A downlink positioning method and a communication device

Abstract

The present application discloses a downlink positioning method and a communication device. The method includes: a first network device sending a first message and first indication information to a terminal, and receiving a second message from the terminal; wherein, the first message includes aperiodic PRS resource configuration information, and the resource configuration information is used to configure the aperiodic PRS resource; the first indication information is used to indicate the terminal to receive the aperiodic PRS; the second message includes a first measurement result obtained by the terminal measuring the aperiodic PRS, and the first measurement result is used to determine the position of the terminal. Since the first network device can send an aperiodic PRS to the terminal, the terminal does not need to receive the PRS from the first network device at a fixed period, which can reduce the resource overhead for positioning and also shorten the positioning delay.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] This application relates to the field of positioning technology, and in particular, to a downlink positioning method and a communication device. Background Art

[0002] In traditional positioning architectures such as the positioning architecture of Long Term Evolution (LTE), New Radio (NR) Release (Rel) R-16, only periodic positioning reference signals (PRS) transmission is supported, that is, the network device continuously transmits PRS according to the configured period. Since data cannot be transmitted or received on the resources for transmitting PRS, the data throughput rate decreases. For the terminal, the terminal needs to receive PRS according to the corresponding period. If the period is long, the positioning latency is also long; if the period is short, the resource overhead for positioning is large. Summary of the Invention

[0003] This application provides a downlink positioning method and a communication device, which support positioning based on aperiodic PRS, can shorten the positioning latency and reduce the resource overhead for positioning.

[0004] In a first aspect, a downlink positioning method is provided. This method can be executed by a first communication device, and the first communication device can be a communication device or a communication device capable of supporting the communication device to implement the functions required for this method, such as a chip system. Hereinafter, the communication device is taken as an example of the first network device for description. The method includes:

[0005] The first network device sends a first message and first indication information to the terminal, and receives a second message from the terminal; wherein, the first message includes resource configuration information of an aperiodic PRS, and the resource configuration information is used to configure the resources of the aperiodic PRS; the first indication information is used to indicate the terminal to receive the aperiodic PRS; the second message includes a first measurement result obtained by the terminal measuring the aperiodic PRS, and the first measurement result is used to determine the position of the terminal. Since the first network device triggers the terminal to receive the aperiodic PRS, the terminal does not need to receive PRS according to a fixed period, which can reduce the resource overhead for positioning and also shorten the positioning latency.

[0006] In a possible implementation manner, the resource configuration information includes resource type information, and the resource type information is used to indicate that the resources configured by the resource configuration information are resources of an aperiodic PRS. This solution can be compatible with the existing positioning architecture based on periodic PRS, and clearly indicates whether the PRS configured by the first network device is periodic or aperiodic through the resource configuration information.

[0007] In a possible implementation, the first indication information includes a system frame number and / or a time slot index, which is used to indicate the resource location of the aperiodic PRS. In this solution, the resource location of the aperiodic PRS received by the terminal is indicated by the system frame number and / or the time slot index, which is direct and simple.

[0008] In a possible implementation, the resource configuration information includes an offset value, which is used to indicate the interval between the time of receiving the aperiodic PRS and the time of receiving the first indication information. This solution can also indirectly indicate the start time of the terminal receiving the aperiodic PRS through the reception time of the first indication information and the offset value, which is more flexible.

[0009] In a possible implementation, the resource configuration information includes status identifiers respectively corresponding to the resources of one or more aperiodic PRSs. In this solution, the resources of one or more aperiodic PRSs configured by the network device for the terminal can be indicated by the status identifiers. For example, one or more PRS resource sets can be predefined or configured, each PRS resource set includes the resources of one or more aperiodic PRSs, and the resources corresponding to the aperiodic PRS to be measured by the terminal are indicated by the status identifier corresponding to the resources of the aperiodic PRS, so as to minimize the signaling overhead.

[0010] In a possible implementation, the first indication information includes the status identifier corresponding to the PRS resource of the triggered aperiodic PRS. Similarly, this solution can also indicate the aperiodic PRS measured by the terminal through the status identifier corresponding to the PRS resource of the aperiodic PRS, reducing the signaling overhead.

[0011] In a possible implementation, the method further includes: a first network device receives a third message from a location management function (LMF), where the third message includes the resource configuration information of at least one aperiodic PRS configured by a second network device, and the resource configuration information of the at least one aperiodic PRS configured by the second network device is used to determine the resource configuration information of the aperiodic PRS in the first message. This solution can be applied to the scenario where multiple network devices exist. The LMF collects the resource configuration information of the aperiodic PRSs of multiple network devices, sends the collected resource configuration information of the aperiodic PRSs to the first network device, and the first network device uniformly configures the resources of the measurable aperiodic PRSs for the terminal. For example, the resources of the measurable aperiodic PRSs include the resources used by the aperiodic PRS sent by the second network device, and triggers the terminal to receive the aperiodic PRS from the second network device and perform measurements based on the aperiodic PRS from the second network device, thereby improving the positioning accuracy or realizing the positioning based on the PRS of the non-serving network device.

[0012] In a possible implementation, the method further includes: a first network device receiving resource configuration information of an aperiodic PRS sent by the at least one second network device. This solution can also be applied to a scenario where multiple network devices exist. The first network device can determine by itself to jointly locate a terminal with neighboring base stations to improve the positioning accuracy. In this case, the first network device can directly interact with the at least one second network device for information required for positioning, such as the resource configuration information of the aperiodic PRS configured by the at least one second network device. In this way, the first network device and the at least one second network device can use interface signaling interaction between network devices to implement positioning based on the aperiodic PRS. Compared with high-layer signaling, the signaling interaction delay can be reduced, thereby reducing the positioning delay.

[0013] In a possible implementation, the first message further includes resource configuration information of an aperiodic PRS configured by the at least one second network device. Since the first message can also include the resource configuration information of the aperiodic PRS configured by one or more second network devices, the first network device and the multiple second network devices can jointly implement positioning to improve the positioning accuracy of the terminal.

[0014] In a possible implementation, the method further includes the first network device separately sending a fourth message to the at least one second network device, where the fourth message is used to instruct the corresponding second network device to send an aperiodic PRS. In this solution, if the first network device determines to jointly implement positioning of the terminal based on the aperiodic PRS with the second network device, the first network device can additionally instruct one or more second network devices to send an aperiodic PRS.

[0015] In a possible implementation, the first network device sending first indication information to the terminal includes:

[0016] The first network device receives a fifth message from the LMF, where the fifth message is used to trigger the first network device to send the first indication information. In this solution, in the positioning scenario based on the aperiodic PRS, the LMF can request the first network device to report the measurement result of the terminal on the aperiodic PRS. That is, the LMF triggers the first network device to send the first indication information to the terminal.

[0017] In a possible implementation, the fifth message includes time information, where the time information is used to indicate the time-domain resource position for the terminal to send the first measurement result. In this solution, the fifth message can include time information to indicate the time-domain resource position for the terminal to send the first measurement result. That is, the time information carried by the fifth message can limit the positioning delay and better meet the positioning delay requirement.

[0018] In a possible implementation, the method further includes: a first network device receives a sixth message from the LMF, and the sixth message is used to instruct the first network device to send an aperiodic PRS. In this solution, in a scenario of positioning based on an aperiodic PRS, the LMF can trigger the first network device to send an aperiodic PRS.

[0019] In a possible implementation, the sixth message includes a transmission system frame number and a time slot index, and is used to indicate the resource location of the aperiodic PRS. Similar to the first indication information, the sixth message indicates the resource location for the first network device to send an aperiodic PRS through the system frame number and / or the time slot index, which is direct and simple.

[0020] In a possible implementation, the method further includes: a first network device receives a seventh message from the LMF, and sends the first message to the terminal according to the seventh message; wherein, the seventh message is used to request the location of the terminal from the first network device, and the seventh message includes resource type information, and the resource type information is used to indicate that the resource configured by the resource configuration information is an aperiodic PRS resource. In this solution, the positioning management device can clearly inform the first network device whether the terminal supports positioning based on an aperiodic PRS, so that the first network device configures an appropriate PRS resource for the terminal. For example, if the terminal supports positioning based on an aperiodic PRS, the first network device configures an aperiodic PRS resource for the terminal to minimize resource overhead and reduce the terminal positioning delay.

[0021] In a second aspect, another downlink positioning method is provided. This method can be executed by a second communication device, and the second communication device can be a communication device or a communication device such as a chip system that can support the functions required for the communication device to implement this method. The following describes the case where the communication device is a positioning management device as an example. The method includes:

[0022] The positioning management device sends a first message and first indication information to the terminal, and receives a first measurement result. The first message includes configuration information of an aperiodic positioning reference signal PRS, the resource configuration information is used to configure the resources of the aperiodic PRS, the first indication information is used to instruct the terminal to receive the aperiodic PRS, and the first measurement result corresponds to the aperiodic PRS and is used to determine the location of the terminal.

[0023] In a possible implementation, the resource configuration information includes resource type information, and the resource type information is used to indicate that the resource configured by the resource configuration information is an aperiodic PRS resource.

[0024] In a possible implementation, the first indication information includes a system frame number and a time slot index, and is used to indicate the resource location of the aperiodic PRS.

[0025] In a possible implementation, the resource configuration information includes an offset value, and the offset value is used to indicate the interval between the moment of receiving the aperiodic PRS and the moment of receiving the first indication information.

[0026] In a possible implementation, the resource configuration information includes status identifiers corresponding to one or more aperiodic PRS resources respectively.

[0027] In a possible implementation, the first indication information includes the status identifier corresponding to the PRS resource of the triggered aperiodic PRS.

[0028] In a possible implementation, the method further includes: the positioning management device respectively sends a second message to the at least one second network device, and the second message is used to request to obtain the resource configuration information of the aperiodic PRS of the corresponding second network device.

[0029] In a possible implementation, the method further includes: the positioning management device sends a third message to the first network device, and the third message is used to trigger the first network device to send an aperiodic PRS.

[0030] In a possible implementation, the third message includes time information, and the time information is used to indicate the time-domain resource position for the terminal to send the first measurement result.

[0031] In a possible implementation, the method further includes: the positioning management device respectively sends a fourth message to at least one second network device, and the fourth message is used to instruct the corresponding second network device to send an aperiodic PRS.

[0032] In a possible implementation, the method further includes: the positioning management device receives information from the terminal for indicating that the terminal has the ability to support aperiodic PRS positioning.

[0033] Regarding the technical effects brought by the second aspect or various possible implementation manners of the second aspect, reference can be made to the introduction of the technical effects of the first aspect or various possible implementation manners of the first aspect.

[0034] In a third aspect, another downlink positioning method is provided. This method can be executed by a third communication device, and the third communication device can be a communication device or a communication device such as a chip system that can support the functions required for the communication device to implement this method. Hereinafter, the communication device is taken as an example of a terminal for description. This method includes:

[0035] The terminal receives a first message and first indication information, and sends a second message to a positioning management device; wherein, the first message includes resource configuration information of an aperiodic positioning reference signal (PRS) sent by a first network device, and the resource configuration information is used to configure resources of the aperiodic PRS; the first indication information is used to indicate that the terminal receives the aperiodic PRS from the first network device; the second message includes a first measurement result obtained by the terminal measuring the aperiodic PRS, and the first measurement result is used to determine the position of the terminal.

[0036] In a possible implementation manner, the terminal receiving the first message includes: the terminal receives the first message from the positioning management device.

[0037] In a possible implementation manner, the terminal receiving the first indication information includes: the terminal receives the first indication information from the positioning management device or the first network device.

[0038] In a possible implementation manner, the terminal receiving the first message includes: the terminal receives the first message from the first network device.

[0039] In a possible implementation manner, the terminal receiving the first indication information includes: the terminal receives the first indication information from the first network device.

[0040] In a possible implementation manner, the first message further includes resource configuration information of aperiodic PRSs of at least one second network device.

[0041] Regarding the technical effects brought by the third aspect or various possible implementation manners of the third aspect, reference can be made to the introduction of the technical effects of the first aspect or various possible implementation manners of the first aspect.

[0042] In a fourth aspect, a communication device is provided. The communication device may be a network-side communication device or a communication device capable of supporting the network-side communication device to implement the functions required by this method, such as a chip or a chip system. For example, the communication device is the first network device as described above. The communication device has the function of implementing the actions in the method embodiment of the first aspect above. The function may be implemented by hardware or by hardware executing corresponding software. The hardware or software includes one or more modules corresponding to the above functions. In a possible implementation manner, the communication device includes, for example, a processing module and a transceiver module that are coupled to each other, and these modules may execute the corresponding functions in the method example of the first aspect. For specific details, reference may be made to the detailed description in the method example.

[0043] For example, the processing module is used to generate a first message, the first message includes resource configuration information of an aperiodic positioning reference signal (PRS), and the resource configuration information is used to configure the resources of the aperiodic PRS; the transceiver module is used to: send the first message and a first indication message to a terminal, and receive a second message from the terminal, where the first indication message is used to instruct the terminal to receive the aperiodic PRS, and the second message includes a first measurement result obtained by the terminal measuring the aperiodic PRS, and the first measurement result is used to determine the position of the terminal.

[0044] In a possible implementation manner, the resource configuration information includes resource type information, and the resource type information is used to indicate that the resources configured by the resource configuration information are resources of an aperiodic PRS.

[0045] In a possible implementation manner, the first indication information includes a system frame number and a time slot index, and is used to indicate the resource position of the aperiodic PRS.

[0046] In a possible implementation manner, the resource configuration information includes an offset value, and the offset value is used to indicate the interval between the moment of receiving the aperiodic PRS and the moment of receiving the first indication information.

[0047] In a possible implementation manner, the resource configuration information includes status identifiers corresponding to one or more aperiodic PRS resources respectively.

[0048] In a possible implementation manner, the first indication information includes the status identifier corresponding to the PRS resource of the triggered aperiodic PRS.

