Positioning methods, apparatuses, systems, and nodes

Abstract

This disclosure relates to a positioning method, apparatus, system, and node, and pertains to the fields of positioning technology and communication technology. The method, executed by a first node, includes: switching multiple array elements in a polarization array to receive signals transmitted by a second node according to a switching mode, wherein the switching mode includes time configuration information for the multiple array elements to receive signals, the second node uses a single antenna to transmit signals, and the phase of the transmitted signal changes according to a preset period; aligning the signals received by the multiple array elements at different times in the time domain according to the switching mode and the preset period to obtain aligned multiple signals; and determining the direction of arrival of the second node based on the phase of the aligned multiple signals and the polarization information of the multiple array elements.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] This disclosure relates to the fields of positioning technology and communication technology, and in particular to a positioning method, apparatus, system and node. Background Technology

[0002] High-precision positioning technology, as the cornerstone of many complex technologies, has a wide range of applications in many aspects of production and life. In 5G (5th Generation Mobile Communication Technology) wireless communication networks, it has been extensively studied as an important topic.

[0003] Current 5G positioning technology standards encompass various positioning methods, which can be categorized into time-based and angle-based methods from a physical perspective. Time-based positioning requires synchronization of multiple base stations and is extremely sensitive to timing errors, making it costly and difficult to meet. Angle-based positioning currently relies primarily on measuring the received signal strength of multiple beams in different directions. Summary of the Invention

[0004] The inventors discovered that positioning based on the received signal strength of multiple beams from different directions has low accuracy.

[0005] One of the technical problems that this disclosure aims to solve is: how to improve the accuracy of positioning.

[0006] According to some embodiments of this disclosure, a positioning method is provided, executed by a first node, comprising: switching multiple array elements in a polarization array to receive signals transmitted by a second node according to a switching mode, wherein the switching mode includes time configuration information for the multiple array elements to receive signals, the second node uses a single antenna to transmit signals, and the phase of the transmitted signal changes according to a preset period; aligning the signals received by the multiple array elements at different times in the time domain according to the switching mode and the preset period to obtain aligned multiple signals; and determining the direction of arrival of the second node based on the phase of the aligned multiple signals and the polarization information of the multiple array elements.

[0007] In some embodiments, the switching mode includes: a working time slot, used to represent the time slot between two adjacent switching start times. According to the switching mode, switching multiple array elements in the polarization array to receive signals transmitted by the second node includes: when the number of radio frequency channels of the first node is less than the number of multiple array elements, in each working time slot, selecting array elements equal to the number of radio frequency channels to receive signals transmitted by the second node, until the number of working time slots reaches a threshold, wherein each array element operates in at least one working time slot, and the difference in the number of working time slots between any two array elements does not exceed a preset value.

[0008] In some embodiments, the switching mode includes: a working time slot, which includes a switching time slot and a receiving time slot; and time-domain alignment of signals received by multiple array elements at different times according to the switching mode and a preset period, which includes: for each array element, within the corresponding receiving time slot, determining the phase offset value of each signal sampled at each sampling time relative to a reference signal according to each sampling time and a preset period, wherein a receiving time slot includes one or more sampling times; and time-domain alignment of each sampled signal with the reference signal according to the phase offset value of each sampled signal relative to the reference signal.

[0009] In some embodiments, determining the phase offset value of each signal sampled at each sampling time relative to the reference signal, based on each sampling time and a preset period, includes: for each sampling time, determining the time difference between the sampling time and the sampling time of the reference signal; performing a modulo operation on the time difference with respect to the preset period, and using the remainder as the deviation time corresponding to the sampling time; and determining the phase offset value of the signal sampled at the sampling time relative to the reference signal based on the deviation time corresponding to the sampling time and the signal waveform.

[0010] In some embodiments, aligning each sampled signal with a reference signal in the time domain based on the phase offset value of each sampled signal relative to a reference signal includes: for each sampled signal, subtracting the phase of the signal from the phase offset value of the signal relative to the reference signal to obtain the phase of the aligned signal.

[0011] In some embodiments, according to the switching mode and the preset period, time-domain alignment of signals received by multiple array elements at different times further includes: replacing the amplitude values ​​of signals received by multiple array elements at different times with the same preset amplitude value to obtain the amplitude values ​​of each signal after alignment.

