the TOF of that responder.

[0292] The final message broadcast by the initiator may include one or more RMI IE(s) for measurement reporting (if requested by the RRMC IE). Multiple RMI IEs may be distinguished by their associated devices by their address fields. For example, Responder-1 may set the TOF Request field in the RRMC IE to 1, and Responder-N may set the Round Trip Time Request field in the RRMC IE to 1. If multiple responders request the same set of information, such as TOF, measurement reporting from the initiator may be performed via a single RMI IE in the final data message.

[0293] FIG. 18 illustrates an example of a message sequence chart for an SP3 one-to-many SS-TWR to which the present disclosure may be applied.

[0294] At the start of a ranging round, the RCM may send ranging configuration information and related IEs. The SRRR IE (I, R_1) may have the RAOA and RRTT fields set to 1 if the Responder-1 requests AOA and round-trip time from the Initiator.

[0295] Multi-node SP3 ranging can be based on scheduling specified by the next higher layer of the controller (i.e. each time slot is assigned to be used by a specific ERDEV).

[0296] The RDM IE within the RCM may contain information for allocating time slots and device roles within a ranging round. The ARC IE specifies the ranging procedure and the SP3 packet format so that the next upper layer of the ERDEV can recognize the start and end of the SP3 ranging phase and issue the MLME-STS primitive to enable / disable SP3 packets before / after the ranging phase.

[0297] An RSKD IE may be included to exchange portions of the STS seed to initiate STS generation between participating ERDEVs in RCM. Based on the scheduling information of the ranging transmission, the STS counter values ​​of the participating ERDEVs may be appropriately set for transmitting and receiving SP3 packets.

[0298] In the SP3 ranging phase, the next higher layer can use MLME-STS.request to select the SP3 packet format, configure the operation on both sides appropriately, and set the phyHrpUwbStsKey, phyHrpUwbStsVUpper96, and phyHrpUwbStsVCounter properties to the correct values. Since the ranging schedule is specified by the RCM preceding the SP3 ranging, the devices already know the participants. Each time slot can be assigned to a specific (E)RDEV.

[0299] In the measurement reporting phase, the initiator may send the AOA and round-trip time to Responder-1 via the RMI IE. Responder-1 to Responder-N may each embed the requested response time in the RMI IE they send to the initiator.

[0300] As another example, in the SP3 ranging phase of a message sequence for an SP3 one-to-many DS-TWR, after the initiator receives an SP3 frame as a ranging response message from each responder, the initiator may transmit an SP3 frame as a ranging complete message to each responder, through which the local value of the initiator's TxRangingCounter may be conveyed to each responder. In the measurement reporting phase, the initiator may transmit an RMI IE including the response time and round trip time to the responders, and in response, each responder may transmit an RMI IE including an AOA to the initiator.

[0301] Improvements to scheduling information related to receiver addresses

[0302] To provide scheduling information in an ultra-wideband (UWB) wireless network system, a scheduling information element (IE) is defined.

[0303] In this regard, the scheduling IE may be intended to address issues with the structural limitations of the ARC IE and RDM IE.

[0304] FIG. 19 illustrates the format of a scheduling information element (IE) to which the present disclosure can be applied.

[0305] Referring to FIG. 19, the existing scheduling IE format (e.g., the scheduling IE content field format) may include a scheduling list length field, a scheduling list type field, an address size field, a receiver address present field, and a variable-size scheduling list field.

[0306] Specifically, the scheduling list length field can indicate the number of elements in the scheduling list field.

[0307] The scheduling list type field can specify how the format of the scheduling list field is structured, and the scheduling list type field can indicate one of the values ​​specified in Table 8.

[0308] Scheduling List Type Field Values ​​Scheduling List Field Types 0 Per-slot Scheduling 1 Consecutive slot scheduling 2 Bitmap-based slot scheduling 3 Periodic scheduling 4 RSF scheduling 5-7 Reserved

[0309] Specifically, when per-slot scheduling is used, each scheduling list element can schedule one slot for a device.

