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EP-4740623-A1 - DEVICES, METHODS, AND SYSTEMS THAT COMBINE DOWNLINK AND UPLINK TIME DIFFERENCE OF ARRIVAL TECHNIQUES

EP4740623A1EP 4740623 A1EP4740623 A1EP 4740623A1EP-4740623-A1

Abstract

A method of operating an anchor in a communication system is presented herein. In some aspects, the method includes receiving an uplink message having a preamble from a mobile device, and receiving a synchronization message having a second preamble from a second anchor, wherein synchronization of the anchor is based on the synchronization message, and wherein the second preamble is different than the preamble. The anchor may be an anchor in an ultra-wideband (UWB) network, and the mobile device may include a UWB tag. Moreover, embodiments of the present disclosure include systems, devices, and methods that combine downlink and uplink time difference of arrival techniques.

Inventors

  • IVANOV, ALEXANDER
  • HAWAWINI, SHADI

Assignees

  • QORVO US, INC.

Dates

Publication Date
20260513
Application Date
20240513

Claims (20)

  1. 1. A method of operating an anchor in a communication system, the method comprising: receiving an uplink message having a preamble from a mobile device; and receiving a synchronization message having a second preamble from a second anchor, wherein synchronization of the anchor is based on the synchronization message, and wherein the second preamble is different than the preamble.
  2. 2. The method of claim 1 , wherein the uplink message is blink, and wherein a location of the mobile device is estimated based on the uplink message.
  3. 3. The method of claim 1, wherein the second anchor is part of a first cluster of anchors, the first cluster of anchors comprising a first plurality of anchors, wherein the anchor is part of the first cluster of anchors and a second cluster of anchors, the second cluster of anchors comprising a second plurality of anchors, wherein the anchor receives the synchronization message during a first time period designated for synchronization of the first cluster of anchors, wherein the anchor receives the uplink message during a second time period designated for anchors in the first cluster to receive uplink messages from mobile devices, and wherein the first time period does not overlap with the second time period.
  4. 4. The method of claim 1 , wherein the uplink message is a blink, and the mobile device is an UL-Tag.
  5. 5. The method of claim 3, further comprising transmitting a second synchronization message to the remaining anchors in the second cluster of anchors during a third time period designated for the remaining anchors to receive synchronization messages and not uplink messages from mobile devices.
  6. 6. The method of claim 1 , wherein the anchor is part of a first cluster of anchors comprising a plurality of anchors, and wherein there are time periods designated for synchronization of the first cluster of anchors and different time periods designated for the first cluster of anchors to receive uplink messages from mobile devices.
  7. 7. The method of claim 6, wherein the uplink message is a blink and wherein the mobile device is a tag, the method further comprising: receiving the uplink message from the mobile device, by at least two other anchors in the first cluster other than the anchor; determining a timestamp at each anchor that receives the uplink message; and sending the respective timestamps to a central location engine to estimate the location of the mobile device.
  8. 8. An anchor comprising: a transceiver configured to: receive an uplink message having a preamble from a mobile device; and receive a synchronization message having a second preamble from a second anchor, wherein synchronization of the anchor is based on the synchronization message, and wherein the second preamble is different than the preamble.
  9. 9. The anchor of claim 8, wherein the uplink message is blink, and wherein the mobile device is a UT-Tag, and wherein the anchor is configured to be part of an ultrawideband network.
  10. 10. The anchor of claim 8, wherein the second anchor is part of a first cluster of anchors, the first cluster of anchors comprising a first plurality of anchors, wherein the anchor is part of the first cluster of anchors and a second cluster of anchors, the second cluster of anchors comprising a second plurality of anchors, wherein the anchor receives the synchronization message during a first time period designated for synchronization of the first cluster of anchors, wherein the anchor receives the uplink message during a second time period designated for anchors in the first cluster to receive uplink messages from mobile devices, and wherein the first time period does not overlap with the second time period.
  11. 11. The anchor of claim 8, wherein the anchor is configured to operate in a FiRa network.
  12. 12. The anchor of claim 8, wherein the anchor is configured to be part of a first cluster of anchors comprising a plurality of anchors, wherein there is a first time period designated for synchronization of the first cluster of anchors and a second time period designated for the first cluster of anchors to receive uplink messages from mobile devices including the uplink message, wherein the uplink messages are blinks, and wherein first cluster of anchors does not receive blinks from mobile devices during the first time period.
  13. 13. The anchor of claim 12, wherein a DT-Poll message format using the second preamble is used for the synchronization message.
  14. 14. A ultra- wideband (UWB) device comprising: a transceiver; a processor; a non-transitory memory including a set of instructions stored therein and executable by the processor to cause the transceiver to: receive an uplink message having a preamble from a mobile device; receive a synchronization message having a second preamble from an anchor, wherein synchronization of the UWB device is based on the synchronization message, and wherein the second preamble is different than the preamble.
  15. 15. The UWB device of claim 14, wherein the uplink message is blink, and wherein the mobile device is a UT-Tag, and wherein UWB device is configured to be part of an ultrawideband network.
  16. 16. The UWB device of claim 14, wherein the anchor is part of a first cluster of anchors, the first cluster of anchors comprising a first plurality of anchors, wherein the UWB device is part of the first cluster of anchors and a second cluster of anchors, the second cluster of anchors comprising a second plurality of anchors, wherein the UWB device receives the synchronization message during a first time period designated for synchronization of the first cluster of anchors, wherein the UWB device receives the uplink message during a second time period designated for anchors in the first cluster to receive uplink messages from mobile devices, and wherein the first time period does not overlap with the second time period.
  17. 17. The UWB device of claim 14, wherein the UWB device is configured to operate in a FiRa network.
  18. 18. The UWB device of claim 16, wherein the non- transitory memory further includes a set of instructions stored therein and executable by the processor to cause the transceiver to: transmit a second synchronization message to the remaining anchors in the second cluster of anchors during a third time period designated for the remaining anchors to receive synchronization messages and not uplink messages from mobile devices.
  19. 19. The UWB device of claim 14, wherein the UWB device is part of a first cluster of anchors comprising a plurality of anchors, and wherein there are time periods designated for synchronization of the first cluster of anchors using the preamble, and different time periods designated for the first cluster of anchors to receive uplink messages from mobile devices using the second preamble.
  20. 20. The UWB device of claim 16, wherein the UWB device switches its physical layer configuration to use the preamble to receive the uplink message during the second time period, and wherein the UWB switches its physical layer configuration to use the second preamble to receive the synchronization message during the first time period.