[0012] In some embodiments, the signal transmitted by the second node is a signal after the baseband signal is modulated onto a preset carrier frequency. According to the switching mode and the preset period, the time-domain alignment of the signals received by multiple array elements at different times includes: performing down-conversion to recover the baseband signal for the signal received by each array element; sampling the recovered baseband signal according to a preset frequency to obtain each signal sampled by the array element at each sampling time; and performing time-domain alignment of each signal sampled by multiple array elements at each sampling time according to the switching mode and the preset period.

[0013] In some embodiments, the preset frequency is not less than twice the frequency of the recovered baseband signal.

[0014] In some embodiments, the method further includes: initiating a location request or receiving a location request sent by a second node; and performing measurement preparation with the second node, wherein the measurement preparation includes: performing time synchronization with the second node.

[0015] In some embodiments, determining the direction of arrival of the second node based on the phase of the aligned multiple signals and the polarization information of the multiple array elements includes: using the direction of arrival (DOA) algorithm to determine the direction of arrival of the second node based on the phase of the aligned multiple signals and the polarization information of the multiple array elements.

[0016] In some embodiments, the multiple array elements include multiple antennas with different polarizations, and the antennas are at least one of electric dipole antennas or magnetic dipole antennas.

[0017] According to some other embodiments of this disclosure, a positioning device is provided, comprising: a switching control module, configured to switch multiple array elements in a polarization array to receive signals transmitted by a second node according to a switching mode, wherein the switching mode includes time configuration information for the multiple array elements to receive signals, the second node uses a single antenna to transmit signals, and the phase of the transmitted signal changes according to a preset period; a signal processing module, configured to perform time-domain alignment of the signals received by the multiple array elements at different times according to the switching mode and the preset period, to obtain aligned multiple signals; and a positioning module, configured to determine the direction of arrival of the second node based on the phase of the aligned multiple signals and the polarization information of the multiple array elements.

[0018] According to some other embodiments of the present disclosure, a positioning device is provided, comprising: a processor; and a memory coupled to the processor for storing instructions, which, when executed by the processor, cause the processor to perform a positioning method as described in any of the foregoing embodiments.

[0019] According to further embodiments of the present disclosure, a non-transitory computer-readable storage medium is provided, on which a computer program is stored, wherein the program, when executed by a processor, implements the positioning method of any of the foregoing embodiments.

[0020] According to some other embodiments of this disclosure, a node is provided, comprising: a positioning device of any of the foregoing embodiments; and a polarization array comprising a plurality of array elements, wherein each array element is configured to receive a signal sent by a second node in response to an instruction from the positioning device.

[0021] According to further embodiments of this disclosure, a positioning system is provided, comprising: a node of any of the foregoing embodiments, serving as a first node; and a second node, configured to transmit signals using a single antenna.

[0022] In this disclosure, the first node switches multiple array elements in the polarization array according to a switching mode to receive signals transmitted by the second node. Since the phase of the signal transmitted by the second node changes periodically, the signals received by the multiple array elements at different times can be time-domain aligned according to the switching mode and a preset period to obtain aligned signals. Furthermore, the direction of arrival of the second node is determined based on the phase of the aligned signals and the polarization information of the multiple array elements. This method can acquire signals containing both phase and polarization information, and using these signals for positioning can improve positioning accuracy.

[0023] Other features and advantages of this disclosure will become clear from the following detailed description of exemplary embodiments with reference to the accompanying drawings. Attached Figure Description

[0024] To more clearly illustrate the technical solutions in the embodiments of this disclosure or the prior art, the drawings used in the description of the embodiments or the prior art will be briefly introduced below. Obviously, the drawings described below are only some embodiments of this disclosure. For those skilled in the art, other drawings can be obtained based on these drawings without creative effort.

[0025] Figure 1 A flowchart illustrating a positioning method according to some embodiments of this disclosure is shown.

[0026] Figure 2A A schematic diagram illustrating the network architecture of some embodiments of this disclosure is shown.

[0027] Figure 2B A schematic diagram illustrating switching modes of some embodiments of this disclosure is shown.