[0310] When sequential slot scheduling is used, each scheduling list element can schedule one slot for a device. Since scheduling list elements do not have a slot index field, slots can be scheduled in sequential order. For example, a slot following a slot in which a control message is transmitted can be scheduled for the device specified in the first scheduling list element. There can be no empty slots between scheduled slots.

[0311] When bitmap-based slot scheduling is used, multiple slots can be scheduled for a device using a single scheduling list element. The bitmap in each scheduling list element can represent the pattern of slots scheduled for a single device.

[0312] When periodic scheduling is used, multiple slots can be scheduled for a device using a single scheduling list element. The pattern of scheduled slots can be expressed by the number of scheduling repetitions and the size of the scheduling step.

[0313] When RSF scheduling is used, multiple slots can be scheduled for a device using a single scheduling list element. In a slot, devices must transmit an RSF according to the scheduling list element, and the composition of the RSF can be determined by the scheduling list element.

[0314] The address size field can specify the size of the sender address field and the receiver address field. For the sender address field and the receiver address field, if the address size is 0 (zero), a short address must be used, and if the address size is 1, an extended address must be used. Here, a short address means a 2-octet-based, i.e., 2-byte-based address, and an extended address can mean an 8-octet-based, i.e., 8-byte-based address.

[0315] The recipient address presence field can be 1 if it means the recipient address field exists, or 0 if it means the recipient address field does not exist.

[0316] The format of the scheduling list field may be determined by the scheduling list type.

[0317] FIG. 20 illustrates the format of a scheduling list element according to the value of the scheduling list type field to which the present disclosure can be applied.

[0318] Referring to FIG. 20, FIG. 20(a) illustrates the format of scheduling list element(s) when the value of the scheduling list type field is 0. The format may include a slot index field and a sender address field.

[0319] Figure 20(b) illustrates the format of scheduling list element(s) when the value of the scheduling list type field is 1. The format may include a sender address.

[0320] Figure 20(c) illustrates the format of scheduling list element(s) when the value of the scheduling list type field is 2. The format may include a scheduling bitmap length field, a bitmap offset presence field, a scheduling bitmap field, a sender address field, a receiver address field, and a bitmap offset field.

[0321] Figure 20(d) illustrates the format of scheduling list element(s) when the value of the scheduling list type field is 3. The format may include a start slot index field, a scheduling step field, a scheduling repetition field, a sender address field, and a receiver address field.

[0322] Figure 20(e) illustrates the format of scheduling list element(s) when the value of the scheduling list type field is 4. The format may include a start slot index field, a scheduling step field, a scheduling repetition field, a sender address field, a receiver address field, a sequence index field, a gap count field, and a sequence repetition field.

[0323] As mentioned above, with respect to the aforementioned scheduling IE, multiple types of scheduling lists can be provided to the devices configuring each slot based on the scheduling list type field.

[0324] In the case of the existing RDM IE, the RDM list element can be composed of a slot index and a (sender) address. On the other hand, in the case of the scheduling IE, a receiver address presence field can be additionally defined to indicate not only the sender address but also the receiver address occupying the corresponding slot, and based on the receiver address, information can be provided indicating which device is the receiver that should wait to receive in the corresponding slot. Through this, unlike the existing RDM IE, when the scheduling IE is used, the device(s) that are not specified by the slot-specific receiver address can enter sleep mode, which can be efficient in terms of power consumption reduction.

[0325] In the case of the aforementioned scheduling IE, the information indicating whether the recipient address is used, i.e., the recipient address presence field, is located in the scheduling IE content field (e.g., the format illustrated in FIG. 19). Each field included in the scheduling IE content field should be considered a lower subfield, i.e., a field commonly used regardless of each scheduling list type. Therefore, whether the recipient address is used can be specified regardless of the scheduling list type indicated through the scheduling IE.

[0326] However, unlike the sender address being used in all scheduling list types, the receiver address is not used for scheduling list types 0 and 1 as shown in FIG. 20. Considering this, there is a requirement that requires an additional restriction that scheduling list types 0 and 1 should not be used when the value of the receiver address presence field in the scheduling IE content field is set to 1. That is, since the existing receiver address presence field in the scheduling IE is not valid for all scheduling list types, improvements are needed with respect to the structure of the scheduling IE format (i.e., the scheduling IE content field format) and the scheduling list element format.