[0049] In a possible implementation manner, the transceiver module is further used to:

[0050] Receive a third message from a positioning management device, where the third message includes resource configuration information of an aperiodic PRS configured by at least one second network device, and the resource configuration information of the aperiodic PRS configured by the at least one second network device is used to determine the resource configuration information of the aperiodic PRS in the first message.

[0051] In a possible implementation manner, the transceiver module is further used to: receive resource configuration information of an aperiodic PRS sent by at least one second network device respectively.

[0052] In a possible implementation manner, the first message further includes resource configuration information of an aperiodic PRS configured by at least one second network device.

[0053] In a possible implementation, the transceiver module is further configured to: separately send a fourth message to the at least one second network device, where the fourth message is used to instruct the corresponding second network device to send an aperiodic PRS.

[0054] In a possible implementation, the transceiver module is specifically configured to: receive a fifth message from a positioning management device, where the fifth message is used to trigger the communication device to send the first indication information.

[0055] In a possible implementation, the fifth message includes time information, and the time information is used to indicate the time-domain resource position for the terminal to send the first measurement result.

[0056] In a possible implementation, the transceiver module is further configured to: receive a sixth message from a positioning management device, where the sixth message is used to instruct the communication device to send an aperiodic PRS.

[0057] In a possible implementation, the seventh message includes a system frame number and a time slot index, and is used to indicate the resource position of the aperiodic PRS.

[0058] In a possible implementation, the transceiver module is further configured to: receive a seventh message from a positioning management device, where the seventh message is used to request the position of the terminal from the communication device, and the seventh message includes resource type information, and the resource type information is used to indicate that the resource configured by the resource configuration information is the resource of the aperiodic PRS;

[0059] Send the first message determined by the processing module according to the seventh message to the terminal.

[0060] In a fifth aspect, a communication device is provided. The communication device may be a network-side communication device or a communication device capable of supporting the network-side communication device to implement the functions required by the method, such as a chip or a chip system. For example, the communication device is the positioning management device as described above. The communication device has the functions of implementing the actions in the method embodiment of the second aspect. The functions may be implemented by hardware or by hardware executing corresponding software. The hardware or software includes one or more modules corresponding to the above functions. In a possible implementation, the communication device includes, for example, a processing module and a transceiver module that are coupled to each other, and these modules may execute the corresponding functions in the method example of the second aspect. For specific details, please refer to the detailed description in the method example.

[0061] For example, the processing module is used to generate a first message, the first message includes configuration information of an aperiodic positioning reference signal (PRS), and the resource configuration information is used to configure the resources of the aperiodic PRS; the transceiver module is used to send the first message and a first indication information to a terminal, and receive a first measurement result, wherein the first indication information is used to instruct the terminal to receive the aperiodic PRS, and the first measurement result corresponds to the aperiodic PRS and is used to determine the position of the terminal.

[0062] In a possible implementation manner, the resource configuration information includes resource type information, and the resource type information is used to indicate that the resources configured by the resource configuration information are the resources of the aperiodic PRS.

[0063] In a possible implementation manner, the first indication information includes a system frame number and a time slot index, and is used to indicate the resource position of the aperiodic PRS.

[0064] In a possible implementation manner, the resource configuration information includes an offset value, and the offset value is used to indicate the interval between the moment of receiving the aperiodic PRS and the moment of receiving the first indication information.

[0065] In a possible implementation manner, the resource configuration information includes status identifiers corresponding to one or more aperiodic PRS resources respectively.

[0066] In a possible implementation manner, the first indication information includes the status identifier corresponding to the PRS resource of the triggered aperiodic PRS.

[0067] In a possible implementation manner, the transceiver module is further used to: send a second message to at least one second network device respectively, and the second message is used to request to obtain the resource configuration information of the aperiodic PRS of the corresponding second network device.

[0068] In a possible implementation manner, the transceiver module is further used to: send a third message to a first network device, and the third message is used to trigger the first network device to send an aperiodic PRS.

[0069] In a possible implementation manner, the third message includes time information, and the time information is used to indicate the time domain resource position where the terminal sends the first measurement result.

[0070] In a possible implementation manner, the transceiver module is further used to: send a fourth message to at least one second network device respectively, and the fourth message is used to instruct the corresponding second network device to send an aperiodic PRS.

[0071] In a possible implementation manner, the transceiver module is further used to: receive a fifth message from the terminal, and the fifth message is used to indicate that the terminal has the ability to support aperiodic PRS positioning.

[0072] In a sixth aspect, a communication device is provided. The communication device may be a network-side communication device or a communication device capable of supporting the network-side communication device to implement the functions required by the method, such as a chip or a chip system. For example, the communication device is the terminal as described above. The communication device has the function of implementing the actions in the method embodiment of the above third aspect. The function may be implemented by hardware or by hardware executing corresponding software. The hardware or software includes one or more modules corresponding to the above functions. In a possible implementation manner, the communication device includes, for example, a processing module and a transceiver module that are coupled to each other, and these modules may execute the corresponding functions in the method example of the above third aspect. For specific details, refer to the detailed description in the method example.

[0073] For example, the transceiver module is used to receive a first message and first indication information. The first message includes resource configuration information of an aperiodic positioning reference signal (PRS), the resource configuration information is used to configure the resources of the aperiodic PRS, and the first indication information is used to indicate receiving from the aperiodic PRS; the processing module is used to generate a second message, the second message includes a first measurement result obtained by the communication device measuring the aperiodic PRS, and the first measurement result is used to determine the position of the communication device; the transceiver module is further used to send the second message to a positioning management device.

[0074] In a possible implementation manner, the transceiver module is specifically used to receive a first message from a positioning management device.

[0075] In a possible implementation manner, the transceiver module is specifically used to receive first indication information from a positioning management device or the first network device.

[0076] In a possible implementation manner, the transceiver module is specifically used to receive a first message from a first network device.

[0077] In a possible implementation manner, the transceiver module is specifically used to receive first indication information from a first network device.

[0078] In a possible implementation manner, the first message further includes resource configuration information of the aperiodic PRS of at least one second network device.

[0079] Wherein, the processing module in the communication device in any one of the fourth aspect to the sixth aspect may be a processor, and the transceiver module may also be a transceiver.

[0080] In a seventh aspect, an embodiment of the present application provides a communication device, which may be the communication device in any one of the fourth to sixth aspects in the above embodiments, or a chip or chip system disposed in the communication device in any one of the fourth to sixth aspects. The communication device includes a communication interface and a processor. Optionally, a memory is further included. The memory is used to store computer programs or instructions or data. The processor is coupled to the memory and the communication interface. When the processor reads the computer programs or instructions or data, the communication device is caused to execute the methods performed by the terminal or the first network device or the positioning management device in the above method embodiments.

[0081] It should be understood that the communication interface may be a transceiver in the communication device, for example, implemented through an antenna, a feeder, a codec, etc. in the communication device, or, if the communication device is a chip disposed in a network device or a terminal, the communication interface may be an input / output interface of the chip, such as an input / output circuit, a pin, etc., for inputting / outputting instructions, data, or signals. The transceiver is used for the communication device to communicate with other devices. Exemplarily, when the communication device is a terminal, the other device is the first network device or the positioning management device; or, when the communication device is the first network device, the other device is the terminal or the positioning management device; or, when the communication device is the positioning management device, the other device is the terminal or the first network device.

[0082] In an eighth aspect, an embodiment of the present application provides a chip system, which includes a processor and may further include a memory for implementing the methods performed by the communication device in any one of the fourth to sixth aspects. In a possible implementation manner, the chip system further includes a memory for storing program instructions and / or data. The chip system may be composed of chips or may include chips and other discrete devices.

[0083] In a ninth aspect, an embodiment of the present application provides a communication system, which includes one or more of the communication devices in the fourth aspect, one or more of the communication devices in the fifth aspect, and one or more of the communication devices in the sixth aspect.

[0084] In a tenth aspect, the present application provides a computer-readable storage medium, which stores a computer program. When the computer program is run, the methods performed by the terminal or the first network device or the positioning management device in the above aspects are implemented.

[0085] In an eleventh aspect, a computer program product is provided, which includes computer program code. When the computer program code is run, the methods performed by the terminal or the first network device or the positioning management device in the above aspects are caused to be executed.

[0086] The beneficial effects of the above fourth aspect to eleventh aspect and their implementation manners can refer to the description of the beneficial effects of the first aspect to third aspect or the first aspect to third aspect and their implementation manners.

[0087] In the embodiments of the present application, when the terminal supports positioning based on aperiodic PRS, the first network device may configure resources of aperiodic PRS for the terminal. Since the first network device sends aperiodic PRS to the terminal, the terminal does not need to receive PRS from the first network device at a fixed period, which can reduce the resource overhead for positioning and also shorten the positioning delay. Description of the Drawings

[0088] Figure 1 Schematic diagram for a terminal to receive periodic PRS sent by a network device;

[0089] Figure 2 Schematic diagram of an applicable positioning architecture provided by the embodiments of the present application;

[0090] Figure 3 Schematic flowchart of the first downlink positioning method provided by the embodiments of the present application;

[0091] Figure 4 Schematic flowchart of the second downlink positioning method provided by the embodiments of the present application;

[0092] Figure 5 Schematic flowchart of the third downlink positioning method provided by the embodiments of the present application;

[0093] Figure 6 Schematic flowchart of the fourth downlink positioning method provided by the embodiments of the present application;

[0094] Figure 7 Schematic flowchart of the fifth downlink positioning method provided by the embodiments of the present application;

[0095] Figure 8 Schematic flowchart of the sixth downlink positioning method provided by the embodiments of the present application;

[0096] Figure 9 Schematic structural diagram of a communication device provided by the embodiments of the present application;

[0097] Figure 10 Schematic structural diagram of a communication device provided by the embodiments of the present application;

[0098] Figure 11 Schematic structural diagram of a communication device provided by the embodiments of the present application. Detailed Embodiments

[0099] To make the objectives, technical solutions, and advantages of the embodiments of this application clearer, the embodiments of this application will be further described in detail below with reference to the accompanying drawings.

[0100] Before introducing this application, some terms in the embodiments of this application will be briefly explained to facilitate the understanding of those skilled in the art.

[0101] 1), The terminal in the embodiments of the present application (which can also be referred to as a user equipment (UE)) is a device with wireless transceiver functions. This terminal device can communicate with the core network via a radio access network (RAN) and exchange voice and / or data with the RAN. The terminal device can be deployed on land, including indoor or outdoor, handheld or vehicle-mounted; it can also be deployed on water (such as on a ship, etc.); it can also be deployed in the air (such as on an airplane, a balloon, a satellite, etc.). The terminal device can be a mobile phone, a tablet (pad), a computer with wireless transceiver functions, a virtual reality (VR) terminal, an augmented reality (AR) terminal, a wireless terminal in industrial control, a wireless terminal in self-driving, a wireless terminal in remote medical, a wireless terminal in a smart grid, a wireless terminal in transportation safety, a wireless terminal in a smart city, a wireless terminal in a smart home, etc. For example, the terminal device can include a user equipment (UE), a wireless terminal device, a mobile terminal device, a device-to-device communication (D2D) terminal device, a vehicle-to-everything (V2X) terminal device, a machine-to-machine / machine-type communications (M2M / MTC) terminal device, an Internet of Things (IoT) terminal device, a subscriber unit, a subscriber station, a mobile station, a remote station, an access point (AP), a remote terminal, a customer premises equipment (CPE), a fixed wireless access (FWA), an access terminal, a user terminal, a user agent, or a user device, etc.For example, it may include a mobile phone (or also known as a "cellular" phone), a computer with a mobile terminal device, a portable, pocket-sized, handheld, or in-vehicle mobile device, etc. For example, devices such as personal communication service (PCS) phones, cordless phones, session initiation protocol (SIP) phones, wireless local loop (WLL) stations, personal digital assistants (PDAs), etc. It also includes restricted devices, such as devices with lower power consumption, or devices with limited storage capacity, or devices with limited computing power, etc. For example, it includes information sensing devices such as barcodes, radio frequency identification (RFID), sensors, global positioning system (GPS), laser scanners, etc.

[0102] By way of example and not limitation, in the embodiments of the present application, the terminal may also be a wearable device. Wearable devices may also be referred to as wearable intelligent devices or smart wearable devices, etc. It is a general term for devices developed by applying wearable technology to the intelligent design of daily wear, such as glasses, gloves, watches, clothing, and shoes, etc. Wearable devices are portable devices that are directly worn on the body or integrated into the user's clothing or accessories. Wearable devices are not just a hardware device, but more importantly, they achieve powerful functions through software support, data interaction, and cloud interaction. Broadly speaking, wearable intelligent devices include those with full functions and large sizes that can achieve complete or partial functions without relying on a smartphone, such as smart watches or smart glasses, etc., and those that only focus on a certain type of application function and need to cooperate with other devices such as smartphones, such as various smart bracelets for physical sign monitoring, smart helmets, smart jewelry, etc.

[0103] And for all the various terminals introduced above, if they are located on a vehicle (such as placed inside or installed inside a vehicle), they can all be considered in-vehicle terminal devices. In-vehicle terminal devices are also known as on-board units (OBUs) for example.

[0104] The above terminal can establish a connection with the operator network through an interface provided by the operator network (such as N1, etc.), and use services such as data and / or voice provided by the operator network. The terminal device can also access the DN through the operator network, use the operator services deployed on the DN, and / or services provided by a third party. Among them, the above third party can be a service provider other than the operator network and the terminal device, and can provide other data and / or voice services for the terminal device. Among them, the specific manifestation form of the above third party can be specifically determined according to the actual application scenario, and is not limited here.