[0028] Figure 3 A schematic diagram of the structure of a positioning device according to some embodiments of the present disclosure is shown.

[0029] Figure 4 A schematic diagram of the positioning device according to other embodiments of this disclosure is shown.

[0030] Figure 5 A schematic diagram of the positioning device according to further embodiments of the present disclosure is shown.

[0031] Figure 6 A schematic diagram of the structure of a node is shown in some embodiments of this disclosure.

[0032] Figure 7 A schematic diagram of the structure of a positioning system according to some embodiments of the present disclosure is shown. Detailed Implementation

[0033] The technical solutions of the embodiments of this disclosure will be clearly and completely described below with reference to the accompanying drawings. Obviously, the described embodiments are only some embodiments of this disclosure, and not all embodiments. The following description of at least one exemplary embodiment is merely illustrative and is in no way intended to limit this disclosure or its application or use. All other embodiments obtained by those skilled in the art based on the embodiments of this disclosure without creative effort are within the scope of protection of this disclosure.

[0034] This disclosure provides a positioning method, which is described below in conjunction with... Figures 1-2B Describe it.

[0035] Figure 1 Flowcharts illustrating some embodiments of the positioning method of this disclosure. For example... Figure 1 As shown, the method of this embodiment can be executed by the first node, including steps S102 to S106.

[0036] In step S102, according to the switching mode, multiple array elements in the polarization array are switched to receive the signal sent by the second node.

[0037] The first node can be, for example, a base station, and the second node can be, for example, a terminal or a base station, but is not limited to the examples given. Both the first and second nodes can be any devices, as long as the first node is configured with a polarized array antenna. Figure 2A As shown.

[0038] In some embodiments, the multiple array elements include multiple antennas with different polarizations, and the antennas are at least one of electric dipole antennas or magnetic dipole antennas. For example, for a polarization-sensitive array, there may be six types of antennas (array elements): three electric dipoles with different polarizations and three magnetic dipoles with different polarizations, which can sense different components of electric and magnetic fields, respectively.

[0039] In some embodiments, before step S102, the first node initiates a positioning request or receives a positioning request sent by the second node. The positioning request may be an AOA (Angle of Arrival) positioning request. The first node and the second node perform measurement preparation. The positioning request can be initiated by either the first node or the second node. Measurement preparation includes time synchronization between the first node and the second node, etc.

[0040] In some embodiments, the second node transmits signals using a single antenna, and the phase of the transmitted signal changes according to a preset period. The first node is configured with a polarized array antenna, and the second node may be equipped with only a single antenna or an antenna array, but it uses a single antenna to transmit signals for positioning.

[0041] Furthermore, the signal transmitted by the second node can be a baseband signal modulated onto a preset carrier frequency. The second node can generate a baseband waveform with a phase that changes according to a preset period, use a local oscillator to generate a high-frequency carrier, and modulate the baseband waveform onto the carrier frequency for radiation through the radio frequency link.

[0042] The baseband waveform generated by the second node can be a waveform in which both instantaneous amplitude and phase change periodically with time. A baseband waveform in which the phase changes uniformly with time, i.e., a single-frequency signal, can be selected to facilitate the subsequent positioning calculation process.

[0043] In some embodiments, the switching mode includes: time configuration information for multiple array elements receiving signals, used to specify the timing rules for the multiple array elements receiving signals. Further, the switching mode includes: a working time slot, used to represent the time slot between two adjacent switching start times.

[0044] like Figure 2B As shown, a working time slot can include a switching time slot and a receiving time slot. A switching time slot can represent the time length from the start of a switching operation to its completion; a receiving time slot can represent the time length from the start of reception to the completion of reception by an array element. The switching mode can also include a threshold for the number of working time slots. Each array element operates in at least one working time slot, and the difference in the number of working time slots between any two array elements does not exceed a preset value. That is, the number of working time slots for each array element should be as equal as possible.

[0045] The first node can switch one or more array elements each time to receive signals sent by the second node, according to the switching mode. In some embodiments, when the number of radio frequency channels of the first node is less than the number of array elements, array elements equal to the number of radio frequency channels are selected in each working time slot to receive signals sent by the second node, until the number of working time slots reaches a threshold.

