IP Library › Granted Patent US 12,562,819
Granted Patent B2
US 12,562,819 · App. 18/146,268 · Granted Feb 24, 2026

Communication method, apparatus and system, and storage medium

Inventors: Yong Zhang (Beijing, CN); Xinlin Yi (Beijing, CN); Ningzhi Zhu (Beijing, CN); Runyu Shi (Beijing, CN); Kai Wang (Beijing, CN)
Assignee: BEIJING XIAOMI MOBILE SOFTWARE CO., LTD.
H04B11/00G05B19/042G05B2219/2642
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Quick Facts
Patent No.
US 12,562,819
App. No.
18/146,268
Granted
Feb 24, 2026
Kind
B2
Abstract

A communication method, applied to a master device, includes: determining, according to the number of controlled devices and a preset time slot length, detection cycles and detection timing of various controlled devices in a detection cycle; receiving, in a time slot in the detection cycle, an ultrasonic sweep signal sent by the controlled device; and determining, according to the detection timing and the ultrasonic sweep signal, a detection result of the master device and a controlled device.

Claims (59)

1 . A communication method, performed by a master device, comprising:

determining, according to a number of controlled devices and a preset time slot length, detection cycles and detection timing of various controlled devices in a detection cycle, wherein the controlled devices and the master device are devices located in a same local area network, and a time length of the detection cycle is a product of the preset time slot length and the number of the controlled devices;

receiving, in a time slot in the detection cycle, an ultrasonic sweep signal sent by the controlled device; and

determining, according to the detection timing and the ultrasonic sweep signal, a detection result of the master device and the controlled device;

wherein the communication method further comprises:

sending an ultrasonic synchronization signal to the various controlled devices, and recording a first time in response to determining that the ultrasonic synchronization signal is sent, wherein the ultrasonic synchronization signal comprises timing information enabling the controlled device to return a response signal and second identification information of the controlled device;

receiving the response signals sent by the various controlled devices, and recording a second time in response to determining that the response signal is received, wherein the response signal is an ultrasonic signal generated, according to the timing information comprised in the ultrasonic synchronization signal, by the controlled device; and

sending the first time and the second time to a corresponding controlled device through an ultrasonic wave, wherein the corresponding controlled device determines an acoustic transmission time delay according to the first time and the second time, wherein the acoustic transmission time delay is an acoustic transmission time between the corresponding controlled device and the master device;

wherein the communication method further comprises:

obtaining first identification information of the various controlled devices in the same local area network as the master device; and

allocating, according to the first identification information, the second identification information to the controlled device, wherein a data volume of the second identification information is smaller than that of the first identification information.

2 . The communication method according to claim 1 , wherein the determining, according to the detection timing and the ultrasonic sweep signal, the detection result of the master device and the controlled device comprises:

determining, according to the detection timing, a target controlled device corresponding to the time slot in the time slot; and

determining, according to the ultrasonic sweep signal received in the time slot, the detection result of the master device and the target controlled device.

3 . The communication method according to claim 2 , wherein determining, according to the ultrasonic sweep signal received in the time slot, the detection result of the master device and the target controlled device comprises:

obtaining a first ultrasonic sweep signal received by a first microphone of the master device in the time slot and a second ultrasonic sweep signal received by a second microphone of the master device in the time slot, wherein the first microphone and the second microphone are disposed at different positions of the master device;

determining, according to the first ultrasonic sweep signal and the second ultrasonic sweep signal, a time difference between the first microphone and the second microphone receiving the first and second ultrasonic sweep signals; and

determining, according to the time difference, the detection result of the master device and the target controlled device.

4 . The communication method according to claim 3 , wherein determining, according to the first ultrasonic sweep signal and the second ultrasonic sweep signal, the time difference between the first microphone and the second microphone receiving the first and second ultrasonic sweep signals comprises:

obtaining the time difference by performing correlation peak processing according to the first ultrasonic sweep signal and the second ultrasonic sweep signal.

5 . The communication method according to claim 3 , wherein determining, according to the time difference, the detection result of the master device and the target controlled device comprises:

determining, in response to the time difference being smaller than a preset threshold, the detection result that the master device points to the target controlled device.

6 . The communication method according to claim 3 , wherein determining, according to the time difference, the detection result of the master device and the target controlled device comprises:

determining, in response to the time difference being larger than or equal to a preset threshold, the detection result that the master device does not point to the target controlled device.