[0327] In order to solve the problems described above, various examples of the present disclosure for improving the scheduling IE format structure are described below.

[0328] FIG. 21 is a drawing for explaining the operation of the first device according to the present disclosure.

[0329] In the example of Fig. 21, the first device may correspond to a controller, and the second device may correspond to a controlee. Additionally, the first device and the second device may correspond to ERDEVs.

[0330] In step S2110, the first device may generate a scheduling information element (scheduling IE) for scheduling for one or more second devices.

[0331] The scheduling IE may include a first field for a scheduling type and a second field for one or more scheduling list elements for the one or more second devices.

[0332] At this time, the scheduling IE and the elements / fields included therein can be configured / defined so that not only the sender address but also the receiver address can be utilized for all scheduling types that can be indicated by the first field.

[0333] Specifically, when the per-slot scheduling type or the consecutive slot scheduling type is indicated by the first field, each scheduling list element may be defined to be capable of including recipient address information according to indication information related to the presence or absence of recipient address information.

[0334] In this regard, the corresponding instruction information may be defined as a third field included in the above scheduling IE.

[0335] Alternatively, the corresponding instruction information may be defined for each scheduling list element for the remaining scheduling types indicated by the first field. Here, the remaining scheduling types may include at least one of a bitmap-based scheduling type, a periodic scheduling type, or a ranging sequence fragment (RSF) scheduling type.

[0336] Additionally, if the corresponding instruction information indicates that recipient address information exists (e.g., set to a value of 1), each scheduling list element may include sender address information and receiver address information. Here, the sender address information and receiver address information may be configured based on a 2-octet short address or an 8-octet extended address, depending on the information about the address size included in the aforementioned scheduling IE.

[0337] In step S2120, the first device can transmit a frame including the aforementioned scheduling IE to one or more second devices.

[0338] In this regard, the frame including the aforementioned scheduling IE may be transmitted in part or all of a ranging control message (RCM) for initial setup of ranging.

[0339] Additionally or alternatively, the aforementioned scheduling IE may further include a length field for a second field for one or more scheduling list elements. In this case, the second field may include scheduling list elements for a number of devices based on the value of the length field.

[0340] The method described in the example of FIG. 21 may be performed by the first device (100) of FIG. 1. For example, one or more processors (102) of the first device (100) of FIG. 1 may be configured to generate a scheduling information element (scheduling IE) for scheduling one or more second devices and transmit a frame including the scheduling IE to the one or more second devices. Furthermore, one or more memories (104) of the first device (100) may store commands for performing the method described in the example of FIG. 21 or the examples described below when executed by one or more processors (102).

[0341] FIG. 22 is a drawing for explaining the operation of a second device according to the present disclosure.

[0342] In step S2210, the second device may receive a frame from the first device including a scheduling information element (scheduling IE) for scheduling for the second device.

[0343] The structure of the scheduling IE, the information / fields included in the scheduling IE, and the specific details of the frame including the scheduling IE are the same as those described in the example of Fig. 21, so redundant descriptions are omitted.

[0344] In step S2220, the second device can obtain the aforementioned scheduling IE based on decoding of the frame.

[0345] For example, the second device may perform a process of converting a signal into binary bits through a demodulation and decoding process for a frame / PPDU received from the first device. For the frame / PPDU converted into binary bits, the second device may perform a process of transmitting it to the MAC layer and extracting the PSDU, thereby obtaining information on the corresponding scheduling IE.

[0346] The method described in the example of FIG. 22 may be performed by the second device (200) of FIG. 1. For example, one or more processors (202) of the second device (200) of FIG. 1 may be configured to receive a frame including a scheduling information element (scheduling IE) for scheduling the second device from the first device, and to obtain the scheduling IE based on decoding of the frame. Furthermore, one or more memories (204) of the second device (200) may store commands for performing the method described in the example of FIG. 22 or the examples described below when executed by one or more processors (202).