[0046] The number of RF channels in the first node is less than the number of array elements (antennas). Within one working time slot, some array elements in the polarization array are connected to the RF link to receive the incoming signal. For example, it can be set to uniformly traverse each array element. If the number of RF channels is M and the total number of array elements is N (N>M), then as shown in Table 1, in the first working time slot, antennas 1, 2, ..., M are working; in the second working time slot, antennas M+1, M+2, ..., 2M are working, and so on, until the threshold number of working time slots is reached.

[0047] Table 1

[0048]

[0049] In step S104, the signals received by multiple array elements at different times are time-domain aligned according to the switching mode and preset period to obtain multiple aligned signals.

[0050] In some embodiments, the signal transmitted by the second node is a baseband signal modulated onto a preset carrier frequency. The first node then performs down-conversion to recover the baseband signal for each array element's received signal. The recovered baseband signal is sampled at a preset frequency to obtain the signals sampled by that array element at each sampling time. Based on the switching mode and a preset period, the signals sampled by multiple array elements at each sampling time are time-domain aligned. The preset frequency is not less than twice the frequency of the recovered baseband signal.

[0051] When the first node receives the incoming signal, it performs down-conversion to remove the high-frequency carrier and recover the baseband signal. Then, it can perform ADC (Analog to Digital Converter) sampling. According to the sampling theorem, in order to recover the periodic baseband signal, the sampling rate should not be less than twice the baseband signal frequency. A higher sampling rate leads to an increase in the number of samples, which directly helps to improve the subsequent positioning accuracy. For example, the sampling rate can be set to 4 or 8 times the signal frequency.

[0052] Each receiving time slot includes one or more sampling times, and sampling is performed at each sampling time according to a preset frequency. Each array element can sample one or more signals in one receiving time slot.

[0053] The first node can align the signals received by different array elements according to a preset period and switching mode. Alignment involves amplitude compensation, or amplitude and phase compensation, of signals sampled at different sampling times. The purpose is to make all sampled signals after alignment equivalent to the result of sampling signals received at the same time, that is, to eliminate the amplitude and phase offset of the sampled signals caused by time-division multiplexing of the array antenna.

[0054] In some embodiments, for each array element, within the corresponding receiving time slot, the phase offset value of each signal sampled at each sampling time relative to the reference signal is determined according to each sampling time and a preset period. Based on the phase offset values ​​of each sampled signal relative to the reference signal, the sampled signals are time-domain aligned with the reference signal. The reference signal is, for example, the signal obtained from the first sampling. In practice, the reference signal can be a signal from any time, and is not limited to the example given.

[0055] Furthermore, for each sampling moment, the time difference between the sampling moment and the sampling moment of the reference signal is determined; the time difference is moduloed by a preset period, and the remainder is used as the deviation moment corresponding to the sampling moment; based on the deviation moment corresponding to the sampling moment and the signal waveform, the phase offset value of the signal sampled at that sampling moment relative to the reference signal is determined.

[0056] For example, for each sampled signal, the phase of the signal is subtracted from the phase offset of the signal relative to the reference signal to obtain the aligned phase of the signal.

[0057] If the amplitude of the signal emitted by the second node also changes according to the preset period, then for each array element, within the corresponding receiving time slot, the amplitude offset value of each signal sampled at each sampling time relative to the reference signal can be determined according to each sampling time and the preset period. Based on the amplitude offset value of each sampled signal relative to the reference signal, the sampled signals can be time-domain aligned with the reference signal.

[0058] Furthermore, for each sampling moment, the time difference between the sampling moment and the sampling moment of the reference signal is determined; the time difference is moduloed by a preset period, and the remainder is used as the deviation moment corresponding to the sampling moment; based on the deviation moment corresponding to the sampling moment and the signal waveform, the amplitude offset value of the signal sampled at that sampling moment relative to the reference signal is determined.

[0059] For example, for each sampled signal, the amplitude value of the signal is subtracted from the amplitude offset of the signal relative to the reference signal to obtain the aligned amplitude value of the signal.