7 . The communication method according to claim 3 , wherein

the master device comprises a mobile terminal, and the first microphone and the second microphone are disposed on a top and at a bottom of the mobile terminal respectively.

8 . The communication method according to claim 1 , wherein the communication method further comprises:

outputting, in response to the detection result that the master device points to the controlled device, a control option card of the controlled device on a display interface of the master device.

9 . A communication method, performed by a controlled device, comprising:

receiving detection timing, sent by a master device, of the controlled device in a detection cycle; and

determining, according to the detection timing, a corresponding response time of the controlled device in the detection cycle, and sending an ultrasonic sweep signal at the corresponding response time;

wherein the communication method further comprises:

receiving an ultrasonic synchronization signal sent by the master device, and recording a third time in response to determining that the ultrasonic synchronization signal is received; wherein the ultrasonic synchronization signal comprises second identification information of the controlled device;

sending, according to parsed timing information comprised in the ultrasonic synchronization signal, a response signal to the master device at a corresponding time, and recording a fourth time in response to determining that the response signal is sent; and

receiving an ultrasonic signal comprising a first time and a second time sent by the master device, and determining, according to the ultrasonic signal and the third time or the fourth time, an acoustic transmission time delay self, wherein the first time is a time in response to determining that the master device sends the ultrasonic synchronization signal; and the second time is a time in response to determining that the master device receives the response signal;

wherein the second identification information is allocated by the master device to a controlled device according to first identification information, a data volume of the second identification information is smaller than that of the first identification information, the controlled device is in the same local area network as the master device, the first identification information is identification information of the controlled device obtained by the master device, and a time length of the detection cycle is a product of a preset time slot length and a number of controlled devices in the same local area network as the master device.

10 . The communication method according to claim 9 , wherein determining, according to the detection timing, the corresponding response time of the controlled device in the detection cycle comprises:

determining, according to the detection timing and the acoustic transmission time delay self, the corresponding response time of the controlled device in the detection cycle.

11 . A communication system, comprising:

a master device, comprising at least one acoustic emitter and at least two acoustic receivers, the at least two acoustic receivers being disposed at different positions of the master device; and

at least one controlled device, comprising at least one acoustic emitter and at least one acoustic receiver, the master device and the at least one controlled device being in a same local area network,

wherein the master device comprises a first controller, the first controller comprises a first memory and one or more first processors, the first memory stores computer instructions, and in response to determining that the computer instructions are executed by the one or more first processors, the one or more first processors are collectively configured to: determine, according to a number of controlled devices and a preset time slot length, detection cycles and detection timing of various controlled devices in a detection cycle, wherein the controlled devices and the master device are devices located in the same local area network, and a time length of the detection cycle is a product of the preset time slot length and the number of the controlled devices; receive, in a time slot in the detection cycle, an ultrasonic sweep signal sent by the controlled device; and determine, according to the detection timing and the ultrasonic sweep signal, a detection result of the master device and the controlled device; and

a controlled device comprises a second controller, the second controller comprises a second memory and one or more second processors, the second memory stores computer instructions, and the computer instructions are executed by the one or more second processors, the one or more second processors are collectively configured to: receive the detection timing, sent by the master device of the controlled device in the detection cycle; and determine, according to the detection timing, a corresponding response time of the controlled device in the detection cycle, and sending the ultrasonic sweep signal at the response time;

wherein the master device comprises the first controller, the first controller comprises the first memory and the one or more first processors, the first memory stores the computer instructions, and in response to determining that the computer instructions are executed by the one or more first processors, the one or more first processors are collectively configured to: send an ultrasonic synchronization signal to the various controlled devices, and record a first time in response to determining that the ultrasonic synchronization signal is sent, wherein the ultrasonic synchronization signal comprises timing information enabling the controlled device to return a response signal and second identification information of the controlled device; receive the response signals sent by the various controlled devices, and record a second time in response to determining that the response signal is received, wherein the response signal is an ultrasonic signal generated, according to the timing information comprised in the ultrasonic synchronization signal, by the controlled device; and send the first time and the second time to a corresponding controlled device through an ultrasonic wave, wherein the corresponding controlled device determines an acoustic transmission time delay according to the first time and the second time, wherein the acoustic transmission time delay is an acoustic transmission time between the corresponding controlled device and the master device;

