Patent Description:
The Internet is evolving from a human-centered connection network through which humans create and consume information to an Internet of Things (IoT) network through which distributed elements such as objects exchange and process information. Internet of Everything (IoE) technology, which is a combination of IoT technology and big data processing technology through connection with a cloud server, is also emerging. In order to implement the IoT, technology elements such as sensing technology, wired/wireless communication and network infrastructure, service interface technology, and security technology are required. Technology for inter-object connection, such as a sensor network, machine to machine (M2M) communication, or machine-type communication (MTC), has recently been studied.

In an IoT environment, intelligent Internet technology (IT) services that collect and analyze data generated by connected objects and create new value in human life may be provided. The IoT may be applied to fields such as smart homes, smart buildings, smart cities, smart cars or connected cars, smart grids, health care, smart home appliances, and advanced medical services through convergence and integration of existing information technology (IT) and various industries.

As various services may be provided with the development of wireless communication systems, there is a demand for a method of effectively providing such services. For example, ranging technology for measuring a distance between electronic devices by using an ultra-wideband (UWB) may be used for medium access control (MAC). The UWB refers to radio communication technology that uses a very wide frequency band of several GHz or more in a base band without using a radio carrier. "IEEE <NUM>. 4z MAC",IEEE DRAFT; <NUM>-<NUM>-<NUM>-<NUM>-004Z-IEEE-<NUM>-<NUM>-4Z-MAC, IEEE-SA MENTOR, PISCATAWAY, NJ USA, discloses several message exchange sequences for DS-TWR (double sided- two way ranging) according to the standard <NUM>.

<CIT> discloses a method for UWB tag self-location for a system including a UWB tag module and at least three UWB base station modules, comprising sending start information including a ranging timestamp to each UWB base station module from the tag module; each UWB base station sending a response message containing the ranging timestamp to the tag after a first delay; and after a second time delay, the tag broadcasts to all base stations a message including the ranging time of all base stations.

There is a need for a method of efficiently transmitting a message for determining a distance between electronic devices by using ranging technology.

Provided is a method of efficiently transmitting a message for determining a distance between electronic devices when ranging is performed.

According to an embodiment of the disclosure, an operating method of a first target device for transmitting/receiving data through an ultra-wideband (UWB) in a wireless communication system is provided, as defined by the independent claims. Preferred embodiments are listed in the dependent claims.

A method of efficiently transmitting a message for determining a distance between electronic devices when ranging is performed is required.

Hereinafter, embodiments of the disclosure will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings so that the embodiments of the disclosure may be easily implemented by those of ordinary skill in the art. However, the disclosure may be embodied in many different forms and is not limited to the embodiments of the disclosure set forth herein. For clarity, parts not related to explaining the disclosure are omitted in the drawings and like components are denoted by like reference numerals throughout the specification.

In the disclosure, general terms that have been widely used nowadays are selected, in consideration of functions of the disclosure but various other terms may be selected according to the intentions of technicians in the art, precedents, new technologies, etc. Accordingly, the terms used herein should be defined not based on the names thereof but based on the meanings thereof and the whole context of the disclosure.

Terms such as first and second may be used to describe various components but the components should not be limited by the terms. These terms are only used to distinguish one component from another.

Also, the terms used herein are for the purpose of describing certain embodiments of the disclosure only and are not intended to be limiting of the disclosure. As used herein, the singular expressions are intended to include plural forms as well, unless the context clearly dictates otherwise. Also, throughout the specification, when an element is referred to as being "connected" to another element, it will be understood to include that the element is "directly connected" to the other element or is "electrically connected" to the other element with another element therebetween. Also, it will be understood that when an element is referred to as "including" another element, the element may further include other elements unless mentioned otherwise.

As used herein, "the" and similar referents may be used to indicate both singular and plural forms. Also, when there is no description explicitly specifying an order of operations of a method according to the disclosure, the operations may be performed in an appropriate order. The disclosure is not limited to the order of the operations described.

The expression "in an embodiment" and the like appearing in various parts of the specification are not intended to refer to the same embodiment.

An embodiment of the disclosure may be represented by functional block configurations and various operations. Some or all of the functional blocks may be implemented by various numbers of hardware and/or software configurations for performing certain functions. For example, the functional blocks of the disclosure may be implemented by one or more microprocessors or by circuit configurations for a certain function. Also, for example, the functional blocks of the disclosure may be implemented in various programming or scripting languages. The functional blocks may be implemented in an algorithm executed by one or more processors. Also, in the disclosure, the prior art may be employed for electronic configuration, signal processing, and/or data processing.

Also, lines or members connecting elements illustrated in the drawings are merely illustrative of functional connections and/or physical or circuit connections. In an actual device, the connections between components may be represented by various functional connections, physical connections, or circuit connections that are replaceable or added.

In general, wireless sensor network technology is largely classified into wireless local area network (WLAN) and wireless personal area network (WPAN) according to a distance identified. In this case, WLAN is IEEE <NUM>-based technology for connection to a backbone network within a radius of <NUM>. WPAN is IEEE <NUM>-based technology, and examples of WPAN include Bluetooth, ZigBee, ultra-wideband (UWB), and the like. A wireless network in which such wireless network technology is implemented may be composed of a plurality of communication electronic devices. In this case, the plurality of communication electronic devices perform communication in an active period by using a single channel. That is, the plurality of communication electronic devices may collect and transmit packets in the active period.

UWB may refer to short-range high-speed radio communication technology using a wide frequency band of several GHz or more, a low spectral density, and a short pulse width (<NUM> to <NUM> nsec) in a baseband state. UWB may be understood as a band to which UWB communication is applied. A ranging method performed between electronic devices will now be described based on a UWB communication method, but the UWB communication method is merely an example and various radio communication technologies may be used in practice.

