Apparatus and method for uplink reference signal transmission configuration in positioning

Abstract

The invention relates to equipment and a method for uplink reference signal transmission configuration in positioning. A method for a network device in a wireless communication system is described. The method may include instructing a user equipment in the wireless communication system to transmit an uplink reference signal to the network device using a first set of beams; measuring a transmission quality index of an uplink reference signal sent in each beam direction in the first group of beams; and at least on the basis that the transmission quality index of the uplink reference signal sent in at least one beam direction in the first group of beams is lower than a threshold value, instructing the user equipment to use a second group of beams to send the uplink reference signal to the network equipment for uplink positioning. In the method, the second group of beams prevents the user equipment from sending the uplink reference signal in the beam direction interfered by the communication link of the hidden node equipment, and the hidden node equipment can be unknown to the network equipment and the user equipment.

Description

Device and method for uplink reference signal transmission configuration in positioning Technical Field

[0001] The present disclosure generally relates to an apparatus and method for use in a wireless communication system, and particularly to a technique for uplink reference signal transmission configuration in positioning in a wireless communication system. Background Art

[0002] Wireless communication systems can use a variety of protocols and standards for data transmission between devices. These protocols and standards have undergone long-term development and include, but are not limited to, the Third Generation Partnership Project (3GPP), 3GPP Long Term Evolution (LTE) (e.g., 4G communications), 3GPP New Radio (NR) (e.g., 5G communications), and the IEEE 802.11 standard for wireless local area networks (WLANs), also commonly known as Wi-Fi.

[0003] In a wireless communication system, to support position estimation in a terrestrial wireless network, network equipment may estimate the position of a mobile user equipment by measuring a radio frequency (RF) reference signal from the mobile user equipment, thereby achieving positioning.

[0004] As an example, a method for determining the location of a user equipment may include configuring the user equipment to send an uplink reference signal (e.g., a sounding reference signal (SRS)) to two or more network devices, and measuring the arrival time difference of the uplink reference signals received by at least two network devices from the user equipment, thereby calculating the corresponding distance difference. For any two of the aforementioned network devices, the user equipment is located on a hyperbola with the two network devices as the intersection and the distance difference as the constant difference. Measuring the arrival time difference between multiple pairs of network devices can obtain the position of the user equipment by solving the intersection of the hyperbolas. In addition to the arrival time difference (TDOA) positioning method, various methods such as angle of arrival (AOD) positioning and multi-round trip time (Multi-RTT) positioning can also be used for uplink positioning.

[0005] In communication networks such as 5G, which support data transmission at higher frequencies (such as millimeter wave bands), both user devices and network equipment can use directional beams for directional transmission, thereby achieving higher throughput. In the uplink positioning process, the transmission configuration of the device's uplink reference signal (for example, beam configuration, power configuration, etc.) is very important. In this case, it is necessary to well configure the device's uplink reference signal in the higher-frequency wireless communication system to achieve high-precision uplink positioning.

[0006] Summary of the Invention

[0007] The present disclosure provides an apparatus and method for configuring uplink reference signal transmission for positioning in a wireless communication system. More specifically, the present disclosure provides a transmission beam configuration for uplink reference signals used for uplink positioning, wherein the spatial relationship of the uplink reference signals is updated and enhanced, thereby improving the effectiveness and reliability of uplink positioning.

[0008] According to a first aspect of the present disclosure, a network device in a wireless communication system is provided, the network device comprising a processing circuit, the processing circuit being configured to enable the network device to perform the following operations: instruct a user device in the wireless communication system to use a first group of beams to send an uplink reference signal to the network device; measure a transmission quality indicator of the uplink reference signal sent in each beam direction in the first group of beams; and at least based on the transmission quality indicator of the uplink reference signal sent in at least one beam direction in the first group of beams being lower than a threshold, instruct the user device to use a second group of beams to send an uplink reference signal to the network device for uplink positioning, wherein the second group of beams enables the user device to avoid sending an uplink reference signal in a beam direction that is interfered with by a communication link of a hidden node device, wherein the hidden node device is unknown to the network device and the user device.

[0009] Correspondingly, according to the first aspect of the present disclosure, a method for a network device in a wireless communication system is also provided, the method comprising: instructing a user device in the wireless communication system to use a first group of beams to send an uplink reference signal to the network device; measuring the transmission quality index of the uplink reference signal sent in each beam direction in the first group of beams; and at least based on the transmission quality index of the uplink reference signal sent in at least one beam direction in the first group of beams being lower than a threshold, instructing the user device to use a second group of beams to send an uplink reference signal to the network device for uplink positioning, wherein the second group of beams enables the user device to avoid sending an uplink reference signal in a beam direction that is interfered with by a communication link of a hidden node device, wherein the hidden node device is unknown to the network device and the user equipment.

[0010] According to a second aspect of the present disclosure, a user equipment in a wireless communication system is provided, the user equipment including a processing circuit, the processing circuit being configured to enable the user equipment to perform the following operations: receive an indication from a network equipment in the wireless communication system to send an uplink reference signal to the network equipment using a first group of beams; send an uplink reference signal to the network equipment in each beam direction in the first group of beams, for the network equipment to measure a transmission quality indicator of the uplink reference signal; receive an indication from the network equipment to send an uplink reference signal to the network equipment using a second group of beams, wherein the indication is sent based at least on the fact that the transmission quality indicator of the uplink reference signal sent in at least one beam direction in the first group of beams is lower than a threshold; and send an uplink reference signal to the network equipment using the second group of beams for uplink positioning, wherein the second group of beams enables the user equipment to avoid sending an uplink reference signal in a beam direction that is interfered with by a communication link of a hidden node device, wherein the hidden node device is unknown to the network equipment and the user equipment.

[0011] Correspondingly, according to the second aspect of the present disclosure, a method for a user equipment in a wireless communication system is also provided, the method comprising: receiving an indication from a network equipment in the wireless communication system to send an uplink reference signal to the network equipment using a first group of beams; sending an uplink reference signal to the network equipment in each beam direction in the first group of beams, so that the network equipment measures a transmission quality indicator of the uplink reference signal; receiving an indication from the network equipment to send an uplink reference signal to the network equipment using a second group of beams, wherein the indication is sent based at least on the fact that the transmission quality indicator of the uplink reference signal sent in at least one beam direction in the first group of beams is lower than a threshold; and sending an uplink reference signal to the network equipment using the second group of beams for uplink positioning, wherein the second group of beams enables the user equipment to avoid sending an uplink reference signal in a beam direction that is interfered with by a communication link of a hidden node device, wherein the hidden node device is unknown to the network equipment and the user equipment.

[0012] According to a third aspect of the present disclosure, a computer-readable storage medium having one or more instructions stored thereon is provided, which, when executed by one or more processors of an electronic device, causes the electronic device to perform methods according to various embodiments of the present disclosure.

[0013] According to a fourth aspect of the present disclosure, a computer program product is provided, comprising program instructions, which, when executed by one or more processors of a computer, cause the computer to perform the methods according to various embodiments of the present disclosure.

[0014] Additionally or optionally, the present disclosure also proposes a transmission power configuration for an uplink reference signal used for uplink positioning, wherein the transmission power of the uplink reference signal reaching network devices of multiple cells is set and updated, thereby improving the accuracy and reliability of uplink positioning.

[0015] The above summary is provided to summarize some exemplary embodiments in order to provide a basic understanding of various aspects of the subject matter described herein. Therefore, the above features are merely examples and should not be construed as narrowing the scope or spirit of the subject matter described herein in any way. Other features, aspects, and advantages of the subject matter described herein will become apparent from the detailed description described below in conjunction with the accompanying drawings. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0016] A better understanding of the present disclosure may be obtained when the following detailed description of the embodiments is considered in conjunction with the accompanying drawings. The same or similar reference numerals are used in the various drawings to represent the same or similar components. The accompanying drawings, together with the following detailed description, are incorporated into and form a part of this specification and are used to illustrate the embodiments of the present disclosure and to explain the principles and advantages of the present disclosure. In particular:

[0017] FIG1 shows an example scenario diagram of a wireless communication system according to an embodiment of the present disclosure.

[0018] FIG. 2 illustrates an exemplary electronic device for a network device according to an embodiment of the present disclosure.

[0019] FIG3 illustrates an exemplary electronic device for a user device according to an embodiment of the present disclosure.

[0020] Figure 4A shows an information interaction diagram of the initial default configuration and the modified configuration process in the beam configuration of the uplink reference signal for uplink positioning according to an embodiment of the present disclosure, and Figure 4B shows a flowchart of the initial default configuration and the modified configuration process in the beam configuration of the uplink reference signal for uplink positioning according to an embodiment of the present disclosure.

[0021] 5A-5B illustrate exemplary diagrams of a first use case of uplink reference signal beam configuration for uplink positioning according to an embodiment of the present disclosure.

[0022] 6A-6B illustrate exemplary diagrams of a second use case of uplink reference signal beam configuration for uplink positioning according to an embodiment of the present disclosure.

[0023] 7A-7C illustrate exemplary diagrams of a third use case of uplink reference signal beam configuration for uplink positioning according to an embodiment of the present disclosure.

[0024] 8A-8B are schematic diagrams showing information interaction of beam configuration for uplink positioning of a wireless communication system according to an embodiment of the present disclosure.

[0025] FIG9 shows a schematic diagram of information interaction for initial power configuration for uplink positioning of a wireless communication system according to an embodiment of the present disclosure.

[0026] 10A-10B show a flowchart of power adjustment for a wireless communication system according to an embodiment of the present disclosure.

[0027] FIG11 shows an example diagram of power configuration for an uplink reference signal according to an embodiment of the present disclosure.

[0028] FIG12 shows a flowchart of an example method for a network device in a wireless communication system according to an embodiment of the present disclosure.

[0029] FIG13 shows a flowchart of an example method for a user equipment in a wireless communication system according to an embodiment of the present disclosure.

[0030] 14 is a block diagram of an example structure of a personal computer as an information processing device that can be employed in an embodiment of the present disclosure;

[0031] FIG15 is a block diagram showing a first example of a schematic configuration of a base station to which the technology of the present disclosure can be applied;

[0032] FIG16 is a block diagram showing a second example of a schematic configuration of a base station to which the technology of the present disclosure can be applied;

[0033] FIG. 17 is a block diagram illustrating an example of a schematic configuration of a smartphone to which the technology of the present disclosure can be applied.

[0034] FIG. 18 is a block diagram showing an example of a schematic configuration of a car navigation device to which the technology of the present disclosure can be applied.

[0035] While the embodiments described in this disclosure may be susceptible to various modifications and alternative forms, specific embodiments thereof are shown by way of example in the drawings and are herein described in detail. However, it should be understood that the drawings and detailed description thereof are not intended to limit the embodiments to the particular forms disclosed, but on the contrary, the intent is to cover all modifications, equivalents, and alternatives falling within the spirit and scope of the claims. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0036] The following describes representative applications of various aspects of the apparatus and method of the present disclosure. The description of these examples is only to add context and help understand the described embodiments. Therefore, it is clear to those skilled in the art that the embodiments described below can be implemented without some or all of the specific details. In other cases, well-known process steps are not described in detail to avoid unnecessarily obscuring the described embodiments. Other applications are also possible, and the solutions of the present disclosure are not limited to these examples.

[0037] Typically, a wireless communication system includes at least a network device and a user device. The network device can provide communication services for one or more user devices.

[0038] In the present disclosure, the term "network device" (or "base station", "control device") has the full breadth of its usual meaning and includes at least a wireless communication station that is part of a wireless communication system or radio system to facilitate communication. As an example, the network device can be, for example, an eNB of the 4G communication standard, a gNB of the 5G communication standard, a remote radio head, a wireless access point, a drone control tower, or a communication device that performs similar functions. In the present disclosure, "network device", "base station" and "control device" can be used interchangeably, or the "network device" can be implemented as part of a "base station". The following application examples will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings using the network device as an example.

[0039] In the present disclosure, the term "user equipment (UE)" or "terminal device" has the full breadth of its usual meaning and includes at least a terminal device that is part of a wireless communication system or radio system to facilitate communication. As an example, a user device may be a terminal device or an element thereof such as a mobile phone, a laptop, a tablet computer, an in-vehicle communication device, a wearable device, a sensor, etc. In the present disclosure, "user equipment" (hereinafter referred to as "UE") and "terminal device" may be used interchangeably, or a "user equipment" may be implemented as a part of a "terminal device".

[0040] In this disclosure, the term "network device side" / "base station side" has the full breadth of its usual meaning, and generally refers to the side that transmits data in a downlink of a communication system, or the side that receives data in an uplink of a communication system. Similarly, the term "user equipment side" / "terminal equipment side" has the full breadth of its usual meaning, and can accordingly refer to the side that receives data in a downlink of a communication system, or the side that transmits data in an uplink of a communication system.

[0041] It should be noted that although the following description of the embodiments of the present disclosure is primarily based on a communication system including a network device and a user device, the description can be extended to the case of a communication system including any other type of network device side and user device side. For example, the operation on the network device side can correspond to the operation of a base station, and the operation on the user device side can correspond to the operation of a terminal device.

[0042] Figure 1 shows an example scenario diagram of a wireless communication system according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. It should be understood that Figure 1 only shows one of the many types and possible arrangements of wireless communication systems; the features of the present disclosure can be implemented in any of the various systems as needed.

[0043] As shown in Figure 1, the wireless communication system 100 includes one or more network devices 101 and one or more user devices 102. The network device and the user device can be configured to communicate via a wireless transmission medium. The network device 101 can also be configured to communicate with a positioning management function entity (not shown) in the core network, and perform transmission configuration on an uplink reference signal to be sent by the user device and notify the user device of the transmission configuration for uplink positioning. According to an embodiment of the present disclosure, an example of an uplink reference signal is a sounding reference signal (SRS), so "uplink reference signal" and "sounding reference signal" (or "SRS") can be used interchangeably in this document. It should be understood that the uplink reference signal can also be other reference signals sent by the user device known to those skilled in the art.

[0044] As shown in Figure 1, in a wireless communication system using higher frequencies (such as millimeter wave bands), both the network equipment side and the user equipment side can use antenna arrays including multiple antenna elements to form directional beams, which can improve transmission efficiency and system throughput.