[0347] The examples of FIGS. 21 and 22 may correspond to some of the various examples of the present disclosure. Below, various examples of the present disclosure, including the examples of FIGS. 21 and 22, are described in more detail.

[0348] In the embodiments described below, the scheduling IE is used as a representative example to explain improved scheduling information, but the embodiments described below can be equally applied even when some or all of the various pieces of information described in the present disclosure are included in an IE of a name other than the scheduling IE.

[0349] Example 1

[0350] This embodiment relates to a method for adding recipient address information for all scheduling list types corresponding to a recipient address.

[0351] Specifically, for scheduling list types 0 and 1, for which a recipient address field is not previously defined among scheduling list types, a recipient address field may be additionally defined.

[0352] In this case, the structure of the scheduling IE format (e.g., the scheduling IE content field format illustrated in FIG. 19) remains the same as before, but the format of the scheduling list element when the scheduling list type is set / indicated to 0 or 1 needs to be newly defined.

[0353] FIG. 23 illustrates the format of a scheduling list element corresponding to a specific scheduling list type according to an embodiment of the present disclosure.

[0354] Figure 23(a) illustrates the format of a scheduling list element when the scheduling list type is set / indicated to 0. Specifically, compared to the existing case (e.g., Figure 20(a)), a recipient address field may be additionally defined.

[0355] Fig. 23(b) illustrates the format of a scheduling list element when the scheduling list type is set / indicated to 1. Specifically, compared to the existing case (e.g., Fig. 20(b)), a recipient address field can be additionally defined.

[0356] In this regard, the location of the additionally defined field illustrated in Fig. 23 is an example, and it is not excluded that the field may be placed / included in a different location within each format.

[0357] This allows the recipient address field to be defined / utilized for all scheduling list types that can be instructed via the scheduling IE format.

[0358] Example 2

[0359] This embodiment is about a method of defining a recipient address presence field for each scheduling list element for all scheduling list types.

[0360] Specifically, the recipient address presence field defined in the existing scheduling IE format (e.g., the scheduling IE content field format illustrated in FIG. 19) may be excluded. In this case, a recipient address presence field and / or a recipient address field may be additionally defined for each scheduling list type.

[0361] FIG. 24 illustrates the format of a scheduling IE and the format of a scheduling list element according to an embodiment of the present disclosure.

[0362] Fig. 24(a) illustrates a scheduling IE format according to the present embodiment. Specifically, compared to the existing case (e.g., Fig. 19), the recipient address presence field may be excluded.

[0363] Figure 24(b) illustrates the format of a scheduling list element when the scheduling list type is set / indicated to 0. Specifically, compared to the existing case (e.g., Figure 20(a)), a 1-bit receiver address presence field and a receiver address field can be additionally defined.

[0364] Fig. 24(c) illustrates the format of a scheduling list element when the scheduling list type is set / indicated to 1. Specifically, compared to the existing case (e.g., Fig. 20(b)), a 1-bit receiver address presence field and a receiver address field can be additionally defined.

[0365] Fig. 24(d) illustrates the format of a scheduling list element when the scheduling list type is set / indicated to 2. Specifically, compared to the existing case (e.g., Fig. 20(c)), a 1-bit receiver address presence field can be additionally defined.

[0366] Fig. 24(e) illustrates the format of a scheduling list element when the scheduling list type is set / indicated to 3. Specifically, compared to the existing case (e.g., Fig. 20(d)), a 1-bit recipient address presence field can be additionally defined.

[0367] Fig. 24(f) illustrates the format of a scheduling list element when the scheduling list type is set / indicated to 4. Specifically, compared to the existing case (e.g., Fig. 20(e)), a 1-bit recipient address presence field can be additionally defined.

[0368] In this regard, the location of the additionally defined field illustrated in Fig. 24 is an example, and it is not excluded that the field may be placed / included in a different location within each format.

[0369] Example 3

[0370] This embodiment is about a method of defining a recipient address presence field only for scheduling list types other than scheduling list types 0 and 1.

[0371] Specifically, the recipient address presence field defined in the existing scheduling IE format (e.g., the scheduling IE content field format illustrated in FIG. 19) may be excluded. In this case, the recipient address presence field may be additionally defined only for scheduling list types that already support / include the recipient address field.