[0105] 2) In the embodiments of the present application, the core network involved may include network devices for processing and forwarding user signaling and data. For example, it includes core network devices such as AMF, session management function (SMF), user plane gateway, and location management device. Among them, the user plane gateway can be a server with functions such as mobility management, routing, and forwarding of user plane data, and is generally located on the network side, such as serving gateway (SGW), packet data network gateway (PGW), or user plane function entity (UPF), etc. AMF and SMF are equivalent to the mobility management entity (MME) in the LTE system. AMF is mainly responsible for admission, and SMF is mainly responsible for session management. Of course, other network elements may also be included in the core network, which are not listed one by one here.

[0106] The location management device has a location function. The location management device involved in the embodiments of the present application may include a location management function (LMF) or a location management component (LMC), or may be a local location management function (LLMF) located in a network device. The embodiments of the present application do not limit this. For the convenience of description, the following embodiments are all introduced by taking the location management device as LMF as an example.

[0107] 3) The network devices involved in the embodiments of this application, for example, include access network (AN) devices. The NG-RAN involved in the embodiments of this application may include one or more access network devices. The access network devices in the NG-RAN may also be referred to as base stations, or RAN nodes, or RAN devices; a network device in a V2X technology is a road side unit (RSU), and the RSU may be a fixed infrastructure entity that supports V2X applications and can exchange messages with other entities that support V2X applications. A network device is an entity on the network side used for transmitting and / or receiving signals, and can be used to mutually convert received airframes and Internet Protocol (IP) packets, acting as a router between the terminal and the rest of the access network, where the rest of the access network may include an IP network, etc. The network device can also coordinate the attribute management of the air interface. For example, the network device may be an evolved Node B (eNB or e-NodeB) in LTE, and the eNB is a device deployed in the radio access network that meets the 4G standard and provides wireless communication functions for terminals. The access network device may also be a new radio controller (NRcontroller), may be a gNode B (gNB) in a 5G system, may be a centralized unit, may be a new radio base station, may be a radio remote unit, may be a micro base station (also referred to as a small station), may be a relay, may be a distributed unit, may be various forms of macro base stations, may be a transmission reception point (TRP), a transmission measurement function (TMF), or a transmission point (TP), or any other radio access device, or a base station in next-generation communications, but the embodiments of this application are not limited thereto.The network device may also include a radio network controller (RNC), a Node B (NB), a base station controller (BSC), a base transceiver station (BTS), a home base station (e.g., home evolved NodeB, or home Node B, HNB), a base band unit (BBU), or a wireless fidelity (Wifi) access point (AP), etc.

[0108] In some deployments, a base station (such as a gNB) may be composed of a centralized unit (CU) and a distributed unit (DU), that is, the functions of the base station in the original LTE access network are split. Part of the functions of the base station are deployed in a CU, and the remaining functions are deployed in the DU. Multiple DUs share one CU, which can save costs and is easy for network expansion. The splitting of the CU and DU can be done according to the protocol stack. The RRC layer, SDAP layer, and PDCP layer are deployed in the CU, and the remaining radio link control RLC layer, MAC layer, and PHY layer are deployed in the DU. The CU and DU can be connected through the F1 interface. The CU represents the gNB and connects to the core network through the NG interface. The CU represents the gNB and connects to other gNBs through the Xn interface.

[0109] Furthermore, the CU can be further divided into a CU-control plane (CP) and a CU-user plane (UP). Among them, the CU-CP is responsible for the control plane functions, mainly including RRC and the PDCP corresponding to the control plane, namely PDCP-C. PDCP-C is mainly responsible for the encryption, decryption, integrity protection, and data transmission of control plane data. The CU-UP is responsible for the user plane functions, mainly including SDAP and the PDCP corresponding to the user plane, namely PDCP-U. Among them, SDAP is mainly responsible for processing the data of the core network and mapping the flow to the bearer. PDCP-U is mainly responsible for the encryption, decryption, integrity protection, header compression, sequence number maintenance, and data transmission of the data plane. Among them, the CU-CP and CU-UP are connected through the E1 interface. The CU-CP represents the gNB and connects to the core network through the NG interface. The control plane, i.e., F1-C, is connected to the DU through the F1 interface. The CU-UP is connected to the DU through the user plane of the F1 interface, i.e., F1-U. Of course, there is also a possible implementation where PDCP-C is also in the CU-UP.

[0110] 4) Downlink Angle of Departure (DAOD / DL-AOD), which is the direction of the electromagnetic wave departure observed from the network device during downlink electromagnetic wave transmission between the network device and the terminal, can be used for positioning the terminal.

[0111] 5) Uplink Angle of Arrival (UAOA / UL-AOA), which can be used for positioning the terminal. At least two network devices participating in the terminal positioning measure the SRS sent by the terminal to obtain the AOA, and the position of the terminal can be located using the intersection point of the rays emitted by each network device at the corresponding AOA.

[0112] 6) Time Difference of Arrival (TDOA), which is the transmission time difference between the signals sent by the terminal to two network devices and can be used for positioning the terminal. According to different measurement objects, there are (Downlink Time Difference of Arrival, DL-TDOA) and (Uplink Time Difference of Arrival, UL-TDOA). In some embodiments, DL-TDOA can also be referred to as UTDOA, and UL-TDOA can also be referred to as Observed Time Difference of Arrival (OTDOA).

[0113] 7) In the embodiments of this application, the terms "system" and "network" can be used interchangeably. The term "plurality" refers to two or more. The term "and / or" describes the association relationship of associated objects and indicates that there can be three relationships. For example, A and / or B can represent: A exists alone, A and B exist simultaneously, and B exists alone. In addition, the character " / ", unless otherwise specified, generally represents an "or" relationship between the front and back associated objects.

[0114] "At least one (item)" or its similar expression refers to any combination of these items, including any combination of single item (s) or plural item (s). For example, at least one (item) of a, b or c can represent: a, b, c, a and b, a and c, b and c, or a, b and c, where a, b, c can be single or multiple.

[0115] Moreover, unless otherwise specified, the ordinal numbers such as "first" and "second" mentioned in the embodiments of the present application are used to distinguish multiple objects, and are not used to limit the order, time sequence, priority or importance of multiple objects. For example, the first message and the second message are only used to distinguish different messages, rather than indicating differences in the priority, sending order or importance of these two messages.

[0116] In the NR Rel-16 protocol version, only periodic PRS transmission is supported, that is, once the positioning function is enabled, the network device continuously sends PRS according to the configured period. Since data cannot be transmitted or received on the resources for sending PRS, the data throughput rate decreases. For the terminal, the terminal may need to receive PRS from multiple network devices, resulting in too much resource overhead and even interrupting the data reception. As Figure 1 shown, Figure 2 taking the example of including network device 1, network device 2, and network device 3. Among them, the period for network device 1 to send PRS is 4 time slots, the period for network device 2 to send PRS is 8 time slots, and the period for network device 3 to send PRS is 16 time slots. If the terminal needs to receive PRS from network device 1 - network device 3 according to a specific period, the resource overhead of the terminal needs to cover at least 16 time slots, resulting in a relatively large resource overhead. In addition, if the terminal receives PRS according to a specific period, if the period is long, the positioning latency is also long; if the period is short, more resources are required for positioning.

[0117] In view of this, the solution provided by the embodiments of the present application supports positioning based on aperiodic PRS. Since the network device sends aperiodic PRS to the terminal, the terminal does not need to receive PRS according to a fixed period, which can reduce the resource overhead for positioning and also shorten the positioning latency.

[0118] The positioning method provided by the embodiments of the present application can be applied to various communication systems, such as: Long-Term Evolution (LTE) systems, 5th generation (5G) systems such as NR, and next-generation communication systems such as 6G systems. Of course, the technical solutions of the embodiments of the present application can also be applied to other communication systems as long as there is a positioning requirement for the terminal in the communication system. In addition, the communication system can also be applicable to future-oriented communication technologies. The system described in the embodiments of the present application is for more clearly illustrating the technical solutions of the embodiments of the present application, and does not constitute a limitation on the technical solutions provided by the embodiments of the present application. Those of ordinary skill in the art know that with the evolution of the network architecture, the technical solutions provided by the embodiments of the present application are equally applicable to similar technical problems.

[0119] Figure 2The network architecture of a communication system applicable to the embodiments of the present application is shown. Figure 2 It is a schematic diagram of the positioning architecture in LTE and NR Rel-16, as Figure 2 shown. The network elements / modules involved mainly include three parts: the next-generation radio access network (NG RAN), the terminal, and the core network.

[0120] Among them, the core network includes one or more of the Location Management Function (LMF), Access and Mobility Management Function (AMF), Service Location Protocol (SLP), and Evolved Serving Mobile Location Centre (E-SMLC). The positioning server, i.e., the Location Management Function (LMF), is connected to the AMF, and they are connected through the NLs interface. The LMF is responsible for supporting different types of location services related to the terminal, including positioning the terminal and transmitting auxiliary data to the terminal. The AMF can receive location service requests related to the terminal from the 5th generation core network location services (5GC LCS) entity, or the AMF itself can also initiate some location services on behalf of a specific terminal and forward the location service requests to the LMF. After obtaining the location information returned by the terminal, the relevant location information is returned to the 5GC LCS entity.

[0121] The NG RAN may include a next-generation node B (gNB), a next-generation evolved node B (ng-eNB), etc. The gNB and ng-eNB are connected through the Xn interface, and the LMF is connected to the ng-eNB / gNB through the NG-C interface.

[0122] It should be understood that the above Figure 2 is only an exemplary description of the communication system applicable to the embodiments of the present application, and does not specifically limit the types, quantities, connection methods, etc. of the network elements included in the communication system applicable to the present application. For example, the E-SMLC or SLP is not essential; for example, the gNB or ng-eNB is also referred to as the TRP in some embodiments, and the terminal is referred to as the SET in some embodiments.

[0123] The positioning method provided in the embodiments of the present application will be introduced in detail below with reference to the accompanying drawings.

[0124] Please refer to Figure 3 , which is a flowchart of the downlink positioning method provided in the embodiments of the present application. In the following introduction, this method is applied to Figure 2 the communication system shown as an example. In addition, this method can be executed by three communication devices, such as a first communication device, a second communication device, and a third communication device. For the convenience of introduction, in the following, this method is taken as an example of being executed by a network device, a terminal, and a positioning management device, that is, taking the first communication device as the network device, the second communication device as the terminal, and the third communication device as the positioning management device as an example. It should be noted that the embodiments of the present application only take Figure 2 the communication system as an example, and are not limited to this scenario. It should be understood that there is one network device to which the current terminal is currently connected (this network device can be called the serving base station). For the convenience of description, the network device will be called the serving base station in the following. In the following, taking the positioning management device as the LMF network element as an example, it should be understood that in future communications such as 6G, the positioning management device can still be the LMF network element, or have other names, which are not limited in the embodiments of the present application. In the following description, the resource for sending the aperiodic PRS can also be called the aperiodic PRS resource, and the corresponding resource location of the aperiodic PRS can also be called the aperiodic PRS resource location.

[0125] Specifically, the specific process of the positioning method provided in the embodiments of the present application is described as follows:

[0126] S301. The network device sends a first message to the terminal, and the terminal receives the first message. The first message includes the aperiodic PRS resource configuration information sent by the network device, and the resource configuration information is used to configure the aperiodic PRS resource.

[0127] The network device can inform the terminal of the aperiodic PRS resources configured by the network device, so that the terminal can receive the aperiodic PRS on the appropriate resources. For example, the network device can send a first message to the terminal. The first message can include the aperiodic PRS resource configuration information sent by the network device, and the resource configuration information is used to configure the aperiodic PRS resource. The embodiments of the present application do not limit the name of the first message. For example, the first message can also be called the aperiodic PRS configuration information. The first message can be carried in radio resource control (RRC) signaling or other possible signaling.

[0128] It should be understood that the network device can also configure resources for the periodic PRS for the terminal. However, for the terminal, it only knows that it needs to receive the PRS, but does not know whether the PRS sent by the network device is periodic or aperiodic, that is, it does not know whether the resources configured by the network device for the PRS are periodic or aperiodic. In order to distinguish whether the PRS sent by the network device is periodic or aperiodic, in the embodiments of the present application, the resource configuration information may include resource type information, and this resource type information can be used to indicate that the resources configured by the resource configuration information are aperiodic PRS resources or periodic PRS resources. That is, the embodiments of the present application can clearly indicate whether the PRS configured by the network device is periodic or aperiodic through the resource configuration information, so as to be compatible with the existing network architecture based on periodic PRS for positioning.

[0129] In some embodiments, the network device may configure one or more aperiodic PRS resources, that is, the first message may include one or more aperiodic PRS resource configuration information. The resource configuration information of different PRSs may be different, that is, the configuration parameters of different PRSs may be different. If the first message includes the configuration information of one or more aperiodic PRS resources configured by one network device or multiple network devices, that is, the content of the first message is relatively large and the signaling overhead is large. For this reason, in the embodiments of the present application, the first message may include status identifiers corresponding to one or more aperiodic PRS resources respectively, and the status identifiers corresponding to different aperiodic PRS resource configuration information are different.

[0130] Exemplarily, one or more PRS resource sets may be predefined or configured, and each PRS resource set includes one or more aperiodic PRS resources. In some embodiments, the status identifiers corresponding to different PRS resource sets may be different, and the status identifiers of the PRSs within each PRS resource set may be the same. In other embodiments, each PRS resource included in each PRS resource set corresponds to a status identifier respectively, that is, the status identifier can also be considered as the identifier of the aperiodic PRS resource, or used to trigger which aperiodic PRS resources. In some embodiments, in addition to including the resource type information, the resource configuration information may further include the status identifiers corresponding to one or more PRS resource sets. This solution can minimize the signaling overhead by indicating to the terminal the resources corresponding to the aperiodic PRS to be measured through the status identifiers respectively corresponding to the aperiodic PRS resources.