[0045] During uplink positioning, network equipment can use beam scanning to receive SRSs sent from user devices. Because high-frequency signal beams are typically numerous and narrow, beam scanning on the network side requires multiple beam switches, resulting in significant latency and overhead. Furthermore, when a user device transmits an SRS, it must not only wait for an SRS transmission opportunity but also repeatedly transmit the SRS to allow a sufficient number of network devices to detect it, thereby achieving relatively accurate uplink positioning. Some existing solutions propose having the user device perform beam scanning to transmit the SRS, reducing network equipment latency and overhead. However, in densely distributed user devices, network equipment still needs to perform repeated beam scanning to detect SRSs from more user devices and improve uplink coverage. Therefore, in real-world scenarios, regardless of whether the user device performs beam scanning, network equipment-side beam scanning is unavoidable, resulting in a significant time consumption to achieve high-precision positioning requirements.

[0046] Due to the large time delay in uplink positioning, the channel state of the system is likely to change significantly during this period. Specifically, for example, a large number of devices using different radio access technologies (RATs) (such as cellular communication technology, Wi-Fi technology, Bluetooth technology, etc.) may be deployed in unlicensed high-frequency bands (such as 60GHz millimeter wave bands, etc.). These devices may be unknown to both the network equipment and the user equipment in the uplink positioning process, and are therefore referred to as "hidden nodes" or "hidden node devices" in this article. The communication links of these hidden node devices are likely to interfere with the SRS transmission process, causing the channel state of the SRS transmission to change significantly. Since neither the network equipment nor the user equipment can predict the appearance of hidden nodes, the channel state changes during their uplink positioning process are random and unpredictable.

[0047] In some existing uplink positioning schemes, the uplink beam transmission direction is determined according to the directional beam transmission direction of the downlink between the network device and the user device. As an example, by indicating the spatial relationship of the quasi-co-location association of the uplink reference signal and the downlink reference signal used for uplink positioning, the user device directly uses the uplink beam corresponding to the downlink beam trained to receive the downlink reference signal to send the uplink reference signal based on the measurement results of the previous downlink reference signal. However, these schemes are not applicable in unlicensed millimeter wave bands. As shown in Figure 1, since the number of antennas of the network device is usually much larger than the number of antennas of the user device, the beam width on the network device side is much narrower than the beam width on the user device side, resulting in serious uplink and downlink beam asymmetry problems. In this frequency band, the uplink and downlink channel states are no longer reciprocal, so the channel condition of the uplink transmission direction of the beam cannot be inferred by the quality of the downlink reference signal received by the beam. As an example, it can be seen from Figure 1 that the downlink transmission between the network device and the user equipment will not be interfered with by the communication link of the hidden node, so the measured transmission quality index of the downlink reference signal is high, but the uplink reference signal transmission will be interfered with by the communication link of the hidden node. Therefore, the method of configuring the transmission of the uplink reference signal based on the reception quality of the downlink reference signal is not applicable in the unlicensed millimeter wave band.

[0048] It should be understood that, according to an embodiment of the present disclosure, examples of downlink reference signals include synchronization signal blocks (SSBs), channel state information reference signals (CSI-RSs), and / or positioning reference signals (PRSs), and therefore, "downlink reference signals" and "SSB / CSI-RS / PRSs" may be used interchangeably herein. It should be understood that the downlink reference signal may also be other reference signals sent by a network device known to those skilled in the art. According to an embodiment of the present disclosure, the transmission quality indicator includes, but is not limited to, one of the following or a combination of multiple of the following: network reference signal received power (RSRP), reference signal received quality (RSRQ), signal to interference and noise ratio (SINR), and decoding rate.

[0049] In communications in unlicensed millimeter wave bands, the user equipment can perform a listen-before-talk (LBT) operation before communicating with the network device. If the hidden node is located within the coverage of the uplink beam of the user equipment (as shown in Figure 1), the user equipment may discover the existence of the hidden node communication link during the directional LBT operation, thereby determining not to send SRS to the network device on the beam in the corresponding direction to avoid interference. However, the hidden node may be located in the reverse coverage of the beam of the user equipment. In this case, when the transmission direction of the hidden node communication link is the same as or similar to the uplink beam direction from the user equipment to the network device, the user equipment cannot discover the hidden node during the LBT operation, but the uplink transmission will be interfered with by the hidden node communication link, and the uplink positioning performance may be seriously affected.

[0050] In general, in high-frequency wireless communication systems such as unlicensed millimeter wave bands, the large delay caused by beam scanning during uplink positioning is almost unavoidable. During this long period of time, the communication link of the hidden node may interfere with the uplink SRS transmission from the user device to the network device, and this interference may not be detected through LBT operation. At the same time, since the uplink and downlink channels in high-frequency band communications are not reciprocal, the trained downlink configuration cannot be simply set as the uplink configuration. Therefore, a reliable and efficient SRS transmission configuration for uplink positioning is needed, so that the SRS can avoid the interference of the hidden node communication link as much as possible during the transmission process, thereby improving the accuracy and reliability of uplink positioning.

[0051] In order to solve the above problems, the present disclosure provides a method for SRS transmission configuration for uplink positioning. According to an embodiment of the present disclosure, during the SRS transmission process, based on the network device's measurement of the transmission quality indicator in each beam direction for transmitting SRS, certain uplink beams with poor transmission quality indicators can be updated, so that the user equipment can switch to an uplink beam that can achieve better transmission quality indicators as soon as possible to send SRS. In addition, according to an embodiment of the present disclosure, during the SRS transmission process, the network device can configure the SRS transmission power of the user equipment based on the uplink measurement results and / or the auxiliary information received from the user equipment, so that the user equipment can adaptively increase the power in the SRS resource transmission that is subject to greater interference, thereby reducing the impact of interference.

[0052] FIG2 shows an exemplary electronic device for network device 101 according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. The electronic device 200 shown in FIG2 may include various units to implement various embodiments according to the present disclosure. In this example, the electronic device 200 includes a communication unit 202, a beam management unit 204, and a measurement unit 206. In one embodiment, the electronic device 200 is implemented as the network device 101 itself or a part thereof, or as a device related to the network device 101 or a part of the device. The various operations described below in conjunction with the network device may be implemented by units 202, 204, 206 of the electronic device 200 or other possible units. It should be understood that units 202, 204, and 206 may be included in or integrated into the processing circuit of the network device 101.

[0053] In an embodiment, the communication unit 202 may be configured to send a signal to or receive a signal from the user equipment 102 in the wireless communication system 100. For example, under the instruction of the beam management unit 204, the communication unit 202 may send information to the user equipment 102, instructing the user equipment 102 to use a first group of beams to send an uplink reference signal to the network device 101. Thereafter, the communication unit 202 may receive an uplink reference signal sent from the user equipment 102 using the first group of beams, wherein the measurement unit 206 may measure a transmission quality indicator of the uplink reference signal sent in each beam direction in the first group of beams. The beam management unit 204 may, based at least on the fact that the transmission quality indicator of the uplink reference signal sent in at least one beam direction in the first group of beams is lower than a threshold, instruct the communication unit 202 to send a message to the user equipment 102, instructing the user equipment 102 to use a second group of beams to send an uplink reference signal to the network device 101 for uplink positioning. According to an embodiment of the present disclosure, the second set of beams can enable the user equipment 102 to avoid sending uplink reference signals in beam directions interfered by the hidden node device communication link. As mentioned above, the hidden node device may be unknown to the network device 101 and the user equipment 102.

[0054] Additionally or optionally, the electronic device 200 may further include a power management unit (not shown), which may indicate to the user equipment the transmission power configuration of the uplink reference signal for uplink positioning based at least on the uplink measurement results and / or auxiliary information received from the user equipment.

[0055] FIG3 shows an exemplary electronic device 300 for a user device 102 in the system 100 according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. The electronic device 300 shown in FIG3 may include various units to implement various embodiments according to the present disclosure. In this example, the electronic device 300 includes a communication unit 302 and a beam switching unit 304. In one embodiment, the electronic device 300 is implemented as the user device 102 itself or a part thereof, or as a device for controlling the user device 102 or otherwise associated with the user device 102 or a part thereof. The various operations described below in conjunction with the user device may be implemented by units 302, 304 or other possible units of the electronic device 300. It should be understood that units 302 and 304 may be included in or integrated into the processing circuit of the user device 102.

[0056] In an embodiment, the communication unit 302 may be configured to send a signal to or receive a signal from the network device 101 in the wireless communication system 100. For example, the communication unit 302 may receive a message from the network device 101, the message instructing the user equipment 102 to send an uplink reference signal to the network device 101 using a first set of beams. Thereafter, the beam switching unit 304 may instruct the communication unit 302 to send an uplink reference signal to the network device 101 in each beam direction in the first set of beams, so that the network device 101 measures a transmission quality indicator of these uplink reference signals. The communication unit 302 may then receive a message from the network device 101, the message instructing the user equipment 102 to send an uplink reference signal to the network device 101 using a second set of beams, wherein the message is sent by the network device 101 based at least on the fact that the transmission quality indicator of the uplink reference signal sent in at least one beam direction in the first set of beams is lower than a threshold. Accordingly, the beam switching unit 304 may instruct the communication unit 302 to use the second set of beams to transmit uplink reference signals to the network device 101 for uplink positioning. According to an embodiment of the present disclosure, the second set of beams may enable the user equipment 102 to avoid transmitting uplink reference signals in beam directions that are interfered with by the communication link of the hidden node device. As previously described, the hidden node device may be unknown to the network device 101 and the user equipment 102.

[0057] Additionally or optionally, the electronic device 300 may further include a power adjustment unit (not shown), which may, based on the transmission power configuration indicated by the network device, instruct the communication unit 302 to use corresponding power to transmit an uplink reference signal for uplink positioning. The transmission power configuration is based at least on an uplink measurement result of the network device and / or auxiliary information received by the network device from the user equipment.

[0058] In some embodiments, electronic devices 200 and 300 may be implemented at the chip level, or may be implemented at the device level by including other external components (eg, radio links, antennas, etc.). For example, each electronic device may function as a communication device as a whole.

[0059] It should be noted that the above-mentioned units are only logical modules divided according to the specific functions implemented by them, rather than being used to limit the specific implementation mode. For example, they can be implemented in software, hardware or a combination of software and hardware. In actual implementation, the above-mentioned units can be implemented as independent physical entities, or can also be implemented by a single entity (for example, a processor (CPU or DSP, etc.), an integrated circuit, etc.). Among them, the processing circuit can refer to various implementations of a digital circuit system, an analog circuit system or a mixed signal (a combination of analog and digital) circuit system that performs functions in a computing system. The processing circuit may include, for example, circuits such as an integrated circuit (IC), an application-specific integrated circuit (ASIC), part or circuit of a separate processor core, an entire processor core, a separate processor, a programmable hardware device such as a field programmable gate array (FPGA), and / or a system including multiple processors.

[0060] <Beam Configuration in SRS Transmission for Positioning>

[0061] The present disclosure proposes a transmission beam configuration for uplink reference signals used for uplink positioning, wherein the spatial relationship of the uplink reference signals is set and updated, thereby improving the accuracy and reliability of uplink positioning.

[0062] SRS initial configuration

[0063] According to an embodiment of the present disclosure, one or more SRS resource sets can be configured for a user equipment, where each SRS resource set can include multiple SRS resources, and each SRS resource can be transmitted using a corresponding uplink transmit beam. When the SRS resource set is used for beam management, the same SRS resource set can only transmit one SRS resource at a time, but SRS resources in different SRS resource sets can be transmitted simultaneously. It is understood that in this document, "SRS resource" and "SRS" are sometimes used interchangeably.

[0064] According to an embodiment of the present disclosure, the SRS resource set may be transmitted and configured via downlink control information (DCI) in a radio resource control (RRC) information element or via higher layer parameters such as a medium access control (MAC)-control element (CE).

[0065] Before officially transmitting the SRS for uplink positioning, the network device can perform SRS initial configuration on the user equipment. According to the embodiments of the present disclosure, the SRS initial configuration may include an SRS initial default configuration and an SRS modified configuration. The following will take an SRS resource set as an example to describe the SRS initial configuration process in detail.

[0066] SRS initial default configuration

[0067] The configuration of SRS resources can be achieved by configuring their spatial relationship. Specifically, the spatial relationship can refer to the quasi-co-location (QCL) association of the uplink reference signal and the downlink reference signal. The indication of the beam direction of the uplink reference signal can be achieved by indicating the downlink reference signal that has a QCL association with the uplink reference signal. For example, an SSB / CSI-RS / PRS with a QCL association can be configured for an SRS (for example, in an NR system, the QCL association can also be called a QCL-TypeD association), and the user equipment can use the downlink receive beam that receives the SSB / CSI-RS / PRS to send the SRS. Therefore, a group of SSB / CSI-RS / PRS can be configured for the SRS resource set for uplink positioning, wherein the group of SSB / CSI-RS / PRS can correspond to multiple downlink receive beam directions on the user equipment side, so that the SRS resources in the SRS resource set are transmitted in the corresponding multiple uplink transmit beam directions respectively.

[0068] The initial default configuration for SRS can be divided into the following two cases:

[0069] Case 1: The number of SSB / CSI-RS / PRS ≥ the number of SRS in the SRS resource set

[0070] In this case, the same number of SSBs / CSI-RSs / PRSs as the SRSs can be randomly selected, corresponding to different beam directions, and then QCL-associated with the SRSs. Preferably, the beam directions corresponding to the selected SSBs / CSI-RSs / PRSs are distributed as evenly as possible across all spatial angles around the user equipment.

[0071] Case 2: The number of SSB / CSI-RS / PRS is less than the number of SRS in the SRS resource set.

[0072] In this case, when the number of SSB / CSI-RS / PRS is much smaller than the number of SRS, the SRS in the SRS resource set can be divided into multiple SRS groups, and the SRS in each SRS group is QCL associated with one SSB / CSI-RS / PRS; when the number of SSB / CSI-RS / PRS is slightly smaller than the number of SRS, multiple SRSs can be QCL associated with the SSB / CSI-RS / PRS centered in the beam direction, and other SRSs are maintained in one-to-one QCL association with SSB / CSI-RS / PRS in other different directions.

