Communication method and device, and computer storage medium

Abstract

The embodiment of the invention relates to a communication method, equipment and a computer readable medium. The network device determines information of the repeater device and an indication indicating whether the repeater device is used for communication between the network device and the terminal device, and transmits the information of the repeater device and the indication to a positioning device for positioning the terminal device. In this way, the positioning accuracy can be improved.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] Embodiments of the present disclosure relate generally to the field of telecommunications, and in particular to communication methods, devices, and computer storage media for positioning when a Network Controlled Repeater (NCR) is introduced. Background Art

[0002] Coverage is a fundamental aspect of cellular network deployment. It is well known that radio frequency (RF) repeaters can be used to simply amplify and retransmit any signal it receives. Recently, network-controlled repeaters have been introduced by adding side control information for beam management on top of RF repeaters. Network-controlled repeaters have the ability to receive and process side control information from network equipment. However, when network-controlled repeaters are introduced into the path between network equipment and terminal devices, the positioning of terminal devices may be adversely affected and further development is required. Summary of the invention

[0003] In general, embodiments of the present disclosure provide communication methods, devices, and computer storage media for positioning when network controlled repeaters are introduced.

[0004] In a first aspect, a communication method is provided, comprising: determining, at a network device, information of a repeater device and an indication indicating whether the repeater device is used for communication between the network device and a terminal device; and transmitting the information of the repeater device and the indication to a positioning device for positioning the terminal device.

[0005] In a second aspect, a communication method is provided. The method includes: receiving, at a positioning device for positioning a terminal device, information of a repeater device and an indication indicating whether the repeater device is used for communication between the network device and the terminal device from a network device; determining positioning-related information provided by at least one of the network device or the terminal device; and positioning the terminal device based on the information of the repeater device, the indication, and the positioning-related information.

[0006] In a third aspect, a communication method is provided. The method includes: receiving location information of a repeater device from a network device at a positioning device for positioning a terminal device; determining measurement information provided by at least one of the terminal device or the network device; and positioning the terminal device based on the measurement information according to a predetermined fingerprint associated with the location information, the predetermined fingerprint including a correspondence between a measurement set and a location set of the terminal device.

[0007] In a fourth aspect, a communication device is provided, wherein the device includes a processor, and the processor is configured to cause the device to execute the method according to the first aspect, the second aspect, or the third aspect of the present disclosure.

[0008] In a fifth aspect, a computer readable medium having instructions stored thereon is provided. When the instructions are executed on at least one processor, the at least one processor executes the method according to the first aspect, the second aspect, or the third aspect of the present disclosure.

[0009] Other features of the present disclosure will become readily understood through the following description. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0010] The above and other objects, features and advantages of the present disclosure will become more apparent through a more detailed description of some embodiments of the present disclosure in the accompanying drawings, in which:

[0011] Figure 1 illustrates an example communication network in which some embodiments of the present disclosure may be implemented;

[0012] Figure 2 An example positioning scenario according to a conventional solution is illustrated;

[0013] Figure 3 A schematic diagram illustrating an example communication process used by a location server for positioning according to an embodiment of the present disclosure is illustrated;

[0014] Figure 4 A schematic diagram illustrating an example communication process used by a terminal device for positioning according to an embodiment of the present disclosure is illustrated;

[0015] Figure 5 A schematic diagram illustrating another example communication process used by a location server for positioning according to an embodiment of the present disclosure is illustrated;

[0016] Figure 6 An example fingerprint-based positioning scenario according to an embodiment of the present disclosure is illustrated;

[0017] Figure 7 An example communication method implemented at a network device according to some embodiments of the present disclosure is illustrated;

[0018] Figure 8 An example communication method implemented at a positioning device according to some embodiments of the present disclosure is illustrated;

[0019] Fig. 9 Another example communication method implemented at a positioning device according to some embodiments of the present disclosure is illustrated; and

[0020] Fig.10 is a simplified block diagram of a device suitable for implementing embodiments of the present disclosure.

[0021] Throughout the drawings, the same or similar reference numerals refer to the same or similar elements. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0022] The principle of the present disclosure will now be described with reference to some embodiments. It should be understood that these embodiments are described only to illustrate and help those skilled in the art to understand and implement the present disclosure, and do not represent any limitation on the scope of the present disclosure. The disclosure described herein can be implemented in various other ways except the way described below.

[0023] In the following description and claims, unless defined otherwise, all technical and scientific terms used herein have the same meaning as commonly understood by one of ordinary skill in the art to which this disclosure belongs.

[0024] As used herein, the term "terminal device" refers to any device with wireless or wired communication capabilities. Examples of terminal devices include, but are not limited to, user equipment (UE), personal computers, desktops, mobile phones, cellular phones, smart phones, personal digital assistants (PDAs), portable computers, tablets, wearable devices, Internet of Things (IoT) devices, ultra-reliable low-latency communications (URLLC) devices, Internet of Everything (IoE) devices, machine type communications (MTC) devices, vehicle-mounted devices for V2X communications (where X represents pedestrians, vehicles, or infrastructure / networks), devices for integrated access and backhaul (IAB), small data transfer (SDT), mobility, multicast and broadcast services (MBS), positioning in commercial networks, dynamic / flexible duplexing, Space vehicles or air vehicles (including unmanned aerial systems (UAS)) in reduced capability (RedCap), non-terrestrial networks (NTN) (including satellites and high altitude platforms (HAP)), extended reality (XR) devices (including different types of reality, such as augmented reality (AR), mixed reality (MR) and virtual reality (VR)), unmanned aerial vehicles (UAV) commonly known as drones (it is an aircraft without any human pilot), devices on high-speed trains (HST), or image capture devices (such as digital cameras), sensors, gaming devices, music storage and playback devices, or Internet devices that enable wireless or wired Internet access and browsing, etc. "Terminal device" may also have "multicast / broadcast" features to support public safety and critical missions, V2X applications, transparent IPv4 / IPv6 multicast delivery, IPTV, smart TV, radio services, wireless software delivery, group communication and IoT applications. It may also include one or more subscriber identity modules (SIMs) (referred to as multi-SIM). The term "terminal device" may be used interchangeably with UE, mobile station, subscriber station, mobile terminal, user terminal or wireless device.

[0025] The term "network equipment" refers to equipment that is capable of providing or hosting a cell or coverage area in which a terminal device can communicate. Examples of network equipment include, but are not limited to, Node B (NodeB or NB), evolved NodeB (eNodeB or eNB), next generation NodeB (gNB), transmission reception point (TRP), remote radio unit (RRU), radio head (RH), remote radio head (RRH), IAB node, low power node (such as femto node, pico node), reconfigurable intelligent surface (RIS), network controlled repeater, etc.

[0026] Terminal devices or network devices can have artificial intelligence (AI) or machine learning capabilities. It usually includes a model that has been trained for a specific function from a large amount of collected data and can be used to predict certain information.