Devices (electronic devices and target devices) according to embodiments of the disclosure may include a fixed terminal embodied as a computer device or a mobile terminal, and may communicate with other devices and/or servers by using a wireless or wired communication method. For example, the electronic devices and the target devices may include, but are not limited to, a smartphone, a mobile terminal, a laptop computer, a digital broadcasting terminal, a personal digital assistant (PDA), a portable multimedia player (PMP), a navigation device, a slate PC, a tablet PC, a digital TV, a desktop computer, a refrigerator, a projector, a car, a smart car, a printer, and the like.

<FIG> is a diagram for describing a general device-to-device (D2D) communication procedure.

D2D communication refers to a way in which geographically adjacent electronic devices communicate directly with each other without via an infrastructure such as a base station. As shown in <FIG>, electronic devices may communicate in a one-to-one manner, a one-to-many manner, or a many-to-many manner. In D2D communication, unlicensed frequency bands such as Wi-Fi Direct and Bluetooth may be used. Alternatively, in D2D communication, licensed frequency bands may be used to improve frequency utilization efficiency of cellular systems. Although D2D communication is restrictively used to refer to M2M communication or machine intelligent communication, in the disclosure, D2D communication is intended to refer to not only communication between electronic devices having a communication function but also communication between various types of electronic devices having a communication function, such as smartphones or personal computers.

<FIG> is a diagram illustrating a communication process among a plurality of electronic devices.

An electronic device <NUM> and a target device <NUM> may perform communication through a device discovery process S210, a link generation process S220, and a data communication process S230.

In the device discovery process S210, each of the electronic device <NUM> and the target device <NUM> may search for other electronic devices capable of performing D2D communication among neighboring electronic devices. Thus, each of the electronic device <NUM> and the target device <NUM> may determine whether to create a link for D2D communication. For example, the electronic device <NUM> may transmit a discovery signal to the target device <NUM> so that the target device <NUM> may search for the electronic device <NUM>. In addition, the electronic device <NUM> may receive a discovery signal transmitted from the target device <NUM> to identify that that other electronic devices capable of performing D2D communication are within a D2D communication range.

In the link generation process S220, each of the electronic device <NUM> and the target device <NUM> may create a link for data transmission with an electronic device, which is to transmit data, among the electronic devices searched for in the device discovery process S210. For example, the electronic device <NUM> may create a link for data transmission with the target device <NUM> searched for in the device discovery process S210.

In the data communication process S230, each of the electronic device <NUM> and the target device <NUM> may transmit data to and receive data from the devices for which the link for data transmission is created in the link generation process S220. For example, the electronic device <NUM> may transmit data to and receive data from the target device <NUM> through the link created in the link generation process S220.

Various embodiments of the disclosure relate to medium access control (MAC) based on D2D communication described above, and it is necessary to measure a distance between electronic devices for MAC. In this case, UWB ranging technology may be used to measure a distance between electronic devices. For example, when a digital key stored in a smartphone is used to open or close the door of a vehicle, the vehicle may measure a distance between the smartphone and the vehicle by using a number of UWB communication modules (e.g., six UWB communication modules) and estimate a location of the smartphone based on a result of the measurement. The vehicle and the smartphone are capable of using multicast ranging or broadcast ranging.

An electronic device and a target device according to an embodiment of the disclosure may perform ranging by using a ranging control frame. Two types of devices related to ranging control may be referred to as a "controller" and a "controllee".

First, the controller may be defined as a device that defines and controls ranging parameters by transmitting a ranging control frame together with a ranging control information element (IE). The ranging control frame is used to set the ranging parameters.

The controllee may be defined as a device that uses the ranging parameters received from the controller. At least one controllee may be managed by the controller. A method of determining a role of a device (e.g., a role of a controller or a role of a controllee) and selecting ranging parameters may be implemented in various ways.

Two types of devices for ranging control may be referred to as an "initiator" and a "responder". The initiator refers to a device that starts ranging by sending a poll. The responder refers to a device that responds to the poll received from the initiator.

The controller according to an embodiment of the disclosure is capable of determining devices to participate in ranging and device types by using a ranging initiator/responder list (IRL) IE or a ranging scheduling (RS) IE. The IRL IE and the RS IE may be transmitted in a ranging control frame. In the case of scheduling-based ranging, the RS IE may be configured by the controller to manage resources and indicate roles of devices (i.e., a role of an initiator or a responder). The IRL IE may be used to determine roles of devices when the RS IE is not used in the case of contention-based ranging.

A schedule mode field of a ranging control IE indicates whether a ranging frame is transmitted using contention or a schedule. Devices that are not specified by such IEs may not participate in ranging. When transmission of a poll frame by a device is required, a device type of the device may be determined as an initiator, whereas a device responding to the poll frame may be determined as a responder.

In the case of contention-based multicast/broadcast ranging, the controller may be the only initiator in ranging and prevent the IRL IE from being added to the ranging control frame when a responder is designated in a destination address field included in a MAC header of the ranging control frame.

Because the ranging control frame includes the IRL IE or the RS IE, the controllee may identify whether a poll is to be transmitted by receiving the ranging control frame. When a device type of the controllee is designated as an initiator in the IRL IE or the RS IE, the controllee may transmit a poll frame. Both the controller and control may serve as initiators or responders.

The electronic device <NUM> according to an embodiment of the disclosure may refer to an initiator, and the target device <NUM> may refer to a responder.

<FIG> illustrates single-sided two-way ranging (SS-TWR) using a ranging control frame according to an embodiment of the disclosure. SS-TWR is one of various ranging methods introduced in the disclosure.

When a controller <NUM> is set to transmit a poll frame as shown in a flowchart <NUM> of <FIG>, the controller <NUM> may serve as an initiator and may transmit the poll frame. On the other hand, when a controllee <NUM> is set to transmit a poll frame as shown in a flowchart <NUM> of <FIG>, the controllee <NUM> may serve as an initiator and may transmit the poll frame.