[0073] It should be understood that the above merely provides an example of the initial default configuration of the SRS and is not intended to be limiting. Other methods that can be imagined by those skilled in the art may be used to configure the initial default spatial relationship of the SRS.

[0074] SRS Correction Configuration

[0075] In some embodiments, the user equipment has previously measured or trained the downlink reference signal and has stored the corresponding result information. For example, the user equipment may store the most recent downlink reference signal measurement result, which may reflect the path loss in the beam direction corresponding to the downlink reference signal. As an example and not a limitation, the user equipment may use a bitmap or the like to store a mark for the SSB / CSI-RS / PRS whose downlink transmission quality index is greater than a specific threshold. Although the reciprocity characteristics of the uplink and downlink channels cannot be directly utilized in the unlicensed millimeter wave band, the measurement result of the downlink reference signal is still of reference significance for the transmission of the uplink reference signal. Therefore, at least the initial default configuration of the SRS can be corrected based on the measurement result of the downlink reference signal, thereby improving the performance of the initial configuration of the SRS to a certain extent.

[0076] Information exchange and process of SRS initial configuration

[0077] FIG4A shows a signal interaction diagram of the initial default configuration and modified configuration process in the beam configuration of an uplink reference signal for uplink positioning according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. During the uplink positioning process, for example, after the network device receives a positioning request sent by a positioning management function (LMF), it may send SRS initial default configuration information to the user equipment, which specifies a set of downlink reference signals (e.g., SSB / CSI-RS / PRS) that have a QCL association with the uplink reference signal (e.g., SRS). Optionally, after receiving the SRS initial default configuration information, the user equipment may compare the downlink reference signal specified in the information with its own stored downlink reference signal measurement results. If the difference between the two is large (e.g., a large proportion of the downlink reference signals specified in the SRS initial default information have previous measurement results that are worse than a specific threshold (such as path loss higher than a specific threshold, or RSRP / RSRQ / SINR values ​​lower than a specific threshold)), the user equipment may send a modification request to the network device, so that the network device modifies the spatial relationship configuration of the SRS based on the most recent downlink reference signal measurement result. The network device may send SRS modification configuration information to the user equipment, where the information specifies the modified set of SSB / CSI-RS / PRS with QCL association to the SRS. This completes the initial SRS spatial relationship configuration. Thereafter, the network device may send information to the user equipment to activate SRS transmission.

[0078] Corresponding to Figure 4A, Figure 4B shows a flowchart of the initial default configuration and correction configuration process in the beam configuration of the uplink reference signal for uplink positioning. It should be understood that, taking into account factors such as interference or delay that may exist in the transmission of the above-mentioned configuration information, if the user equipment does not receive the SRS correction configuration information after sending the correction request, it may consider waiting for a period of time before sending the correction request again. When the number of times the correction request is sent reaches a certain threshold, the correction request can be directly abandoned, and the SRS initial default configuration is used as the final initial spatial relationship configuration (not shown in the figure). It should also be understood that, if the user equipment has not performed previous downlink reference signal measurement or training, it may choose not to perform the comparison operation and use the SRS initial default configuration as the final initial spatial relationship configuration.

[0079] SRS Update Configuration

[0080] According to an embodiment of the present disclosure, after the network device indicates the SRS initial configuration (including the SRS initial default configuration or the SRS modified configuration) to the user equipment, the user equipment uses a corresponding set of beams (also referred to as the "first set of beams" herein) to send SRS resources based on the QCL association of a set of downlink reference signals (e.g., SSB / CSI-RS / PRS) and uplink reference signal (SRS) resources indicated in the initial configuration information. Specifically, the user equipment can use each beam in the first set of beams to send SRS. Accordingly, the network device receives these SRSs in sequence and can measure the transmission quality indicator of the SRS sent on each beam in the first set of beams. For ease of explanation, in this section, the network reference signal received power (RSRP) is used as an example of the transmission quality indicator for description, but it should be understood that the transmission quality indicator can also be reference signal received quality (RSRQ), signal to interference and noise ratio (SINR), decoding rate, or a combination thereof (e.g., a weighted combination of the above multiple transmission quality indicators). Furthermore, it is understandable that the network device may maintain a fixed uplink receiving beam during the measurement process. The receiving beam may be, for example, an uplink receiving beam with better performance previously determined based on uplink beam scanning.

[0081] When the user equipment uses the first set of beams to send SRS, the network equipment can obtain the beam used to send the SRS based on the index of each SRS received. During the measurement process, the network equipment can record the transmission quality indicator of each SRS (for example, also recorded as "SRS-RSRP" in this article) and compare it with a specific threshold. For example, the threshold can represent the minimum RSRP that meets the uplink positioning performance requirements, which is recorded as "M" in this article. It should be recognized that the above-mentioned specific threshold can be a pre-set value or a value calculated based on prior measurement information. After the user equipment uses the first set of beams to perform a complete uplink beam scan, the network equipment can obtain the complete SRS-RSRP measurement results and find the maximum measurement value of SRS-RSRP, which is recorded as "(SRS-RSRP)" in this article. max Based on the comparison of the SRS-RSRP values ​​corresponding to all SRSs in the measured SRS resource set with the threshold M, the network device can decide whether to update the SRS transmission configuration (more specifically, update the spatial relationship in the SRS transmission configuration) and how to update the SRS configuration according to three situations. The following will describe these three situations in detail through three use cases (including the first use case, the second use case, and the third use case).

[0082] First use case: (SRS-RSRP)max≥M and there is at least one SRS-RSRP<M

[0083] In the first use case, the transmission quality indicator of the SRS sent in at least one beam direction in the first group of beams is lower than the threshold M, and the transmission quality indicator of the SRS sent in at least one other beam direction in the first group of beams is not lower than the threshold M.

[0084] Figures 5A and 5B illustrate example diagrams of a first use case of uplink reference signal beam configuration for uplink positioning according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. Referring to Figure 5A , the left half illustrates an example of a first set of beams used by a user equipment (UE). The SRS resource set in the UE's initial SRS configuration includes a total of six SRS resources, each utilizing beams 1-6 for uplink transmission. This allows a network device (located to the right of the UE, not shown in the figure) to measure the RSRP values ​​of the SRSs transmitted on the six beams.

[0085] According to Figure 5A, there is a hidden node within the coverage area of ​​beam 1 of the user equipment, and the communication link of the hidden node has a relatively serious impact on beam 1. Corresponding to the left half of Figure 5A, the left half of Figure 5B schematically shows the SRS transmission between the network device and the user equipment. Because the SRS transmitted on beam 1 is significantly interfered with by the collision of the hidden node communication link, the RSRP measurement value of the SRS transmitted in this beam direction is almost 0. The SRS transmitted on beams 2-3 is also interfered with to a certain extent by the hidden node communication link, and the corresponding SRS-RSRP values ​​are all lower than the threshold M. In contrast, the RSRP measurement value of the SRS transmitted on beam 4 is the highest among all SRS-RSRP measurement values, that is, equal to (SRS-RSRP)max. In addition, the measurement value of the SRS transmitted on beams 5-6 is not lower than the threshold M, but is lower than (SRS-RSRP)max. Based on the RSRP measurement values ​​of the SRS in each beam direction, the network device can roughly infer that there may be hidden nodes within the coverage range of the user equipment's uplink beam 1-3, and the communication link of the communication node interferes with the SRS resource transmission on beam 1-3.

[0086] Additionally or alternatively, during the measurement period, the user equipment may perform LBT before using a beam to transmit the SRS. For example, before transmitting the SRS on beam 1, the user equipment may fail to perform LBT, and therefore the user equipment may choose not to transmit the SRS. In this case, the network device does not receive the SRS transmitted in the direction of beam 1, and therefore the RSRP measurement value corresponding to this SRS may be recorded as 0. Although LBT is successfully performed on beams 2 and 3, the hidden node communication link blocks the corresponding uplink to a certain extent, causing transmission interference, resulting in significant signal attenuation of the SRS transmitted in these two beam directions, resulting in lower signal power reaching the network device.

[0087] According to the present disclosure, in a first use case, the network device may instruct all beams (e.g., beams 1-3) in the first group of beams whose RSRP measurement values ​​are lower than a threshold M to be updated to beams with the same or similar beam direction as the beam (e.g., beam 4) with the highest RSRP measurement value in the first group of beams, thereby forming a second group of beams. The right half of Figures 5A and 5B respectively show example diagrams of the updated second group of beams and the corresponding SRS transmission conditions. As shown in the figure, the network device sends SRS update configuration information to the user equipment, instructing the user equipment to use the second group of beams to transmit SRS for uplink positioning. Similar to the initial configuration information of the SRS, the SRS update configuration information indicates a group of SSB / CSI-RS / PRS with QCL association with the updated SRS (the second group of beams corresponds to the receiving beams of the group of downlink reference signals and is used to transmit SRS resources). As an example and not a limitation, in the SRS update configuration information, the network device may use a bitmap to indicate which beams need to be updated (switched), and the information may indicate which beam needs to be switched to. For example, the bitmap can be "111000", indicating that beams 1-3 need to be updated, and the SRS update configuration information can indicate "SRI=4 (where SRI represents SRS index)", which means that beams 1-3 are switched to beams with the same beam direction as beam 4 (as shown in Figure 5A), or can be switched to a direction close to the beam direction of beam 4 (for example, a narrower uplink beam within the uplink beam coverage range of beam 4).

[0088] The updated transmission direction of beam 1-3 is the same as or similar to that of beam 4, so the transmission of SRS can bypass the hidden node communication link, so that the RSRP values ​​of the SRS sent on the updated beams 1-6 are not lower than the threshold M. Additionally, when the user equipment performs LBT, LBT can be successfully performed in the transmission beam directions corresponding to all updated SRSs. After updating the SRS configuration, the RSRP values ​​of each SRS received by the network device are large enough, so the accuracy of uplink positioning can be improved. It should be understood that Figures 5A and 5B exemplarily show the situation where the updated transmission directions of multiple beams are the same. This process of repeatedly transmitting SRS using the same beam is also called SRS repetition. It has been proven in practice that SRS repetition can enable network equipment to detect positioning signals multiple times, thereby improving the reliability of positioning.

[0089] Second use case: (SRS-RSRP)max≥M and all SRS-RSRP≥M

[0090] In the second use case, the transmission quality indicators of the SRSs sent in all beam directions in the first group of beams are not lower than the threshold M.

[0091] Figures 6A and 6B illustrate example diagrams of a second use case for uplink reference signal beam configuration for uplink positioning according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. Referring to Figure 6A , the left half illustrates an example of a first set of beams used by a user equipment (UE). The SRS resource set in the UE's initial SRS configuration includes a total of six SRS resources, each utilizing beams 1-6 for uplink transmission. This allows a network device (located to the right of the UE, not shown in the figure) to measure the RSRP values ​​of the SRS signals transmitted on the six beams.

[0092] According to Figure 6A, there are no hidden nodes within the uplink coverage of beams 1-6 of the user equipment. The hidden nodes are located within the reverse coverage of some beams of the user equipment, but the transmission direction of the communication link of the hidden node is neither the same as nor close to the beam direction of beams 1-6. Corresponding to the left half of Figure 6A, the left half of Figure 6B schematically shows the SRS transmission between the network device and the user equipment. It can be seen that the hidden node communication link has little effect on the SRS transmission on beams 1-6, so all corresponding SRS-RSRP values ​​are not lower than the threshold M. Based on the RSRP measurement values ​​of the SRS in each beam direction, the network device can roughly infer that each uplink beam of the user equipment is less affected by the interference of the hidden node communication link, and thus judge that the uplink channel corresponding to the first group of beams indicated in the SRS initial configuration is in good condition.

[0093] Additionally or alternatively, during the measurement period, before using a beam to transmit the SRS, the user equipment may perform LBT. Since the interfering node communication link does not fall within the coverage of any of the uplink beams 1-6, and the transmission direction of the communication link is not the same as or close to any of the beam directions in beams 1-6, it does not interfere with the SRS uplink transmission, and the user equipment can successfully perform LBT in all beam directions.

[0094] According to the present disclosure, in the second use case, the network device may not instruct the user equipment to use the second set of beams, so that the user equipment continues to use the first set of beams (e.g., beams 1-6) to send uplink reference signals to the network device for uplink positioning. Therefore, in the second use case, the network device does not need to send SRS update configuration information. As shown in the right half of Figures 6A and 6B, the user equipment continues to use the first set of beams (e.g., beams 1-6) to transmit SRS for uplink positioning.

[0095] Third use case: (SRS-RSRP)max<M

[0096] In the third use case, the transmission quality indicators of the SRSs sent in all beam directions in the first group of beams are lower than a threshold M.

[0097] Figures 7A-7C illustrate example diagrams of a third use case for uplink reference signal beam configuration for uplink positioning according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. Referring to Figure 7A , the left half illustrates an example of the first set of beams used by a user equipment (UE). The SRS resource set in the UE's initial SRS configuration includes a total of six SRS resources, each utilizing beams 1-6 for uplink transmission. This allows a network device (located to the left of the UE, not shown in the figure) to measure the RSRP values ​​of the SRS signals transmitted on the six beams.

[0098] According to Figure 7A, there is a hidden node communication link within the coverage of beam 3-4, so the hidden node communication link has a more serious impact on beam 3-4. In addition, there are also two hidden node communication links within the reverse coverage of beams 1-2 and 5-6 located at the user equipment, where the transmission direction of one communication link is the same as or similar to the beam direction of beam 1-2, and the transmission direction of the other communication link is the same as or similar to the beam direction of beam 5-6. Corresponding to the left half of Figure 7A, the left half of Figure 7B schematically shows the SRS transmission between the network device and the user equipment. Because the SRS sent on beam 3-4 is significantly interfered by the collision of the hidden node communication link, the RSRP measurement value of the SRS sent in these two beam directions is almost 0. The SRS sent on beams 1-2 and 5-6 are also interfered with by the hidden node communication link to a certain extent, and the corresponding SRS-RSRP values ​​are both less than the threshold M. Based on the RSRP measurement values ​​of the SRS in each beam direction, the network device can roughly infer that each uplink beam of the user equipment is greatly affected by the interference of the hidden node communication link, and thus determine that the uplink channel condition corresponding to the first group of beams indicated in the SRS initial configuration is poor.