[0060] If the amplitude of the signal emitted by the second node is not periodically changing, the amplitude values ​​of the signals received by multiple array elements at different times can be replaced with the same preset amplitude value to obtain the amplitude values ​​of each signal after alignment. Of course, if the amplitude of the signal emitted by the second node is periodically changing, the amplitude values ​​of the signals received by multiple array elements at different times can also be replaced with the same preset amplitude value to obtain the amplitude values ​​of each signal after alignment.

[0061] For example, if the preset period is T, the phase and amplitude of the signal within one period are expressed as follows: A(t), t∈[0,T). The relationship between signal amplitude and phase and time is determined by the waveform. Since the waveform is preset, this relationship is known information.

[0062] Assume that both the switching time slot and the receiving time slot have a length of S. The first sampling time of the first working time slot is time 0, and the signal sampled in the first sampling is used as the reference signal. Assume that a total of L samples are obtained in the receiving time slot of array element n, and the sampling times are respectively... The phase offset and amplitude offset values ​​relative to the reference signal are expressed by the following formulas.

[0063]

[0064]

[0065] Therefore, the corresponding phase compensation value and amplitude compensation value of array element n for L samples in the sampling time slot can be expressed by the following formula.

[0066]

[0067]

[0068] By adding the phase and amplitude of each sampled signal to the corresponding phase compensation value and amplitude compensation value, the aligned phase and amplitude values ​​can be obtained.

[0069] In step S106, the incoming wave direction of the second node is determined based on the phase of the aligned multiple signals and the polarization information of the multiple array elements.

[0070] In some embodiments, the direction of arrival of the second node is determined by using the DOA (Direction of Arrival) algorithm based on the phase of the aligned multiple signals and the polarization information of the multiple array elements.

[0071] After the first node performs localization using the DOA algorithm based on the polarization-sensitive array, it can send the localization results to the second node.

[0072] In the above embodiments, the first node switches multiple array elements in the polarization array to receive signals transmitted by the second node according to the switching mode. Since the phase of the signal transmitted by the second node changes periodically, the signals received by the multiple array elements at different times can be time-domain aligned according to the switching mode and a preset period to obtain aligned signals. Furthermore, the direction of arrival of the second node is determined based on the phase of the aligned signals and the polarization information of the multiple array elements. The method disclosed herein can obtain signals containing phase and polarization information, and using these signals for positioning can improve the accuracy of positioning.

[0073] The first node, for example, is a base station. A polarization-sensitive array is configured to extract the polarization state and phase information of the signal, enabling high-precision positioning estimation. Based on periodic signals and switching modes, time-division multiplexing (TDD) antenna signal reception achieves the goal of extracting the polarization components of all antennas in a large-scale array using fewer radio frequency links, reducing hardware complexity and significantly saving costs. The periodic waveform and switching mode design in this disclosure are flexible and can adapt to diverse array configurations in actual systems.

[0074] This disclosure also provides a positioning device, which is described below in conjunction with... Figure 3 Describe it.

[0075] Figure 3 These are structural diagrams of some embodiments of the positioning device disclosed herein. Figure 3As shown, the device 30 in this embodiment includes: a switching control module 310, a signal processing module 320, and a positioning module 330.

[0076] The switching control module 310 is used to switch multiple array elements in the polarization array to receive signals sent by the second node according to the switching mode. The switching mode includes the time configuration information of multiple array elements receiving signals. The second node uses a single antenna to transmit signals, and the phase of the transmitted signal changes according to a preset period.

[0077] In some embodiments, the multiple array elements include multiple antennas with different polarizations, and the antennas are at least one of electric dipole antennas or magnetic dipole antennas.

[0078] In some embodiments, the switching mode includes: a working time slot, which represents the time slot between two adjacent switching start times. The switching control module 310 is used to select an array element equal to the number of radio frequency channels in each working time slot to receive the signal sent by the second node when the number of radio frequency channels of the first node is less than the number of array elements, until the number of working time slots reaches a threshold. In this case, each array element works in at least one working time slot, and the difference in the number of working time slots between any two array elements does not exceed a preset value.

[0079] The signal processing module 320 is used to perform time-domain alignment of signals received by multiple array elements at different times according to the switching mode and preset period, so as to obtain multiple aligned signals.

