Wireless Distance Measurement Combining Phase and Time-of-Flight

The patent combines time-of-flight measurements and phase-based measurements into a single integrated system. The time-of-flight component provides accurate distance measurements while the phase-based component provides continuous, low-power updates. This merging allows the system to achieve high measurement precision without requiring multiple separate measurement campaigns on multiple frequencies, thereby reducing overall power consumption while maintaining accuracy.

The system performs an initial time-of-flight measurement to establish an accurate distance baseline. Subsequently, it uses continuous phase-based measurements to track distance changes with high precision but lower resource consumption. This preliminary action approach allows the system to achieve maximum measurement precision without repeatedly performing full multi-frequency measurement sequences, thereby reducing the time required while maintaining accuracy.

The patent segments the distance measurement process into two distinct phases: an initial time-of-flight measurement phase for accurate baseline establishment, and a subsequent phase-based tracking phase for continuous low-power monitoring. This segmentation simplifies the overall device complexity by allowing each phase to use optimized, simpler protocols appropriate to its specific measurement needs, rather than requiring the full complex multi-frequency protocol to be executed continuously.