[0099] Additionally or alternatively, during the measurement, the user equipment may perform an LBT operation before using the beam to send the SRS. For example, before sending the SRS on beam 3-4, the user equipment may fail to perform LBT, so the user equipment may choose not to send the SRS. In this case, the network device does not receive the SRS sent in the beam direction of beam 3-4, so the RSRP measurement value corresponding to the SRS can be recorded as 0. It should be understood that although the user equipment successfully performs LBT on beam 1-2, the hidden node communication link still exists, interfering with the SRS transmission on beam 1-2, resulting in more severe signal attenuation of the SRS transmitted in these two beam directions, resulting in less power reaching the network device. The same situation applies to beam 5-6.

[0100] According to the present disclosure, in the third use case, the network device can instruct the user equipment to re-perform omnidirectional beam scanning. The right half of Figures 7A and 7B respectively show example diagrams of beams used for omnidirectional scanning and corresponding SRS transmission situations. As shown in the figure, the network device sends information to the user equipment instructing the user equipment to perform omnidirectional beam scanning, and then the user equipment uses beams 1'-6' for pointing in various directions to perform omnidirectional beam scanning. It should be understood that the beam directions of beams 1'-6' used for omnidirectional scanning are usually different from those of beams 1-6 indicated in the SRS initial configuration. Due to the interference of the hidden node communication link, the RSRP measurement value of the SRS transmitted on beams 2', 4', and 6' is almost 0 (in addition or alternatively, before sending the SRS on these beams, the user equipment may perform LBT failure, so the user equipment may choose not to send the SRS failure. The network device does not receive the SRS sent in these beam directions, so the RSRP measurement value corresponding to these SRS can be recorded as 0). In addition, because there are hidden node communication links within the reverse coverage of beams 1' and 3', and the transmission directions of the corresponding communication links are the same as or close to the beam transmission directions, the SRS transmitted in these beam directions are interfered with, resulting in the RSRP measurement value being less than the threshold M. The RSRP measurement value of the SRS transmitted on beam 5' is the highest among all SRS-RSRP measurement values, denoted as (SRS-RSRP)max', and (SRS-RSRP)max'≥M.

[0101] Thereafter, a method similar to that in the first use case can be performed to update all beams (e.g., beams 1'-4' and 6') in the beams used for omnidirectional beam scanning whose transmission quality indicators are lower than the threshold to beams with the same or similar beam directions as the beam with the highest transmission quality indicator in the omnidirectional beam scanning (e.g., beam 5'), thereby forming a second group of beams. FIG7C shows an example diagram of the updated second group of beams in the third use case. Since the RSRP measurement value of beam 5' meets the uplink positioning performance requirements in this example, beams 1-6 in the second group of beams are beams with the same direction as beam 5' (as shown in the upper half of FIG7C), or beams with a direction similar to beam 5' (e.g., a narrower uplink beam within the uplink beam coverage of beam 5', as shown in the lower half of FIG7C).

[0102] Similar to the first use case, in the third use case, the network device instructs the user equipment to use the second set of beams by sending SRS update configuration information. Similar to the initial configuration information of SRS, the SRS update configuration information indicates a set of SSB / CSI-RS / PRS with QCL association with the updated SRS (the second set of beams corresponds to the receiving beam of the set of downlink reference signals and is used to send SRS resources). As an example and not a limitation, in the SRS update configuration information, the network device can use a bitmap to indicate which omnidirectional scanning beams need to be updated (switched), and the information can indicate which beam needs to be switched to.

[0103] After the SRS configuration is updated, the RSRP value of each SRS received by the network device is large enough, thereby improving the accuracy of uplink positioning.

[0104] Summary of Use Cases for SRS Update Configuration

[0105] In summary, on the one hand, the network device instructs the user equipment to use the second group of beams to send uplink reference signals to the network device for uplink positioning (for example, the first use case, the third use case) through SRS update configuration information, based at least on the fact that the transmission quality indicator of the uplink reference signal sent in at least one beam direction in the first group of beams indicated in the SRS initial configuration information is lower than a threshold. On the other hand, the network device does not instruct the user equipment to use the second group of beams, based at least on the fact that the transmission quality indicator of the uplink reference signal sent in all beam directions in the first group of beams is not lower than the above threshold, so that the user equipment continues to use the first group of beams to send uplink reference signals to the network device for uplink positioning.

[0106] Therefore, the present disclosure updates the beam direction for transmitting the SRS when channel conditions are poor in some or all of the beam directions indicated in the initial SRS configuration, allowing the SRS transmission beam used for uplink positioning to avoid or circumvent interference from the hidden node communication link. As a result, the transmission quality indicator of the SRS received by the network device in each updated direction is sufficiently high, improving the accuracy and reliability of uplink positioning.

[0107] It should be understood that the SRS initial configuration information (for example, including SRS initial default configuration information and SRS correction configuration information), SRS update configuration information, and global beam scanning indication information sent by the network device to the user equipment can all be transmitted through DCI or MAC-CE in RRC.

[0108] It should be recognized that the specific example descriptions in the above use cases (including the first use case, the second use case, and the third use case) are merely exemplary and are not intended to be limiting. In practice, there may be multiple user devices and network devices. For each user device and each network device, the above method provided in the present disclosure can be used to measure and update the beams in various examples. It will be understood that when the network device is a gNB and the gNB includes multiple transmit and receive points (TRPs), the above method can be used to measure and update the beams between each user device and each TRP. It should also be recognized that in practice, there may be a greater or lesser number of beams and hidden nodes. The method provided in the present disclosure can improve the uplink positioning performance under various channel conditions.

[0109] It should be understood that in the first and third use cases, if the SRS-RSRP measurement values ​​in multiple beam directions reach the maximum value, then all beams with transmission quality indicators lower than the threshold can be updated to a randomly selected beam from the above-mentioned multiple beams, or all beams with transmission quality indicators lower than the threshold can be grouped and updated to multiple beams from the above-mentioned multiple beams.

[0110] Information interaction

[0111] 8A-8B are schematic diagrams showing information interaction of beam configuration for uplink positioning of a wireless communication system according to an embodiment of the present disclosure.

[0112] As shown in FIG8A , after receiving a positioning request (e.g., an NRPPa positioning request) from a positioning management function (LMF), the network device may send SRS initial configuration information to the user equipment. As previously described, the SRS initial configuration information may include SRS initial default configuration information and SRS modified configuration information (e.g., if the user equipment has previously performed downlink reference signal measurement or training, the SRS initial default configuration may be modified after the SRS initial default configuration). The network device may then instruct the user equipment to activate SRS transmission.

[0113] Based on the spatial relationship specified in the SRS initial configuration (e.g., specifying a group of downlink reference signals with a QCL association with the SRS), the user equipment can use the beam specified in the SRS initial configuration as an uplink beam (also referred to herein as the "first group of beams") to transmit the SRS. Specifically, the user equipment can send the SRS to the network device in each beam direction in the first group of beams. Accordingly, the network device can measure the transmission quality indicator of the SRS sent in each beam direction in the first group of beams.

[0114] The network device may not send any SRS update configuration information to the user equipment, at least when it determines that the transmission quality index of the uplink reference signal sent in all beam directions in the first group of beams is not lower than the threshold (indicating that the uplink channel conditions in all beam directions in the first group of beams are good), so that the user equipment continues to use the first group of beams to send SRS to the network device for uplink positioning (the specific example has been described in detail in the aforementioned second use case).

[0115] The network device sends SRS update configuration information to the user equipment at least when it is determined that the transmission quality index of the uplink reference signal sent in at least one beam direction in the first group of beams is lower than a threshold value (indicating that the uplink channel conditions of some or all beam directions in the first group of beams are poor). In the case where the user equipment receives the SRS configuration update information from the network device, the user equipment can apply the SRS update configuration and perform SRS transmission for uplink positioning. As an example, the user equipment can perform SRS transmission based on the spatial relationship specified in the SRS update configuration (for example, specifying an updated group of downlink reference signals having a QCL association with the SRS) using the beam specified in the SRS update configuration as the uplink beam (also referred to as the "second group of beams" in this document) for uplink positioning.

[0116] More specifically, the transmission quality index of the uplink reference signal sent in at least one beam direction in the first group of beams is lower than the threshold, which can be divided into the following two cases: (1) the transmission quality index of the uplink reference signal sent in at least one beam direction in the first group of beams is lower than the threshold and the transmission quality index of the SRS sent in at least one other beam direction in the first group of beams is not lower than the threshold; and (2) the transmission quality index of the SRS sent in all beam directions in the first group of beams is lower than the threshold.

[0117] In case (1), the network device may update all beams in the first group of beams whose transmission quality indicators are lower than the threshold to beams with the same or similar beam directions as the beam with the highest transmission quality indicator in the first group of beams, thereby forming a second group of beams (the specific example has been described in detail in the aforementioned first use case). In case (2), the network device may instruct the user equipment to re-perform omnidirectional beam scanning, and update all beams in the beams used for omnidirectional beam scanning whose transmission quality indicators are lower than the threshold to beams with the same or similar beam directions as the beam with the highest transmission quality indicator in the omnidirectional beam scanning, thereby forming a second group of beams (the specific example has been described in detail in the aforementioned third use case).

[0118] It should be understood that the transmission of SRS update configuration information can occur between two SRS transmission opportunities, as shown in Figure 8A. Taking into account the long delay between SRS transmission and measurement, the transmission of SRS update configuration information can also occur during a single SRS transmission, as shown in Figure 8B (for simplicity, Figure 8B omits other steps in Figure 8A (including but not limited to the transmission of SRS initial configuration information, activation of SRS transmission, etc.)). According to Figure 8B, within a single SRS transmission delay, if the user equipment receives SRS update configuration information from the network device, the user equipment can immediately apply the updated configuration and use the second set of beams to transmit the updated SRS resources and the untransmitted SRS resources.

[0119] It should also be understood that the high-level parameter configuration for an SRS resource set may include a time domain type configuration, which includes a "periodic" type, a "semi-persistent" type, and an "aperiodic" type. The transmission interaction mechanism in FIG8A can be applied to an SRS resource set of the "periodic" type or the "semi-persistent" type, while the transmission interaction mechanism in FIG8B can be applied to an SRS resource set of the "periodic" type, the "semi-persistent" type, or the "aperiodic" type.

[0120] It should be noted that the information interaction diagrams in Figures 8A-8B are merely examples and are not intended to be limiting. The diagrams may include more or fewer steps, and the steps may be performed in a different order than that depicted in the diagrams.

[0121] According to the method for configuring an uplink reference signal (e.g., SRS) transmission beam for positioning proposed in the present disclosure, a network device can, when measuring and finding that the channel conditions in the beam directions of some or all uplink beams used to transmit SRS are poor, infer that these beam directions are interfered with by hidden node communication links, thereby instructing the user equipment to update the uplink transmit beam for transmitting SRS by indicating a spatial relationship update. The SRS update configuration mechanism provided in the present disclosure enables the transmit beam of the user equipment used to transmit SRS to quickly and effectively avoid interference from hidden node communication links, thereby improving the accuracy and reliability of uplink positioning under various channel conditions.

[0122] <Power Configuration in SRS Transmission for Positioning>

[0123] The present disclosure proposes a transmission power configuration for an uplink reference signal used for uplink positioning, wherein the transmission power of the uplink reference signal is set and adjusted to improve the accuracy and reliability of uplink positioning. It should be understood that the SRS transmission power configuration for positioning and the SRS transmission beam configuration for positioning can be used in combination or alternatively.

[0124] Referring again to Figure 1 , the cell in which network device 101 provides service for user equipment 102 is referred to as a serving cell, and cells near the serving cell are referred to as neighboring cells. The serving cell and neighboring cells may be, for example, cellular cells, small cells, micro cells, femto cells, etc. In this document, for user equipment, the network device of the serving cell is also referred to as the serving network device, and the network device of the neighboring cell is also referred to as the neighboring network device.

[0125] In the current wireless communication system, the user equipment can report the downlink measurement results of the serving network equipment (for example, the measurement results of the downlink reference signal (such as SSB / CSI-RS / PRS) (such as path loss, etc.)) to the serving network equipment, and the serving network equipment configures the transmission power of the uplink reference signal (for example, SRS) for uplink positioning of the user equipment. However, since the above-mentioned transmission power configuration is only based on the downlink measurement results of the serving cell, it is likely that it is not applicable to the network equipment of the neighboring cell. Generally speaking, the distance between the neighboring network equipment and the user equipment is farther than that of the serving network equipment. Therefore, according to the current transmission power configuration, it is likely that the power of the SRS resource received by the neighboring network equipment is too small, so that the corresponding transmission quality indicator (for example, SRS-RSRP) is too low, and the performance of uplink positioning cannot be met. According to the embodiment of the present disclosure, the transmission power of the user equipment is preferably configured separately for different network equipment to adapt to transmission channels with different transmission distances and path losses.

[0126] Furthermore, as previously mentioned, in high-frequency band systems such as unlicensed millimeter wave systems, due to the large number of devices using different RATs and the inevitable long delay in SRS transmission, the hidden node interference problem is more serious, making the channel state of each SRS resource used for uplink positioning more random and difficult to predict. Therefore, the current method of uniformly configuring the transmission power of the SRS resource set is no longer applicable. According to an embodiment of the present disclosure, it is preferred to configure the transmission power of each SRS resource in the SRS resource set separately, and perform real-time adjustments to adapt to the randomly changing channel conditions.

[0127] SRS power initial configuration

[0128] Figure 9 shows a schematic diagram of information interaction for the initial configuration of power for uplink positioning of a wireless communication system according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. As shown in Figure 9, the positioning management function (LMF) sends a positioning request (e.g., NRPPa positioning activation request) to the serving network device and receives a positioning response (e.g., NRPPa positioning activation response) from the serving network device. Afterwards, the LMF can send a measurement request (e.g., NRPPa measurement request) to each network device (including the serving network device and the neighboring network device). Unlike the current wireless communication system in which only the downlink measurement results of the serving network device are counted, according to an embodiment of the present disclosure, each network device performs uplink measurement result statistics, and the neighboring network device can send its uplink measurement results to the serving network device (e.g., via the Xn interface). Based on the statistical information of the uplink measurement results of each network device, the serving network device can set a corresponding transmission power configuration for each SRS resource of the user equipment within the serving cell. The transmission power configuration can be indicated by the TPC (transmission power control) instruction field in the high-layer parameters. It should be understood that a TCP field can correspond to an SRS resource index (SRI). The TCP instruction may be sent by the serving network device to the user equipment together with the message for activating SRS transmission for uplink positioning.