[0027] The terminal or network device can operate in several frequency ranges, such as FR1 (410MHz to 7125MHz), FR2 (24.25GHz to 71GHz), frequency bands greater than 100GHz, and terahertz (THz). It can further operate on licensed / unlicensed / shared spectrum. In the multi-radio dual connection (MR-DC) application scenario, the terminal device can have more than one connection with the network device. The terminal device or network device can operate in full-duplex, flexible duplex, and cross-duplex modes.

[0028] The network equipment may have network energy saving, self-organizing network (SON) / minimization of driving test (MDT) functions. The terminal may have a power saving function.

[0029] The embodiments of the present disclosure may be executed in a test device, for example, a signal generator, a signal analyzer, a spectrum analyzer, a network analyzer, a test terminal device, a test network device, and a channel emulator.

[0030] In one embodiment, the terminal device may be connected to a first network device and a second network device. One of the first network device and the second network device may be a primary node, and the other may be a secondary node. The first network device and the second network device may use different radio access technologies (RATs). In one embodiment, the first network device may be a first RAT device, and the second network device may be a second RAT device. In one embodiment, the first RAT device is an eNB, and the second RAT device is a gNB. Information related to different RATs may be transmitted to the terminal device from at least one of the first network device or the second network device. In one embodiment, the first information may be transmitted from the first network device to the terminal device, and the second information may be transmitted from the second network device to the terminal device directly or via the first network device. In one embodiment, information related to the configuration of the terminal device configured by the second network device may be transmitted from the second network device via the first network device. Information related to the reconfiguration of the terminal device configured by the second network device may be transmitted from the second network device to the terminal device directly or via the first network device.

[0031] As used herein, the singular forms "a", "an", and "the" shall also include the plural forms unless the context clearly indicates otherwise. The term "including" and its variations shall be understood as open terms, meaning "including but not limited to". The term "based on" shall be understood as "based at least in part on". The terms "one embodiment" and "embodiment" shall be understood as "at least one embodiment". The term "another embodiment" shall be understood as "at least one other embodiment". The terms "first", "second", etc. may refer to different or the same objects. Other explicit and implicit definitions may be included below.

[0032] In some examples, values, processes, or devices are referred to as "best," "lowest," "highest," "minimum," "maximum," etc. It should be understood that such descriptions are intended to indicate that one may choose among many functional alternatives for use, and that such a choice is not necessarily better, lesser, higher, or otherwise preferred over other choices.

[0033] In the context of the present application, the term "repeater" may be used interchangeably with "repeater device", and the term "beam" may also be used interchangeably with "link" or "channel". In the context of the present application, the term "side control information" may be used interchangeably with "control information". In the context of the present application, the term "synchronization signal and physical broadcast channel block (SSB) index" may be used interchangeably with "channel state information reference signal (CSI-RS) index".

[0034] Typically, in algorithms that use angle of arrival (AOA) or angle of departure (AOD) for positioning, a line of sight (LOS) path between the network device and the terminal device is assumed. However, when a network-controlled repeater is used in the path, the path between the network device and the terminal device is not a LOS path, which may reduce the positioning accuracy in the positioning algorithm.

[0035] Embodiments of the present disclosure provide a communication solution to overcome the above and other potential problems. In the solution, information of a repeater device is transmitted from a network device to a positioning device for positioning.

[0036] In one aspect, static and dynamic information of the repeater device is transmitted from the network device to the positioning device. The positioning device locates the terminal device based on the static and dynamic information of the repeater device and the positioning related information provided by at least one of the network device and the terminal device. In this way, the positioning accuracy can be improved by using the additional information of the repeater device.

[0037] On the other hand, the location information of the repeater device is transmitted from the network device to the positioning device. A fingerprint is constructed for the out-of-coverage area or the coverage hole area associated with each repeater device. The fingerprint includes a correspondence between a measurement set and a location set in the out-of-coverage area or the coverage hole area. The positioning device locates the terminal device according to the fingerprint associated with the location information of the repeater device based on the measurement information provided by at least one of the terminal device or the network device. In this way, the positioning accuracy can also be improved by using the additional information of the repeater device.

[0038] The principles and implementations of the present disclosure will be described in detail below with reference to the accompanying drawings.

[0039] Example of a communication network

[0040] Figure 1 1 illustrates a schematic diagram of an example communication network 100 in which embodiments of the present disclosure may be implemented. Figure 1 As shown, the communication network 100 may include a network device 110, a repeater device 120, and a terminal device 130. The network device 110 may serve the terminal device 130.

[0041] In some embodiments, the network device 110 may communicate directly with the terminal device 130. In some embodiments, the network device 110 may communicate with the terminal device 130 via the repeater device 120. The repeater device 120 may have a forwarding function (also referred to as a normal operation mode) and a monitoring function (also referred to as a low power consumption mode). In the normal operation mode, the repeater device 120 may forward signal transmissions between the network device 110 and the terminal device 130. That is, the repeater device 120 may receive a signal from the network device 110, then amplify the received signal, and forward the amplified signal to the terminal device 130. Alternatively, the repeater device 120 may receive a signal from the terminal device 130, then amplify the received signal, and forward the amplified signal to the network device 110. In the low power consumption mode, the repeater device 120 may monitor the signal from the network device 110 intermittently or periodically.

[0042] In some embodiments, the network device 110 may transmit side control information to the repeater device 120. The side control information may include at least one of the following: beamforming information, timing information for aligning a transmission or reception boundary of the repeater device 120, information about uplink (UL) downlink (DL) time division duplex (TDD) configuration, switching information for efficient interference management and improving energy efficiency, or power control information for efficient interference management.

[0043] Each of the network device 110, the relay device 120, and the terminal device 130 may support multiple beams (not shown; also referred to herein as access beams) for communication. These beams may be used as transmission beams or reception beams in DL or UL transmissions.

[0044] like Figure 1 As shown, the communication network 100 may further include network devices 111 and 112. Similar to the network device 110, each of the network devices 111 and 112 may communicate with the terminal device 130 directly or via a repeater device, which may be the repeater device 120 or another repeater device not shown. The communication network 100 may further include a location server 140. The location server 140 may locate the terminal device 130.

[0045] It should be understood that Figure 1 The number of devices given in is for illustrative purposes and does not represent any limitation to the present disclosure. The communication network 100 may involve any suitable number of network devices and / or repeater devices and / or terminal devices suitable for implementing the present disclosure.