[0080] In some embodiments, the switching mode includes: a working time slot, which includes a switching time slot and a receiving time slot. The signal processing module 320 is used to determine, for each array element, the phase offset value of each signal sampled at each sampling time relative to the reference signal within the corresponding receiving time slot, based on each sampling time and a preset period, wherein a receiving time slot includes one or more sampling times; and to perform time-domain alignment of each sampled signal with the reference signal based on the phase offset value of each sampled signal relative to the reference signal.

[0081] In some embodiments, the signal processing module 320 is configured to, for each sampling moment, determine the time difference between the sampling moment and the sampling moment of the reference signal; perform a modulo operation on the time difference with respect to a preset period, and use the remainder as the deviation moment corresponding to the sampling moment; and determine the phase offset value of the signal sampled at the sampling moment relative to the reference signal based on the deviation moment corresponding to the sampling moment and the signal waveform.

[0082] In some embodiments, the signal processing module 320 is used to subtract the phase of each sampled signal from the phase offset of the signal relative to a reference signal to obtain the aligned phase of the signal.

[0083] In some embodiments, the signal processing module 320 is further configured to replace the amplitude values ​​of signals received by multiple array elements at different times with the same preset amplitude value to obtain the amplitude values ​​of each signal after alignment.

[0084] In some embodiments, the signal sent by the second node is a signal after the baseband signal is modulated onto a preset carrier frequency. The signal processing module 320 is further configured to perform down-conversion to recover the baseband signal for the signal received by each array element; sample the recovered baseband signal according to a preset frequency to obtain each signal sampled by the array element at each sampling time; and perform time-domain alignment of each signal sampled by multiple array elements at each sampling time according to the switching mode and a preset period.

[0085] In some embodiments, the preset frequency is not less than twice the frequency of the recovered baseband signal.

[0086] The positioning module 330 is used to determine the incoming wave direction of the second node based on the phase of the aligned multiple signals and the polarization information of the multiple array elements.

[0087] In some embodiments, the positioning module 330 is used to determine the direction of arrival of the second node by employing the direction of arrival (DOA) algorithm based on the phase of the aligned multiple signals and the polarization information of the multiple array elements.

[0088] In some embodiments, the device further includes: a sending module for initiating a positioning request, or a receiving module for receiving a positioning request sent by a second node; and a measurement preparation module for performing measurement preparation with the second node, wherein the measurement preparation includes: time synchronization with the second node.

[0089] The positioning devices in the embodiments of this disclosure can be implemented by various computing devices or computer systems, as described below. Figure 4 as well as Figure 5 Describe it.

[0090] Figure 4 These are structural diagrams of some embodiments of the positioning device disclosed herein. Figure 4 As shown, the apparatus 40 of this embodiment includes a memory 410 and a processor 420 coupled to the memory 410. The processor 420 is configured to execute the positioning method in any of the embodiments of this disclosure based on instructions stored in the memory 410.

[0091] The memory 410 may include, for example, system memory, fixed non-volatile storage media, etc. The system memory stores, for example, the operating system, application programs, boot loader, database, and other programs.

[0092] Figure 5Structural diagrams of other embodiments of the positioning device of this disclosure are shown. Figure 5 As shown, the device 50 in this embodiment includes a memory 510 and a processor 520, which are similar to the memory 410 and processor 420, respectively. It may also include an input / output interface 530, a network interface 540, a storage interface 550, etc. These interfaces 530, 540, 550, and the memory 510 and processor 520 can be connected, for example, via a bus 560. The input / output interface 530 provides a connection interface for input / output devices such as a display, mouse, keyboard, and touchscreen. The network interface 540 provides a connection interface for various networked devices, such as connecting to a database server or cloud storage server. The storage interface 550 provides a connection interface for external storage devices such as SD cards and USB flash drives.

[0093] This disclosure also provides a node, which is described below in conjunction with... Figure 6 Describe it.

[0094] Figure 6 This is a structural diagram of some embodiments of the nodes disclosed herein. For example... Figure 6 As shown, node 60 in this embodiment includes: positioning devices 30 / 40 / 50 of any of the foregoing embodiments; and a polarization array 62 including multiple array elements, each array element being used to receive a signal sent by the second node in response to an instruction from the positioning device.