[0129] It should be understood that, for simplicity of explanation, FIG9 only shows an example of one serving network device and one neighboring network device. In practice, there may be a greater number of serving network devices and / or neighboring network devices. Multiple neighboring network devices may send their own uplink measurement results to one serving network device, or they may be sent to the corresponding serving network device after being uniformly grouped (e.g., each group includes one or more neighboring network devices corresponding to one serving network device, and the grouping criteria may be based on the distance between network devices, etc.).

[0130] As mentioned above, the initial power configuration of the SRS resource for uplink positioning of the user equipment can be based on the uplink measurement results of the SRS resource of each network device and the user equipment collected by the serving network device. According to the embodiment of the present disclosure, the initial power P of the SRS resource of the user equipment is given below: SRS-pos Configuration example (unit: dBm): P SRS-pos =min{P max , P o +A·PL(q d )}[dBm] (1)

[0131] Among them, P max is the maximum transmission power of the user equipment; P ois the reference power setting value; A is the impact factor of uplink path loss estimation; PL(q d ) is the uplink path loss estimation result obtained based on the uplink measurement result; q d These parameters may be associated with the carrier, frequency band, and number of resource blocks (RBs) occupied by the SRS resource in the bandwidth.

[0132] It should be noted that for the SRS resources sent by the user equipment to the neighboring network equipment for uplink positioning, the corresponding PL (q d ) is a path loss result in a previous uplink measurement of the SRS resource by the user equipment and the neighboring network device (the uplink path loss result has been reported to the serving network device).

[0133] Optionally, in addition to the serving network device performing the initial SRS power configuration on the user equipment based on the uplink measurement results of each network device, the user equipment may also perform the initial SRS power configuration based on the previous downlink measurement results with each network device (for configuration example, refer to formula (1), where PL(q d ) represents the path loss result in the downlink measurement corresponding to the SRS resource. Although the accuracy of the latter is not as good as the former, the operation is simple and fast, and the downlink measurement result is also of reference significance for the transmission of the uplink reference signal to a certain extent.

[0134] SRS power update configuration

[0135] According to an embodiment of the present disclosure, after the service network device indicates the initial configuration of the SRS power for one or more network devices (including the service network device and the neighboring network device) to the user device, the user device uses the power value indicated therein to send SRS resources to the corresponding network device for uplink positioning (optionally, the user device can also determine its own initial power value based on the downlink measurement results with one or more network devices). Thereafter, due to the large SRS transmission delay in the unlicensed millimeter wave band and the large changes in the channel state during the period, problems such as hidden node link interference are more serious. According to an embodiment of the present disclosure, a power update configuration for SRS resources is proposed, which allows the SRS transmission power of the user device to be adjusted to better adapt to dynamic changes in channel conditions. For ease of explanation, the power update configuration for specific SRS resources is described below, taking the SRS resource transmission for uplink positioning between the user device and the service network device as an example.

[0136] According to an embodiment of the present disclosure, the user equipment may perform a listen-before-talk (LBT) operation before transmitting an SRS resource to the network device, and transmit the SRS resource after the LBT operation is successful. The user equipment may compare the interference power measured in the LBT operation with a threshold to obtain auxiliary information, which may be used to update the power configuration of the SRS transmission for uplink positioning. As an example, the auxiliary information may be represented by 1 bit, and its specific information is as follows:

[0137] Table 1 Auxiliary information

[0138] Among them, the thresholds include a link quality threshold (LQT) and an energy detection threshold (EDT). LQT can be a threshold set by the network device based on the most recent uplink measurement result, which represents the interference power that can be tolerated at the current transmission power. EDT can represent the interference power that cannot be tolerated at the current transmission power. In some examples, EDT may be associated with the maximum transmission power and effective antenna gain of the user equipment. Therefore, EDT is greater than LQT. It should be understood that LQT and EDT can be sent by the network device to the user equipment through high-layer parameters (DCI or MAC-CE in RRC).

[0139] As shown in Table 1, during the LBT process of the user equipment, if the interference power detected is very low (e.g., interference power ≤ LQT), it indicates that the channel condition is good, and the auxiliary information is represented by "0". In this case, it can be determined that the user equipment is almost not affected by interference, and its measured interference power is generally consistent with the network device's previous uplink measurement results. If the interference power detected during the LBT process is moderate (e.g., LQT < interference power < EDT), it indicates that the channel condition is moderate, and the auxiliary information is represented by "1". In this case, the user equipment's uplink transmission link may have been interfered with by the hidden node communication link, but the network device may not yet perceive this interference (e.g., as shown in Figure 1). If the interference power detected during the LBT process is large (e.g., interference power ≥ EDT), it indicates that the channel condition is poor, and the auxiliary information is "NULL". In this case, there is a high probability that there is a significant interfering node within the coverage area of ​​the user equipment's SRS uplink beam, and the user equipment may not transmit the corresponding SRS resources. It should be understood that if the auxiliary information is "0" or "1", the LBT operation is successful; otherwise, the LBT operation may fail. The user equipment may send the determined auxiliary information along with the SRS resource to the network device.

[0140] The network device may update the transmission power configuration of the SRS resource based at least on the auxiliary information from the user equipment (power update is also referred to as power adjustment in this document). Figures 10A and 10B show example flow charts of power adjustment.

[0141] As shown in Figure 10A, the network device determines the transmission power adjustment value (also referred to herein as "δSRS," in dB) for the SRS resource based on the transmission quality indicator (e.g., "SRS-RSRP") of the SRS resource recorded during the measurement process and the auxiliary information, with SRS-RSRP taking precedence over the auxiliary information. Specifically, the network device first compares the SRS-RSRP measurement value with a specific threshold. If the SRS-RSRP value is above the specific threshold, indicating that the channel conditions for the SRS resource are very good, the network device can instruct the user equipment to appropriately reduce the transmission power, i.e., set δSRS to a negative value. If the SRS-RSRP value is not above the specific threshold, the network device can determine whether the auxiliary information reported by the user equipment is "0." If the auxiliary information is "0," this indicates that the signal conditions, while not particularly good, are not too bad (e.g., there is no significant hidden node link interference). In this case, the network device can instruct the user equipment to slightly increase the transmission power, i.e., set δSRS to a first positive value. Otherwise, if the network device receives the auxiliary information as "1", indicating that the channel condition is poor, the network device may instruct the user equipment to further increase the transmission power to avoid interference with the hidden node communication link. In this case, the δSRS may be set to a second positive value, where the second positive value is greater than the first positive value.

[0142] Because an SRS resource set may include a large number of SRS resources, measuring the SRS-RSRP value of each SRS resource by a network device may result in implementation complexity and excessive power consumption on the network device side. This phenomenon is particularly pronounced in scenarios with dense user devices (e.g., a large number of user devices performing uplink positioning). Therefore, to reduce implementation complexity and power consumption on the network device side, the steps of measuring SRS-RSRP and comparing it with a threshold can be omitted. As shown in Figure 10B, the network device can perform power update configuration based solely on the auxiliary information reported by the user device. Specifically, when the auxiliary information is "0", the network device can instruct the user device to appropriately reduce the transmission power of the SRS resource, i.e., set δSRS to a negative value; otherwise, when the auxiliary information is "1", the network device can instruct the user device to appropriately increase the transmission power of the SRS resource, i.e., set δSRS to a positive value. It should be understood that in another embodiment, to further improve uplink positioning performance, when the auxiliary information is "0", the network device may also instruct the user device to set δSRS to 0 or a smaller positive value, and in other cases to set δSRS to a larger positive value. It should be understood that the δSRS may be indicated in a TPC command. In some cases, to save transmission overhead, the field length of the TPC command (e.g., the number of bits occupied by the field) may be limited. Therefore, the TPC field may include several adjustment values ​​based on the current user equipment power, such as +1dB, +4dB, -1dB, etc., based on the current power.

[0143] It should be understood that since a TCP field can correspond to an SRS resource index (SRI), power configuration on the user equipment side occurs before each SRS resource in the SRS resource set is transmitted. As shown in Figure 11, unlike traditional wireless communication systems in which the same transmission power is configured for all SRS resources in the SRS resource set, in the embodiments of the present disclosure, corresponding power configuration is performed for each SRS resource (for example, each SRS resource corresponds to a specific uplink transmit beam). Figure 11 shows two examples of transmission orders of SRS resources in the SRS resource set, but is not intended to be limiting. In practice, as the repetition parameter and time interval parameter of the SRS resource change, there are also multiple transmission orders of SRS resources. In SRS resource transmissions of different orders, power configuration can be performed on each SRS resource before transmission. It should be noted that in an SRS transmission opportunity, the user equipment may receive multiple TPC instructions for the same network device and the same SRS resource. In the next SRS transmission opportunity, the user equipment can use the cumulative sum of multiple power adjustment values ​​(in dB) indicated in the multiple previously received TPC instructions as the actual power adjustment value.

[0144] It should be appreciated that if a neighboring network device wishes to perform a power update configuration on a specific SRS resource of a user equipment, the neighboring network device may obtain a power adjustment value according to the above-mentioned method of the present disclosure, and include the recommended power adjustment value in a power update request (e.g., via an Xn interface) and send it to the serving network device. The serving network device may then use, for example, the method shown in FIG11 to perform power adjustment on the specific SRS resource of the user equipment. Optionally, the serving network device may also receive uplink measurement results and auxiliary information from the neighboring network device, and determine, based on this information, the SRS transmission power adjustment value for uplink positioning performed by the user equipment to the neighboring network device.

[0145] It should be understood that the transmission power configuration of the SRS resource (including the initial power configuration and the power update configuration) can be transmitted through a TPC command, wherein the TPC command can be transmitted through RRC DCI or through MAC-CE.

[0146] Trade-off between power consumption and signaling overhead

[0147] According to an embodiment of the present disclosure, if the number of users performing SRS transmission is too large, resulting in a large signaling overhead for power adjustment, process ① in Figures 10A and 10B can be omitted. If the power loss of a specific user equipment is too large, process ① in Figures 10A and 10B can be forced to be executed (where δSRS is a negative value).

[0148] In addition, according to an embodiment of the present disclosure, when the power adjustment values ​​for multiple SRS resources are the same or similar, a TPC field can be associated with multiple SRIs, where the power adjustment value indicated in the TPC field can be the mode of the power adjustment values ​​of these SRS resources.

[0149] According to the method for configuring the transmission power of an uplink reference signal (e.g., SRS) for positioning proposed in the present disclosure, the serving network device can perform an initial configuration of the SRS power for the user equipment in the serving cell based on the uplink measurement results of itself and neighboring network devices (or the user equipment determines the corresponding initial configuration of the SRS power based on the downlink measurement results of each network device), so that the reception quality of the SRS resources detected by network devices located in different geographical locations can be maintained within a reasonable range. In addition, the network device can adjust the transmission power of the SRS resource in real time based on at least the auxiliary information received from the user equipment, thereby reducing the interference effect of the hidden node on the transmission of specific SRS resources, better adapting to various channel conditions, and improving the accuracy and effectiveness of uplink positioning. Furthermore, the method proposed in the present disclosure balances the power and overhead of the user equipment while meeting the uplink positioning performance.

[0150] <Exemplary Methods>

[0151] Figure 12 shows a flowchart of an example method for a network device (or more specifically, electronic device 200) in a wireless communication system according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. As shown in Figure 12, the method may include instructing a user device in the wireless communication system to use a first set of beams to send an uplink reference signal to the network device (block S1201). At block S1202, the network device may measure a transmission quality indicator of the uplink reference signal sent in each beam direction in the first set of beams. Thereafter, the network device may instruct the user device to use a second set of beams to send an uplink reference signal to the network device for uplink positioning based on at least one beam direction in the first set of beams being lower than a threshold (block 1203). In this method, the second set of beams may enable the user device to avoid sending an uplink reference signal in a beam direction that is interfered with by a communication link of a hidden node device, where the hidden node device may be unknown to the network device and the user device. The detailed example operations of this method can be referred to the above description of the operation of the network device (or more specifically, electronic device 200), which will not be repeated here.

[0152] Additionally or optionally, a network device used in a wireless communication system may indicate to the user equipment a transmission power configuration of an uplink reference signal based on uplink measurement results and / or auxiliary information reported by the user equipment for uplink positioning.

[0153] FIG13 illustrates a flowchart of an example method for a user device (or more specifically, an electronic device 300) in a wireless communication system according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. As shown in FIG13 , the method may include receiving an instruction from a network device in the wireless communication system to transmit an uplink reference signal to the network device using a first set of beams (block S1301). At block S1302, the user device may transmit an uplink reference signal to the network device in each beam direction in the first set of beams, for the network device to measure a transmission quality indicator of the uplink reference signal. The user device may receive an instruction from the network device to transmit an uplink reference signal to the network device using a second set of beams, wherein the instruction is transmitted based on at least one beam direction in the first set of beams having a transmission quality indicator of the uplink reference signal being lower than a threshold (block 1303). Thereafter, at block 1304, the user device may transmit an uplink reference signal to the network device using the second set of beams for uplink positioning. In this method, the second set of beams may enable the user device to avoid transmitting an uplink reference signal in a beam direction that is interfered with by a communication link of a hidden node device, wherein the hidden node device may be unknown to the network device and the user device. The detailed example operations of the method can be referred to the above description of the operation of the user equipment (or more specifically, the electronic device 300), which will not be repeated here.

[0154] Additionally or alternatively, a user equipment used in a wireless communication system may transmit an uplink reference signal to the network device using a corresponding power based on a transmission power configuration of the network device for uplink positioning. The transmission power configuration is based at least on uplink measurement results of the network device and / or auxiliary information received by the network device from the user equipment.

[0155] The solution of the present disclosure can be implemented in the following exemplary manner.