[0131] In other embodiments, the resource configuration information may further include the system frame number and the time slot index, that is, which frame the aperiodic PRS is located in, and which time slots in that frame.

[0132] S302. The network device sends the first indication information to the terminal, and the terminal receives the first indication information, and this first indication information is used to indicate the terminal to receive the aperiodic PRS from the network device.

[0133] After the network device configures the aperiodic PRS resources for the terminal, it can send the aperiodic PRS on these resources. Since the PRS sent by the network device is aperiodic and has uncertainty, the terminal cannot determine when to start receiving the aperiodic PRS, that is, the terminal does not know the resource location for receiving the aperiodic PRS, such as the time-domain resource location.

[0134] As an example, the network device can send the first indication information to the terminal to indicate that the terminal receives the aperiodic PRS from the network device. It should be noted that the embodiments of the present application do not limit the implementation manner of the first indication information. For example, the first indication information can be carried in the DCI signaling.

[0135] In some embodiments, the first indication information may include the system frame number and the slot index, that is, which frame the aperiodic PRS resources are located in, and which slots in the frame. The terminal can start receiving the aperiodic PRS at the corresponding time-domain resource location according to the first indication information. Of course, in some other embodiments, the first indication information may also include the system frame number or the slot index. For example, if the foregoing aperiodic PRS resource configuration information includes the frame where the aperiodic PRS is located, then the first indication information may include the slot index. Another example is that if the foregoing aperiodic PRS resource configuration information includes the slot position where the aperiodic PRS is located, then the first indication information may include the system frame number.

[0136] As another example, if one or more PRS resource sets are predefined or configured, for example, the number or size of the PRS resources in each PRS resource set is predefined, the time-domain resource location of the PRS resources in each PRS resource set can be configured separately. In this case, the first indication information may include the status identifier corresponding to the triggered aperiodic PRS. That is, the terminal is indicated to receive or measure which aperiodic PRS through the status identifier corresponding to the aperiodic PRS, reducing the signaling overhead.

[0137] As an alternative implementation, the network device may also instruct the terminal to start receiving the aperiodic PRS after a period of time since receiving the first indication information. In this case, the network device may inform the terminal of the interval between the reception time of the aperiodic PRS and the time when the terminal receives the first indication information through the aperiodic PRS resource configuration information. For example, the aperiodic PRS resource configuration information may include an offset value, which may be used to indicate the interval between the time when the terminal receives the aperiodic PRS and the time when it receives the first indication information. Alternatively, the offset value may be used to indicate the offset between the resource position where the terminal receives the aperiodic PRS and the resource position where the terminal receives the first indication information. Or the offset may be used to indicate the offset between the starting resource position where the terminal receives the aperiodic PRS and the ending resource position where the terminal receives the first indication information. Or the offset value may be used to indicate the time slot interval between the time slot where the terminal receives the aperiodic PRS and the time slot where the terminal receives the first indication information. After receiving the first indication information, the terminal starts to receive the aperiodic PRS after an interval of the offset value.

[0138] S303. The terminal measures the received aperiodic PRS to obtain a measurement result.

[0139] It should be understood that the first indication information may also instruct the terminal to report the measurement result of the received aperiodic PRS. The terminal receives the aperiodic PRS from the network device at the corresponding resource position according to the first indication information, measures the aperiodic PRS, and obtains a measurement result. Then the terminal sends the measurement result to the network device. It should be understood that the measurement result is used for positioning.

[0140] S304. The terminal sends a second message to the network device, and the network device receives the second message, where the second message includes the measurement result obtained by the terminal measuring the aperiodic PRS.

[0141] In some embodiments, the information element (hereinafter simply referred to as the cell) carried in the measurement result may include one or more of the RSRP value, the RSTD value, and the angle of arrival. For example, the measurement result includes the RSRP value corresponding to each PRS transmission beam. In some other embodiments, the measurement result may also include other possible measurement values, which are not listed one by one here. After obtaining the measurement result, the terminal may send the measurement result to the network device. In some embodiments, the terminal may send the measurement result to the network device through RRC signaling.

[0142] In some embodiments, the second message may be an RRC message, that is, the terminal sends the measurement result to the network device through RRC signaling.

[0143] S305. The network device sends the measurement result to the positioning management device.

[0144] After the network device receives the measurement results, it sends the measurement results to the LMF so that the LMF can calculate the location of the terminal based on the measurement results. For example, the network device can send a message carrying the measurement results to the LMF. Exemplarily, this message can be a new radio positioning protocol annex (NRPPa) message. That is, the network device sends the measurement results to the LMF through NRPPa signaling. Since the NRPPa signaling does not limit the duration of the reporting period, the measurement results exchanged between the terminal and the LMF are carried by RRC signaling and NRPPa signaling in sequence, which can shorten the period of reporting the measurement results of the terminal.

[0145] Based on the measurement results and other possible positioning information that may be required, the LMF can calculate the location of the terminal using a positioning calculation method. Here, the positioning calculation method can refer to the principle of LMF positioning, which will not be elaborated further. It should be understood that other positioning information required for LMF positioning, that is, positioning information other than the measurement results, can refer to the prior art and will not be elaborated here.

[0146] Before the LMF locates the terminal, it can collect the positioning information of the terminal. Exemplarily, please refer to Figure 4 , which is a schematic flowchart of a positioning method provided by an embodiment of the present application. This method can also perform the following steps:

[0147] S401. The LMF and the terminal exchange positioning assistance information.

[0148] The LMF and the terminal exchanging positioning assistance information is similar to the process of the terminal and the LMF exchanging information through LPP information in the OTDOA positioning process. That is, the LMF obtains the positioning capability of the terminal. For example, the LMF requests the positioning capability from the terminal. The LMF requests the positioning capability of the terminal through the LPP request capability process, and the terminal reports the positioning capability information to the LMF through the LPP provide capability. For example, the positioning capability information may include the positioning methods supported by the terminal, the measurement capabilities corresponding to the positioning methods supported by the terminal, etc. In the embodiments of the present application, the positioning capability information further includes the type of PRS supported by the terminal. For example, the terminal supports periodic PRS or aperiodic PRS.

[0149] It should be understood that S401 can be executed before S301.

[0150] S402. The LMF sends second indication information to the network device to request the location of the terminal from the network device.

[0151] The second indication information can be carried in the message sent by the LMF to the network device. The embodiments of the present application do not limit the specific name of this message. For example, this message can also be called a location information request message. It should be noted that this message can be a newly defined NRPPa message or an existing NRPPa message. If this message is an existing NRPPa message, the second indication information can be a newly added field of this NRPPa message; or the second indication information can reuse the defined field of this NRPPa message. The LMF can send the second indication information to the serving base station through NRPPa signaling to minimize the duration required for terminal positioning and shorten the period for the terminal to report location information. Of course, in addition to being sent to the network device in the form of being carried in NRPPa signaling, the second indication information can also be sent in other forms. The embodiments of the present application do not make specific limitations on the sending method of the second indication information. For example, the second indication information can be carried in RRC signaling or LPP signaling.

[0152] If the information included in the second indication information is different, the location information reported by the network device is also different. The following introduces one or more types of information that the second indication information may include.

[0153] 1) The second indication information may include a list of TRP identifiers, which is used to assist the network device in selecting the TRP for positioning to avoid positioning failures as much as possible. The network device configures the resource configuration of the PRS of the selected TRP. The location information reported by the terminal is for the TRP selected by the network device.

[0154] 2) The second indication information may include bandwidth resource information, which is used to assist the network device in determining the resources for sending PRS. For example, previously the network device configured aperiodic PRS with the first bandwidth resource, but in a scenario where higher positioning accuracy is required, the positioning management device can provide the network device with a reference bandwidth resource, such as a second bandwidth resource larger than the first bandwidth resource, to meet the requirements of higher positioning accuracy.

[0155] 3) The second indication information may include time information, which is used to indicate the time when it is expected that the terminal reports location information, such as the time of measurement results. This time information can be a frame number and / or a slot index.

[0156] 4) The second indication information may include PRS resource type information, which is used to indicate the type of PRS supported by the terminal. For example, the terminal supports periodic PRS or aperiodic PRS. If the terminal supports periodic PRS, then the network device needs to configure the resources of the periodic PRS. If the terminal supports aperiodic PRS, the terminal can configure aperiodic PRS.

[0157] It should be noted that S402 can be executed before S301, or can be executed after S301 or S302. The embodiments of the present application do not make any limitations on this.

[0158] S403. The network device determines the resources for configuring PRS according to the second indication information.

[0159] If the second indication information indicates that the terminal supports periodic PRS, then the network device determines the resource configuration information for periodic PRS. If the second indication information indicates that the terminal supports aperiodic PRS, then the network device determines the resource configuration information for aperiodic PRS.

[0160] In the embodiments of the present application, the first network device sends aperiodic PRS to the terminal. The terminal does not need to receive PRS from the first network device at a fixed period, which can reduce the resource overhead for positioning and also shorten the positioning delay. In addition, in the embodiments of the present application, the network device triggers the terminal to receive aperiodic PRS or report measurement results, which can reduce the delay of high-layer signaling.

[0161] In some embodiments, in order to improve the positioning accuracy of the terminal, the PRS of multiple neighboring cell network devices can be measured and the measurement results can be reported to the LMF. For the sake of easy distinction, the serving network device (base station) will be referred to as the first network device hereinafter, and the neighboring cell network devices will be referred to as the second network devices. It should be understood that the terminal can measure the PRS from one or more second network devices.

[0162] Please refer to Figure 5 , which is a schematic flowchart of the second downlink positioning method provided by the embodiments of the present application. The process of this method is described as follows:

[0163] S501. The positioning management device and the terminal interact positioning assistance information.

[0164] The specific implementation of S501 is the same as the specific implementation of the foregoing S401. Specifically, reference can be made to the relevant introduction of the foregoing S401, which will not be elaborated here.

[0165] S502. The positioning management device sends a seventh message to the first network device and at least one second network device, and the first network device and at least one second network device send response messages for the seventh message.

[0166] It should be understood that when the positioning management device needs to calculate the location of the terminal, it may send a seventh message to the first network device and / or at least one second network device. The seventh message may be used to request the aperiodic PRS resource configuration information configured by the first network device and / or at least one second network device respectively. The seventh message may be an NRPPa message. It should be noted that the seventh message is only an example of a name, and the embodiments of the present application do not limit the specific name of the seventh message. For example, the seventh message may be called a positioning information request message. After receiving the seventh message, the first network device and at least one second network device may configure the corresponding PRS resources and send the resource configuration information of the configured PRS resources to the positioning management device. It should be understood that if the terminal supports aperiodic PRS, the resource configuration information sent by the first network device and at least one second network device to the positioning management device may include aperiodic PRS resource configuration information (hereinafter taken as an example).

[0167] S503. The positioning management device sends the aperiodic PRS resource configuration information configured by at least one second network device to the first network device.

[0168] After the positioning management device collects the aperiodic PRS resource configuration information configured by at least one second network device, it may inform the first network device. For example, the positioning management device sends a third message to the first network device, and the third message may carry the resource configuration information of the aperiodic PRS configured by at least one second network device. In this way, the first network device may configure the aperiodic PRS resources of all network devices for the terminal according to the resource configuration information reported by the positioning management device. That is, the first message includes not only the resource configuration information of the aperiodic PRS configured by the first network device, but also the resource configuration information of the aperiodic PRS configured by at least one second network device.

[0169] S504. The first network device sends a first message to the terminal, and the terminal receives the first message.

[0170] It should be understood that the difference between S504 and the foregoing S301 is that the first message in S504 further includes the aperiodic PRS resource configuration information configured by at least one second network device. It should be noted that the first message sent by the first network device may include all or part of the resource configuration information of the aperiodic PRS of multiple second network devices received. For example, the first message includes the resource configuration information of the aperiodic PRS of the second network device with stronger signal strength, or the first message includes part of the resource configuration information of the aperiodic PRS of multiple aperiodic PRSs of the second network device with stronger signal strength to save transmission resources.

[0171] S505. The positioning management device sends a fourth message to the first network device and at least one second network device, where the fourth message is used to instruct the corresponding network device to send an aperiodic PRS.

[0172] When the positioning management device has a need to locate a terminal, it can trigger the first network device and at least one second network device to send an aperiodic PRS. The fourth message can be an NRPPa message. It should be noted that the fourth message is only an example of a name, and the embodiments of the present application do not limit the specific name of the fourth message. For example, the fourth message can be called an NRPPa transmission request message.

[0173] In some embodiments, the fourth message may carry time information, which is used to indicate the resource location for the corresponding network device to send an aperiodic PRS. The fourth message can carry one piece of time information or multiple pieces of time information, and the embodiments of the present application do not limit this.

[0174] S506. The first network device and at least one second network device send a response message to the fourth message to the positioning management device.

[0175] After the first network device or at least one second network device receives the fourth message, it can send a response message to the fourth message to the positioning management device. The response message can be an NRPPa message. For example, it can be called an NRPPa transmission response message. The response message may carry time information, which can be used to indicate the time domain resource location for the first network device or at least one second network device to send an aperiodic PRS. For example, the response message may carry the system frame number and / or slot index of the aperiodic PRS to be sent.

[0176] It should be noted that S506 is an optional step, that is, it is not necessary. Therefore, it is indicated by a dashed line in Figure 5 . If the fourth message carries multiple pieces of time information, the response message to the fourth message may carry one piece of time information to clearly inform the positioning management device of the resource location for the network device to send an aperiodic PRS. If the fourth message carries one piece of time information, the response message to the fourth message may not carry time information.

[0177] S507. The positioning management device sends a fifth message to the first network device, where the fifth message is used to trigger the first network device to send first indication information.

[0178] The fifth message can be an NRPPa message. It should be noted that the fifth message is only an example of a name, and the embodiments of the present application do not limit the specific name of the fifth message. For example, the fifth message can be called a measurement result request message. In some embodiments, the fifth message may carry time information, which is the time information for the first network device to send an aperiodic PRS. Of course, the fifth message may also not carry this time information.