Also, a ranging control frame may include a ranging acknowledgment IE indicating a ranging response type. A plurality of controllees may be used for multicast/broadcast/M2M ranging.

Ranging blocks each represent a virtual time frame for ranging. The ranging blocks each include several ranging rounds. Each of the ranging rounds indicates completion of all ranging events between ranging devices of a UWB network. Each of the ranging rounds includes several ranging slots. The ranging slots represent virtual time units for transmission of a ranging frame. The ranging blocks, the ranging rounds, and the ranging slots are based on virtual times and thus do not require time-based synchronization.

<FIG> illustrates a ranging block structure.

As shown in <FIG>, a ranging block <NUM> may include N ranging rounds <NUM>, <NUM>, <NUM>, <NUM>,. , and <NUM>. The ranging round <NUM> may include M ranging slots <NUM>, <NUM>, <NUM>,. , and <NUM>.

A time unit (TU) is defined as a minimum MAC time step in PHY units. A ranging slot length may be defined as an integer number of TUs. A ranging slot length may be adjusted by a multiplier of a TU. A TU is fixed to <NUM> that is an integer multiple of a reciprocal of a chipping rate of <NUM>. A ranging round is defined as an integer number of ranging slots. A ranging round length may be adjusted by a multiplier of a ranging slot. A ranging block length is defined as an integer multiple of MinimumBlockLength. A ranging block length may be adjusted by a multiplier of Minimumblocklength. MinimumBlockLength is defined as an integer number of TUs.

<FIG> is a diagram for describing a block-based mode.

In a block-based mode, a ranging block structure using a timeline, which is set at certain intervals of time, is used.

In the block-based mode, a ranging block structure may be determined based on a ranging block length field, a ranging round duration field, and a ranging slot length field which are included in information about ranging control.

Equation <NUM> is an equation for calculating a time duration from a ranging round with an index '<NUM>' of a ranging block with an index '<NUM>' to a ranging round with an index '<NUM>' of a ranging block with an index '<NUM>' in a kth session.

Equation <NUM> is an equation for deriving the number of ranging rounds included in a ranging block.

Equation <NUM> is an equation for deriving the number of ranging slots included in a ranging round.

When a device receives a ranging control message (RCM), the device may set a structure of a ranging block and a related timeline for ranging by using field values included in a ranging control information element. In another embodiment of the disclosure, the ranging block structure may be set by a next higher layer.

A controller may repeatedly transmit the ranging block structure in all ranging control messages. When the ranging block structure needs to be changed or updated, the controller may transmit a ranging block update IE (RBU IE) including fields related to updating of a ranging block.

Configurations of ranging blocks will be described with reference to <FIG> and <FIG> below. Indexes of the ranging blocks may be set to increase sequentially, based on a first ranging block. For example, a block index of the first ranging block may be <NUM>, and block indexes of the ranging blocks may be set to increase by one.

Furthermore, indexes of ranging rounds in each of the ranging blocks may be set to increase sequentially, based on a first ranging round in the ranging block. For example, when M ranging rounds are included in a ranging block, a ranging round index of a first ranging round of the ranging block may be <NUM> and a ranging round index of a last ranging round of the ranging block may be M-<NUM>.

Referring to <FIG> and <FIG>, indexes of ranging slots in each ranging round may be set to increase sequentially, based on a first ranging slot in each ranging round. For example, a ranging round index of the first ranging round may be <NUM>. For example, when K ranging slots are included in a ranging round, a ranging slot index of a first ranging slot of the ranging round may be <NUM> and a ranging slot index of a last ranging slot of the ranging round may be K-<NUM>.

In this case, for example, the controller may transmit a first ranging control message in the first ranging slot (ranging slot index '<NUM>') of the first ranging round (ranging round index '<NUM>') included in the first ranging block (ranging block index '<NUM>').

In order to perform a range message exchange in the first ranging round, the controller may transmit a ranging control message packet in the first ranging slot.

<FIG> is a diagram for describing a double-sided two-way ranging (DS-TWR) operation of electronic devices.

RMARKER illustrated in <FIG> may refer to data in a frame for determining a reference time. An electronic device may measure a time interval by using the RMARKER.

The electronic device <NUM> may measure a time between <NUM>-<NUM>th RMARKER <NUM> included in a frame transmitted (TX) to the target device <NUM> and <NUM>-<NUM>th RMARKER <NUM> included in a frame received (RX) from the target device <NUM> as Tround1.

According to an embodiment of the disclosure, Tround1 may denote a round-trip time. For example, the frame including the <NUM>-<NUM>th RMARKER <NUM> may refer to a frame included in a ranging initiation message. Also, the frame including the <NUM>-<NUM>th RMARKER <NUM> may refer to a frame included in a ranging response message.

The target device <NUM> may measure a time between <NUM>-<NUM>th RMARKER <NUM> included in a frame received (RX) from the electronic device <NUM> and <NUM>-<NUM>th RMARKER <NUM> included in a frame transmitted (TX) to the electronic device <NUM> as Treply1.

The electronic device <NUM> may measure a time between the <NUM>-<NUM>th RMARKER <NUM> included in the frame received (RX) from the target device <NUM> and <NUM>-<NUM>th RMARKER <NUM> included in a frame transmitted (TX) to the target device <NUM> as Treply2.

According to an embodiment of the disclosure, Treply2 may denote a reply time. For example, the frame including the <NUM>-<NUM>th RMARKER <NUM> may refer to a frame included in a ranging final message.

The target device <NUM> may measure a time between the <NUM>-<NUM>th RMARKER <NUM> included in the frame transmitted (TX) to the electronic device <NUM> and <NUM>-<NUM>th RMARKER <NUM> included in a frame received (RX) from the target device <NUM> as Tround2.

A time-of-flight (ToF) time ToF may be calculated by using Equation <NUM>.