[0156] Clause 1. A network device in a wireless communication system, the network device comprising a processing circuit, the processing circuit configured to cause the network device to perform the following operations:

[0157] Instructing a user equipment in the wireless communication system to send an uplink reference signal to the network device using a first group of beams;

[0158] measuring a transmission quality indicator of an uplink reference signal sent in each beam direction in the first group of beams; and

[0159] Instructing the user equipment to use the second group of beams to send an uplink reference signal to the network device for uplink positioning based on at least one transmission quality indicator of the uplink reference signal sent in at least one beam direction in the first group of beams being lower than a threshold,

[0160] The second group of beams enables the user equipment to avoid sending uplink reference signals in a beam direction that is interfered with by a communication link of a hidden node device, wherein the hidden node device is unknown to the network device and the user equipment.

[0161] Clause 2. The network device of clause 1, wherein the uplink reference signal comprises a sounding reference signal (SRS).

[0162] Item 3. A network device according to Item 2, wherein the indication of the beam direction of the uplink reference signal is achieved by indicating a downlink reference signal having a quasi-co-location (QCL) association with the uplink reference signal, wherein the downlink reference signal includes a synchronization signal block (SSB), a channel state information reference signal (CSI-RS), and / or a positioning reference signal (PRS).

[0163] Clause 4. The network device of clause 1, wherein the processing circuit is further configured to cause the network device to:

[0164] At least in response to the fact that the transmission quality index of the uplink reference signal sent in at least one beam direction in the first group of beams is lower than the threshold and the transmission quality index of the uplink reference signal sent in at least one other beam direction in the first group of beams is not lower than the threshold, all beams in the first group of beams whose transmission quality index is lower than the threshold are updated to beams with the same or similar beam direction as the beam with the highest transmission quality index in the first group of beams, thereby forming a second group of beams.

[0165] Clause 5. The network device of clause 1, wherein the processing circuit is further configured to cause the network device to:

[0166] At least in response to the transmission quality index of the uplink reference signal sent in all beam directions in the first group of beams being lower than the threshold, the user equipment is instructed to re-perform omnidirectional beam scanning, and all beams in the beams used for omnidirectional beam scanning whose transmission quality index is lower than the threshold are updated to beams with the same or similar beam direction as the beam with the highest transmission quality index in the omnidirectional beam scanning, thereby forming a second group of beams.

[0167] Clause 6. The network device of clause 1, wherein the processing circuit is further configured to cause the network device to:

[0168] At least based on the fact that the transmission quality index of the uplink reference signal sent in all beam directions in the first group of beams is not lower than the threshold, the user equipment is not instructed to use the second group of beams, so that the user equipment continues to use the first group of beams to send uplink reference signals to the network device for uplink positioning.

[0169] Clause 7. The network device of clause 1, wherein the indication to the user equipment to use the first set of beams is transmitted in one of the following:

[0170] Uplink reference signal initial default configuration information sent by the network device to the user equipment; or

[0171] The network device sends uplink reference signal correction configuration information to the user equipment based on the most recent downlink reference signal measurement result.

[0172] Clause 8. The network device according to clause 1, wherein the network device, the user device, and the hidden node device operate in an unlicensed millimeter wave frequency band.

[0173] Clause 9. A network device according to clause 1, wherein the transmission quality indicator comprises one or a combination of more than one of the following: reference signal received power (RSRP), reference signal received quality (RSRQ), signal to interference plus noise ratio (SINR), or decoding rate.

[0174] Clause 10. A network device according to clause 1, wherein the user equipment is instructed to use the first set of beams and the user equipment is instructed to use the second set of beams via downlink control information (DCI) in a radio resource control (RRC) information element or via a medium access control (MAC)-control element (CE).

[0175] Clause 11. A network device according to Clause 1, wherein the beam direction of the user device used to send an uplink reference signal is interfered with by the communication link of the hidden node device, including: the hidden node device is located within the coverage range of the beam direction; or the hidden node device is located within the reverse coverage range of the beam direction and the transmission direction of the communication link of the hidden node device is the same as or similar to the beam direction.

[0176] Clause 12. A user equipment in a wireless communication system, the user equipment comprising a processing circuit, the processing circuit being configured to cause the user equipment to perform the following operations:

[0177] receiving, from a network device in the wireless communication system, an instruction to transmit an uplink reference signal to the network device using a first group of beams;

[0178] Sending an uplink reference signal to the network device in each beam direction in the first group of beams, so that the network device measures a transmission quality indicator of the uplink reference signal;

[0179] receiving, from a network device, an instruction to send an uplink reference signal to the network device using a second group of beams, wherein the instruction is sent based at least on a transmission quality indicator of an uplink reference signal sent in at least one beam direction in the first group of beams being lower than a threshold; and

[0180] Using a second set of beams, an uplink reference signal is sent to the network device for uplink positioning,

[0181] The second group of beams enables the user equipment to avoid sending uplink reference signals in a beam direction that is interfered with by a communication link of a hidden node device, wherein the hidden node device is unknown to the network device and the user equipment.

[0182] Clause 13. The user equipment of clause 12, wherein the uplink reference signal comprises a sounding reference signal (SRS).

[0183] Clause 14. A user equipment according to clause 13, wherein the indication of the beam direction of the uplink reference signal is achieved by indicating a downlink reference signal having a quasi co-location (QCL) association with the uplink reference signal, wherein the downlink reference signal includes a synchronization signal block (SSB), a channel state information reference signal (CSI-RS), and / or a positioning reference signal (PRS).

[0184] Clause 15. The user equipment of clause 12, wherein:

[0185] At least when the transmission quality index of the uplink reference signal sent in at least one beam direction in the first group of beams is lower than the threshold and the transmission quality index of the uplink reference signal sent in at least one other beam direction in the first group of beams is not lower than the threshold, all beams in the first group of beams whose transmission quality index is lower than the threshold are updated to beams with the same or similar beam direction as the beam with the highest transmission quality index in the first group of beams, thereby forming a second group of beams.

[0186] Clause 16. The user equipment of clause 12, wherein:

[0187] At least when the transmission quality index of the uplink reference signal sent in all beam directions in the first group of beams is lower than the threshold, the user equipment re-executes omnidirectional beam scanning, and all beams with transmission quality index lower than the threshold in the beams used for omnidirectional beam scanning are updated to beams with the same or similar beam direction as the beam with the highest transmission quality index in the omnidirectional beam scanning, thereby forming a second group of beams.

[0188] Clause 17. The user equipment of clause 12, wherein:

[0189] At least when the transmission quality index of the uplink reference signal sent in all beam directions in the first group of beams is not lower than the threshold, the user equipment continues to use the first group of beams to send uplink reference signals to the network equipment for uplink positioning.

[0190] Clause 18. The user equipment of clause 12, wherein the indication to use the first set of beams is transmitted in one of:

[0191] Uplink reference signal initial default configuration information received by the user equipment from the network device; or

[0192] The uplink reference signal correction configuration information received by the user equipment from the network device is sent based on a most recent downlink reference signal measurement result of the network device.

[0193] Clause 19. The user equipment according to clause 12, wherein the network device, the user equipment, and the hidden node device operate in an unlicensed millimeter wave frequency band.

[0194] Clause 20. The user equipment of clause 12, wherein the transmission quality indicator comprises one or a combination of more than one of the following: reference signal received power (RSRP), reference signal received quality (RSRQ), signal to interference plus noise ratio (SINR), or decoding rate.

[0195] Clause 21. A user equipment according to clause 12, wherein the user equipment receives an indication to use the first set of beams and an indication to use the second set of beams via downlink control information (DCI) in a radio resource control (RRC) information element or via a medium access control (MAC)-control element (CE).

[0196] Clause 22. A method for a network device in a wireless communication system, the method comprising:

[0197] Instructing a user equipment in the wireless communication system to send an uplink reference signal to the network device using a first group of beams;

[0198] measuring a transmission quality indicator of an uplink reference signal sent in each beam direction in the first group of beams; and

[0199] Instructing the user equipment to use the second group of beams to send an uplink reference signal to the network device for uplink positioning based on at least one transmission quality indicator of the uplink reference signal sent in at least one beam direction in the first group of beams being lower than a threshold,

[0200] The second group of beams enables the user equipment to avoid sending uplink reference signals in a beam direction that is interfered with by a communication link of a hidden node device, wherein the hidden node device is unknown to the network device and the user equipment.

[0201] Clause 23. A method for a user equipment in a wireless communication system, the method comprising:

[0202] receiving, from a network device in the wireless communication system, an instruction to transmit an uplink reference signal to the network device using a first group of beams;

[0203] Sending an uplink reference signal to the network device in each beam direction in the first group of beams, so that the network device measures a transmission quality indicator of the uplink reference signal;

[0204] receiving, from a network device, an instruction to send an uplink reference signal to the network device using a second group of beams, wherein the instruction is sent based at least on a transmission quality indicator of an uplink reference signal sent in at least one beam direction in the first group of beams being lower than a threshold; and

[0205] Using a second set of beams, an uplink reference signal is sent to the network device for uplink positioning,

[0206] The second group of beams enables the user equipment to avoid sending uplink reference signals in a beam direction that is interfered with by a communication link of a hidden node device, wherein the hidden node device is unknown to the network device and the user equipment.

[0207] Clause 24. A computer-readable storage medium having one or more instructions stored thereon that, when executed by one or more processors of an electronic device, cause the electronic device to perform the method of clause 22 or 23.

[0208] Clause 25. A computer program product comprising program instructions which, when executed by one or more processors of a computer, cause the computer to perform the method according to clause 22 or 23.

[0209] It should be noted that the above application examples are merely illustrative. The embodiments of the present disclosure may also be implemented in any other appropriate manner in the above application examples, while still achieving the advantageous effects obtained by the embodiments of the present disclosure. Moreover, the embodiments of the present disclosure may also be applied to other similar application examples, while still achieving the advantageous effects obtained by the embodiments of the present disclosure.

[0210] It should be understood that the machine-executable instructions in the machine-readable storage medium or program product according to the embodiments of the present disclosure can be configured to perform operations corresponding to the above-mentioned device and method embodiments. When referring to the above-mentioned device and method embodiments, the embodiments of the machine-readable storage medium or program product are clear to those skilled in the art and are therefore not described again. Machine-readable storage media and program products for carrying or including the above-mentioned machine-executable instructions also fall within the scope of the present disclosure. Such storage media may include, but are not limited to, floppy disks, optical disks, magneto-optical disks, memory cards, memory sticks, and the like.

[0211] In addition, it should be understood that the above series of processes and devices can also be implemented by software and / or firmware. In the case of implementation by software and / or firmware, the program constituting the software is installed from a storage medium or a network to a computer with a dedicated hardware structure, such as the general-purpose personal computer 1100 shown in Figure 14. When various programs are installed, the computer can perform various functions, etc. Figure 14 is a block diagram showing an example structure of a personal computer as an information processing device that can be used in an embodiment of the present disclosure. In one example, the personal computer can correspond to the above-mentioned exemplary terminal device according to the present disclosure.

[0212] 14 , a central processing unit (CPU) 1101 executes various processes according to a program stored in a read-only memory (ROM) 1102 or a program loaded from a storage section 1108 to a random access memory (RAM) 1103. In the RAM 1103, data required when the CPU 1101 executes various processes and the like is also stored as needed.

[0213] The CPU 1101, the ROM 1102, and the RAM 1103 are connected to one another via a bus 1104. An input / output interface 1105 is also connected to the bus 1104.

[0214] The following components are connected to the input / output interface 1105: an input section 1106 including a keyboard, a mouse, etc.; an output section 1107 including a display such as a cathode ray tube (CRT), a liquid crystal display (LCD), etc., and a speaker, etc.; a storage section 1108 including a hard disk, etc.; and a communication section 1109 including a network interface card such as a LAN card, a modem, etc. The communication section 1109 performs communication processing via a network such as the Internet.

[0215] A drive 1110 is also connected to the input / output interface 1105 as needed. A removable medium 1111 such as a magnetic disk, an optical disk, a magneto-optical disk, a semiconductor memory, etc. is mounted on the drive 1110 as needed so that a computer program read therefrom is installed in the storage section 1108 as needed.

[0216] In the case of realizing the above-described series of processing by software, a program constituting the software is installed from a network such as the Internet or a storage medium such as the removable medium 1111 .

[0217] Those skilled in the art will appreciate that such storage media are not limited to the removable media 1111 shown in FIG14 , which stores programs therein and is distributed separately from the device to provide the programs to users. Examples of the removable media 1111 include magnetic disks (including floppy disks (registered trademark)), optical disks (including compact disk read-only memories (CD-ROMs) and digital versatile disks (DVDs)), magneto-optical disks (including minidiscs (MDs) (registered trademark)), and semiconductor memories. Alternatively, the storage medium may be a ROM 1102, a hard disk included in the storage section 1108, or the like, in which the programs are stored and distributed to users together with the device containing them.

[0218] The technology disclosed herein can be applied to various products.

[0219] For example, the electronic device 200 according to an embodiment of the present disclosure may be implemented as various network devices / base stations or included in various network devices / base stations, and the method shown in FIG12 may also be implemented by various network devices / base stations. For example, the electronic device 300 according to an embodiment of the present disclosure may be implemented as various user devices / terminal devices or included in various user devices / terminal devices, and the method shown in FIG13 may also be implemented by various user devices / terminal devices.

[0220] For example, the network devices / base stations mentioned in this disclosure may be implemented as any type of base station, such as an evolved NodeB (gNB). A gNB may include one or more transmit and receive points (TRPs). A user device may be connected to one or more TRPs within one or more gNBs. For example, a user device may be able to receive transmissions from multiple gNBs (and / or multiple TRPs provided by the same gNB). For example, a gNB may include a macro gNB and a small gNB. A small gNB may be a gNB that covers a cell smaller than a macro cell, such as a pico gNB, a micro gNB, and a home (femto) gNB. Alternatively, a base station may be implemented as any other type of base station, such as a NodeB and a base transceiver station (BTS). A base station may include: a main body (also referred to as a base station device) configured to control wireless communications; and one or more remote radio heads (RRHs) located at a location separate from the main body. In addition, the various types of terminals described below may each function as a base station by temporarily or semi-permanently performing base station functions.