[0046] The communications in the communication network 100 may conform to any suitable standard, including but not limited to: Global System for Mobile Communications (GSM), Long Term Evolution (LTE), LTE Evolution, Advanced LTE (LTE-A), Wideband Code Division Multiple Access (WCDMA), Code Division Multiple Access (CDMA), GSM EDGE Radio Access Network (GERAN), Machine Type Communication (MTC), etc. The embodiments of the present disclosure may be performed according to any generation of communication protocols currently known or to be developed in the future. Examples of communication protocols include but are not limited to first generation (1G), second generation (2G), 2.5G, 2.75G, third generation (3G), fourth generation (4G), 4.5G, fifth generation (5G) communication protocols, 5.5G, 5G advanced networks, or sixth generation (6G) networks.

[0047] In some embodiments, the terminal device 130 may transmit a reference signal (RS) such as a sounding reference signal (SRS), and the network device 110, 111, or 112 may perform measurement on the RS from the terminal device 130. Based on the measurement result, the network device 110, 111, or 112 may generate positioning-related information for positioning the terminal device 130. The network device 110, 111, or 112 may provide the positioning-related information to the location server 140.

[0048] For example, the network devices 110, 111, and 112 may estimate the relative time of arrival (RTOA) of the SRS from the terminal device 130, and provide the RTOA to the location server 140. The location server 140 may determine the time difference of arrival (TDOA) between the RTOAs provided by the network devices 110, 111, and 112, and locate the terminal device 130 based on the TDOA. This process may be referred to as uplink time difference of arrival (UL-TDOA) based positioning.

[0049] In some embodiments, the network device 110, 111, or 112 may transmit an RS such as a positioning reference signal (PRS), and the terminal device 130 may perform measurement on the RS from the network device 110, 111, or 112. Based on the measurement result, the terminal device 130 may generate positioning-related information for positioning the terminal device 130. The terminal device 130 may provide the positioning-related information to the location server 140.

[0050] For example, terminal device 130 may estimate TDOA of PRSs from network devices 110, 111, and 112, and provide the TDOA to location server 140. Location server 140 may locate terminal device 130 based on TDOA. This process may be referred to as downlink time difference of arrival (DL-TDOA) based positioning.

[0051] In some embodiments, the terminal device 130 may transmit an SRS, and the network devices 110, 111, and 112 may transmit a PRS. The network device 110, 111, or 112 may estimate the RTOA between SRS reception and PRS transmission. The terminal device 130 may estimate the RTOA between SRS transmission and PRS reception for each of the network devices 110, 111, and 112. The RTOA estimated by the terminal device 130 and the network devices 110, 111, and 112 may be reported to the location server 140. The location server 140 may determine a round trip time (RTT) based on the reported RTOA, and may locate the terminal device 130 based on the RTT. This process may be referred to as multi-cell round trip time (M-RTT) based positioning.

[0052] In some embodiments, the terminal device 130 may transmit an SRS, and each of the network devices 110, 111, and 112 may estimate an angle of arrival (AOA) based on the SRS. The network devices 110, 111, and 112 may report the AOA to the location server 140. Based on the reported AOA, the location server 140 may locate the terminal device 130. This process may be referred to as UL-AOA-based positioning.

[0053] In some embodiments, each of the network devices 110, 111, and 112 may transmit a PRS in a beam, and the terminal device 130 may determine a reference signal received power (RSRP) for each of the beams and report it to the network device. The network device may then estimate an angle of departure (AOD) based on the highest RSRP in the beam. The network devices 110, 111, and 112 may report the AOD to the location server 140. Based on the reported AOD, the location server 140 may locate the terminal device 130. This process may be referred to as DL-AOD-based positioning.

[0054] In some embodiments, positioning methods can be used in combination. For example, RTT can be combined with UL-AOA or DL-AOD for positioning. Of course, any other suitable combination is also feasible.

[0055] In the above positioning method, the LOS path between the network device and the terminal device is assumed. However, when a repeater device is used for communication between the network device and the terminal device, the path between the network device and the terminal device is not a LOS path. In this case, if the reported RTOA, TDOA, AOA, or AOD is directly reused, the positioning accuracy may be reduced. For illustration, the following will refer to Figure 2 Describe the example.

[0056] Figure 2An example positioning scenario 200 according to a conventional solution is illustrated. In this example, positioning is performed based on M-RTT. Figure 2 As shown, network device 210 can communicate with terminal device 230 via repeater device 220, and network devices 211 and 212 can communicate directly with terminal device 230. RTT1-1 is associated with link 1-1 between network device 210 and repeater device 220, and RTT1-2 is associated with link 1-2 between repeater device 220 and terminal device 230. Since the path between network device 210 and terminal device 230 is considered as a LOS path, circle 241 centered on network device 210 can be determined based on the total RTT of the path between network device 210 and terminal device 230 (including RTT1-1 and RTT1-2).

[0057] RTT2 may be determined for link 2 between network device 211 and terminal device 230, and circle 242 centered on network device 211 may be determined based on RTT2. RTT3 may be determined for link 3 between network device 212 and terminal device 230, and circle 243 centered on network device 212 may be determined based on RTT3. Then, the position of terminal device 230 may be estimated as intersection point A between circles 241, 242, and 243. It can be seen that estimated position A deviates from the actual position of terminal device 230.

[0058] The embodiments of the present disclosure provide a solution for reporting information of a repeater device from a network device to a positioning device to improve positioning accuracy. In some embodiments, the positioning device may be a location server. In some embodiments, the positioning device may be a terminal device to be positioned. For illustration, the positioning device may be a terminal device to be positioned. Figures 3 to 6 Some example embodiments are described. based on Example implementation of positioning of repeater information

[0059] 1. Positioning by location server

[0060] Figure 3 FIG. 3 is a schematic diagram illustrating an example communication process 300 used by a location server for positioning according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. For discussion purposes, reference will be made to FIG. Figure 1 Describe process 300. Process 300 may involve Figure 1 The network device 110, the terminal device 130 and the location server 140 are shown. In this example, the positioning device is a location server (eg, location server 140).

[0061] like Figure 3As shown, the location server 140 may transmit 301 a request to report the capabilities of a target device to be located (e.g., the terminal device 130). The terminal device 130 may report 302 its capabilities to the location server 140. In some embodiments, the terminal device 130 may also transmit 303 a request for assistance data to the location server 140. The location server 140 may provide 304 the assistance data to the terminal device 130.

[0062] In some embodiments, the location server 140 may receive an indication from the repeater device 120 or the network device 110 that the repeater device 120 has the ability to determine the AOA of the path between the repeater device 120 and the terminal device 130. In this case, when the repeater device 120 is used for communication between the network device 110 and the terminal device 130, the location server 140 may decide to use the AOA-based positioning to locate the terminal device 130. It should be understood that the location server 140 may consider other factors to determine the positioning method, and the present disclosure is not limited in this regard.

[0063] Continue to refer Figure 3 In some embodiments, for example, for positioning based on DL-TDOA or M-RTT, the location server 140 may transmit 305 a request to report positioning related information to the terminal device 130. The terminal device 130 may generate 306 positioning related information based on measurements of RS (e.g., PRS) from the network devices 110, 111, and 112. Then, the terminal device 130 may transmit 307 the positioning related information to the location server 140.