In <FIG>, the electronic device <NUM> may perform UWB ranging by using a DS-TWR ranging method with one or more devices.

The electronic device <NUM> in the disclosure may be an initiator that initiates ranging. Also, a target device that is a device performing ranging with the electronic device <NUM> may refer to a responder. A plurality of target devices may exist. For example, N responders may exist. In <FIG>, a first responder may correspond to a second target device <NUM>, and an Nth responder may correspond to a first target device <NUM>. The Nth responder may refer to a responder other than the first responder that transmits a first ranging response message to the electronic device <NUM>.

In operation S740, the electronic device <NUM> may transmit a ranging initiation message to one or more target devices. The electronic device <NUM> may broadcast the ranging initiation message to the target devices.

In operations S750 through S755, each target device may transmit a ranging response message in response to the ranging initiation message to the electronic device <NUM>. Each target device may transmit the ranging response message in a slot allocated to each target device. Because each target device transmits the ranging response message in its allocated slot, N response messages may be transmitted to the electronic device <NUM>. For example, in operation S750, the second target device <NUM> may transmit a ranging response message to the electronic device <NUM>, and in operation S755, the first target device <NUM> may also transmit a ranging response message to the electronic device <NUM>.

In operation S760, the electronic device <NUM> may transmit a ranging final message to the one or more devices. For example, after receiving N response message, the electronic device <NUM> may transmit a ranging final message to the target devices. For example, the ranging initiation message, the ranging response message, and the ranging final message may each be a ranging frame and may include scrambled timestamp sequence (STS) code.

In operation S770, the electronic device <NUM> may transmit a measurement report message to the one or more target devices. The electronic device <NUM> may broadcast a measurement report message to the target devices.

An estimated distance (ranging) between two electronic devices may be calculated by multiplying a ToF value calculated by using Equation <NUM> by a speed of light (<NUM>*<NUM>^<NUM>/s).

A first round-trip time (T<NUM>Round1) in the disclosure may refer to round-trip time information of the first responder. For example, the first round-trip time (T<NUM>Round1) may refer to a time difference between a time when the electronic device <NUM> transmits the ranging initiation message to the second target device <NUM> and a time when the electronic device <NUM> receives the ranging response message from the second target device <NUM>.

A first reply time (T<NUM>Reply2) in the disclosure may refer to reply time information of the first responder. For example, the first reply time (T<NUM>Reply2) may refer to a time difference between a time when the electronic device <NUM> receives the ranging response message from the second target device <NUM> and a time when the electronic device <NUM> transmits the ranging final message to the second target device <NUM>.

A second round-trip time (TNRound1) in the disclosure may refer to round-trip time information of the Nth responder. For example, the second round-trip time (TNRound1) may refer to a time difference between a time when the electronic device <NUM> transmits the ranging initiation message to the first target device <NUM> and a time when the electronic device <NUM> receives the ranging response message from the first target device <NUM>.

A second reply time (TNReply2) in the disclosure may refer to reply time information of the Nth responder. For example, the second reply time (TNReply2) may refer to a time difference between a time when the electronic device <NUM> receives the ranging response message from the first target device <NUM> and a time when the electronic device <NUM> transmits the ranging final message to the first target device <NUM>.

As described with reference to Equation <NUM>, in order to determine a ToF value in DS-TWR, two measurement values at a transmitting end and two measurement values at a receiving end are required. This is because, in order for a device (e.g., the first target device <NUM>) to determine a ToF value, the device has to know two measurement values (e.g., the second round-trip time and the second reply time) measured by a counterpart (e.g., the electronic device <NUM>). In the disclosure, in order to notify a measurement value measured by an electronic device to target devices, a measurement report message may be transmitted. A more detailed structure of the measurement report message will be described with reference to <FIG>.

<FIG> is a diagram illustrating a measurement report message.

Referring to <FIG>, a measurement report message may include a time difference between a transmission time of a ranging initiation message and a reception time of a ranging response message of each target device and a time difference between a reception time of a ranging response message of each target device and a transmission time of a ranging final message. For example, the measurement report message may include a first round-trip time (T<NUM>Round1) of a first responder, a first reply time (T<NUM>Reply2) of the first responder, a round-trip time (T<NUM>Round1) of a second responder, a reply time (T<NUM>Reply2) of the second responder, a second round-trip time (TNRound1) of an Nth responder, and a second reply time (TNReply2) of the Nth responder. As described above, the Nth responder may refer to an arbitrary responder other than the first responder.

When <NUM>:N ranging is performed by using a DS-TWR method, in order for the first responder to the Nth responder to calculate a distance to an initiator, all of the first responder to the Nth responder have to know a measurement value of the initiator. Accordingly, as shown in <FIG>, <NUM>*N measurement values obtained by multiplying two measurement values (round-trip time and reply time) measured for one target device by N that is the number of target devices have to be included in the measurement report message and have to be transmitted.

When a message is configured as described above, a size of the message may increase, and thus transmission (TX) power may decrease in relation to peak power regulation. When the size of the message increases, it may mean that the message may not be transmitted at peak power. Also, when 2N pieces of information is included in the message, a size of the message is large, and thus a transmission time may increase. When the transmission time increases, it may mean that the message is more likely to collide with other messages.

Accordingly, in order to efficiently perform ranging, technology for preventing an increase in a size of a message including a measurement value is required.

Embodiments of the disclosure may provide a method of transmitting a measurement report having a reduced size by using the fact that a sum of two measurement values for a first responder and a sum of two measurement values for an Nth responder are the same.

According to an embodiment of the disclosure, a measurement report message may include a round-trip time measured by an electronic device for a certain responder (e.g., a first responder) and reply time information measured for all N responders. Each responder may detect a reply time measured for itself from the measurement report message, and may determine a round-trip time that is a measurement value not received from the electronic device.