[0221] For example, the user equipment mentioned in the present disclosure is also referred to as a terminal device in some examples, and can be implemented as a mobile terminal (such as a smart phone, a tablet personal computer (PC), a notebook PC, a portable game terminal, a portable / dongle-type mobile router, and a digital camera) or a vehicle-mounted terminal (such as a car navigation device). The user equipment can also be implemented as a terminal that performs machine-to-machine (M2M) communication (also referred to as a machine type communication (MTC) terminal). In addition, the user equipment can be a wireless communication module (such as an integrated circuit module including a single chip) installed on each of the above-mentioned terminals. In some cases, the user equipment can use multiple wireless communication technologies for communication. For example, the user equipment can be configured to communicate using two or more of GSM, UMTS, CDMA2000, WiMAX, LTE, LTE-A, WLAN, NR, Bluetooth, etc. In some cases, the user equipment can also be configured to communicate using only one wireless communication technology.

[0222] Examples according to the present disclosure will be described below with reference to FIG. 15 to FIG. 18 .

[0223] Base station example

[0224] It should be understood that the term "base station" in the present disclosure has the full breadth of its usual meaning and at least includes a wireless communication station used as part of a wireless communication system or radio system to facilitate communication. Examples of base stations may include, but are not limited to, the following: a base station may be one or both of a base transceiver station (BTS) and a base station controller (BSC) in a GSM system, one or both of a radio network controller (RNC) and a Node B in a WCDMA system, an eNB in ​​an LTE and LTE-Advanced system, or a corresponding network node in a future communication system (such as a gNB, eLTE eNB, etc. that may appear in a 5G communication system). Some of the functions in the base station of the present disclosure may also be implemented as an entity that has a control function for communication in D2D, M2M, and V2V communication scenarios, or as an entity that plays a spectrum coordination role in a cognitive radio communication scenario.

[0225] First example

[0226] Figure 15 is a block diagram illustrating a first example of a schematic configuration of a base station (gNB is used as an example in this figure) to which the techniques of this disclosure can be applied. gNB 1200 includes multiple antennas 1210 and base station equipment 1220. Base station equipment 1220 and each antenna 1210 can be connected to each other via an RF cable. In one implementation, gNB 1200 (or base station equipment 1220) herein may correspond to the aforementioned network device 101 (or more specifically, electronic device 200).

[0227] Each antenna 1210 includes a single or multiple antenna elements (such as multiple antenna elements included in a multiple-input multiple-output (MIMO) antenna) and is used for base station device 1220 to transmit and receive wireless signals. As shown in Figure 15, gNB 1200 may include multiple antennas 1210. For example, multiple antennas 1210 may be compatible with multiple frequency bands used by gNB 1200.

[0228] The base station device 1220 includes a controller 1221 , a memory 1222 , a network interface 1223 , and a wireless communication interface 1225 .

[0229] The controller 1221 may be, for example, a CPU or DSP, and operates various higher-layer functions of the base station device 1220. For example, the controller 1221 generates data packets based on data in the signal processed by the wireless communication interface 1225 and transmits the generated packets via the network interface 1223. The controller 1221 may bundle data from multiple baseband processors to generate bundled packets and transmit the generated bundled packets. The controller 1221 may have logic functions for performing control such as radio resource control, radio bearer control, mobility management, admission control, and scheduling. This control may be performed in conjunction with a nearby gNB or core network node. The memory 1222 includes RAM and ROM and stores programs executed by the controller 1221 and various types of control data (such as terminal lists, transmission power data, and scheduling data).

[0230] The network interface 1223 is a communication interface for connecting the base station device 1220 to the core network 1224. The controller 1221 can communicate with a core network node or another gNB via the network interface 1223. In this case, the gNB 1200 and the core network node or other gNB can be connected to each other via a logical interface (such as an S1 interface and an X2 interface). The network interface 1223 can also be a wired communication interface or a wireless communication interface for wireless backhaul. If the network interface 1223 is a wireless communication interface, the network interface 1223 can use a higher frequency band for wireless communication than the frequency band used by the wireless communication interface 1225.

[0231] The wireless communication interface 1225 supports any cellular communication scheme, such as Long Term Evolution (LTE) and LTE-Advanced, and provides wireless connectivity to terminals located in the cell of the gNB 1200 via the antenna 1210. The wireless communication interface 1225 may typically include, for example, a baseband (BB) processor 1226 and RF circuitry 1227. The BB processor 1226 can perform various signal processing functions, such as encoding / decoding, modulation / demodulation, and multiplexing / demultiplexing, and performs various types of signal processing for layers such as Layer 1 (L1), Medium Access Control (MAC), Radio Link Control (RLC), and Packet Data Convergence Protocol (PDCP). In place of the controller 1221, the BB processor 1226 may perform some or all of the aforementioned logical functions. The BB processor 1226 may be a memory storing communication control programs, or a module including a processor configured to execute programs and associated circuitry. Program updates can modify the functionality of the BB processor 1226. This module may be a card or blade inserted into a slot in the base station device 1220. Alternatively, it may be a chip mounted on the card or blade. Meanwhile, the RF circuit 1227 may include, for example, a mixer, a filter, and an amplifier, and transmits and receives wireless signals via the antenna 1210. Although FIG15 shows an example in which one RF circuit 1227 is connected to one antenna 1210, the present disclosure is not limited to this illustration, and one RF circuit 1227 may be connected to multiple antennas 1210 at the same time.

[0232] As shown in Figure 15 , the wireless communication interface 1225 may include multiple BB processors 1226. For example, multiple BB processors 1226 may be compatible with multiple frequency bands used by the gNB 1200. As shown in Figure 15 , the wireless communication interface 1225 may include multiple RF circuits 1227. For example, multiple RF circuits 1227 may be compatible with multiple antenna elements. While Figure 15 illustrates an example in which the wireless communication interface 1225 includes multiple BB processors 1226 and multiple RF circuits 1227, the wireless communication interface 1225 may also include a single BB processor 1226 or a single RF circuit 1227.

[0233] Second example

[0234] FIG16 is a block diagram illustrating a second example of a schematic configuration of a base station (gNB is used as an example in this figure) to which the techniques of this disclosure can be applied. gNB 1330 includes multiple antennas 1340, base station equipment 1350, and RRHs 1360. RRHs 1360 and each antenna 1340 can be connected to each other via an RF cable. Base station equipment 1350 and RRHs 1360 can be connected to each other via a high-speed line such as an optical fiber cable. In one implementation, gNB 1330 (or base station equipment 1350) herein may correspond to the aforementioned network device 101 (or more specifically, electronic device 200).

[0235] Each antenna 1340 includes a single or multiple antenna elements (such as multiple antenna elements included in a MIMO antenna) and is used for RRH 1360 to transmit and receive wireless signals. As shown in Figure 16, gNB 1330 may include multiple antennas 1340. For example, multiple antennas 1340 may be compatible with multiple frequency bands used by gNB 1330.

[0236] Base station device 1350 includes a controller 1351, a memory 1352, a network interface 1353, a wireless communication interface 1355, and a connection interface 1357. Controller 1351, memory 1352, and network interface 1353 are the same as controller 1221, memory 1222, and network interface 1223 described with reference to FIG.

[0237] The wireless communication interface 1355 supports any cellular communication scheme (such as LTE and LTE-Advanced) and provides wireless communication to terminals located in the sector corresponding to the RRH 1360 via the RRH 1360 and the antenna 1340. The wireless communication interface 1355 may generally include, for example, a BB processor 1356. The BB processor 1356 is identical to the BB processor 1226 described with reference to FIG. 15 , except that the BB processor 1356 is connected to the RF circuit 1364 of the RRH 1360 via the connection interface 1357. As shown in FIG. 16 , the wireless communication interface 1355 may include multiple BB processors 1356. For example, multiple BB processors 1356 may be compatible with multiple frequency bands used by the gNB 1330. Although FIG. 16 illustrates an example in which the wireless communication interface 1355 includes multiple BB processors 1356, the wireless communication interface 1355 may also include a single BB processor 1356.

[0238] The connection interface 1357 is an interface for connecting the base station device 1350 (wireless communication interface 1355) to the RRH 1360. The connection interface 1357 may also be a communication module for connecting the base station device 1350 (wireless communication interface 1355) to the RRH 1360 for communication in the high-speed line.

[0239] The RRH 1360 includes a connection interface 1361 and a wireless communication interface 1363 .

[0240] The connection interface 1361 is an interface for connecting the RRH 1360 (wireless communication interface 1363) to the base station device 1350. The connection interface 1361 may also be a communication module for communication in the above-mentioned high-speed line.

[0241] The wireless communication interface 1363 transmits and receives wireless signals via the antenna 1340. The wireless communication interface 1363 may generally include, for example, an RF circuit 1364. The RF circuit 1364 may include, for example, a mixer, a filter, and an amplifier, and transmits and receives wireless signals via the antenna 1340. Although FIG16 illustrates an example in which one RF circuit 1364 is connected to one antenna 1340, the present disclosure is not limited to this illustration, and one RF circuit 1364 may be connected to multiple antennas 1340 simultaneously.

[0242] As shown in FIG16 , the wireless communication interface 1363 may include multiple RF circuits 1364. For example, multiple RF circuits 1364 may support multiple antenna elements. Although FIG16 shows an example in which the wireless communication interface 1363 includes multiple RF circuits 1364, the wireless communication interface 1363 may also include a single RF circuit 1364.

[0243] Example of a user device

[0244] First example

[0245] 17 is a block diagram illustrating an example of a schematic configuration of a smartphone 1400 to which the techniques of the present disclosure may be applied. The smartphone 1400 includes a processor 1401, a memory 1402, a storage device 1403, an external connection interface 1404, a camera 1406, a sensor 1407, a microphone 1408, an input device 1409, a display 1410, a speaker 1411, a wireless communication interface 1412, one or more antenna switches 1415, one or more antennas 1416, a bus 1417, a battery 1418, and an auxiliary controller 1419. In one implementation, the smartphone 1400 (or processor 1401) herein may correspond to the aforementioned user device 102 (or more specifically, the electronic device 300).

[0246] The processor 1401 may be, for example, a CPU or a system on a chip (SoC), and controls the functions of the application layer and other layers of the smartphone 1400. The memory 1402 includes RAM and ROM, and stores data and programs executed by the processor 1401. The storage device 1403 may include storage media such as semiconductor memories and hard disks. The external connection interface 1404 is an interface for connecting external devices (such as memory cards and universal serial bus (USB) devices) to the smartphone 1400.

[0247] The camera 1406 includes an image sensor (such as a charge coupled device (CCD) and a complementary metal oxide semiconductor (CMOS)) and generates a captured image. The sensor 1407 may include a group of sensors such as a measurement sensor, a gyroscope sensor, a geomagnetic sensor, and an acceleration sensor. The microphone 1408 converts the sound input to the smartphone 1400 into an audio signal. The input device 1409 includes, for example, a touch sensor, a keypad, a keyboard, a button, or a switch configured to detect a touch on the screen of the display device 1410, and receives an operation or information input from the user. The display device 1410 includes a screen (such as a liquid crystal display (LCD) and an organic light emitting diode (OLED) display) and displays an output image of the smartphone 1400. The speaker 1411 converts the audio signal output from the smartphone 1400 into sound.

[0248] The wireless communication interface 1412 supports any cellular communication scheme (such as LTE and LTE-Advanced) and performs wireless communication. The wireless communication interface 1412 may generally include, for example, a BB processor 1413 and an RF circuit 1414. The BB processor 1413 may perform, for example, encoding / decoding, modulation / demodulation, and multiplexing / demultiplexing, and perform various types of signal processing for wireless communication. Meanwhile, the RF circuit 1414 may include, for example, a mixer, a filter, and an amplifier, and transmit and receive wireless signals via an antenna 1416. The wireless communication interface 1412 may be a chip module on which the BB processor 1413 and the RF circuit 1414 are integrated. As shown in FIG17 , the wireless communication interface 1412 may include multiple BB processors 1413 and multiple RF circuits 1414. Although FIG17 shows an example in which the wireless communication interface 1412 includes multiple BB processors 1413 and multiple RF circuits 1414, the wireless communication interface 1412 may also include a single BB processor 1413 or a single RF circuit 1414.

[0249] In addition, in addition to the cellular communication scheme, the wireless communication interface 1412 can support other types of wireless communication schemes, such as a short-range wireless communication scheme, a near-field communication scheme, and a wireless local area network (LAN) scheme. In this case, the wireless communication interface 1412 can include a BB processor 1413 and an RF circuit 1414 for each wireless communication scheme.

[0250] Each of the antenna switches 1415 switches the connection destination of the antenna 1416 between a plurality of circuits (eg, circuits for different wireless communication schemes) included in the wireless communication interface 1412 .

[0251] Each of the antennas 1416 includes a single or multiple antenna elements (such as multiple antenna elements included in a MIMO antenna) and is used for transmitting and receiving wireless signals via the wireless communication interface 1412. As shown in FIG17 , the smartphone 1400 may include multiple antennas 1416. Although FIG17 shows an example in which the smartphone 1400 includes multiple antennas 1416, the smartphone 1400 may also include a single antenna 1416.

[0252] In addition, the smartphone 1400 may include an antenna 1416 for each wireless communication scheme. In this case, the antenna switch 1415 may be omitted from the configuration of the smartphone 1400.

[0253] The bus 1417 connects the processor 1401, the memory 1402, the storage device 1403, the external connection interface 1404, the camera 1406, the sensor 1407, the microphone 1408, the input device 1409, the display device 1410, the speaker 1411, the wireless communication interface 1412, and the auxiliary controller 1419. The battery 1418 supplies power to the various blocks of the smartphone 1400 shown in FIG17 via feeders, which are partially shown as dashed lines in the figure. The auxiliary controller 1419 operates the minimum necessary functions of the smartphone 1400, for example, in sleep mode.

[0254] Second example

[0255] 18 is a block diagram illustrating an example of a schematic configuration of a car navigation device 1520 to which the techniques of the present disclosure may be applied. The car navigation device 1520 includes a processor 1521, a memory 1522, a global positioning system (GPS) module 1524, a sensor 1525, a data interface 1526, a content player 1527, a storage medium interface 1528, an input device 1529, a display device 1530, a speaker 1531, a wireless communication interface 1533, one or more antenna switches 1536, one or more antennas 1537, and a battery 1538. In one implementation, the car navigation device 1520 (or processor 1521) herein may correspond to the user device 102 (or more specifically, the electronic device 300) described above.