[0179] S508. The first network device sends first indication information to the terminal.

[0180] For the specific implementation of the first indication information, reference can be made to the relevant introduction in the foregoing S302, which will not be elaborated here. The difference from S302 is that the first indication information further includes the time information for at least one second network device to send aperiodic PRS. In addition to the status identifier corresponding to the aperiodic PRS resource configured by the first network device, the first indication information further includes the status identifiers corresponding to the aperiodic PRS resources configured by at least one second network device.

[0181] S509. The terminal measures the received aperiodic PRS to obtain a measurement result.

[0182] The terminal receives the first indication information, and can receive the aperiodic PRS from the first network device and at least one second network device according to the time information carried in the first indication information, and measure the received aperiodic PRS to obtain multiple measurement results.

[0183] S510. The terminal sends a second message to the first network device, and the first network device receives the second message. The second message includes the measurement result obtained by the terminal measuring the received aperiodic PRS.

[0184] For the specific implementation of the second message, reference can be made to the foregoing S304. The difference from S304 is that the second message includes, in addition to the measurement result of the aperiodic PRS from the first network device by the terminal, the measurement results of the aperiodic PRS from at least one second network device.

[0185] S511. The first network device sends the measurement result to the positioning management device.

[0186] For the specific implementation of S511, reference can be made to the foregoing 305, which will not be elaborated here.

[0187] The embodiments of the present application are applicable to scenarios where multiple network devices exist. The LMF collects the aperiodic PRS resource configuration information of neighboring network devices, that is, at least one second network device. The LMF sends the collected aperiodic PRS to the first network device. The first network device uniformly configures the aperiodic PRS of all network devices for the terminal and triggers the terminal to receive the aperiodic PRS from all network devices, that is, the problem of triggering the aperiodic PRS of neighboring cells is solved.

[0188] Figure 5The positioning management device triggers at least one second network device to send an aperiodic PRS. As an alternative implementation, the first network device can determine by itself to implement the positioning of the terminal in combination with the second network device to improve the positioning accuracy. In this case, the first network device can interact with at least one second network device to obtain the aperiodic PRS resource configuration configured by at least one second network device and inform the terminal.

[0189] For example, please refer to Figure 6 , which is the third downlink positioning method provided by the embodiments of the present application. The process of this method is described as follows.

[0190] S601. The positioning management device and the terminal interact with positioning assistance information.

[0191] The specific implementation of S601 is the same as the specific implementation of S401 described above. For details, please refer to the relevant introduction of S401 above and will not be elaborated here.

[0192] S602. The positioning management device sends a seventh message to the first network device and at least one second network device, and the first network device and at least one second network device send response messages for the seventh message.

[0193] S603. The positioning management device sends the aperiodic PRS resource configuration information configured by at least one second network device to the first network device.

[0194] S604. The first network device sends a first message to the terminal, and the terminal receives the first message.

[0195] The specific implementation of S602 is the same as the specific implementation of S502 described above. For details, please refer to the relevant introduction of S502 above; the specific implementation of S603 is the same as the specific implementation of S503 described above. For details, please refer to the relevant introduction of S503 above; the specific implementation of S604 is the same as the specific implementation of S504 described above. For details, please refer to the relevant introduction of S504 above and will not be elaborated here.

[0196] S605. The positioning management device sends a fourth message to the first network device, and this fourth message is used to trigger the first network device to send first indication information.

[0197] The specific implementation of S605 is the same as the specific implementation of S507 described above. For details, please refer to the relevant introduction of S507 above and will not be elaborated here.

[0198] Different from S505 and S506 described above, in the embodiments of the present application, when the first network device receives the fourth message, it can directly request at least one second network device to send an aperiodic PRS and receive the response message from at least one second network device for this request. That is, the following steps S606 - S607 are executed.

[0199] S606. The first network device sends an eighth message to at least one second network device, where the eighth message is used to instruct the corresponding second network device to send an aperiodic PRS.

[0200] When the first network device receives a fourth message, it may request at least one second network device to send an aperiodic PRS. The eighth message may be an Xn interface message. It should be noted that the eighth message is only an example of a name, and the embodiments of the present application do not limit the specific name of the eighth message. For example, the eighth message may be called an aperiodic PRS transmission request message.

[0201] S607. At least one second network device sends a ninth message to the first network device respectively.

[0202] After receiving the eighth message, at least one second network device may send a ninth message to the first network device. The ninth message can be regarded as a response message to the eighth message, or it can also be an Xn interface message. The ninth message may carry time information, and the time information can be used to indicate the time domain resource position for at least one second network device to send an aperiodic PRS. For example, the ninth message may carry the system frame number and / or time slot index of the aperiodic PRS to be sent.

[0203] It should be noted that S607 is optional, that is, it is not a necessary step to be executed. Therefore, it is schematically shown by a dotted line in Figure 6 the figure.

[0204] S608. The first network device sends first indication information to the terminal.

[0205] S609. The terminal measures the received aperiodic PRS to obtain a measurement result.

[0206] S610. The terminal sends a second message to the first network device, and the first network device receives the second message. The second message includes the measurement result obtained by the terminal measuring the received aperiodic PRS.

[0207] S611. The first network device sends the measurement result to the positioning management device.

[0208] The specific implementation of S608 - S611 is the same as the specific implementation of the foregoing S508 - S511. For details, reference can be made to the relevant introduction of the foregoing S508 - S511, which will not be elaborated here.

[0209] In the embodiments of the present application, the LMF and the first network device can implement positioning based on aperiodic PRS by using lower-layer signaling interaction. Compared with high-layer signaling, the delay of the interaction signaling can be reduced, thereby reducing the positioning delay.

[0210] The foregoing Figures 3 - 6In the illustrated embodiment, the terminal receives the aperiodic PRS triggered by the network device. As an alternative implementation, the terminal receiving the aperiodic PRS may also be triggered by the positioning management device. The following is an illustration with specific examples.

[0211] Please refer to Figure 7 , which is a schematic flowchart of the fifth downlink positioning method provided by the embodiments of the present application, and the process is described as follows.

[0212] S701. The positioning management device and the terminal exchange positioning assistance information.

[0213] The specific implementation of S701 is the same as that of the aforementioned S401, and for details, reference can be made to the relevant introduction of the aforementioned S401, which will not be elaborated here.

[0214] S702. The positioning management device sends a seventh message to the network device, and the network device receives the seventh message.

[0215] It should be understood that when the positioning management device needs to calculate the position of the terminal, it may send a seventh message to the network device. The seventh message can be used to request the network device to obtain the resource configuration information of the PRS. The seventh message may be an NRPPa message. It should be noted that the seventh message is only an example of a name, and the embodiments of the present application do not limit the specific name of the seventh message. For example, the seventh message may be called a positioning information request message.

[0216] The seventh message may include resource type information, which is used to instruct the network device to configure periodic PRS resources or aperiodic PRS resources, or the seventh message may be used to instruct the network device to configure both periodic PRS resources and aperiodic PRS resources. The network device may determine the resources for configuring the PRS according to the resource type information carried in the seventh message.

[0217] S703. The network device configures the corresponding PRS resources.

[0218] After receiving the seventh message, the first network device may configure the corresponding PRS resources. For example, if the resource type information in the seventh message indicates that the PRS is a periodic PRS, then the network device may configure the resources of the periodic PRS; if the resource type information in the seventh message indicates that the PRS is an aperiodic PRS, then the network device may configure the aperiodic PRS resources; if the resource type information in the seventh message indicates that the PRS can be both a periodic PRS and an aperiodic PRS, then the network device may configure the resources of the periodic PRS or the aperiodic PRS resources.

[0219] It should be noted that S703 may be executed before S702 or after S702, and the embodiments of the present application do not limit this.

[0220] S704. The network device sends a response message to the positioning management device for the seventh message.

[0221] After the network device configures, for example, the aperiodic PRS resources, it can send a response message to the positioning management device for the seventh message. This response message may include aperiodic PRS resource configuration information.

[0222] S705. The positioning management device sends a first message to the terminal, and the terminal receives this first message.

[0223] Different from the foregoing Figures 3 - 6 embodiment, in the embodiment of the present application, the positioning management device sends the first message to the terminal. This first message can be an LPP message, which can better be compatible with the existing positioning process and minimize signaling overhead as much as possible.

[0224] S706. The positioning management device sends a sixth message to the network device, and this sixth message is used to instruct the network device to send aperiodic PRS.

[0225] S707. The positioning management device sends a response message to the network device for the sixth message. This response message may carry information indicating the resource location for the network device to send aperiodic PRS.

[0226] For the specific implementation of S706 and S707, reference can be made to the relevant descriptions of S505 and S506 above, and details will not be elaborated here.

[0227] S708. The positioning management device sends first indication information to the terminal.

[0228] Different from the foregoing Figures 3 - 6 embodiment, in the embodiment of the present application, the positioning management device sends the first indication information to the terminal, that is, the positioning management device triggers the terminal to receive aperiodic PRS. In this embodiment, the first indication information may include time information, and this time information is used to indicate the time-domain resource location for the terminal to report measurement results. That is, the time information carried by the first indication information can limit the positioning delay and better meet the positioning delay requirements.

[0229] S709. The terminal measures the received aperiodic PRS to obtain measurement results.

[0230] For the specific implementation of S709, reference can be made to the relevant description of S509 above, and details will not be elaborated here.

[0231] S710. The terminal sends the measurement results to the positioning management device.

[0232] After the terminal obtains the measurement results, it can directly send the measurement results to the positioning management device.

[0233] In the embodiments of the present application, the positioning management device may trigger the terminal to receive the aperiodic PRS, and the terminal may also directly send the measurement result to the positioning management device without forwarding through the network device, which can reduce the signaling overhead.

[0234] Please refer to Figure 8 , which is a schematic flowchart of the sixth downlink positioning method provided by the embodiments of the present application. This method can be applied to the application scenario where the first network device and at least one second network device jointly position the terminal. Similar to Figure 7 , the positioning management device may trigger the terminal to receive the aperiodic PRS, and the terminal may also directly send the measurement result to the positioning management device. The specific process of this method is described as follows.

[0235] S801. The positioning management device and the terminal exchange positioning assistance information.

[0236] The specific implementation of S801 is the same as that of S401 described above. For details, please refer to the relevant introduction of S401 above, and it will not be elaborated here.

[0237] S802. The positioning management device sends the seventh message to the first network device and at least one second network device respectively.

[0238] It should be understood that when the positioning management device needs to calculate the position of the terminal, it may send the seventh message to the first network device and at least one second network device respectively. The seventh message can be used to request the resource configuration information of the PRS from the corresponding network device. The specific implementation of this seventh message can be referred to the relevant introduction of S702 above, and it will not be elaborated here.

[0239] S803. The first network device and at least one second network device send response messages of the seventh message to the positioning management device respectively.

[0240] After receiving the seventh message, the first network device and at least one second network device may send response messages of the seventh message to the positioning management device. The response message may include the aperiodic PRS resource configuration information.

[0241] S804. The positioning management device sends the first message to the terminal, and the terminal receives the first message.

[0242] After receiving the response messages of the seventh message sent by the first network device and at least one second network device, the positioning management device may send the first message to the terminal. That is, the aperiodic PRS resource configuration information respectively configured by the first network device and at least one second network device is sent to the terminal.

[0243] S805. The positioning management device sends a sixth message to the first network device and at least one second network device respectively. The sixth message is used to instruct the corresponding network device to send an aperiodic PRS.

[0244] S806. The first network device and at least one second network device send response messages of the sixth message to the positioning management device respectively. The response message may carry time information and is used to indicate the resource location for sending the aperiodic PRS.

[0245] For the specific implementation of S805 and S806, reference may be made to the relevant descriptions of S505 and S506 above, which will not be elaborated here.

[0246] S807. The positioning management device sends first indication information to the terminal.

[0247] In the embodiment of the present application, the positioning management device sends the first indication information to the terminal, that is, the positioning management device triggers the terminal to receive the aperiodic PRS.

[0248] S808. The terminal measures the received aperiodic PRS to obtain a measurement result.

[0249] For the specific implementation of S808, reference may be made to the relevant description of S509 above, which will not be elaborated here.

[0250] S809. The terminal sends the measurement result to the positioning management device.

[0251] After the terminal obtains the measurement result, it can directly send the measurement result to the positioning management device.

[0252] In the embodiment of the present application, the positioning management device configures the aperiodic PRS resources of all network devices for the terminal, and the positioning management device triggers the terminal to receive the aperiodic PRS of all network devices, which clarifies the triggering of the aperiodic PRS of neighboring cells and also reduces the delay of high-layer signaling, that is, reduces the delay of terminal positioning.

[0253] In the above embodiments provided by the present application, the method provided by the embodiments of the present application is introduced from the perspective of the interaction among the terminal, the network device, and the positioning management device. To implement each function in the method provided by the above embodiments of the present application, the terminal, the network device, and the positioning management device may include a hardware structure and / or a software module, and implement the above functions in the form of a hardware structure, a software module, or a combination of a hardware structure and a software module. Which way to execute a certain function among the above functions, in the form of a hardware structure, a software module, or a combination of a hardware structure and a software module, depends on the specific application and design constraint conditions of the technical solution.

[0254] The following describes the apparatus for implementing the above method in the embodiments of the present application with reference to the accompanying drawings. Therefore, the content in the above text can be used in subsequent embodiments, and the repeated content will not be elaborated.

[0255] As Figure 9 shown, it is a possible exemplary block diagram of the communication apparatus involved in the present application. The communication apparatus 900 can correspondingly implement the functions or steps implemented by the terminal, network device, or positioning management device in the above respective method embodiments. The communication apparatus may include a transceiver module 901 and a processing module 902. Optionally, it may further include a storage module, and the storage module can be used to store instructions (codes or programs) and / or data. The transceiver module 901 and the processing module 902 can be coupled to the storage module. For example, the processing module 902 can read the instructions (codes or programs) and / or data in the storage module to implement the corresponding method. The above respective modules can be set independently, or partially or fully integrated.