[0064] In some embodiments, when a trigger is received from the network device 110 or the location server 140, the terminal device 130 may also transmit an indication indicating that the terminal device 130 has the ability to update the positioning related information. The location server 140 may then transmit a request with a new trigger condition to the terminal device 130. For example, if the repeater device 120 is transparent to the terminal device 130, a state named "dynamicTrigger" may be added as follows.

[0065]

[0066] In some embodiments, when the communication between the network device 110 and the terminal device 130 is switched to be performed via the repeater device 120 or in the absence of the repeater device 120 or via another repeater device (not shown), the terminal device 130 may also transmit an indication indicating that the terminal device 130 has the ability to update the positioning related information. In other words, if the device directly connected to the terminal device 130 is switched from the network device 110 to the repeater device 120, the terminal device 130 may update the positioning related information. If the device directly connected to the terminal device 130 is switched from the repeater device 120 to the network device 110, the terminal device 130 may update the positioning related information. If the device directly connected to the terminal device 130 is switched from the repeater device 120 to another repeater device (not shown), the terminal device 130 may update the positioning related information. Then, the location server 140 may transmit a request with a new trigger condition to the terminal device 130. For example, if the terminal device 130 can identify the repeater device 120, a state named "repeaterSwitch" may be added as follows.

[0067]

[0068] It should be understood that the above information elements are only examples, and any other suitable manner is also possible.

[0069] Continue to refer Figure 3 In some embodiments, for example, for positioning based on UL-TDOA or M-RTT, the location server 140 may transmit 308 a request for reporting positioning related information to multiple network devices (for convenience, the network device 110 is taken as an example). The network device 110 may generate 309 positioning related information based on the measurement of the RS (e.g., SRS) from the terminal device 130. Then, the network device 110 may transmit 310 the positioning related information to the location server 140.

[0070] like Figure 3 As shown, location server 140 may transmit 311 a request for information of repeater device 120. In some alternative embodiments, network device 110 may actively transmit information of repeater device 120 without a request from location server 140.

[0071] The network device 110 may determine 312 information of the repeater device 120 (also referred to herein as static information) and an indication (also referred to herein as dynamic information) indicating whether the repeater device 120 is used for communication between the network device 110 and the terminal device 130. The network device 110 may then transmit 313 the information of the repeater device 120 and the indication to the location server 140.

[0072] In some embodiments, the information of the repeater device 120 may include a processing delay of the repeater device 120. For example, the processing delay may include a delay between the transmission of a signal and the reception of the signal. In some embodiments, the information of the repeater device 120 may include a transmission delay between the network device 110 and the repeater device 120. In some embodiments, the information of the repeater device 120 may include location information of the repeater device 120. It should be understood that the information of the repeater device 120 may include any combination of the above information and any other suitable information.

[0073] In some embodiments, if the repeater device 120 is movable, the network device 110 may update the location information of the repeater device 120 when the location of the repeater device 120 changes. For example, if the location of the repeater device 120 changes by a distance X, the network device 110 or the repeater device 120 itself may determine that the location of the repeater device 120 has changed. In some embodiments, X may be predefined or configured. In some embodiments, X may be associated with the positioning accuracy requirement of the terminal device 130. For example, the higher the required positioning accuracy, the smaller X, and the lower the required positioning accuracy, the larger X. In some embodiments, X may be associated with the positioning accuracy requirement of the repeater device 120. For example, the higher the required positioning accuracy, the smaller X, and the lower the required positioning accuracy, the larger X. It should be understood that X may also be determined in any other suitable manner.

[0074] In some embodiments, the location information of the repeater device 120 may include the location of the repeater device 120, or both the location of the repeater device 120 and the type of the location of the repeater device 120. In some embodiments, the type may be associated with the accuracy of the location of the repeater device 120. For example, for the location of the repeater device 120, several types with different accuracy may be defined as shown in Table 1.

[0075] Table 1

[0076]

[0077]

[0078] It should be understood that Table 1 is merely an example and that the numbers of precision may be larger or smaller.

[0079] In some embodiments, the information of the repeater device 120 may be associated with a positioning method used to locate the terminal device 130 .

[0080] In some embodiments for TDOA or M-RTT-based positioning, the information of the repeater device 120 may include a processing delay of the repeater device 120, a transmission delay between the network device 110 and the repeater device 120, and the location information of the repeater device 120. In this way, the RTT may be recalculated by eliminating the effect caused by the processing delay of the repeater device 120. The RTT may be recalculated by eliminating the transmission delay between the network device 110 and the repeater device 120. The center of the RTT may be changed to the location of the repeater device 120.

[0081] Using the indication indicating whether repeater device 120 is used for communication between network device 110 and terminal device 130 , location server 140 may determine whether to use the reported RTT and location of network device 110 or the recalculated RTT and reported location of repeater device 120 .

[0082] In some embodiments, the network device 110 may also transmit identification (ID) information of the RS resource to the location server 140. The RS carried on the RS resource is transmitted between the network device 110 and the terminal device 130 via the repeater device 120. In other words, the information of the repeater device 120 may be associated with a unique PRS resource or a unique PRS resource set, and the network device 110 may notify the location server 140 of the unique PRS resource or the unique PRS resource set. For example, the ID information may include a DLPRS ID, a PRS resource set ID, and a PRS resource ID. It should be understood that the ID information may take any other suitable form. Using the ID information, the location server 140 may know which measurement should be recalculated.

[0083] In some embodiments for UL-TDOA-based positioning, the network device 110 may eliminate the processing delay of the repeater device 120 and the transmission delay between the network device 110 and the repeater device 120, and then provide the recalculated measurements to the location server 140. In this case, only the location information of the repeater device 120 and an indication indicating whether the repeater device 120 is used may be provided to the location server 140.

[0084] In some embodiments for AOD or AOA-based positioning, the static information of the repeater device 120 may include only the location information of the repeater device 120 (if the repeater device 120 is fixed). The dynamic information of the repeater device 120 may include an indication indicating whether the repeater device 120 is used.

[0085] In some embodiments for AOD-based positioning, the network device 110 may transmit a configuration to the terminal device 130 indicating an RS resource or a set of RS resources associated with a set of indices of access beams of a corresponding set of repeater devices, the set of repeater devices being associated with the network device 110. In other words, each access beam of the repeater device 120 is allocated a dedicated PRS resource.

[0086] For example, the RS resources may be associated with a synchronization signal and a physical broadcast channel block (SSB) sub-index set of an access beam of a set of relay devices. In this case, an extended quasi-collocation (QCL) relationship of the PRS resources of the access beam of the relay device may be configured as follows.

[0087]

[0088] Where Mmax represents the maximum number of access beams of the repeater device, and Nmax represents the maximum number of repeater devices in a cell. In this case, each access beam of each repeater device in the service area of ​​the network device has a unique index (ie, ssb-SubIndex).