According to another embodiment of the disclosure, a measurement report message may include a reply time measured by an electronic device for a certain responder (e.g., a first responder) and round-trip time information measured for all N responders. Each responder may detect a round-trip time measured for itself from the measurement report message, and may determine a reply time that is a measurement value not received from the electronic device.

Because the number of measurement values included in a measurement report message may be reduced through the above methods, a size of the measurement report message may be reduced. A method of performing ranging according to an embodiment of the disclosure will be described with reference to <FIG>.

<FIG> is a flowchart of an operating method of a target device for transmitting/receiving data through an ultra-wideband (UWB) in a wireless communication system according to an embodiment of the disclosure.

A plurality of target devices that perform ranging with an electronic device may include a first target device and a second target device. In this case, the second target device that is a first responder may refer to a target device that transmits a first ranging response message.

In operation S810, a first target device may receive a ranging initiation message from an electronic device.

In operation S820, the first target device may transmit, to the electronic device, a response message in response to the ranging initiation message.

In operation S830, the first target device may receive, from the electronic device, a measurement report message including time information measured by the electronic device based on response messages of a plurality of target devices including the first target device.

The measurement report message according to an embodiment of the disclosure may be broadcast from the electronic device.

The measurement report message according to an embodiment of the disclosure may include an address of each of the plurality of target devices.

The measurement report message according to an embodiment of the disclosure may include a first round-trip time that is a time difference between a time when the electronic device transmits the ranging initiation message and a time when the electronic device receives a ranging response message from a second target device that transmits a first ranging response message and a reply time list including a time difference between a time when the electronic device receives a ranging response message from each of the plurality of target devices and a time when the electronic device transmits a ranging final message.

Referring to <FIG>, the first round-trip time may refer to a value measured as a time difference between RMARKER included in a frame of the ranging initiation message transmitted by the electronic device to the second target device and RMAKER included in a frame of the ranging response message received from the second target device. Likewise, a second round-trip time may also be determined with reference to <FIG>.

The reply time list according to an embodiment of the disclosure may include a first reply time that is a time difference between a time when the electronic device receives the ranging response message from the second target device and a time when the electronic device transmits the ranging final message and a second reply time that is a time difference between a time when the electronic device receives the ranging response message from the first target device and a time when the electronic device transmits the ranging final message.

Also, referring to <FIG>, the first reply time may refer to a value measured as a time difference between RMARKER included in a frame of the ranging response message received by the electronic device from the second target device and RMARKER included in a frame of the ranging final message transmitted by the electronic device to the second target device. Likewise, the second reply time may also be determined with reference to <FIG>.

An embodiment of using the measurement report message having the above structure will be described in more detail with reference to <FIG>.

The measurement report message according to another embodiment of the disclosure may include a first reply time that is a time difference between a time when the electronic device receives the first ranging response message from the second target device and a time when the electronic device transmits the ranging final message and a round-trip time list including a time difference between a time when the electronic device transmits the ranging initiation message and a time when the electronic device receives the ranging response message from each of the plurality of target devices.

The round-trip time list according to an embodiment of the disclosure may include a first round-trip time that is a time difference between a time when the electronic device transmits the ranging initiation message and a time when the electronic device receives the ranging response message from the second target device and a second round-trip time that is a time difference between a time when the electronic device transmits the ranging initiation message and a time when the electronic device receives the ranging response message from the first target device.

In operation S840, the first target device may determine time information of the first target device for determining a distance to the electronic device, based on the measurement report message.

The first target device according to an embodiment of the disclosure may determine a second round-trip time that is a time difference between a time when the electronic device transmits the ranging initiation message and a time when the electronic device receives the ranging response message from the first target device, based on the first round-trip time, the first reply time, and the second reply time included in the measurement report message.

The first target device according to another embodiment of the disclosure may determine a second reply time that is a time difference between a time when the electronic device transmits the ranging final message and a time when the electronic device receives the ranging response message from the first target device, based on the first reply time, the first round-trip time and the second round-trip time included in the measurement report message.

In operation S850, the first target device may determine the distance to the electronic device by using the time information of the first target device.

For example, the first target device may calculate a ToF value by using Equation <NUM>, and may determine the distance to the electronic device by multiplying the ToF value by a speed of light (<NUM>*<NUM>^<NUM>/s).

<FIG> is a flowchart of an operating method of an electronic device for transmitting/receiving data through an ultra-wideband (UWB) in a wireless communication system according to an embodiment of the disclosure. The same description as that made with reference to <FIG> will be omitted.

In operation S910, an electronic device may transmit a ranging initiation message to a plurality of target devices including a first target device and a second target device. In operation S920, the electronic device may receive response messages in response to the ranging initiation message from the plurality of target devices. In operation S930, the electronic device may transmit a ranging final message to the plurality of target devices. In operation S940, the electronic device may generate a measurement report message including time information measured for the plurality of target devices, based on the received response messages.

In operation S950, the electronic device may transmit the measurement report message to the plurality of target devices.

The measurement report message according to an embodiment of the disclosure may include a first round-trip time that is a time difference between a time when the electronic device transmits the ranging initiation message and a time when the electronic device receives a ranging response message from the second target device that transmits a first ranging response message and a reply time list including a time difference between a time when the electronic device receives a ranging response message from each of the plurality of target devices and a time when the electronic device transmits the ranging final message. An embodiment of using the measurement report message having the above structure will be described in more detail with reference to <FIG>.

<FIG> is a diagram for describing an operation of transmitting/receiving data through an ultra-wideband (UWB) according to an embodiment of the disclosure. Also, <FIG> is a diagram illustrating a structure of a measurement report message according to an embodiment of the disclosure.

An electronic device <NUM> may transmit a ranging initiation message to a first target device <NUM> that is an Nth responder and a second target device <NUM> that is a first responder. Responders to which the electronic device <NUM> that is an initiator transmits the ranging initiation message are not limited to the first target device <NUM> and the second target device <NUM>.