[0372] FIG. 25 illustrates the format of a scheduling IE and the format of a scheduling list element according to an embodiment of the present disclosure.

[0373] Fig. 25(a) illustrates a scheduling IE format according to the present embodiment. Specifically, compared to the existing case (e.g., Fig. 19), the recipient address presence field may be excluded.

[0374] Fig. 25(b) illustrates the format of a scheduling list element when the scheduling list type is set / indicated to 2. Specifically, compared to the existing case (e.g., Fig. 20(c)), a 1-bit recipient address presence field can be additionally defined.

[0375] Fig. 25(c) illustrates the format of a scheduling list element when the scheduling list type is set / indicated to 3. Specifically, compared to the existing case (e.g., Fig. 20(d)), a 1-bit recipient address presence field can be additionally defined.

[0376] Fig. 25(d) illustrates the format of a scheduling list element when the scheduling list type is set / indicated to 4. Specifically, compared to the existing case (e.g., Fig. 20(e)), a 1-bit receiver address presence field can be additionally defined.

[0377] In this regard, the location of the additionally defined field illustrated in Fig. 25 is an example, and it is not excluded that the field may be placed / included in a different location within each format.

[0378] Hereinafter, in relation to the embodiments of the present disclosure described above, a process of performing ranging initial setup through a ranging control message (RCM) including an application control (AC) IE and a scheduling IE will be described.

[0379] FIG. 26 illustrates a message sequence of an RCM including a scheduling IE according to an embodiment of the present disclosure.

[0380] Referring to FIG. 26, in relation to the initial setting of ranging, an RCM including an AC IE and / or an RDM IE, which are improvements on the ARC IE and RDM IE, may be used. In relation to the procedure in FIG. 26, it is assumed that there are 16 slots allocated by the RCM, there are 5 controlees controlled by the controller, and a case in which a receiver address is indicated is described.

[0381] At this time, the controller can transmit an RCM including a scheduling IE of the example described below to the Nth controlee (Controlee N) (where N is a value between 1 and 5).

[0382] For example, based on Embodiment 1 of the present disclosure, with respect to the scheduling IE included in the RCM, the scheduling IE content field format and the scheduling list element format according to the scheduling list type may be as shown in FIG. 27.

[0383] FIG. 27 illustrates an example of a scheduling IE content field format and a scheduling list element format according to an embodiment of the present disclosure.

[0384] Referring to FIG. 27, for scheduling list type 0 or 1, if the recipient address presence field is set / indicated to 1, a recipient address field may be added to the scheduling list element format.

[0385] Fig. 27(a) illustrates the scheduling IE content field format in that case, and Figs. 27(b) and 27(c) illustrate the scheduling list element format corresponding to scheduling list type 0 or 1 for the Nth controlee (Controlee N), respectively. Specifically, referring to Figs. 27(b) and 27(c), the recipient address for the Nth controlee may be included in the scheduling list element.

[0386] For another example, based on Embodiment 2 of the present disclosure, with respect to the scheduling IE included in the RCM, the scheduling IE content field format and the scheduling list element format according to the scheduling list type may be as shown in FIG. 28.

[0387] FIG. 28 illustrates another example of a scheduling IE content field format and a scheduling list element format according to an embodiment of the present disclosure.

[0388] Referring to FIG. 28, for all scheduling list types, a recipient address field may be added to the scheduling list element format if the recipient address presence field is set / indicated to 1 for each scheduling list element.

[0389] Figure 28(a) illustrates the scheduling IE content field format in this case. Specifically, the recipient address presence field may be excluded from the scheduling IE content field format.

[0390] Figures 28(b) to 28(f) illustrate scheduling list element formats according to scheduling list types for the Nth controlee (Controlee N), respectively. Specifically, referring to Figures 28(b) to 28(f), for all scheduling list types, if the 1-bit receiver address presence field is set to 1, the receiver address for the Nth controlee can be included in the scheduling list element.

[0391] For another example, based on Embodiment 3 of the present disclosure, with respect to the scheduling IE included in the RCM, the scheduling IE content field format and the scheduling list element format according to the scheduling list type may be as shown in FIG. 29.