[0256] It should be understood that the processing module 902 can be a processor or a controller. For example, it can be a general central processing unit (CPU), a general processor, a digital signal processing (DSP), an application specific integrated circuits (ASIC), a field programmable gate array (FPGA), or other programmable logic devices, transistor logic devices, hardware components, or any combination thereof. It can implement or execute various exemplary logic blocks, modules, and circuits described in connection with the disclosure of the present application. The processor can also be a combination for implementing computing functions, such as a combination of one or more microprocessors, a combination of DSP and a microprocessor, and so on. The transceiver module 901 is an interface circuit of the apparatus for receiving signals from other apparatuses. For example, when the apparatus is implemented in the form of a chip, the transceiver module 901 is the interface circuit of the chip for receiving signals from other chips or apparatuses, or is the interface circuit of the chip for sending signals to other chips or apparatuses.

[0257] The communication device 900 may be the network device (or the first network device), the terminal, or the positioning management device in the above embodiments, or may also be a chip for the network device (or the first network device), the terminal, or the positioning management device. For example, when the communication device 900 is the network device (or the first network device), the terminal, or the positioning management device, the processing module 902 may be a processor, and the transceiver module 901 may be a transceiver. Optionally, the transceiver may include a radio frequency circuit, and the storage unit may be a memory. For example, when the communication device 900 is a chip for the network device (or the first network device), the terminal, or the positioning management device, the processing module 902 may be a processor, and the transceiver module 901 may be an input / output interface, a pin, a circuit, etc. The processing module 902 may execute the computer-executable instructions stored in the storage unit. Optionally, the storage unit is a storage unit within the chip, such as a register or a cache. The storage unit may also be a storage unit outside the chip within the network device, the terminal, or the positioning management device, such as a read-only memory (ROM) or other types of static storage devices that can store static information and instructions, a random access memory (RAM), etc.

[0258] In some possible implementation manners, the communication device 900 can correspondingly implement the behaviors and functions of the network device (or the first network device) in the above method embodiments. For example, the communication device 900 may be the network device (or the first network device), or may also be a component (such as a chip or a circuit) applied to the network device (or the first network device). The transceiver module 901 may be used to support the communication between the network device and other network entities. For example, it supports the communication between the network device (or the first network device) and Figures 3 to 8 the terminal and / or the positioning management device as shown, etc. The processing module 902 is used to control and manage the actions of the network device (or the first network device). For example, the processing module 902 is used to support the network device (or the first network device) to execute Figures 3 to 8 all operations of the network device other than transceiver operations.

[0259] Exemplarily, the transceiver module 901 may be used to execute Figures 3 to 8 all the receiving or sending operations performed by the network device in the embodiments shown, and the processing module 902 is used to execute all the operations performed by the network device other than the transceiver operations in the embodiments as shown in Figures 3 to 8 etc.

[0260] For example, the transceiver module 901 may be used to execute Figure 3S301, S302, and S304 in the illustrated embodiments, and / or other processes for supporting the techniques described herein; the processing module 902 is configured to execute, as Figure 3 all operations other than the transceiver operations performed by the network device in the illustrated embodiments, and / or other processes for supporting the techniques described herein.

[0261] For another example, the transceiver module 901 may be configured to execute Figure 4 S402, S301, S302, and S304 in the illustrated embodiments, and / or other processes for supporting the techniques described herein; the processing module 902 is configured to execute, as Figure 4 S403 in the illustrated embodiments, and / or other processes for supporting the techniques described herein.

[0262] For another example, the transceiver module 901 may be configured to execute Figure 5 S502 - S508, S510, and S511 in the illustrated embodiments, and / or other processes for supporting the techniques described herein; the processing module 902 is configured to execute, as Figure 5 all operations other than the transceiver operations performed by the first network device in the illustrated embodiments, and / or other processes for supporting the techniques described herein.

[0263] For another example, the transceiver module 901 may be configured to execute Figure 6 S602 - S608, S610, and S611 in the illustrated embodiments, and / or other processes for supporting the techniques described herein; the processing module 902 is configured to execute, as Figure 6 all operations other than the transceiver operations performed by the first network device in the illustrated embodiments, and / or other processes for supporting the techniques described herein.

[0264] For another example, the transceiver module 901 may be configured to execute Figure 7 S702, S704, S706, and S707 in the illustrated embodiments, and / or other processes for supporting the techniques described herein; the processing module 902 is configured to execute, as Figure 7 S703 in the illustrated embodiments, and / or other processes for supporting the techniques described herein.

[0265] For another example, the transceiver module 901 may be configured to execute Figure 8 S802, S803, S805, and S806 in the illustrated embodiments, and / or other processes for supporting the techniques described herein; the processing module 902 is configured to execute, as Figure 8 all operations other than the transceiver operations performed by the first network device in the illustrated embodiments, and / or other processes for supporting the techniques described herein.

[0266] In some embodiments, the processing module 902 is configured to generate a first message, where the first message includes resource configuration information of an aperiodic PRS, and the resource configuration information is used to configure resources of the aperiodic PRS; the transceiver module 901 is configured to send the first message and a first indication information to a terminal, and receive a second message from the terminal, where the first indication information is used to instruct the terminal to receive the aperiodic PRS; the second message includes a first measurement result obtained by the terminal measuring the aperiodic PRS, and the first measurement result is used to determine the position of the terminal.

[0267] As an alternative implementation, the resource configuration information includes resource type information, and the resource type information is used to indicate that the resources configured by the resource configuration information are resources of an aperiodic PRS.

[0268] As an alternative implementation, the first indication information includes a system frame number and a time slot index, and is used to indicate the resource position of the aperiodic PRS.

[0269] As an alternative implementation, the resource configuration information includes an offset value, and the offset value is used to indicate the interval between the moment of receiving the aperiodic PRS and the moment of receiving the first indication information.

[0270] As an alternative implementation, the resource configuration information includes status identifiers corresponding to one or more aperiodic PRS resources respectively.

[0271] As an alternative implementation, the first indication information includes the status identifier corresponding to the PRS resource of the triggered aperiodic PRS.

[0272] As an alternative implementation, the transceiver module 901 is further configured to:

[0273] Receive a third message from a positioning management device, where the third message includes resource configuration information of an aperiodic PRS configured by at least one second network device, and the resource configuration information of the aperiodic PRS configured by the at least one second network device is used to determine the resource configuration information of the aperiodic PRS in the first message.

[0274] As an alternative implementation, the transceiver module 901 is further configured to:

[0275] Receive resource configuration information of an aperiodic PRS sent by at least one second network device respectively.

[0276] As an alternative implementation, the first message further includes resource configuration information of an aperiodic PRS configured by at least one second network device.

[0277] As an alternative implementation, the transceiver module 901 is further configured to: separately send a fourth message to at least one second network device, where the fourth message is used to instruct the corresponding second network device to send an aperiodic PRS.

[0278] As an alternative implementation, the transceiver module 901 is specifically configured to: receive a fifth message from a positioning management device, where the fifth message is used to trigger the communication device to send first indication information.

[0279] As an alternative implementation, the fifth message includes time information, where the time information is used to indicate the time-domain resource location for the terminal to send the first measurement result.

[0280] As an alternative implementation, the transceiver module 901 is further configured to: receive a sixth message from a positioning management device, where the seventh message is used to instruct the communication device 900 to send an aperiodic PRS.

[0281] As an alternative implementation, the sixth message includes a system frame number and a time slot index, which are used to indicate the resource location of the aperiodic PRS.

[0282] As an alternative implementation, the transceiver module 901 is further configured to: receive a seventh message from a positioning management device, where the seventh message is used to request the location of the terminal from the communication device 900, and the seventh message includes resource type information, where the resource type information is used to indicate that the resource configured by the resource configuration information is the resource of the aperiodic PRS;

[0283] Send a first message determined by the processing module 902 according to the seventh message to the terminal.

[0284] In some possible implementation manners, the communication device 900 can correspondingly implement the behaviors and functions of the positioning management device in the above method embodiments. For example, the communication device 900 can be a positioning management function, or can be a component (such as a chip or a circuit) applied to the positioning management device. The transceiver module 901 can be used to support the communication between the positioning management device and other network entities, for example, to support the communication between the positioning management device and Figures 3 to 8 the service base station shown. The processing module 902 is used to control and manage the actions of the positioning management device. For example, the processing module 902 is used to support the positioning management device to execute Figures 3 to 8 all operations except transceiver.

[0285] Exemplarily, the transceiver module 901 can be used to execute Figures 3 to 8 all the receiving or sending operations performed by the positioning management device in the embodiments shown, and the processing module 902 is used to execute all the operations performed by the positioning management device except the transceiver operations in the embodiments shown in Figures 3 to 8 such as those shown.

[0286] For example, the transceiver module 901 can be used to execute Figure 3 S305 in the embodiments shown, and / or other processes for supporting the technologies described herein; the processing module 902 is used to execute all operations other than the transceiver operations performed by the positioning management device in the embodiments shown as Figure 3 shown, and / or other processes for supporting the technologies described herein.

[0287] For another example, the transceiver module 901 can be used to execute Figure 4 S402 and S305 in the embodiments shown, and / or other processes for supporting the technologies described herein; the processing module 902 is used to execute all operations other than the transceiver operations performed by the positioning management device in the embodiments shown as Figure 4 shown, and / or other processes for supporting the technologies described herein.

[0288] For yet another example, the transceiver module 901 can be used to execute Figure 5 S502 - S507 and S511 in the embodiments shown, and / or other processes for supporting the technologies described herein; the processing module 902 is used to execute all operations other than the transceiver operations performed by the positioning management device in the embodiments shown as Figure 5 shown, and / or other processes for supporting the technologies described herein.

[0289] For yet another example, the transceiver module 901 can be used to execute Figure 6 S602, S603, S605, S606, S607 and S611 in the embodiments shown, and / or other processes for supporting the technologies described herein; the processing module 902 is used to execute all operations other than the transceiver operations performed by the positioning management device in the embodiments shown as Figure 6 shown, and / or other processes for supporting the technologies described herein.

[0290] For yet another example, the transceiver module 901 can be used to execute Figure 7 S702, S704 - S707, and S710 in the embodiments shown, and / or other processes for supporting the technologies described herein; the processing module 902 is used to execute all operations other than the transceiver operations performed by the positioning management device in the embodiments shown as Figure 7 shown, and / or other processes for supporting the technologies described herein.

[0291] For yet another example, the transceiver module 901 can be used to execute Figure 8 S802 - S807 and S809 in the embodiments shown, and / or other processes for supporting the technologies described herein; the processing module 902 is used to execute asFigure 8 All operations other than the transceiver operations performed by the positioning management device in the illustrated embodiments, and / or other processes for supporting the techniques described herein.

[0292] In some embodiments, the processing module 902 is configured to generate a first message, the first message including resource configuration information of an aperiodic PRS, the resource configuration information being used to configure resources of the aperiodic PRS; the transceiver module 901 is configured to send the first message and first indication information to a terminal, and receive a first measurement result; wherein, the first indication information is used to instruct the terminal to receive the aperiodic PRS; the first measurement result is used to determine the position of the terminal.

[0293] As an alternative implementation, the resource configuration information includes resource type information, the resource type information being used to indicate that the resources configured by the resource configuration information are resources of an aperiodic PRS.

[0294] As an alternative implementation, the first indication information includes a system frame number and a time slot index, being used to indicate the resource position of the aperiodic PRS.

[0295] As an alternative implementation, the resource configuration information includes an offset value, the offset value being used to indicate the interval between the moment of receiving the aperiodic PRS and the moment of receiving the first indication information.

[0296] As an alternative implementation, the resource configuration information includes status identifiers respectively corresponding to one or more aperiodic PRS resources.

[0297] As an alternative implementation, the first indication information includes the status identifier corresponding to the PRS resource of the triggered aperiodic PRS.

[0298] As an alternative implementation, the transceiver module 901 is further configured to: send a second message to at least one second network device respectively, the second message being used to request to obtain the resource configuration information of the aperiodic PRS of the corresponding second network device.

[0299] In a possible implementation, the transceiver module 901 is further configured to: send a third message to a first network device, the third message being used to trigger the first network device to send an aperiodic PRS.

[0300] In a possible implementation, the third message includes time information, the time information being used to indicate the time domain resource position where the terminal sends the first measurement result.

[0301] In a possible implementation, the transceiver module 901 is further configured to: send a fourth message to at least one second network device respectively, the fourth message being used to instruct the corresponding second network device to send an aperiodic PRS.

[0302] In a possible implementation, the transceiver module 901 is further configured to: receive information from a terminal indicating that the terminal has the ability to support aperiodic PRS positioning.

[0303] In some possible embodiments, the communication device 900 can correspondingly implement the behaviors and functions of the terminal in the above method embodiments. For example, the communication device 900 can be a terminal or a component applied to the terminal (such as a chip or a circuit). The transceiver module 901 can be used to support the communication between the terminal and other network entities. For example, it supports the communication between the terminal and Figures 3 to 8 the serving base station shown. The processing module 902 is used to control and manage the actions of the terminal. For example, the processing module 902 is used to support the terminal to execute Figures 3 to 8 all operations other than transceiver operations.

[0304] Exemplarily, the transceiver module 901 can be used to execute Figures 3 to 8 all the receiving or sending operations performed by the terminal in the embodiments shown, and the processing module 902 is used to execute all the operations performed by the terminal other than the transceiver operations as shown in Figures 3 to 8 the embodiments shown.