Each of the first target device <NUM> and the second target device <NUM> may transmit a ranging response message to the electronic device <NUM>. The electronic device <NUM> may transmit a ranging final message to the first target device <NUM> and the second target device <NUM>. The electronic device <NUM> may transmit a measurement report message to the first target device <NUM> and the second target device <NUM>.

Referring to <FIG>, the measurement report message according to an embodiment of the disclosure may include N+<NUM> measurement values whose number is greater by <NUM> than N that is the total number of target devices. For example, the measurement report message may include a first round-trip time (T<NUM>Round1) and a first reply time (T<NUM>Reply2) that are measurement values for the second target device <NUM> that is a first responder and a second reply time (TNReply2) for the first target device <NUM> that is an Nth responder.

The first target device <NUM> may detect the first round-trip time (T<NUM>Round1), the first reply time (T<NUM>Reply2), and the second reply time (TNReply2) in the received measurement report message. The first target device <NUM> may calculate a second round-trip time (TNRound1) for the first target device <NUM> as shown in Equation <NUM>, by using the detected measurement values.

That is, as shown in Equation <NUM>, the first target device <NUM> may determine the second round-trip time (TNRound1) by subtracting the second reply time (TNReply2) from a sum of the first round-trip time (T<NUM>Round1) and the first reply time (T<NUM>Reply2) for the second target device <NUM>.

The first target device <NUM> may calculate a ToF value by using times measured by the first target device <NUM>, and second reply time (TNReply2), and the determined second round-trip time (TNRound1).

When the measurement report message is configured by using the above method, a message may include only N+<NUM> measurement values and may be transmitted.

<FIG> is a diagram for describing parameters included in a measurement report message according to an embodiment of the disclosure.

The measurement report message of <FIG> may include a parameter for a first round-trip time and a parameter for a reply time list.

The first round-trip time according to the disclosure may indicate a time difference between a ranging initiation message and a first ranging response message. For example, the parameter for the first round-trip time may have, but is not limited to, a size of <NUM> octets.

The reply time list according to the disclosure may indicate a list of responder addresses and reply time measurements for responders. For example, the reply time list may have, but is not limited to, a variable size that may vary according to the number of target devices functioning as responders. For example, when the number of target devices is N, the size of the responder address is <NUM> octets, and the size of the response time is <NUM> octets, the reply time list may have a size of <NUM>*N octets.

<FIG> is a diagram for describing parameters included in a reply time list according to an embodiment of the disclosure.

The reply time list according to an embodiment of the disclosure may include an address parameter indicating an address of a responder and a reply time parameter indicating a time difference between a ranging final message and a ranging response message from the responder.

Table <NUM> is a table showing a structure of a vendor specific header IE format. For example, a measurement report message may be included in a vender specific header field in a message. For example, a vendor specific information field may include a UWB message ID and a UWB message. Also, a control message and a measurement report message may be included in the UWB message ID. However, the disclosure is not limited thereto.

The same description as that made with reference to <FIG> will be omitted.

An electronic device <NUM> may transmit a ranging initiation message to a first target device <NUM> that is an Nth responder and a second target device <NUM> that is a first responder. Each of the first target device <NUM> and the second target device <NUM> may transmit a ranging response message to the electronic device <NUM>. The electronic device <NUM> may transmit a ranging final message to the first target device <NUM> and the second target device <NUM>. The electronic device <NUM> may transmit a measurement report message to the first target device <NUM> and the second target device <NUM>.

Referring to <FIG>, the measurement report message according to an embodiment of the disclosure may include N+<NUM> measurement values whose number is greater by <NUM> than N that is the total number of target devices. For example, the measurement report message may include a first round-trip time (T<NUM>Round1) and a first reply time (T<NUM>Reply2) that are measurement values for the second target device <NUM> that is a first responder and a second round-trip time (TNRound1) for the first target device <NUM> that is an Nth responder.

The first target device <NUM> may detect the first round-trip time (T<NUM>Round1), the first reply time (T<NUM>Reply2), and the second round-trip time (TNRound1) in the received measurement report message. The first target device <NUM> may calculate a second reply time (TNReply2) for the first target device <NUM> as shown in Equation <NUM>, by using the detected measurement values.

That is, as shown in Equation <NUM>, the first target device <NUM> may determine the second reply time (TNReply2) by subtracting the second round-trip time (TNRound1) from a sum of the first round-trip time (T<NUM>Round1) and the first reply time (T<NUM>Reply2) for the second target device <NUM>.

The first target device <NUM> may calculate a ToF value by using times measured by the first target device <NUM>, and second round-trip time (TNRound1), and the determined second reply time (TNReply2).

The measurement report message of <FIG> may include a parameter for a first reply time and a parameter for a round-trip time list.

The first reply time according to the disclosure may indicate a time difference between a ranging final message and a first ranging response message. For example, the parameter for the first reply time may have, but is not limited to, a size of <NUM> octets.

The round-trip time list according to the disclosure may indicate a list of responder addresses and reply time measurements for responders. For example, the round-trip time list may have, but is not limited to, a variable size that may vary according to the number of target devices functioning as responders. For example, when the number of target devices is N, the size of the responder address is <NUM> octets, and the size of the round-trip time is <NUM> octets, the round-trip time list may have a size of <NUM>*N octets.

<FIG> is a diagram for describing parameters included in a round-trip time list according to an embodiment of the disclosure.

The round-trip time list according to an embodiment of the disclosure may include an address parameter indicating an address of a responder and a round-trip time parameter indicating a time difference between a ranging initiation message and a ranging response message from the responder.

<FIG> is a block diagram of the electronic device <NUM> according to an embodiment of the disclosure.