[0392] FIG. 29 illustrates another example of a scheduling IE content field format and a scheduling list element format according to an embodiment of the present disclosure.

[0393] Referring to FIG. 29, for scheduling list types other than scheduling list types 0 and 1, if the recipient address presence field is set / indicated to 1 for each scheduling list element, a recipient address field may be added to the scheduling list element format.

[0394] Figure 29(a) illustrates the scheduling IE content field format in the corresponding case. Specifically, the recipient address presence field may be excluded from the scheduling IE content field format.

[0395] Figures 29(b) to 29(d) illustrate scheduling list element formats according to scheduling list types for the Nth controlee (Controlee N), respectively. Specifically, referring to Figures 29(b) to 29(d), for scheduling list types 2, 3, and 4, a 1-bit receiver address presence field may be included in the scheduling list element format. In this case, when the 1-bit receiver address presence field is set to 1, the receiver address for the Nth controlee may be included in the corresponding scheduling list element.

[0396] Unlike the scheduling IE structure in existing UWB wireless network systems, the scheduling IE structure according to the examples of the present disclosure has the technical advantage of utilizing receiver address information in scheduling list elements for all instructable scheduling list types. This enables the controllable device to support power saving (e.g., entering sleep mode in slots to which it is not assigned) for all scheduling list types.

[0397] The embodiments described above are combinations of components and features of the present disclosure in a predetermined form. Each component or feature should be considered optional unless explicitly stated otherwise. Each component or feature may be implemented without being combined with other components or features. Furthermore, it is also possible to form embodiments of the present disclosure by combining some components and / or features. The order of operations described in the embodiments of the present disclosure may be changed. Some components or features of one embodiment may be included in another embodiment or may be replaced with corresponding components or features of another embodiment. It is self-evident that claims that do not have an explicit citation relationship in the patent claims may be combined to form embodiments or incorporated as new claims through post-application amendments.

[0398] It will be apparent to those skilled in the art that the present disclosure may be embodied in other specific forms without departing from the essential characteristics thereof. Therefore, the above detailed description should not be construed as limiting in any respect, but rather as illustrative. The scope of the present disclosure should be determined by a reasonable interpretation of the appended claims, and all modifications within the scope of equivalents of the present disclosure are intended to be included within the scope of the present disclosure.

[0399] The scope of the present disclosure includes software or machine-executable instructions (e.g., an operating system, an application, firmware, a program, etc.) that cause operations according to the methods of various embodiments to be executed on a device or a computer, and a non-transitory computer-readable medium having such software or instructions stored thereon and executable on the device or computer. Instructions that can be used to program a processing system to perform the features described in the present disclosure can be stored on / in a storage medium or a computer-readable storage medium, and a computer program product including such a storage medium can be used to implement the features described in the present disclosure. The storage medium can include, but is not limited to, high-speed random access memory, such as DRAM, SRAM, DDR RAM, or other random access solid state memory devices, and can include non-volatile memory, such as one or more magnetic disk storage devices, optical disk storage devices, flash memory devices, or other non-volatile solid state storage devices. The memory optionally includes one or more storage devices remotely located from the processor(s). The memory or, alternatively, the non-volatile memory device(s) within the memory comprise a non-transitory computer-readable storage medium. The features described in this disclosure may be incorporated into software and / or firmware stored on any of the machine-readable media, which may control the hardware of the processing system and allow the processing system to interact with other mechanisms that utilize results according to embodiments of the present disclosure. Such software or firmware may include, but is not limited to, application code, device drivers, operating systems, and execution environments / containers.

[0400] The method proposed in this disclosure has been described with a focus on examples applied to IEEE 802.15.4-based systems, but can be applied to various UWB wireless networks or wireless communication systems in addition to IEEE 802.15.4-based systems.