Description

DEVICES, METHODS, AND SYSTEMS THAT COMBINE DOWNLINK AND UPLINK TIME DIFFERENCE OF ARRIVAL TECHNIQUES CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS [0001] The present application claims the benefit of U.S. Provisional Application No. 63/512,431, filed July 07, 2023, and U.S. Provisional Application No. 63/603,836, filed, November 29, 2023, both of which are incorporated herein by reference in their entirety. TECHNICAL FIELD [0002] The present disclosure relates generally to ultra-wideband-enabled devices, methods, and systems for facilitating the determination and/or tracking of location of physical objects and, more particularly, to mitigating the effects of collisions of blinks transmitted from objects and synchronization messages from anchors. BACKGROUND [0003] Ultra-wideband (UWB) refers to a wireless technology developed to transmit data at a high data rate over short distances in a power efficient manner. In some cases, UWB is a general term that a general term for radio communication that uses a bandwidth close to or greater than 500 MHz. UWB radio technology enables the location of objects to be determined and tracked with high accuracy. UWB may use a time difference of arrival (TDoA) techniques to facilitate location accuracy. [0004] TDoA-based localization schemes in UWB may be divided into an uplink TDoA scheme using a signal transmitted by objects (e.g., electronic devices) sometimes referred to in the UWB context as tags, and a downlink TDoA scheme using signals transmitted by devices referred to in the UWB context as anchor nodes. Anchor nodes may also be referred to as network devices or access points. [0005] In uplink (UL) TDoA schemes, when anchor nodes receive an uplink signal from a tag, sometimes referred to as a UT-Tag, the uplink signal arrives at the anchor nodes at different times according to the locations of the anchor nodes. The anchor nodes in UL TDoA are sometimes referred to as UT- Anchors in the FiRa context. A central station may estimate the location of the tag using arrival time differences (i.e., TDoAs) of the uplink signal. UL TDoA may be used for tracking assets via the use of tags, for example. [0006] In downlink (DL) TDoA schemes, the location of a tag may be calculated using TDoAs related to times at which the tag receives downlink signals transmitted by different anchor nodes. The anchor nodes may transmit their downlink signals in given time slots (also referred to as slots) or time periods. DL TDoA may be used by tags for navigation, for example. [0007] The FiRa Consortium (“FiRa” stands for “fine ranging”) is a group of member companies developing UWB technical specifications to ensure interoperability among chipsets and devices and promote the adoption of UWB technologies for location-based services. In some contexts, FiRa standards describes separately Downlink(DL) and Uplink(UL) TDoA techniques. Both techniques are infrastructure based (e.g., have anchors set on the ceiling/walls in a specific order, such as in a shopping center). FiRa represents widely supported and popular standards on top of 802.15.4 a/z, which can be understood as clarifying certain aspects and data structures of 802.15.4 a/z. [0008] In an ideal UL-TDoA scenario, anchors would never transmit and listen for blinks all of the time. In practice, this ideal is not possible, as the anchors in the system may need to have some synchronization scheme to have a common clock domain. Thus, there is a need to wirelessly synchronize the clock of anchors in UL-TDoA systems while providing efficient and reliable location tracking to receive blinks from tags. SUMMARY [0009] Embodiments of the present disclosure include systems, devices, and methods that combine downlink and uplink TDoA techniques. [0010] In an exemplary aspect, a method of operating an anchor in a communication system is presented herein. In some aspects, the method includes receiving an uplink message having a preamble from a mobile device, and receiving a synchronization message having a second preamble from a second anchor, wherein synchronization of the anchor is based on the synchronization message, and wherein the second preamble is different than the preamble. The anchor may be an anchor in an UWB network, and the mobile device may include a UWB tag. [0011] In other exemplary aspects, an anchor is described. The anchor may include a transceiver. In further aspects, the transceiver is configured to receive an uplink message having a preamble from a mobile device, and receive a synchronization message having a second preamble from a second anchor. In further aspects, synchronization of the anchor is based on the synchronization message, and the second preamble is different than the preamble. In further aspects, the uplink message may be a blink, and the mobile device may be a UT-Tag, and the anchor may be configured to be part of an ultra wideband network. [0012] In other exemplary aspects, an UWB device is described. The UWB may include