The electronic device <NUM> according to an embodiment of the disclosure may correspond to the electronic device <NUM> of <FIG> and the electronic device <NUM> of <FIG>.

The electronic device <NUM> according to an embodiment of the disclosure may be a fixed terminal or a mobile terminal. Examples of the electronic device <NUM> may include, but are not limited to, at least one of a smartphone, a mobile phone, a navigation device, a computer, a laptop computer, a digital broadcasting terminal, an artificial intelligence speaker, a speaker, a personal digital assistant (PDA), a portable multimedia player (PMP), or a tablet PC. The electronic device <NUM> may communicate with other devices and/or servers via a network by using a wireless or wired communication method.

Referring to <FIG>, the electronic device <NUM> according to an embodiment of the disclosure may include a processor <NUM>, a transceiver <NUM>, and a memory <NUM>. However, the electronic device <NUM> may include more or fewer elements than those illustrated in <FIG>.

Although the electronic device <NUM> includes one processor in <FIG>, an embodiment of the disclosure is not limited thereto and the electronic device <NUM> may include a plurality of processors. At least some of operations and functions of the processor <NUM> may be performed by the plurality of processors. The electronic device <NUM> of <FIG> may perform operating methods of the electronic device <NUM> according to various embodiments of the disclosure, and the description of <FIG> may be applied. Accordingly, the same description as that made above will not be repeated.

The transceiver <NUM> according to an embodiment of the disclosure may perform wired/wireless communication with another device, the target device <NUM>, or a network. To this end, the transceiver <NUM> may include a communication module that supports at least one of various wired/wireless communication methods. For example, the communication module may be a chipset, or may be a sticker/barcode (e.g., a sticker with a near-field communication (NFC) tag) storing information necessary for communication.

The wireless communication may include, for example, at least one of cellular communication, wireless fidelity (Wi-Fi), Wi-Fi Direct, Bluetooth, UWB, or near-field communication (NFC). The wired communication may include, for example, at least one of universal serial bus (USB) or high-definition multimedia interface (HDMI).

In an embodiment of the disclosure, the transceiver <NUM> may include a communication module for short-range communication. For example, the transceiver <NUM> may include a communication module for performing various short-range communications such as infrared communication and magnetic secure transmission (MST) communication, as well as UWB, Wi-Fi, Wi-Fi Direct, Bluetooth, and NFC described above.

The processor <NUM> according to an embodiment of the disclosure controls overall operations of the electronic device <NUM> and may include at least one processor such as a central processing unit (CPU) or a graphics processing unit (GPU). The processor <NUM> may control other components included in the electronic device <NUM> to perform UWB ranging. The memory <NUM> may store a program for processing and controlling performed by the processor <NUM>, and may store data input to or output from the electronic device <NUM>.

The processor <NUM> according to an embodiment of the disclosure may control the transceiver <NUM> to transmit a ranging initiation message to a plurality of target devices including a first target device and a second target device. The processor <NUM> may control the transceiver <NUM> to receive a response message in response to the ranging initiation message from each of the plurality of target devices. The processor <NUM> may control the transceiver <NUM> to transmit a ranging final message to the plurality of target devices. Also, the processor <NUM> may generate a measurement report message including time information measured for the plurality of target devices, based on the received response messages. The processor <NUM> may control the transceiver <NUM> to transmit the measurement report message to the plurality of target devices.

The processor <NUM> according to an embodiment of the disclosure may control the transceiver <NUM> to broadcast the measurement report message.

The description of <FIG> may be applied to a specific method using which the processor <NUM> performs ranging, and a repeated description will be omitted.

<FIG> is a block diagram of the target device <NUM> according to an embodiment of the disclosure.

The target device <NUM> according to an embodiment of the disclosure may correspond to the first target device <NUM> of <FIG> and the first target device <NUM> of <FIG>.

The target device <NUM> according to an embodiment of the disclosure may be a fixed terminal or a mobile terminal. Examples of the target device <NUM> may include, but are not limited to, at least one of a smartphone, a mobile phone, a navigation device, a computer, a laptop computer, a digital broadcasting terminal, an artificial intelligence speaker, a speaker, a personal digital assistant (PDA), a portable multimedia player (PMP), or a tablet PC. The target device <NUM> may communicate with other devices (e.g., the electronic device <NUM>) and/or servers via a network by using a wireless or wired communication method.

Referring to <FIG>, the target device <NUM> according to an embodiment of the disclosure may include a processor <NUM>, a transceiver <NUM>, and a memory <NUM>. However, the target device <NUM> may include more or fewer elements than those illustrated in <FIG>.

Although the target device <NUM> includes one processor in <FIG>, an embodiment of the disclosure is not limited thereto and the target device <NUM> may include a plurality of processors. At least some of operations and functions of the processor <NUM> may be performed by the plurality of processors. The target device <NUM> of <FIG> may perform operating methods according to various embodiments of the disclosure, and the description of <FIG> may be applied. Accordingly, the same description as that made above will be omitted.

The transceiver <NUM> according to an embodiment of the disclosure may perform wired/wireless communication with another device (e.g., the electronic device <NUM>) or a network. To this end, the transceiver <NUM> may include a communication module that supports at least one of various wired and wireless communication methods. For example, the communication module may be a chipset, or may be a sticker/barcode (e.g., a sticker with an NFC tag) storing information necessary for communication.

The wireless communication may include, for example, at least one of cellular communication, wireless fidelity (Wi-Fi), Wi-Fi Direct, Bluetooth, UWB, or near-field communication (NFC). The wired communication may include, for example, at least one of USB or high-definition multimedia interface (HDMI).

The processor <NUM> according to an embodiment of the disclosure controls overall operations of the target device <NUM> and may include at least one processor such as a CPU or a GPU. The processor <NUM> may control other components included in the target device <NUM> to perform UWB ranging. The memory <NUM> may store a program for processing and controlling performed by the processor <NUM>, and may store data input to or output from the target device <NUM>.