[0089] As another example, the RS resource may be associated with the ID of the relay device and the index set of the access beam of the relay device. In this case, an extended quasi-collocation (QCL) relationship of the PRS resource of the access beam of the relay device may be configured as follows.

[0090]

[0091] Wherein Mmax represents the maximum number of access beams of the repeater device. In some embodiments, the index of the repeater is allocated per network device. Therefore, the indexes of different repeaters in the service areas of different network devices can be the same. In some embodiments, the index of the repeater is allocated to all network devices. Then, the indexes of different repeaters in the service areas of different network devices are different.

[0092] It should be understood that any other suitable configuration forms are also feasible and the present application is not limited in this regard.

[0093] Therefore, the network device 110 can determine the AOD of the path between the relay device 120 and the terminal device 130 based on the measurement of the RS resources associated with the access beam of the relay device. For example, the network device 110 can determine the AOD of the relay device 120 on the access link based on the RSRP reported by the terminal device 130 according to the access beam of the relay device 120.

[0094] In some embodiments, other information elements related to the access beam definition / indication of the repeater device or other information elements including the SSB-Index may include a redefined SSB-Index as follows.

[0095]

[0096] Where Mmax represents the maximum number of access beams of the repeater device, and Nmax represents the maximum number of repeater devices in a cell. In this case, each access beam of each repeater device in the service area of ​​the network device has a unique index (ie, ssb-SubIndex).

[0097] In some alternative embodiments, other information elements related to the access beam definition / indication of the repeater device or other information elements including the SSB-Index may include a redefined SSB-Index as follows.

[0098]

[0099] Where Mmax represents the maximum number of access beams of the repeater device.

[0100] In some embodiments, the other information elements described above may include any one of the following: QCL-Info in TCI state, MeasResultServingCell, PerRASSBInfo, BFR-SSB-Resource, CandidateBeamRS, associatedSSB in CSI-RS-Resource-Mobility, CSI-SSB-ResourceSet, ResultsPerSSB-Index, ResultsPerSSB-IndexIdle, PUCCH-PathlossReferenceRS, PUCCH-SpatialRelationInfo, PUSCH-PathlossReferenceRS, CFRA-SSB-Resource, RadioLinkMonitoringRS, pathlossReferenceRS-Config, pathlossReferenceRS-pos, SRS-SpatialRelationInfo, SRS-SpatialRelationInfoPos, SSB-InfoNcell, etc.

[0101] In some embodiments, if the repeater device 120 is transparent to the terminal device 130, and the communication between the network device 110 and the terminal device 130 is switched to be performed via the repeater device 120 or without the repeater device 120, or via another repeater device (not shown), the network device 110 may transmit an indication indicating an update of the positioning related information to the terminal device 130. In some embodiments, the network device 110 may transmit downlink control information (DCI) indicating an update of the positioning related information. In some embodiments, the network device 110 may transmit a media access control (MAC) control element (CE) indicating an update of the positioning related information. In some embodiments, the network device 110 may transmit RRC signaling indicating an update of the positioning related information. It should be understood that any other suitable manner of carrying the indication is also feasible.

[0102] In some embodiments, if repeater device 120 supports determination of AOA and an error occurs in repeater device 120, network device 110 may transmit an indication indicating the error in repeater device 120 to location server 140. For example, network device 110 may transmit the indication in the form of forwarding device error cause as follows. It should be understood that any other suitable form is also feasible.

[0103]

[0104] Continue to refer Figure 3 , location server 140 may locate 314 terminal device 130 based on information of repeater device 120 and an indication provided by network device 110 , as well as positioning-related information provided by network devices (eg, network devices 110 , 111 , and 112 ) and / or terminal device 130 .

[0105] In some embodiments where the location server 140 also receives ID information of RS resources (which carries RS transmitted between the network device 110 and the terminal device 130 via the repeater device 120), the location server 140 can locate the terminal device 130 by adjusting positioning-related information associated with the RS resources based on the information of the repeater device 120.

[0106] Using process 300 , a location server can more accurately locate a terminal device based on the information of the repeater device reported by the network device.

[0107] 2. Positioning by terminal equipment

[0108] Figure 4 FIG. 4 is a schematic diagram of an example communication process 400 for positioning by a terminal device according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. For the purpose of discussion, reference will be made to FIG. Figure 1Process 400 is described. Process 400 may involve Figure 1 The network device 110, the terminal device 130 and the location server 140 are shown. In this example, the positioning device is a target device to be positioned (eg, the terminal device 130).

[0109] like Figure 4 As shown, the location server 140 may transmit 401 a request to report the capabilities of the terminal device 130. The terminal device 130 may report 402 its capabilities to the location server 140. In some embodiments, the terminal device 130 may also transmit 403 a request for assistance data to the location server 140. The location server 140 may provide 404 the assistance data to the terminal device 130.

[0110] In some embodiments, the location server 140 may receive an indication from the repeater device 120 or the network device 110 that the repeater device 120 has the ability to determine the AOA of the path between the repeater device 120 and the terminal device 130. In this case, the location server 140 may decide to use the AOA-based positioning method to locate the terminal device 130, and transmit the relevant assistance data to the terminal device 130. It should be understood that the location server 140 may consider other factors to determine the positioning method, and the present disclosure is not limited in this regard.

[0111] like Figure 4 As shown, location server 140 may transmit 405 a request for information of repeater device 120. In some alternative embodiments, network device 110 may actively transmit information of repeater device 120 without a request from location server 140.

[0112] The network device 110 may determine 406 information of the repeater device 120 and an indication indicating whether the repeater device 120 is used for communication between the network device 110 and the terminal device 130. Details of the determination of the information of the repeater device 120 and the indication are similar to those described in conjunction with Figure 3 The details described in 312 of FIG. 1 are herein described, and therefore, for the sake of brevity, are not repeated here.

[0113] Then, the network device 110 may transmit 407 the information of the repeater device 120 and the indication to the terminal device 130. In some embodiments, the network device 110 may transmit 407-1 the information of the repeater device 120 and the indication to the location server 140. The location server 140 may transmit 407-2 the information of the repeater device 120 and the indication to the terminal device 130. For example, the information of the repeater device 120 may be transmitted by the location server 140 via the following information element. It should be understood that this is merely an example, and any other suitable manner is also feasible. In the information element, when the repeater device 120 is used for communication between the network device 110 and the terminal device 130, the fields trp-ProcessingDelayAdd and trp-TransmissionDelayAdd are configured. trp-ProcessingDelayAdd is the processing delay of the repeater device 120 used, and trp-TransmissionDelayAdd is the transmission delay between the repeater device 120 and the network device 110. If both fields are included in the information element, the field RelativeLocation is simultaneously updated with the location of the repeater device 120. The indicated or configured delay is then used by the terminal device 130 to recalculate measurements related to time differences or arrival times.

