Patent ID: 7933616

Claim:
A method of estimating the distance between a first and a second radio equipment, comprising the steps of: a phase ( 1 ), applied by the first equipment (A), for estimating a first time of flight between the two equipments (A, Z) corresponding to the signal transmission time to go from one equipment to the other along a propagation path, called the “strongest path”, taken by a main part of the energy of the signals; a phase ( 2 ) for estimating a difference in time of flight comprising the sending of a channel sounding frame from one equipment to the other (E 21 ) and, from the received radio signals corresponding to said channel sounding frame, estimating a difference in time of flight (ΔTOF) between the strongest propagation path and a first propagation path (E 22 ); and a phase ( 3 ) for calculating the distance between the two equipments (A, Z) comprising the determination of a second time of flight (TOF 2 ) by subtracting the estimated difference in time of flight (ΔTOF) from the estimated first time of flight (TOF 1 ) (E 30 ) and calculating the distance (D) between the two equipments from the duly determined second time of flight (TOF 2 ) (E 31 ), wherein the first equipment (A) sends to the second (Z) said channel sounding frame (E 21 ), the estimating of the difference in time of flight (E 22 ) being performed by the second equipment (Z).