[0305] For example, the transceiver module 901 can be used to execute Figure 3 S301, S302, and S304 in the embodiments shown, and / or other processes for supporting the technologies described herein; the processing module 902 is used to execute S303 in the embodiments as shown in Figure 3 and / or other processes for supporting the technologies described herein.

[0306] Again, for example, the transceiver module 901 can be used to execute Figure 4 S401, S301, S302, and S304 in the embodiments shown, and / or other processes for supporting the technologies described herein; the processing module 902 is used to execute S303 in the embodiments as shown in Figure 4 and / or other processes for supporting the technologies described herein.

[0307] Once again, for example, the transceiver module 901 can be used to execute Figure 5 S501, S504, S508, and S510 in the embodiments shown, and / or other processes for supporting the technologies described herein; the processing module 902 is used to execute S509 in the embodiments as shown in Figure 5 and / or other processes for supporting the technologies described herein.

[0308] Once again, for example, the transceiver module 901 can be used to execute Figure 6S601, S604, S608, and S610 in the illustrated embodiments, and / or other processes for supporting the technologies described herein; the processing module 902 is configured to execute, as Figure 6 shown in the embodiment of S609, and / or other processes for supporting the technologies described herein.

[0309] For another example, the transceiver module 901 may be configured to execute Figure 7 S701, S705, S708, and S710 in the illustrated embodiments, and / or other processes for supporting the technologies described herein; the processing module 902 is configured to execute, as Figure 7 shown in the embodiment of S709, and / or other processes for supporting the technologies described herein.

[0310] For another example, the transceiver module 901 may be configured to execute Figure 8 S801, S804, S807, and S809 in the illustrated embodiments, and / or other processes for supporting the technologies described herein; the processing module 902 is configured to execute, as Figure 8 shown in the embodiment of S808, and / or other processes for supporting the technologies described herein.

[0311] In some embodiments, the transceiver module 901 is configured to receive a first message and first indication information. The first message includes resource configuration information of an aperiodic PRS, and the resource configuration information is used to configure the resources of the aperiodic PRS; the first indication information is used to indicate that the communication device receives the aperiodic PRS; the processing module 902 is configured to generate a second message, and the second message includes a first measurement result obtained by the communication device measuring the aperiodic PRS. The first measurement result is used to determine the location of the communication device; the transceiver module 901 is further configured to send the second message to a positioning management device.

[0312] As an alternative implementation, the transceiver module 901 is specifically configured to receive the first message from a positioning management device.

[0313] As an alternative implementation, the transceiver module 901 is specifically configured to receive the first indication information from a positioning management device or a first network device.

[0314] As an alternative implementation, the transceiver module 901 is specifically configured to receive the first message from a first network device.

[0315] As an alternative implementation, the transceiver module 901 is specifically configured to receive the first indication information from a first network device.

[0316] As an alternative implementation, the first message further includes resource configuration information of an aperiodic PRS of at least one second network device.

[0317] It should be understood that the processing module 902 in the embodiments of the present application may be implemented by a processor or processor-related circuit components, and the transceiver module 901 may be implemented by a transceiver or transceiver-related circuit components.

[0318] As Figure 10 Shown in the figure is the communication device 1000 provided by the embodiments of the present application. Among them, the communication device 1000 may be a network device, capable of implementing the functions of the network device (or the first network device) in the method provided by the embodiments of the present application; or, the communication device 1000 may be a terminal, capable of implementing the functions of the terminal in the method provided by the embodiments of the present application; or, the communication device 1000 may be a positioning management device, capable of implementing the functions of the positioning management device in the method provided by the embodiments of the present application; or, the communication device 1000 may also be a device capable of supporting the network device or the terminal or the positioning management device to implement the corresponding functions in the method provided by the embodiments of the present application. Among them, the communication device 1000 may be a chip system. In the embodiments of the present application, the chip system may be composed of chips, or may include chips and other discrete devices.

[0319] In terms of hardware implementation, the above-mentioned transceiver module 901 may be a transceiver, and the transceiver is integrated in the communication device 1000 to form a communication interface 1010.

[0320] The communication device 1000 includes at least one processor 1020. The processor 1020 may be a CPU, a microprocessor, an ASIC, or one or more integrated circuits for controlling the execution of the program of the present application solution, and is used to implement or support the communication device 1000 to implement the functions of the network device or the terminal or the positioning management device in the method provided by the embodiments of the present application. For specific details, please refer to the detailed description in the method examples, and details are not described here.

[0321] The communication device 1000 may further include at least one memory 1030 for storing program instructions and / or data. The memory 1030 is coupled to the processor 1020. The coupling in the embodiments of the present application is an indirect coupling or communication connection between devices, units or modules, and may be electrical, mechanical or other forms, and is used for information interaction between devices, units or modules. The processor 1020 may cooperate with the memory 1030. The processor 1020 may execute the program instructions and / or data stored in the memory 1030 to enable the communication device 1000 to implement the corresponding method. At least one of the at least one memories may be included in the processor 1020.

[0322] The communication device 1000 may further include a communication interface 1010, which uses any device such as a transceiver to communicate with other devices or communication networks, such as a radio access network (RAN), wireless local area networks (WLAN), a wired access network, etc. The communication interface 1010 is used to communicate with other devices through a transmission medium, so that the devices in the communication device 1000 can communicate with other devices. Exemplarily, when the communication device 1000 is a network device, the other device is a terminal or a positioning management function; or, when the communication device is a terminal, the other device is a network device. The processor 1020 may use the communication interface 1010 to send and receive data. The communication interface 1010 may specifically be a transceiver.

[0323] In the embodiments of the present application, the specific connection medium between the communication interface 1010, the processor 1020, and the memory 1030 is not limited. In the embodiments of the present application Figure 10 it is shown that the memory 1030, the processor 1020, and the communication interface 1010 are connected through a bus 1004, and the bus is represented by a thick line in Figure 10 which. The connection manners between other components are only for illustrative purposes and are not to be construed as limiting. The bus may be divided into an address bus, a data bus, a control bus, etc. For the sake of convenience of representation, Figure 10 only a thick line is used to represent it in which, but it does not mean that there is only one bus or one type of bus.

[0324] In the embodiments of the present application, the processor 1020 may be a general-purpose processor, a digital signal processor, an application-specific integrated circuit, a field-programmable gate array, or other programmable logic devices, discrete gate or transistor logic devices, discrete hardware components, and can implement or execute the various methods, steps, and logic block diagrams disclosed in the embodiments of the present application. The general-purpose processor may be a microprocessor or any conventional processor, etc. The steps of the method disclosed in combination with the embodiments of the present application may be directly embodied as being executed by a hardware processor, or executed by a combination of hardware and software modules in the processor.

[0325] The memory 1030 can be a ROM or other types of static storage devices that can store static information and instructions, a RAM or other types of dynamic storage devices that can store information and instructions, or can also be an electrically erasable programmable read-only memory (EEPROM), a compact disc read-only memory (CD-ROM), or other optical disc storage, optical disc storage (including compact discs, laser discs, optical discs, digital versatile discs, Blu-ray discs, etc.), magnetic disk storage media, or other magnetic storage devices, or any other medium that can be used to carry or store the desired program code in the form of instructions or data structures and can be accessed by a computer, but is not limited thereto. The memory can exist independently and be connected to the processor through the communication line 1004. The memory can also be integrated with the processor.

[0326] Among them, the memory 1030 is used to store the computer execution instructions for implementing the solution of this application, and is controlled by the processor 1020 to execute. The processor 1020 is used to execute the computer execution instructions stored in the memory 1030, so as to implement the downlink positioning method provided in the above embodiments of this application.

[0327] Optionally, the computer execution instructions in the embodiments of this application can also be referred to as application code, and the embodiments of this application do not make specific limitations thereto.

[0328] The embodiments of this application also provide a communication device, which can be a terminal or a circuit. The communication device can be used to perform the actions performed by the terminal in the above method embodiments.

[0329] Figure 11 A simplified structural schematic diagram of a terminal is shown. For the convenience of understanding and illustration, Figure 11 in which the terminal takes a mobile phone as an example. As Figure 11 shown, the terminal includes a processor, a memory, a radio frequency circuit, an antenna, and an input / output device. The processor is mainly used to process communication protocols and communication data, control the in-vehicle unit, execute software programs, process data of software programs, etc. The memory is mainly used to store software programs and data. The radio frequency circuit is mainly used for the conversion between baseband signals and radio frequency signals and the processing of radio frequency signals. The antenna is mainly used to receive and transmit radio frequency signals in the form of electromagnetic waves. The input / output device, such as a touch screen, a display screen, a keyboard, etc., is mainly used to receive data input by the user and output data to the user. It should be noted that some types of devices may not have an input / output device.

[0330] When data needs to be sent, after the processor performs baseband processing on the data to be sent, it outputs a baseband signal to the radio frequency circuit. The radio frequency circuit performs radio frequency processing on the baseband signal and then sends the radio frequency signal outwards in the form of electromagnetic waves through the antenna. When data is sent to this device, the radio frequency circuit receives the radio frequency signal through the antenna, converts the radio frequency signal into a baseband signal, and outputs the baseband signal to the processor. The processor converts the baseband signal into data and processes this data. For ease of explanation, Figure 11 only one memory and one processor are shown. In an actual device product, there may be one or more processors and one or more memories. The memory can also be referred to as a storage medium or a storage device, etc. The memory can be set independently of the processor or integrated with the processor. The embodiments of the present application do not limit this.

[0331] In the embodiments of the present application, the antenna and the radio frequency circuit with transceiver functions can be regarded as the transceiver unit of the device, and the processor with processing functions can be regarded as the processing unit of the device. As Figure 11 shown, the device includes a transceiver unit 1110 and a processing unit 1120. The transceiver unit 1110 can also be referred to as a transceiver, a transceiver machine, a transceiver device, etc. The processing unit 1120 can also be referred to as a processor, a processing single board, a processing module, a processing device, etc. Optionally, the devices in the transceiver unit 1110 used to implement the receiving function can be regarded as the receiving unit, and the devices in the transceiver unit 1110 used to implement the sending function can be regarded as the sending unit, that is, the transceiver unit 1110 includes a receiving unit and a sending unit. The transceiver unit 1110 can sometimes also be referred to as a transceiver machine, a transceiver, or a transceiver circuit, etc. The receiving unit can sometimes also be referred to as a receiver, a receiver machine, or a receiving circuit, etc. The sending unit can sometimes also be referred to as a transmitter, a transmitter machine, or a transmitting circuit, etc.

[0332] It should be understood that the transceiver unit 1110 is used to perform the sending operation and the receiving operation on the terminal side in the above method embodiments, and the processing unit 1120 is used to perform other operations on the terminal except the transceiver operation in the above method embodiments.

[0333] When this communication device is a chip - type device or a circuit, the device may include a transceiver unit and a processing unit. Among them, the transceiver unit may be an input - output circuit and / or a communication interface; the processing unit is an integrated processor or a microprocessor or an integrated circuit.

[0334] The embodiments of the present application also provide a communication system. Specifically, the communication system includes a network device, a terminal, and a location management device. Exemplarily, the communication system includes a network device, a terminal, and a location management device for implementing any of the above Figures 3 to 8 related functions. Optionally, this communication system may further include more terminals and / or network devices.

[0335] The network device is used to implement the above-mentioned Figure 3 , Figure 4 , Figure 5 , Figure 6 , Figure 7 or Figure 8 functions of the relevant network device part. The terminal is used to implement the above-mentioned Figure 3 , Figure 4 , Figure 5 , Figure 6 , Figure 7 or Figure 8 functions of the relevant terminal part. The positioning management device is used to implement the above-mentioned Figure 3 , Figure 4 , Figure 5 , Figure 6 , Figure 7 or Figure 8 functions of the relevant positioning management device part. For specific details, please refer to the relevant descriptions in the above method embodiments and will not be elaborated here.

[0336] An embodiment of the present application further provides a computer-readable storage medium, including instructions, which when running on a computer, cause the computer to execute Figure 3 , Figure 4 , Figure 5 , Figure 6 , Figure 7 or Figure 8 the methods executed by the network device, terminal or positioning management device in

[0337] An embodiment of the present application further provides a computer program product, including instructions, which when running on a computer, cause the computer to execute Figure 3 , Figure 4 , Figure 5 , Figure 6 , Figure 7 or Figure 8 the methods executed by the network device, terminal or positioning management device in

[0338] An embodiment of the present application provides a chip system, which includes a processor and may further include a memory, and is used to implement the functions of the network device, terminal and positioning management device in the foregoing method. The chip system may be composed of chips or may include chips and other discrete devices.

[0339] An embodiment of the present application further provides a computer-readable storage medium, including instructions, which when running on a computer, cause the computer to execute Figure 3 , Figure 4 , Figure 5 , Figure 6 , Figure 7 or Figure 8 the methods executed by the network device, terminal or positioning management device in

[0340] An embodiment of the present application also provides a computer program product, including instructions that, when running on a computer, cause the computer to execute Figure 3 , Figure 4 , Figure 5 , Figure 6 , Figure 7 or Figure 8 the method executed by a network device, a terminal, or a positioning management device in

[0341] In the method provided by the embodiment of the present application, it can be implemented in whole or in part by software, hardware, firmware, or any combination thereof. When implemented using software, it can be implemented in whole or in part in the form of a computer program product. The computer program product includes one or more computer instructions. When the computer program instructions are loaded and executed on a computer, the processes or functions described in the embodiments of the present invention are generated in whole or in part. The computer can be a general-purpose computer, a special-purpose computer, a computer network, a network device, a user device, or other programmable devices. The computer instructions can be stored in a computer-readable storage medium, or transmitted from one computer-readable storage medium to another computer-readable storage medium. For example, the computer instructions can be transmitted from a website, a computer, a server, or a data center to another website, a computer, a server, or a data center in a wired manner (such as coaxial cable, optical fiber, digital subscriber line (DSL)) or a wireless manner (such as infrared, wireless, microwave, etc.). The computer-readable storage medium can be any available medium that can be accessed by a computer, or a data storage device such as a server, a data center, etc. that includes one or more available media integrated. The available medium can be a magnetic medium (such as a floppy disk, a hard disk, a magnetic tape), an optical medium (such as a digital video disc (DVD)), or a semiconductor medium (such as an SSD), etc.