[0114]

[0115] In some alternative embodiments, the network device 110 may transmit 407-3 the information of the repeater device 120 and the indication directly to the terminal device 130. In some embodiments, the network device 110 may transmit to the terminal device 130 information of a set of repeater devices associated with the network device 110. For each repeater device in the set of repeater devices (also referred to herein as the first repeater device for convenience), the information may include at least one of the following: a processing delay of the repeater device; a transmission delay between the network device 110 and the repeater device; or location information of the repeater device.

[0116] For example, the network device list may include serving network devices and neighboring network devices. For each network device, a repeater list or a location list may be provided with a physical cell ID, a cell global ID, etc. For each location information, delay information such as processing delay and / or transmission delay may be attached.

[0117] In some embodiments, if the communication between the network device 110 and the terminal device 130 is switched to be performed via another repeater device (also referred to herein as a second repeater device for convenience), the network device 110 may transmit an indication of the location for activating the second repeater device. For example, the first location in the set of locations of the set of repeater devices is a default location, and the other locations may be triggered by dynamic signaling from the network device 110. For example, if a repeater switch occurs, the network device 110 may activate one location and delay information for each network device. As another example, the network device 110 may activate one location and delay information for the network device in which the repeater switch occurs.

[0118] For example, the network device 110 can transmit information of the repeater device 120 directly to the terminal device 130 via the following information element. It should be understood that this is merely an example, and any other suitable manner is also feasible. In the information element, the TRP information element can be configured with 1 to nrMaxNCRperTRP+1 positions of the repeater device, where nrMaxNCRperTRP represents the maximum number of repeaters per TRP. The first of these positions may be the location information of the TRP, and the other positions of these positions may be static information of each repeater device within the service area of ​​the TRP. For each repeater device, trp-ProcessingDelayAdd is the processing delay of the repeater device 120 used, and trp-TransmissionDelayAdd is the transmission delay between the repeater device 120 and the network device 110.

[0119]

[0120] Continue to refer Figure 4 , the location server 140 may transmit 408 a request for reporting location information to the terminal device 130. The terminal device 130 may locate 409 the terminal device 130 based on the assistance information provided by the location server 140, the information of the repeater device 120, the indication provided by the network device 110, and the positioning-related information provided by the network devices (e.g., the network devices 110, 111, and 112) and / or the terminal device 130 itself.

[0121] In some embodiments, the network device 110 may also transmit ID information of an RS resource carrying an RS to the terminal device 110 directly or via the location server 140, and the RS is transmitted between the network device 110 and the terminal device 130 via the repeater device 120. The terminal device 130 may locate the terminal device 130 by adjusting the positioning-related information associated with the RS resource based on the information of the repeater device 120.

[0122] The terminal device 130 may then transmit 410 the location information of the terminal device 130 to the location server 140 .

[0123] In some embodiments, when a trigger from the network device 110 or the location server 140 is received, the terminal device 130 may transmit an indication indicating that the terminal device 130 has the ability to update the positioning related information. In some embodiments, when the communication between the network device 110 and the terminal device 130 is switched to be performed via the repeater device 120, or in the absence of the repeater device 120, or via another repeater device (not shown), the terminal device 130 may transmit an indication indicating that the terminal device 130 has the ability to update the positioning related information. The transmission of the indication is similar to the above-mentioned combination of Figure 3 The transmission described, and therefore, for the sake of brevity, further details are not repeated here.

[0124] In some embodiments, if the repeater device 120 supports determination of the AOA and an error occurs in the repeater device 120, the network device 110 may transmit an indication indicating the error in the repeater device 120 to the terminal device 130. For example, the network device 110 may transmit the indication in the form of a forwarding device error cause, as described above in conjunction with Figure 3 It should be understood that any other suitable forms are also feasible.

[0125] Using process 400, a terminal device can more accurately locate itself based on the information of the repeater device reported by the network device.

[0126] Example implementation of fingerprint-based positioning

[0127] Figure 5 FIG. 5 is a schematic diagram illustrating another example communication process 500 used by a location server for positioning according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. For discussion purposes, reference will be made to FIG. Figure 1 Process 500 is described. Process 500 may involve network device 110 and a positioning device. The positioning device may be, for example, Figure 1 The terminal device 130 or the location server 140 shown. For convenience, the following description is given by taking the location server 140 as an example of the positioning device.

[0128] like Figure 5As shown, location server 140 may receive 510 location information of repeater device 120 from network device 110. In some embodiments, network device 110 may transmit to location server 140 an indication indicating whether or which repeater device 120 is used for communication between network device 110 and terminal device 130. If repeater device 120 is used for communication between network device 110 and terminal device 130, network device 110 may also transmit location information of repeater device 120.

[0129] The location server 140 may determine 520 measurement information provided by at least one of the terminal device 130 or the network device 110. In some embodiments, the location server 140 may obtain measurement information provided by at least one of the terminal device 130 or the network device 110 based on the positioning method to be applied. For example, for DL-TDOA-based positioning, the location server 140 may obtain 521 measurement information from the terminal device 130. For example, for UL-TDOA-based positioning, the location server 140 may obtain 522 measurement information from the network device 110. For example, for M-RTT-based positioning, the location server 140 may obtain measurement information from both the terminal device 130 and the network device 110.

[0130] In some embodiments, the measurement information may be associated with RSRP. In some embodiments, the measurement information may be associated with RTT. In some embodiments, the measurement information may be associated with a received signal strength indicator (RSSI). In some embodiments, the measurement information may be associated with any combination of the above information and any other suitable information.

[0131] The location server 140 may locate the terminal device 130 based on the measurement information and according to a predetermined fingerprint associated with the location information of the repeater device 120. The predetermined fingerprint may include a correspondence between a measurement set and a location set in an out-of-coverage area or a coverage hole area of ​​the network device 110, and the out-of-coverage area or the coverage hole area is associated with the repeater device 120.

[0132] For the purpose of illustration, we will combine Figure 6 Describe the example. Figure 6 FIG. 6 illustrates an example fingerprint-based positioning scenario 600 according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. Figure 6 As shown, the network device 110 can communicate with the terminal device 130 via the repeater device 120 , and the network devices 111 and 112 can communicate directly with the terminal device 130 .

[0133] like Figure 6As shown, when an obstacle appears between the network device 110 and the terminal device 130, an area outside the coverage range or a coverage hole area 610 of the network device 110 may appear according to the obstacle. At this time, the repeater device 120 is used for communication between the network device 110 and the terminal device 130. Then, the area outside the coverage range or the coverage hole area 610 can be associated with the position of the repeater device 120, and the relationship between the measurement and the position within the area outside the coverage range or the coverage hole area 610 can be pre-stored as part of the fingerprint information. In addition, the relationship can be associated with the repeater device 120.