[0256] The processor 1521 may be, for example, a CPU or an SoC, and controls a navigation function and other functions of the car navigation device 1520. The memory 1522 includes a RAM and a ROM, and stores data and programs executed by the processor 1521.

[0257] The GPS module 1524 uses GPS signals received from GPS satellites to measure the position (such as latitude, longitude, and altitude) of the car navigation device 1520. The sensor 1525 may include a group of sensors such as a gyroscope sensor, a geomagnetic sensor, and an air pressure sensor. The data interface 1526 is connected to, for example, the vehicle network 1541 via a terminal not shown, and acquires data generated by the vehicle (such as vehicle speed data).

[0258] The content player 1527 reproduces content stored in a storage medium (such as a CD or DVD) inserted into the storage medium interface 1528. The input device 1529 includes, for example, a touch sensor, button, or switch configured to detect a touch on the screen of the display device 1530, and receives operations or information input from the user. The display device 1530 includes a screen such as an LCD or OLED display and displays images of the navigation function or reproduced content. The speaker 1531 outputs sounds of the navigation function or reproduced content.

[0259] The wireless communication interface 1533 supports any cellular communication scheme (such as LTE and LTE-Advanced) and performs wireless communication. The wireless communication interface 1533 may generally include, for example, a BB processor 1534 and an RF circuit 1535. The BB processor 1534 may perform, for example, encoding / decoding, modulation / demodulation, and multiplexing / demultiplexing, and perform various types of signal processing for wireless communication. Meanwhile, the RF circuit 1535 may include, for example, a mixer, a filter, and an amplifier, and transmit and receive wireless signals via an antenna 1537. The wireless communication interface 1533 may also be a chip module on which the BB processor 1534 and the RF circuit 1535 are integrated. As shown in FIG18 , the wireless communication interface 1533 may include multiple BB processors 1534 and multiple RF circuits 1535. Although FIG18 shows an example in which the wireless communication interface 1533 includes multiple BB processors 1534 and multiple RF circuits 1535, the wireless communication interface 1533 may also include a single BB processor 1534 or a single RF circuit 1535.

[0260] In addition, in addition to the cellular communication scheme, the wireless communication interface 1533 can support other types of wireless communication schemes, such as short-range wireless communication schemes, near field communication schemes, and wireless LAN schemes. In this case, for each wireless communication scheme, the wireless communication interface 1533 can include a BB processor 1534 and an RF circuit 1535.

[0261] Each of the antenna switches 1536 switches a connection destination of the antenna 1537 between a plurality of circuits included in the wireless communication interface 1533 , such as circuits for different wireless communication schemes.

[0262] Each of the antennas 1537 includes a single or multiple antenna elements (such as multiple antenna elements included in a MIMO antenna) and is used for transmitting and receiving wireless signals via the wireless communication interface 1533. As shown in FIG18, the car navigation device 1520 may include multiple antennas 1537. Although FIG18 shows an example in which the car navigation device 1520 includes multiple antennas 1537, the car navigation device 1520 may also include a single antenna 1537.

[0263] In addition, the car navigation device 1520 may include an antenna 1537 for each wireless communication scheme. In this case, the antenna switch 1536 may be omitted from the configuration of the car navigation device 1520.

[0264] The battery 1538 supplies power to the respective blocks of the car navigation device 1520 shown in Fig. 18 via a feeder line, which is partially shown as a dotted line in the figure. The battery 1538 accumulates the power supplied from the vehicle.

[0265] The technology of the present disclosure may also be implemented as an in-vehicle system (or vehicle) 1540 including a car navigation device 1520, an in-vehicle network 1541, and one or more blocks of a vehicle module 1542. The vehicle module 1542 generates vehicle data (such as vehicle speed, engine speed, and fault information) and outputs the generated data to the in-vehicle network 1541.

[0266] The exemplary embodiments of the present disclosure are described above with reference to the accompanying drawings, but the present disclosure is certainly not limited to the above examples. Those skilled in the art may obtain various changes and modifications within the scope of the appended claims, and it should be understood that these changes and modifications will naturally fall within the technical scope of the present disclosure.

[0267] For example, a plurality of functions included in one unit in the above embodiments may be implemented by separate devices. Alternatively, a plurality of functions implemented by a plurality of units in the above embodiments may be implemented by separate devices, respectively. In addition, one of the above functions may be implemented by a plurality of units. Needless to say, such a configuration is included in the technical scope of the present disclosure.

[0268] In this specification, the steps described in the flowchart include not only processing executed in time series in the order described, but also processing executed in parallel or individually rather than necessarily in time series. In addition, even in the steps processed in time series, it goes without saying that the order can be changed as appropriate.

[0269] Although the present disclosure and its advantages have been described in detail, it should be understood that various changes, substitutions and transformations can be made without departing from the spirit and scope of the present disclosure as defined by the appended claims. Moreover, the terms "comprises," "comprising," or any other variations thereof in the embodiments of the present disclosure are intended to cover non-exclusive inclusions, such that a process, method, article, or device comprising a series of elements includes not only those elements, but also other elements not explicitly listed, or also includes elements inherent to such process, method, article, or device. In the absence of further restrictions, an element defined by the statement "comprising a ..." does not exclude the presence of additional identical elements in the process, method, article, or device comprising the element.

Claims

1. A network device in a wireless communication system, the network device comprising a processing circuit, the processing circuit being configured to cause the network device to perform the following operations: Instructing a user equipment in the wireless communication system to send an uplink reference signal to the network device using a first group of beams; measuring a transmission quality indicator of an uplink reference signal sent in each beam direction in the first group of beams; and Instructing the user equipment to use the second group of beams to send an uplink reference signal to the network device for uplink positioning based on at least one transmission quality indicator of the uplink reference signal sent in at least one beam direction in the first group of beams being lower than a threshold, in, The second set of beams enables the user equipment to avoid sending uplink reference signals in a beam direction that is interfered with by a communication link of a hidden node device, wherein the hidden node device is unknown to the network device and the user equipment. 2 . The network device according to claim 1 , wherein the uplink reference signal comprises a sounding reference signal (SRS).

3. The network device according to claim 2, wherein the indication of the beam direction of the uplink reference signal is achieved by indicating a downlink reference signal having a quasi-co-location (QCL) association with the uplink reference signal, wherein the downlink reference signal includes a synchronization signal block (SSB), a channel state information reference signal (CSI-RS), and / or a positioning reference signal (PRS).

4. The network device according to claim 1 , wherein the processing circuit is further configured to cause the network device to perform the following operations: At least in response to the fact that the transmission quality index of the uplink reference signal sent in at least one beam direction in the first group of beams is lower than the threshold and the transmission quality index of the uplink reference signal sent in at least one other beam direction in the first group of beams is not lower than the threshold, all beams in the first group of beams whose transmission quality index is lower than the threshold are updated to beams with the same or similar beam direction as the beam with the highest transmission quality index in the first group of beams, thereby forming a second group of beams.

5. The network device according to claim 1 , wherein the processing circuit is further configured to cause the network device to perform the following operations: At least in response to the transmission quality index of the uplink reference signal sent in all beam directions in the first group of beams being lower than the threshold, the user equipment is instructed to re-perform omnidirectional beam scanning, and all beams in the beams used for omnidirectional beam scanning whose transmission quality index is lower than the threshold are updated to beams with the same or similar beam direction as the beam with the highest transmission quality index in the omnidirectional beam scanning, thereby forming a second group of beams.

6. The network device according to claim 1 , wherein the processing circuit is further configured to cause the network device to perform the following operations: At least based on the fact that the transmission quality index of the uplink reference signal sent in all beam directions in the first group of beams is not lower than the threshold, the user equipment is not instructed to use the second group of beams, so that the user equipment continues to use the first group of beams to send uplink reference signals to the network device for uplink positioning.

7. The network device of claim 1 , wherein the instruction to the user equipment to use the first set of beams is transmitted in one of the following: Uplink reference signal initial default configuration information sent by the network device to the user equipment; or The network device sends uplink reference signal correction configuration information to the user equipment based on the most recent downlink reference signal measurement result.

8. The network device according to claim 1, wherein the network device, the user equipment and the hidden node device operate in an unlicensed millimeter wave frequency band.

9. The network device according to claim 1, wherein the transmission quality indicator comprises one or a combination of more than one of the following: reference signal received power (RSRP), reference signal received quality (RSRQ), signal to interference plus noise ratio (SINR), or decoding rate.

10. The network device according to claim 1, wherein the user equipment is instructed to use the first set of beams and the user equipment is instructed to use the second set of beams through downlink control information (DCI) in a radio resource control (RRC) information element or through a medium access control (MAC)-control element (CE).

11. The network device according to claim 1 , wherein the beam direction of the user equipment for sending an uplink reference signal is interfered with by the hidden node device communication link comprises: The hidden node device is located within the coverage range of the beam direction; Or the hidden node device is located within the reverse coverage range of the beam direction and the transmission direction of the communication link of the hidden node device is the same as or close to the beam direction.

12. A user equipment in a wireless communication system, the user equipment comprising a processing circuit, the processing circuit being configured to cause the user equipment to perform the following operations: receiving, from a network device in the wireless communication system, an instruction to transmit an uplink reference signal to the network device using a first group of beams; Sending an uplink reference signal to the network device in each beam direction in the first group of beams, so that the network device measures a transmission quality indicator of the uplink reference signal; receiving, from a network device, an instruction to send an uplink reference signal to the network device using a second group of beams, wherein the instruction is sent based at least on a transmission quality indicator of an uplink reference signal sent in at least one beam direction in the first group of beams being lower than a threshold; as well as Using a second set of beams, an uplink reference signal is sent to the network device for uplink positioning, The second group of beams enables the user equipment to avoid sending uplink reference signals in a beam direction that is interfered with by a communication link of a hidden node device, wherein the hidden node device is unknown to the network device and the user equipment.

13. The user equipment according to claim 12, wherein the uplink reference signal comprises a sounding reference signal (SRS).

14. The user equipment according to claim 13, wherein the indication of the beam direction of the uplink reference signal is achieved by indicating a downlink reference signal having a quasi-co-location (QCL) association with the uplink reference signal, wherein the downlink reference signal includes a synchronization signal block (SSB), a channel state information reference signal (CSI-RS), and / or a positioning reference signal (PRS).

15. The user equipment according to claim 12, wherein: The transmission quality indicator of the uplink reference signal sent in at least one beam direction in at least one of the first group of beams is lower than the threshold and the transmission quality indicator of the uplink reference signal sent in at least one other beam direction in the first group of beams is lower than the threshold. When the transmission quality index of the signal is not lower than the threshold, all beams in the first group of beams whose transmission quality index is lower than the threshold are updated to beams with the same or similar beam direction as the beam with the highest transmission quality index in the first group of beams, thereby forming a second group of beams.

16. The user equipment according to claim 12, wherein: At least when the transmission quality index of the uplink reference signal sent in all beam directions in the first group of beams is lower than the threshold, the user equipment re-executes omnidirectional beam scanning, and all beams with transmission quality index lower than the threshold in the beams used for omnidirectional beam scanning are updated to beams with the same or similar beam direction as the beam with the highest transmission quality index in the omnidirectional beam scanning, thereby forming a second group of beams.

17. The user equipment according to claim 12, wherein: At least when the transmission quality index of the uplink reference signal sent in all beam directions in the first group of beams is not lower than the threshold, the user equipment continues to use the first group of beams to send uplink reference signals to the network equipment for uplink positioning.

18. The user equipment of claim 12, wherein the indication to use the first set of beams is transmitted in one of the following: Uplink reference signal initial default configuration information received by the user equipment from the network device; or The uplink reference signal correction configuration information received by the user equipment from the network device is sent based on a most recent downlink reference signal measurement result of the network device.

19. The user equipment according to claim 12, wherein the network device, the user equipment and the hidden node device operate in an unlicensed millimeter wave frequency band.

20. The user equipment of claim 12, wherein the transmission quality indicator comprises one or a combination of more than one of the following: reference signal received power (RSRP), reference signal received quality (RSRQ), signal to interference plus noise ratio (SINR), or decoding rate.

21. The user equipment according to claim 12, wherein the user equipment receives the indication of using the first set of beams and the indication of using the second set of beams through downlink control information (DCI) in a radio resource control (RRC) information element or through a medium access control (MAC)-control element (CE).

22. A method for a network device in a wireless communication system, the method comprising: Instructing a user equipment in the wireless communication system to send an uplink reference signal to the network device using a first group of beams; measuring a transmission quality indicator of an uplink reference signal sent in each beam direction in the first group of beams; as well as Instructing the user equipment to use the second group of beams to send an uplink reference signal to the network device for uplink positioning based on at least one transmission quality indicator of the uplink reference signal sent in at least one beam direction in the first group of beams being lower than a threshold, The second group of beams enables the user equipment to avoid sending uplink reference signals in a beam direction that is interfered with by a communication link of a hidden node device, wherein the hidden node device is unknown to the network device and the user equipment.

23. A method for a user equipment in a wireless communication system, the method comprising: receiving, from a network device in the wireless communication system, an instruction to transmit an uplink reference signal to the network device using a first group of beams; Sending an uplink reference signal to the network device in each beam direction in the first group of beams, so that the network device measures a transmission quality indicator of the uplink reference signal; receiving, from a network device, an instruction to send an uplink reference signal to the network device using a second group of beams, wherein the instruction is sent based at least on a transmission quality indicator of an uplink reference signal sent in at least one beam direction in the first group of beams being lower than a threshold; as well as Using a second set of beams, an uplink reference signal is sent to the network device for uplink positioning, The second group of beams enables the user equipment to avoid sending uplink reference signals in a beam direction that is interfered with by a communication link of a hidden node device, wherein the hidden node device is unknown to the network device and the user equipment.

24. A computer-readable storage medium having one or more instructions stored thereon, which, when executed by one or more processors of an electronic device, cause the electronic device to perform the method of claim 22 or 23.

25. A computer program product comprising program instructions which, when executed by one or more processors of a computer, cause the computer to perform the method according to claim 22 or 23.

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