[0342] Obviously, those skilled in the art can make various changes and modifications to the present application without departing from the scope of the present application. Thus, if these modifications and variations of the present application fall within the scope of the claims of the present application and their equivalent technologies, the present application is also intended to include these changes and modifications.

Claims

1. A downlink positioning method, characterized in that, a first network device sends a first message to a terminal, the first message includes resource configuration information of an aperiodic positioning reference signal (PRS), and the resource configuration information is used to configure the resources of the aperiodic PRS; the first network device receives a fifth message from a positioning management device, and sends first indication information to the terminal, the first indication information is used to instruct the terminal to receive the aperiodic PRS, the fifth message is used to trigger the first network device to send the first indication information, the fifth message includes time information, and the time information is used to indicate the time domain resource position of the first measurement result of the aperiodic PRS sent by the terminal, and the first measurement result is used to determine the position of the terminal; the first network device receives a second message from the terminal, and the second message includes the first measurement result.

2. The method according to claim 1, characterized in that, the resource configuration information includes resource type information, and the resource type information is used to indicate that the resources configured by the resource configuration information are resources of the aperiodic PRS.

3. The method according to claim 1, characterized in that, the first indication information includes a system frame number and a time slot index, and is used to indicate the resource position of the aperiodic PRS.

4. The method according to claim 1, characterized in that, the resource configuration information includes an offset value, and the offset value is used to indicate the interval between the moment of receiving the aperiodic PRS and the moment of receiving the first indication information.

5. The method according to any one of claims 1-4, characterized in that, the resource configuration information includes status identifiers corresponding to one or more aperiodic PRS resources respectively.

6. The method according to any one of claims 1-4, characterized in that, the first indication information includes the status identifier corresponding to the PRS resource of the triggered aperiodic PRS.

7. The method according to any one of claims 1-4, characterized in that, the method further includes: the first network device receives a third message from the positioning management device, the third message includes resource configuration information of an aperiodic PRS configured by at least one second network device, and the resource configuration information of the aperiodic PRS configured by the at least one second network device is used to determine the resource configuration information of the aperiodic PRS in the first message.

8. The method according to claim 7, characterized in that, the method further includes: the first network device receives resource configuration information of the aperiodic PRS sent by the at least one second network device.

9. The method according to claim 7, characterized in that, the first message further includes the resource configuration information of the aperiodic PRS configured by the at least one second network device.

10. The method according to claim 8, characterized in that, the method further includes: the first network device sends a fourth message to the at least one second network device, and the fourth message is used to instruct the corresponding second network device to send the aperiodic PRS.

11. The method according to claim 10, characterized in that, The method further includes: The first network device receives a sixth message from the positioning management device, where the sixth message is used to instruct the first network device to send an aperiodic PRS.

12. The method according to claim 11, characterized in that The sixth message includes a system frame number and / or a time slot index, which are used to indicate the resource location of the aperiodic PRS.

13. The method according to claim 1, characterized in that The method further includes: The first network device receives a seventh message from the positioning management device, where the seventh message is used to request the location of the terminal from the first network device, and the seventh message includes resource type information, and the resource type information is used to indicate that the resource configured by the resource configuration information is the resource of the aperiodic PRS; The first network device sends the first message to the terminal according to the seventh message.

14. A downlink positioning method, characterized in that includes: The positioning management device sends a first message to the terminal, where the first message includes resource configuration information of an aperiodic positioning reference signal (PRS), and the resource configuration information is used to configure the resource of the aperiodic PRS; The positioning management device sends a third message to the first network device, where the third message is used to trigger the first network device to send an aperiodic PRS, and the third message includes time information, and the time information is used to indicate the time domain resource location of the first measurement result of the aperiodic PRS sent by the terminal, and the first measurement result is used to determine the location of the terminal; The positioning management device sends first indication information to the terminal, where the first indication information is used to instruct the terminal to receive the aperiodic PRS; The positioning management device receives the first measurement result.

15. The method according to claim 14, characterized in that The resource configuration information includes resource type information, and the resource type information is used to indicate that the resource configured by the resource configuration information is the resource of the aperiodic PRS.

16. The method according to claim 14, characterized in that The first indication information includes a system frame number and a time slot index, which are used to indicate the resource location of the aperiodic PRS.

17. The method according to claim 14, characterized in that The resource configuration information includes an offset value, and the offset value is used to indicate the interval between the moment of receiving the aperiodic PRS and the moment of receiving the first indication information.

18. The method according to any one of claims 14-17, characterized in that The resource configuration information includes status identifiers corresponding to one or more aperiodic PRS resources respectively.

19. The method according to any one of claims 14-17, characterized in that The first indication information includes the status identifier corresponding to the PRS resource of the triggered aperiodic PRS.

20. The method according to any one of claims 14-17, characterized in that The method further includes: The positioning management device respectively requests the resource configuration information of the aperiodic PRS of at least one second network device from the at least one second network device.

21. The method according to claim 20, It is characterized in that the method further includes: the positioning management device respectively sends a fourth message to the at least one second network device, and the fourth message is used to instruct the corresponding second network device to send an aperiodic PRS.

22. The method according to claim 21, it is characterized in that the method further includes: the positioning management device receives information from the terminal for indicating that the terminal has the ability to support aperiodic PRS positioning.

23. A downlink positioning method, it is characterized in that including: a terminal receives a first message, the first message includes resource configuration information for an aperiodic positioning reference signal PRS sent by a first network device, and the resource configuration information is used to configure resources of the aperiodic PRS; the terminal receives first indication information, and the first indication information is used to instruct the terminal to receive an aperiodic PRS from the first network device; the terminal sends a second message to a positioning management device according to time information, the time information is used to indicate a time domain resource position of a first measurement result of the aperiodic PRS sent by the terminal, the second message includes the first measurement result, and the first measurement result is used to determine the position of the terminal.

24. The method according to claim 23, it is characterized in that the terminal receiving the first message includes: the terminal receives the first message from the positioning management device or the first network device.

25. The method according to claim 23 or 24, it is characterized in that the terminal receiving the first indication information includes: the terminal receives the first indication information from the positioning management device or the first network device.

26. The method according to claim 23 or 24, it is characterized in that the first message further includes resource configuration information of an aperiodic PRS of at least one second network device.

27. A communication device, it is characterized in that it includes a transceiver module and a processing module, wherein the processing module is used to generate a first message, the first message includes resource configuration information of an aperiodic positioning reference signal PRS, and the resource configuration information is used to configure resources of the aperiodic PRS; the transceiver module is used to: receive a fifth message from a positioning management device, send the first message and first indication information to a terminal, and receive a second message from the terminal, wherein the first indication information is used to instruct the terminal to receive an aperiodic PRS, the fifth message is used to trigger the first network device to send the first indication information, the fifth message includes time information, the time information is used to indicate a time domain resource position of a first measurement result of the aperiodic PRS sent by the terminal, and the second message includes the first measurement result, and the first measurement result is used to determine the position of the terminal.

28. The communication device according to claim 27, it is characterized in that the resource configuration information includes resource type information, and the resource type information is used to indicate that the resource configured by the resource configuration information is a resource of an aperiodic PRS.

29. The communication device according to claim 27, it is characterized in that The first indication information includes a system frame number and a time slot index, and is used to indicate the resource location of the aperiodic PRS.

30. The communication device according to claim 27, wherein, the resource configuration information includes an offset value, and the offset value is used to indicate the interval between the time of receiving the aperiodic PRS and the time of receiving the first indication information.

31. The communication device according to any one of claims 27-30, wherein, the resource configuration information includes status identifiers corresponding to one or more aperiodic PRS resources respectively.

32. The communication device according to any one of claims 27-30, wherein, the first indication information includes the status identifier corresponding to the PRS resource of the triggered aperiodic PRS.

33. The communication device according to any one of claims 27-30, wherein, the transceiver module is further configured to: receive a third message from a positioning management device, where the third message includes resource configuration information of an aperiodic PRS configured by at least one second network device, and the resource configuration information of the aperiodic PRS configured by the at least one second network device is used to determine the resource configuration information of the aperiodic PRS in the first message.

34. The communication device according to claim 33, wherein, the transceiver module is further configured to: receive the resource configuration information of the aperiodic PRS sent by the at least one second network device respectively.

35. The communication device according to claim 33, wherein, the first message further includes the resource configuration information of the aperiodic PRS configured by the at least one second network device.

36. The communication device according to claim 34, wherein, the transceiver module is further configured to: send a fourth message to the at least one second network device respectively, where the fourth message is used to instruct the corresponding second network device to send an aperiodic PRS.

37. The communication device according to claim 36, wherein, the transceiver module is further configured to: receive a sixth message from the positioning management device, where the sixth message is used to instruct the communication device to send an aperiodic PRS.

38. The communication device according to claim 37, wherein, the sixth message includes a system frame number and / or a time slot index, and is used to indicate the resource location of the aperiodic PRS.

39. The communication device according to claim 27, wherein, the transceiver module is further configured to: receive a seventh message from the positioning management device, where the seventh message is used to request the location of the terminal from the communication device, and the seventh message includes resource type information, and the resource type information is used to indicate that the resource configured by the resource configuration information is the resource of the aperiodic PRS; send the first message determined by the processing module according to the seventh message to the terminal.

40. A communication device, wherein, it includes a transceiver module and a processing module, where, The processing module is used to generate a first message, where the first message includes resource configuration information of an aperiodic positioning reference signal (PRS), and the resource configuration information is used to configure the resources of the aperiodic PRS; The transceiver module is used to send a third message, the first message, and first indication information from a first network device to a terminal, and receive a first measurement result. The third message is used to trigger the first network device to send an aperiodic PRS. The third message includes time information, and the time information is used to indicate the time-domain resource position of the first measurement result of the aperiodic PRS sent by the terminal. The first measurement result is used to determine the position of the terminal. The first indication information is used to indicate that the terminal receives the aperiodic PRS.

41. The communication device according to claim 40, characterized in that, the resource configuration information includes resource type information, and the resource type information is used to indicate that the resources configured by the resource configuration information are resources of an aperiodic PRS.

42. The communication device according to claim 40, characterized in that, the first indication information includes a system frame number and a time slot index, and is used to indicate the resource position of the aperiodic PRS.

43. The communication device according to any one of claims 40-42, characterized in that, the resource configuration information includes an offset value, and the offset value is used to indicate the interval between the moment of receiving the aperiodic PRS and the moment of receiving the first indication information.

44. The communication device according to any one of claims 40-42, characterized in that, the resource configuration information includes status identifiers corresponding to one or more aperiodic PRS resources respectively.

45. The communication device according to any one of claims 40-42, characterized in that, the first indication information includes the status identifier corresponding to the PRS resource of the triggered aperiodic PRS.

46. The communication device according to any one of claims 40-42, characterized in that, the transceiver module is further used for: requesting and obtaining the resource configuration information of the aperiodic PRS of the corresponding second network device from at least one second network device respectively.

47. The communication device according to claim 46, characterized in that, the transceiver module is further used for: sending a fourth message to the at least one second network device respectively, and the fourth message is used to indicate that the corresponding second network device sends an aperiodic PRS.

48. The communication device according to claim 47, characterized in that, the transceiver module is further used for: receiving information from the terminal for indicating that the terminal has the ability to support aperiodic PRS positioning.

49. A communication device, characterized in that, it includes a transceiver module and a processing module, where, the transceiver module is used to receive a first message and first indication information. The first message includes resource configuration information of an aperiodic positioning reference signal (PRS), and the resource configuration information is used to configure the resources of the aperiodic PRS. The first indication information is used to indicate that a terminal receives the aperiodic PRS; The processing module is used to generate a second message, where the second message includes a first measurement result obtained by the communication device measuring the aperiodic PRS, and the first measurement result is used to determine the position of the communication device; The transceiver module is further used to send the second message to the positioning management device according to time information, where the time information is used to indicate the time-domain resource position for the terminal to send the first measurement result.

50. The communication device according to claim 49, wherein, The transceiver module is specifically used for: Receiving the first message from the positioning management device or the first network device.

51. The communication device according to claim 49 or 50, wherein, The transceiver module is specifically used for: Receiving the first indication information from the positioning management device or the first network device.

52. The communication device according to claim 49 or 50, wherein, The first message further includes resource configuration information of the aperiodic PRS of at least one second network device.

53. The communication device according to any one of claims 27 to 30 or 40 to 42 or 49 to 50, wherein, The processing module is a processor, and / or the transceiver module is a transceiver.

54. The communication device according to any one of claims 27 to 30 or 40 to 42 or 49 to 50, wherein, The communication device is a chip or a chip system.

55. A communication device, wherein, The communication device includes a processor and a memory, the memory is used to store a computer program, and the processor is used to execute the computer program stored on the memory, so that the device executes the method according to any one of claims 1 to 13 or 14 to 22 or 23 to 26.

56. A communication device, wherein, The communication device includes a processor and a communication interface, the communication interface is used to input and / or output information, and the processor is used to execute a computer program, so that the device executes the method according to any one of claims 1 to 13 or 14 to 22 or 23 to 26.

57. A computer-readable storage medium, wherein, The computer-readable storage medium stores a computer program, and when the computer program is executed by a computer, the computer is enabled to execute the method according to any one of claims 1 to 13 or 14 to 22 or 23 to 26.

58. A computer program product, wherein, The computer program product stores a computer program, and when the computer program is executed by a computer, the computer is enabled to execute the method according to any one of claims 1 to 13 or 14 to 22 or 23 to 26.

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