[0134] Taking RTT as an example, RTT1 - 1 may be determined for a link between the network device 110 and the repeater device 120 , and RTT1 - 2 may be determined for a link between the repeater device 120 and the terminal device 130 .

[0135] Since the path between the network device 110 and the terminal device 130 is not a LOS path, the repeater device 120 can be used as the center, and the curves 621, 622, and 623 can be determined based on different RTT values ​​(e.g., RTT-1, RTT-2, RTT-3). For the curves closer to the repeater device 120, a shorter RTT can be expected. Curves 621, 622, and 623 (i.e., the positions in the area 610 outside the coverage range) can also be pre-stored as part of the fingerprint information and can be associated with RTT-1, RTT-2, and RTT-3 accordingly. Then, the relationship between RTT and the curve is pre-stored as fingerprint information, wherein the RTT of the position on the curve 621 is mapped to RTT-1, or the RTT of the position in the area above the curve 621 is mapped to a value less than RTT-1; the RTT of the position in the area between the curves 621 and 622 is mapped to a value greater than RTT-1 and less than RTT-2. It should be understood that any other suitable measurement (such as RSRP or RSSI) may be used as fingerprint information. The present disclosure is not limited in this respect. So far, a predetermined fingerprint may be constructed for the out-of-coverage area 610. The predetermined fingerprint includes a correspondence between a set of measurements and a set of locations in the out-of-coverage area 610.

[0136] For example, in positioning, if the information of the repeater device provided by the network device 110 indicates the position of the repeater device 120 or the index of the repeater device 120, it can be determined that the terminal device 130 is located in the out-of-coverage area 610. Next, if the location server 140 determines that the measurement information is RTT-3, it can be determined that the terminal device 130 is located on the curve 623 corresponding to RTT-3 based on the fingerprint constructed for the out-of-coverage area 610.

[0137] RTT2 can be determined for the link between network device 111 and terminal device 130, and circle 631 centered on network device 111 can be determined based on RTT2. RTT3 can be determined for the link between network device 112 and terminal device 130, and circle 632 centered on network device 112 can be determined based on RTT3. Then, the position of terminal device 130 can be estimated as intersection point B between curve 621 and circles 631 and 632. In this way, the position of terminal device 220 can be accurately located. It should be understood that Figure 6 It is for illustration only and is not intended to be limiting.

[0138] Using process 500, positioning accuracy may also be improved based on information of repeater devices reported by network devices.

[0139] It should be noted that processes 300 , 400 , and 500 may include more additional steps or omit some of the steps shown, and the present disclosure does not limit the order of the steps.

[0140] Example implementation of method

[0141] Therefore, the embodiments of the present disclosure provide a communication method implemented at a network device and a positioning device. Figures 7 to 9 Describe these methods.

[0142] Figure 7 An example communication method 700 implemented at a network device according to some embodiments of the present disclosure is illustrated. For example, the method 700 may be implemented at a network device such as Figure 1 For the purpose of discussion, reference will be made to Figure 1 Method 700 is described. It should be understood that method 700 may include additional blocks not shown and / or may omit some of the blocks shown, and that the scope of the present disclosure is not limited in this regard.

[0143] At block 710 , the network device 110 determines information of the repeater device 120 and an indication indicating whether the repeater device 120 is used for communication between the network device 110 and the terminal device 130 .

[0144] At block 720, the network device 110 transmits the information of the repeater device 120 and the indication to a positioning device for positioning the terminal device 130. In some embodiments, the positioning device may be the location server 140. In some embodiments, the positioning device may be the terminal device 130 itself.

[0145] In some embodiments, the information of the repeater device 120 may include at least one of the following: a processing delay of the repeater device 120; a transmission delay between the network device 110 and the repeater device 120; or location information of the repeater device 120. In some embodiments, if the repeater device 120 is movable, the network device 110 may update the location information of the repeater device 120 when the location of the repeater device 120 changes. In some embodiments, the location information of the repeater device 120 may include the location of the repeater device 120 and the type of the location of the repeater device 120. In some embodiments, the information of the repeater device 120 may be associated with a positioning method for positioning the terminal device 130.

[0146] In some embodiments, the network device 110 may transmit the ID information of the RS resource to the positioning device, and the RS carried on the RS resource is transmitted between the network device 110 and the terminal device 130 via the repeater device 120 .

[0147] In some embodiments, the network device 110 may transmit a configuration to the terminal device 130, the configuration indicating RS resources associated with an index set of access beams of a corresponding set of repeater devices, the set of repeater devices being associated with the network device 110; and determining the AOD of a path between the repeater device 120 and the terminal device 130 based on measurements of the RS resources associated with the access beam of the repeater device 120.

[0148] In some embodiments where the positioning device is the terminal device 130, the network device 110 may transmit information about a set of repeater devices associated with the network device 110 to the terminal device 130, the information about the set of repeater devices including at least one of the following: a processing delay of a first repeater device in the set of repeater devices; a transmission delay between the network device and the first repeater device; or location information of the first repeater device.

[0149] In some embodiments, if the communication between the network device 110 and the terminal device 130 is switched to be performed via the second repeater device, the network device 110 may transmit an indication of a location for activating the second repeater device.

[0150] In some embodiments, if the repeater device 120 is transparent to the terminal device 130, and the communication between the network device 110 and the terminal device 130 is switched to be performed via the repeater device 120, or without the repeater device 120, or via another repeater device, the network device 110 may transmit an indication indicating an update of the positioning related information to the terminal device 130. In some embodiments, if the repeater device 120 supports determination of the AOA and an error occurs in the repeater device 120, the network device 110 may transmit an indication indicating the error in the repeater device 120 to the positioning device.

[0151] In some embodiments, network device 110 may receive a request for information of repeater device 120 from location server 140 .

[0152] In some embodiments where the positioning device is the terminal device 130 , the network device 110 may transmit the information of the repeater device 120 and the indication to the location server 140 for transmission to the terminal device 130 .

[0153] By utilizing the method 700 , additional information of the repeater device may be provided to the positioning device for use in positioning, and thus the positioning accuracy may be improved.

[0154] Figure 8 An example communication method 800 implemented at a positioning device according to some embodiments of the present disclosure is illustrated. For example, the method 800 may be implemented at a Figure 1 The location server 140 or the terminal device 130 is shown as being executed. For the purpose of discussion, reference will be made to Figure 1 Method 800 is described. It should be understood that method 800 may include additional blocks not shown and / or may omit some of the blocks shown, and the scope of the present disclosure is not limited in this regard.

[0155] At block 810 , a positioning device (eg, location server 140 or terminal device 130 ) receives information of the repeater device 120 and an indication indicating whether the repeater device 120 is used for communication between the network device 110 and the terminal device 130 from the network device 110 .

[0156] At block 820 , the positioning device determines positioning-related information provided by at least one of the network device 110 or the terminal device 130 .