[0095] This disclosure also provides a positioning system, which is described below in conjunction with... Figure 7 Describe it.

[0096] Figure 7 This is a structural diagram of some embodiments of the positioning system disclosed herein. For example... Figure 7 As shown, the system 7 of this embodiment includes: node 60, as a first node, and second node 70, for transmitting signals using a single antenna.

[0097] The second node is also used to execute the methods related to the second node in any of the foregoing embodiments, which will not be described again here.

[0098] Those skilled in the art will understand that embodiments of this disclosure can be provided as methods, systems, or computer program products. Therefore, this disclosure can take the form of a completely hardware embodiment, a completely software embodiment, or an embodiment combining software and hardware aspects. Furthermore, this disclosure can take the form of a computer program product embodied on one or more computer-usable non-transitory storage media (including, but not limited to, disk storage, CD-ROM, optical storage, etc.) containing computer-usable program code.

[0099] This disclosure is described with reference to flowchart illustrations and / or block diagrams of methods, apparatus (systems), and computer program products according to embodiments of this disclosure. It should be understood that each block of the flowchart illustrations and / or block diagrams, and combinations of blocks in the flowchart illustrations and / or block diagrams, can be implemented by computer program instructions. These computer program instructions can be provided to a processor of a general-purpose computer, special-purpose computer, embedded processor, or other programmable data processing apparatus to produce a machine, such that the instructions, which execute via the processor of the computer or other programmable data processing apparatus, create a machine for implementing the flowchart illustrations and / or block diagrams. Figure 1 One or more processes and / or boxes Figure 1 A device that provides the functions specified in one or more boxes.

[0100] These computer program instructions may also be stored in a computer-readable storage medium that can direct a computer or other programmable data processing device to function in a particular manner, such that the instructions stored in the computer-readable storage medium produce an article of manufacture including instruction means, which are implemented in a process Figure 1 One or more processes and / or boxes Figure 1 The function specified in one or more boxes.

[0101] These computer program instructions may also be loaded onto a computer or other programmable data processing equipment to cause a series of operational steps to be performed on the computer or other programmable equipment to produce a computer-implemented process, thereby providing instructions that execute on the computer or other programmable equipment for implementing the process. Figure 1 One or more processes and / or boxes Figure 1 The steps of the function specified in one or more boxes.

[0102] The above description is only a preferred embodiment of this disclosure and is not intended to limit this disclosure. Any modifications, equivalent substitutions, improvements, etc., made within the spirit and principles of this disclosure should be included within the protection scope of this disclosure.

Claims

1. A positioning method, executed by a first node, comprising: According to the switching mode, multiple array elements in the polarization array are switched to receive the signal sent by the second node. The switching mode includes the time configuration information of the multiple array elements receiving the signal. The second node uses a single antenna to send the signal, and the phase of the sent signal changes according to a preset period. According to the switching mode and the preset period, the signals received by the multiple array elements at different times are time-domain aligned to obtain multiple aligned signals; Based on the phase of the aligned multiple signals and the polarization information of the multiple array elements, the incoming wave direction of the second node is determined. The switching mode includes: a working time slot, used to represent the time slot between two adjacent switching start times; and the step of switching multiple array elements in the polarization array to receive signals sent by the second node according to the switching mode includes: When the number of radio frequency channels of the first node is less than the number of array elements, in each working time slot, array elements of equal number to the number of radio frequency channels are selected to receive the signal sent by the second node until the number of working time slots reaches a threshold. Each array element works in at least one working time slot, and the difference in the number of working time slots between any two array elements does not exceed a preset value.

2. The positioning method according to claim 1, wherein, The working time slot includes a switching time slot and a receiving time slot. The step of time-domain alignment of the signals received by the multiple array elements at different times according to the switching mode and the preset period includes: For each array element, within the corresponding receiving time slot, the phase offset value of each signal sampled at each sampling time relative to the reference signal is determined according to each sampling time and the preset period, wherein a receiving time slot includes one or more sampling times. Based on the phase offset value of each sampled signal relative to the reference signal, the sampled signals are time-domain aligned with the reference signal.

