US 11,239,881 B2Granted

Next-generation ultra-wideband frame formats

AssigneeApple Inc.

InventorsJoachim S. Hammerschmidt, Ersen Ekrem

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Abstract

Methods, systems, and apparatuses are presented to transmit fragmented communication frames, such as fragmented ultra-wideband (UWB) frames. In some implementations, a communication frame may be divided into a plurality of fragments, and the fragments may be transmitted across a plurality of regulatory test intervals. E.g., each fragment may be transmitted within a mutually-exclusive regulatory test interval. In some implementations, each fragment may be constrained in time and/or transmission power, such that the total energy emitted during transmission of the fragment remains within a maximum energy limit defined for the regulatory test interval, e.g., by a regulatory entity. In some implementations, the sum of the energy emitted during transmission of two or more fragments may exceed the maximum energy limit defined for the regulatory test interval.

Claims20

Dependent claims

A wireless communication device comprising:

wireless communication circuitry;
and
processor circuitry coupled to the wireless communication circuitry, the processor circuitry configured to cause the wireless communication device to:
transmit, via the wireless communication circuitry, a first fragment of a physical layer (PHY) communication frame during a first time period, wherein the first time period is less than a predefined test interval, and wherein the energy emitted during transmission of the first fragment remains within a predetermined energy limit allowed for transmission within the predefined test interval;
and
transmit, via the wireless communication circuitry, a second fragment of the PHY communication frame during a second time period, wherein the second time period is less than the predefined test interval, wherein the energy emitted during transmission of the second fragment remains within the predetermined energy limit, wherein the second time period is separated from the first time period by a silence time period, during which no portion of the PHY communication frame is transmitted, and wherein the start of the second time period follows the start of the first time period by at least the duration of the predefined test interval.

3 more elements

A method of transmitting a communication frame, the method comprising:

by a wireless communication device:
dividing the communication frame into a plurality of fragments;
transmitting each fragment of the plurality of fragments during a respective transmit time period, wherein each transmit time period after the initial transmit time period is separated from the preceding transmit time period by a silence time period, wherein transmission of the plurality of fragments is spread over a transmit interval that is longer than a predefined test interval;
and
constraining the average transmit power used to transmit at least one of the fragments such that the total energy emitted by the wireless communication device during any continuous portion of the transmit interval that is equal to the predefined test interval remains within a predetermined energy limit allowed for transmission within the predefined test interval.

2 more elements

An apparatus comprised in a wireless communication device, the apparatus comprising:

a memory storing software instructions;
and
a processor configured to execute the software instructions to:
divide a communication frame into a plurality of fragments;
provide for transmission each fragment of the plurality of fragments during a respective transmit time period, wherein each transmit time period after the initial transmit time period is separated from the preceding transmit time period by a silence time period, wherein transmission of the plurality of fragments is spread over a transmit interval that is longer than a predefined test interval;
and
constrain the average transmit power used to transmit at least one of the fragments such that the total energy emitted by the wireless communication device during any continuous portion of the transmit interval that is equal to the predefined test interval remains within a predetermined energy limit allowed for transmission within the predefined test interval.

4 more elements

Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.

Facts

Application: 17/160,688Filed 28 Jan 2021 · us provisional application
Priority: 31 Jan 2020
Published: US 2021/0242901 A15 Aug 2021
Granted: 1 Feb 2022
Term ends: Not estimatedThe source records don’t support an estimate.

Classification10 codes

H04B 1/71632
Using impulse radio: signal aspects
H04W 52/0258
Using monitoring of local events, e.g. events related to user activity: controlling an operation mode according to history or models of usage…
H04B 1/7176
Using impulse radio: data mapping, e.g. modulation
H04B 1/719
Using impulse radio: interference-related aspects