Claims

1. A method performed by a first device in an ultra-wideband (UWB) wireless network system, the method comprising: A step of generating, by the first device, a scheduling information element (scheduling IE) for scheduling for one or more second devices; A step of transmitting a frame including the scheduling IE to the one or more second devices, The above scheduling IE includes a first field for a scheduling type, a second field for one or more scheduling list elements for the one or more second devices, A method in which each scheduling list element is defined to be capable of including recipient address information according to indication information related to the presence or absence of recipient address information, based on whether the per-slot scheduling type or the consecutive slot scheduling type is indicated by the first field.

2. In paragraph 1, A method wherein the above instruction information is defined as a third field included in the above scheduling IE.

3. In paragraph 1, A method in which the above instruction information is defined as a field included in each scheduling list element.

4. In paragraph 3, A method wherein the above instruction information is defined for each scheduling list element for the remaining scheduling types indicated by the first field.

5. In paragraph 4, A method wherein the remaining scheduling types include at least one of a bitmap-based scheduling type, a periodic scheduling type, or a ranging sequence fragment (RSF) scheduling type.

6. In paragraph 1, Based on the above instruction information indicating that recipient address information exists, each scheduling list element includes sender address information and recipient address information, A method in which the sender address information and the receiver address information are configured based on a 2-octet short address or an 8-octet extended address, depending on information about the address size included in the scheduling IE.

7. In paragraph 1, A method wherein the frame including the scheduling IE is transmitted in part or all of a ranging control message (RCM) for initial setup of ranging.

8. In paragraph 1, A method wherein the above scheduling IE further comprises a length field for the second field.

9. In paragraph 8, A method wherein the second field comprises scheduling list elements for a number of devices based on the value of the length field.

10. In paragraph 1, The above first device corresponds to a controller, A method wherein said one or more second devices correspond to a controlee.

11. In paragraph 1, A method wherein the first device and the one or more second devices are enhanced ranging-capable devices (ERDEVs).

12. In a first device device in an ultra-wideband (UWB) wireless network system, the device: one or more transmitters and receivers; and comprising one or more processors connected to said one or more transceivers, One or more of the above processors: Generating, by the first device, a scheduling information element (scheduling IE) for scheduling for one or more second devices; A frame including the above scheduling IE is set to be transmitted to the one or more second devices, The above scheduling IE includes a first field for a scheduling type, a second field for one or more scheduling list elements for the one or more second devices, A device, wherein each scheduling list element is defined to be capable of including recipient address information according to indication information related to the presence or absence of recipient address information, based on whether the per-slot scheduling type or the consecutive slot scheduling type is indicated by the first field.

13. A method performed by a second device in an ultra-wideband (UWB) wireless network system, the method comprising: A step of receiving a frame including a scheduling information element (scheduling IE) for scheduling for the second device from the first device; A step of obtaining the scheduling IE based on decoding of the above frame, The above scheduling IE includes a first field for a scheduling type, a second field for one or more scheduling list elements for the one or more second devices, A method in which each scheduling list element is defined to be capable of including recipient address information according to indication information related to the presence or absence of recipient address information, based on whether the per-slot scheduling type or the consecutive slot scheduling type is indicated by the first field.

14. In a second device device in an ultra-wideband (UWB) wireless network system, the device: one or more transmitters and receivers; and comprising one or more processors connected to said one or more transceivers, One or more of the above processors: Receiving a frame from a first device including a scheduling information element (scheduling IE) for scheduling for the second device; Set to obtain the scheduling IE based on decoding of the above frame, The above scheduling IE includes a first field for a scheduling type, a second field for one or more scheduling list elements for the one or more second devices, A device, wherein each scheduling list element is defined to be capable of including recipient address information according to indication information related to the presence or absence of recipient address information, based on whether the per-slot scheduling type or the consecutive slot scheduling type is indicated by the first field.

15. A processing device configured to control a device in an ultra-wideband (UWB) wireless network system, wherein the processing device: one or more processors; and A processing device comprising one or more computer memories operatively connected to said one or more processors and storing instructions that, when executed by said one or more processors, perform a method according to any one of claims 1 to 11.

16. One or more non-transitory computer-readable media storing one or more instructions, A computer-readable medium, wherein said one or more commands are executed by one or more processors to control a device in an ultra-wideband (UWB) wireless network system to perform a method according to any one of claims 1 to 11.

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