3. The positioning method according to claim 2, wherein, The step of determining the phase offset value of each signal sampled at each sampling time relative to the reference signal based on each sampling time and the preset period includes: For each sampling time, determine the time difference between that sampling time and the sampling time of the reference signal; The time difference is moduloed by the preset period, and the remainder is taken as the deviation time corresponding to the sampling time. Based on the deviation time and signal waveform corresponding to the sampling time, determine the phase offset value of the sampled signal relative to the reference signal at that sampling time.

4. The positioning method according to claim 2, wherein, The step of aligning each sampled signal with the reference signal in the time domain based on the phase offset value of each sampled signal relative to the reference signal includes: For each sampled signal, the phase of the signal is subtracted from the phase offset of the signal relative to the reference signal to obtain the aligned phase of the signal.

5. The positioning method according to claim 2, wherein, The step of performing time-domain alignment of the signals received by the multiple array elements at different times according to the switching mode and the preset period further includes: The amplitude values ​​of the signals received by the multiple array elements at different times are replaced with the same preset amplitude value to obtain the amplitude values ​​of each signal after alignment.

6. The positioning method according to claim 1, wherein, The signal transmitted by the second node is a signal after the baseband signal has been modulated onto a preset carrier frequency. The step of time-domain aligning the signals received by the multiple array elements at different times according to the switching mode and the preset period includes: For the signal received by each array element, down-conversion is performed to recover the baseband signal; The recovered baseband signal is sampled at a preset frequency to obtain the signals sampled by the array element at each sampling time. According to the switching mode and the preset period, the signals sampled by the multiple array elements at each sampling time are time-domain aligned.

7. The positioning method according to claim 6, wherein, The preset frequency is not less than twice the frequency of the recovered baseband signal.

8. The positioning method according to claim 1 further includes: Initiate a location request or receive a location request sent by the second node; Prepare for measurement with the second node, wherein the measurement preparation includes: time synchronization with the second node.

9. The positioning method according to claim 1, wherein, Determining the incoming wave direction of the second node based on the phase of the aligned multiple signals and the polarization information of the multiple array elements includes: Based on the phase of the aligned signals and the polarization information of the array elements, the direction of arrival (DOA) algorithm is used to determine the direction of arrival of the second node.

10. The positioning method according to claim 1, wherein, The plurality of array elements include a plurality of antennas with different polarizations, wherein the antenna is at least one of an electric dipole antenna or a magnetic dipole antenna.

11. A positioning device, comprising: The switching control module is used to switch multiple array elements in the polarization array to receive signals transmitted by the second node according to the switching mode. The switching mode includes the time configuration information of the multiple array elements receiving signals. The second node uses a single antenna to transmit signals, and the phase of the transmitted signal changes according to a preset period. The signal processing module is used to perform time-domain alignment of the signals received by the multiple array elements at different times according to the switching mode and the preset period, so as to obtain multiple aligned signals. The positioning module is used to determine the direction of arrival of the second node based on the phase of the aligned multiple signals and the polarization information of the multiple array elements. The switching mode includes: a working time slot, used to represent the time slot between two adjacent switching start times; and the step of switching multiple array elements in the polarization array to receive signals sent by the second node according to the switching mode includes: When the number of radio frequency channels of the first node is less than the number of array elements, in each working time slot, array elements of equal number to the number of radio frequency channels are selected to receive the signal sent by the second node until the number of working time slots reaches a threshold. Each array element works in at least one working time slot, and the difference in the number of working time slots between any two array elements does not exceed a preset value.

12. A positioning device, comprising: processor; as well as A memory coupled to the processor is used to store instructions that, when executed by the processor, cause the processor to perform the positioning method as described in any one of claims 1-10.

13. A non-transitory computer-readable storage medium having a computer program stored thereon, wherein, When executed by a processor, the program implements the steps of the method according to any one of claims 1-10.

14. A node, comprising: The positioning device of claim 11 or 12; and a polarization array comprising a plurality of array elements, wherein each array element is configured to receive a signal transmitted by a second node in response to an instruction from the positioning device.

15. A positioning system, comprising: The node as described in claim 14 serves as the first node; as well as The second node is used to transmit signals using a single antenna.

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