The processor <NUM> according to an embodiment of the disclosure may control the transceiver <NUM> to receive a ranging initiation message from the electronic device <NUM>. The processor <NUM> may control the transceiver <NUM> to transmit a response message in response to the ranging initiation message to the electronic device <NUM>.

The processor <NUM> may control the transceiver <NUM> to receive, from the electronic device <NUM>, a measurement report message including time information measured by the electronic device <NUM> based on response messages of a plurality of target devices including a first target device.

The processor <NUM> may determine time information of the first target device for determining a distance to the electronic device <NUM>, based on the measurement report message. Also, the processor <NUM> may determine the distance to the electronic device <NUM> by using the time information of the first target device.

The measurement report message according to an embodiment of the disclosure may include a first round-trip time that is a time difference between a time when the ranging initiation message is transmitted and a time when a ranging response message is received from a second target device that transmits a first ranging response message and a reply time list including a time difference between a time when the electronic device <NUM> transmits a ranging final message and a time when the electronic device <NUM> receives a ranging response message from each of the plurality of target devices.

The reply time list according to an embodiment of the disclosure may include a first reply time that is a time difference between a time when the ranging response message is received from the second target device and a time when the ranging final message is transmitted and a second reply time that is a time difference between a time when a ranging response message is received from the first target device and a time when the ranging final message is transmitted.

The processor <NUM> according to an embodiment of the disclosure may determine a second round-trip time that is a time difference between a time when the electronic device <NUM> transmits the ranging initiation message and a time when the electronic device <NUM> receives the ranging response message from the first target device, based on the first round-trip time, the first reply time, and the second reply time included in the measurement report.

The measurement report message according to an embodiment of the disclosure may include a first reply time that is a time difference between a time when the first ranging response message is received from the second target device and a time when the electronic device <NUM> transmits the ranging final message and a round-trip time list including a time difference between a time when the ranging initiation message is transmitted and a time when the ranging response message is received from each of the plurality of target devices.

The round-trip time list according to an embodiment of the disclosure may include a first round-trip time that is a time difference between a time when the ranging initiation message is transmitted and a time when the ranging response message is received from the second target device and a second round-trip time that is a time difference between a time when the ranging initiation message is transmitted and a time when the ranging response message is received from the first target device.

The processor <NUM> according to an embodiment of the disclosure may determine a second reply time that is a time difference between a time when the ranging final message is transmitted and a time when the ranging response message is received from the first target device, based on the first reply time, the first round-trip time, and the second round-trip time included in the measurement report.

The afore-described embodiments of the disclosure may be implemented as a computer-executable program, and may be executed by a general-purpose digital computer that runs the program by using a computer-readable recording medium. Also, a structure of data used in the embodiments of the disclosure may be recorded by using various units on a computer-readable medium. Also, the embodiments of the disclosure may be implemented as a computer program product including a recording medium including instructions that may be executed in computers, e.g., a program module executed in computers. For example, methods may be implemented as software modules or algorithms, and may be stored as program commands or computer-readable code executable on a computer-readable medium.

The computer-readable medium may be an arbitrary available medium accessible by a computer, and examples thereof may include all volatile and nonvolatile media and separable and non-separable media. Examples of the computer-readable medium may include, but are not limited to, magnetic storage media (e.g., read-only memories (ROMs), floppy disks, and hard disks) and optical recording media (e.g., compact disk (CD)-ROMs and digital versatile disks (DVDs)). Further, examples of the computer-readable medium may include a computer storage medium and a communication medium.

Also, the computer-readable recording media may be distributed over network-coupled computer systems, and data stored in the distributed recording media, for example, program instructions and code, may be executed by at least one computer.

A machine-readable storage medium may be provided as a non-transitory storage medium. Here, 'non-transitory' means that the storage medium does not include a signal and is tangible, but does not distinguish whether data is stored semi-permanently or temporarily in the storage medium. For example, the 'non-transitory storage medium' may include a buffer in which data is temporarily stored.

Methods according to various embodiments of the disclosure may be provided by being included in a computer program product. The computer program product may be traded as a product between a seller and a purchaser.

The computer program product may be distributed in the form of a machine-readable storage medium (e.g., a compact disc read only memory (CD-ROM)), or may be distributed (e.g., downloaded or uploaded) online via an application store (e.g., Play Store™) or between two user devices (e.g., smartphones) directly. When distributed online, at least part of the computer program product (e.g., a downloadable application) may be temporarily generated or at least temporarily stored in a machine-readable storage medium, such as a memory of a manufacturer's server, a server of an application store, or a relay server.

Claim 1:
A method performed by a target device (<NUM>) for transmitting and receiving data through an ultra-wideband, UWB, channel in a wireless communication system, the method comprising:
receiving (S810), from an electronic device (<NUM>), a ranging initiation message;
transmitting (S820), to the electronic device (<NUM>), a ranging response message in response to receiving the ranging initiation message;
receiving (S830), from the electronic device (<NUM>), a measurement report message, the method characterized by the measurement report message including first round-trip time information for a first responder (<NUM>) and a reply time list for a plurality of target devices, the plurality of target devices including the target device (<NUM>) and the first responder (<NUM>), wherein the target device (<NUM>) corresponds to a second responder; and
identifying (S840) round-trip time information of the target device (<NUM>), based on the measurement report message including the first round-trip time information and the reply time list,
wherein the reply time list includes first reply time information for the first responder (<NUM>) and second reply time information for the target device (<NUM>),
wherein the first reply time information indicates a time difference between a received time of a ranging response message of the first responder (<NUM>) and a sending time of a ranging final message of the electronic device (<NUM>), and
wherein the second reply time information indicates a time difference between a received time of the ranging response message of the target device (<NUM>) and the sending time of the ranging final message of the electronic device (<NUM>).