wherein the master device comprises the first controller, the first controller comprises the first memory and the one or more first processors, the first memory stores the computer instructions, and in response to determining that the computer instructions are executed by the one or more first processors, the one or more first processors are collectively configured to: obtain first identification information of the various controlled devices in the same local area network as the master device; and allocate, according to the first identification information, the second identification information to the controlled device, wherein a data volume of the second identification information is smaller than that of the first identification information; and

wherein the controlled device comprises the second controller, the second controller comprises the second memory and the one or more second processors, the second memory stores the computer instructions, and the computer instructions are executed by the one or more second processors, the one or more second processors are collectively configured to: receive the ultrasonic synchronization signal sent by the master device, and record a third time in response to determining that the ultrasonic synchronization signal is received; wherein the ultrasonic synchronization signal comprises the second identification information of the controlled device; send, according to parsed timing information comprised in the ultrasonic synchronization signal, the response signal to the master device at a corresponding time, and record a fourth time in response to determining that the response signal is sent; and receive the ultrasonic signal comprising the first time and the second time sent by the master device, and determine, according to the ultrasonic signal and the third time or the fourth time, an acoustic transmission time delay self, wherein the first time is a time in response to determining that the master device sends the ultrasonic synchronization signal; the second time is a time in response to determining that the master device receives the response signal; the second identification information is allocated by the master device to the controlled device according to the first identification information, the data volume of the second identification information is smaller than that of the first identification information, the controlled device is in the same local area network as the master device, the first identification information is identification information of the controlled device obtained by the master device, and the time length of the detection cycle is the product of the preset time slot length and the number of the controlled devices in the same local area network as the master device.

12 . The communication system according to claim 11 , wherein

the master device comprises a mobile terminal, and the controlled device comprises an intelligent home device.

13 . The communication system according to claim 11 , wherein the master device comprises the first controller, the first controller comprises the first memory and the one or more first processors, the first memory stores the computer instructions, and in response to determining that the computer instructions are executed by the one or more first processors, the one or more first processors are collectively configured to:

determine, according to the detection timing, a target controlled device corresponding to the time slot in the time slot; and

determine, according to the ultrasonic sweep signal received in the time slot, the detection result of the master device and the target controlled device.

14 . The communication system according to claim 13 , wherein the master device comprises the first controller, the first controller comprises the first memory and the one or more first processors, the first memory stores the computer instructions, and in response to determining that the computer instructions are executed by the one or more first processors, the one or more first processors are collectively configured to:

obtain a first ultrasonic sweep signal received by a first microphone of the master device in the time slot and a second ultrasonic sweep signal received by a second microphone of the master device in the time slot, wherein the first microphone and the second microphone are disposed at different positions of the master device;

determine, according to the first ultrasonic sweep signal and the second ultrasonic sweep signal, a time difference between the first microphone and the second microphone receiving the first and second ultrasonic sweep signals; and

determine, according to the time difference, the detection result of the master device and the target controlled device.

15 . The communication system according to claim 14 , wherein the master device comprises the first controller, the first controller comprises the first memory and the one or more first processors, the first memory stores the computer instructions, and in response to determining that the computer instructions are executed by the one or more first processors, the one or more first processors are collectively configured to:

obtain the time difference by performing correlation peak processing according to the first ultrasonic sweep signal and the second ultrasonic sweep signal.

16 . A non-transitory computer-readable storage medium on which computer instructions are stored, wherein the computer instructions are used for enabling a computer to execute the communication method according to claim 1 .

17 . A non-transitory computer-readable storage medium on which computer instructions are stored, wherein the computer instructions are used for enabling a computer to execute the communication method according to claim 9 .

Assignments (1)
ASSIGNMENT OF ASSIGNOR'S INTEREST Recorded Dec 23, 2022
From: ZHANG, YONG; YI, XINLIN; ZHU, NINGZHI; SHI, RUNYU; WANG, KAI
To: BEIJING XIAOMI MOBILE SOFTWARE CO., LTD.
Reel/Frame 062198/0301 →
Priority Claims (1)
CN 202211167771.0 · Sep 23, 2022 · national
Continuity (1)
Related Publication 20240106546A1 · Mar 28, 2024
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