[0157] At block 830 , the positioning device positions the terminal device 130 based on the information of the repeater device 120 , the indication, and the positioning related information.

[0158] In some embodiments, the information of the repeater device 120 may include at least one of the following: a processing delay of the repeater device 120 ; a transmission delay between the network device and the repeater device 120 ; or location information of the repeater device 120 .

[0159] In some embodiments, the positioning device may receive updates of the location information of the repeater device 120 from the network device 110 .

[0160] In some embodiments, the location information of the repeater device may include the location of the repeater device 120 and the type of the location of the repeater device 120 .

[0161] In some embodiments, the information of the repeater device may be associated with a positioning method used to locate the terminal device 130 .

[0162] In some embodiments, the positioning device may receive the ID information of the RS resource from the network device 110, and the RS carried on the RS resource is transmitted between the network device 110 and the terminal device 130 via the repeater device 120. Then, the positioning device may locate the terminal device 130 by adjusting the positioning-related information associated with the RS resource provided by at least one of the network device 110 or the terminal device 130 based on the information of the repeater device 120.

[0163] In some embodiments, regardless of whether the positioning device is the location server 140 or the terminal device 130, the location server 140 may transmit a request for reporting positioning-related information to the terminal device 130. Then, the location server 140 may receive an indication from the terminal device 130 indicating that the terminal device 130 has the following capabilities: updating the positioning-related information when a trigger from the network device 110 or the location server 140 is received; or updating the positioning-related information when the communication between the network device 110 and the terminal device 130 is switched to be performed via the repeater device 120, or in the absence of the repeater device 120, or via another repeater device.

[0164] In some embodiments where the repeater device 120 supports determination of the AOA of a path between the repeater device 120 and the terminal device 130 , the positioning device may receive an indication indicating an error in the repeater device 120 .

[0165] In some embodiments, the positioning device may receive an indication from the repeater device 120 that the repeater device has the capability to determine the AOA of the path between the repeater device 120 and the terminal device 130 .

[0166] In some embodiments where the positioning device is the terminal device 130 , the terminal device 130 may receive the information of the repeater device 120 and the indication from the network device 110 via the location server 140 .

[0167] Using the method 800, additional information of the repeater device may be used for positioning, and thus positioning accuracy may be improved.

[0168] Fig. 9 Another example communication method 900 implemented at a positioning device according to some embodiments of the present disclosure is illustrated. For example, the method 900 may be implemented in a Figure 1 The location server 140 or the terminal device 130 is shown as being executed. For the purpose of discussion, reference will be made to Figure 1 Method 900 is described. It should be understood that method 900 may include additional blocks not shown and / or may omit some of the blocks shown, and the scope of the present disclosure is not limited in this regard.

[0169] At block 910 , a positioning device (eg, location server 140 or terminal device 130 ) receives location information of the repeater device 120 from the network device 110 .

[0170] At block 920 , the positioning device determines positioning-related information provided by at least one of the network device 110 or the terminal device 130 .

[0171] At block 930 , the positioning device positions the terminal device 130 according to a predetermined fingerprint associated with the location information based on the measurement information, where the predetermined fingerprint includes a correspondence between a measurement set and a location set.

[0172] In some embodiments, the measurement information may be associated with at least one of: RSRP, RTT, or RSSI.

[0173] By utilizing the method 900 , a fingerprint for positioning associated with the location information of the repeater device may be constructed, and thus the positioning accuracy may also be improved.

[0174] Example implementations of devices and apparatus

[0175] Fig.10 is a simplified block diagram of a device 1000 suitable for implementing an embodiment of the present disclosure. The device 1000 can be viewed as Figure 1 The network device 110 or the terminal device 130 or the location server 140 are shown as further example implementations. Thus, the device 1000 may be implemented at the network device 110 or the terminal device 130 or the location server 140, or implemented as at least a part thereof.

[0176] As shown, the device 1000 includes a processor 1010, a memory 1020 coupled to the processor 1010, a suitable transmitter (TX) and receiver (RX) 1040 coupled to the processor 1010, and a communication interface coupled to the TX / RX 1040. The memory 1010 stores at least a portion of the program 1030. The TX / RX 1040 is used for bidirectional communication. The TX / RX 1040 has at least one antenna to facilitate communication, although in practice, the access node mentioned in this application may have several antennas. The communication interface may represent any interface required for communication with other network elements, such as an X2 / Xn interface for bidirectional communication between eNB / gNB, an S1 / NG interface for communication between a mobility management entity (MME) / access and mobility management function (AMF) / SGW / UPF and an eNB / gNB, a Un interface for communication between an eNB / gNB and a relay node (RN), or a Uu interface for communication between an eNB / gNB and a terminal device.

[0177] Assume that the program 1030 includes program instructions that, when executed by the associated processor 1010, enable the device 1000 to perform the functions described herein in accordance with embodiments of the present disclosure. Figure 1-Figure 9 The operations discussed. The embodiments herein may be implemented by computer software executable by the processor 1010 of the device 1000, or by hardware, or by a combination of software and hardware. The processor 1010 may be configured to implement various embodiments of the present disclosure. In addition, the combination of the processor 1010 and the memory 1020 may form a processing component 1050 suitable for implementing various embodiments of the present disclosure.

[0178] The memory 1020 may be of any type suitable for the local technology network and may be implemented using any suitable data storage technology, such as, as non-limiting examples, non-transitory computer-readable storage media, semiconductor-based memory devices, magnetic memory devices and systems, optical memory devices and systems, fixed memory, and removable memory. Although only one memory 1020 is shown in the device 1000, there may be several physically different memory modules in the device 1000. The processor 1010 may be of any type suitable for the local technology network and, as non-limiting examples, may include one or more of a general-purpose computer, a special-purpose computer, a microprocessor, a digital signal processor (DSP), and a processor based on a multi-core processor architecture. The device 1000 may have multiple processors, such as a dedicated integrated circuit chip that is time-slave to a clock synchronized with a main processor.

[0179] In some embodiments, a network device includes a circuit system configured to: determine information of a repeater device and an indication of whether the repeater device is used for communication between the network device and a terminal device; and transmit the information of the repeater device and the indication to a positioning device for locating the terminal device.

[0180] In some embodiments, a positioning device for locating a terminal device includes a circuit system configured to: receive information of a repeater device and an indication of whether the repeater device is used for communication between the network device and the terminal device from a network device; determine positioning-related information provided by at least one of the network device or the terminal device; and locate the terminal device based on the information of the repeater device, the indication, and the positioning-related information.

[0181] In some embodiments, a positioning device for locating a terminal device includes a circuit system, which is configured to: receive location information of a repeater device from a network device; determine measurement information provided by at least one of the terminal device or the network device; and locate the terminal device based on the measurement information according to a predetermined fingerprint associated with the location information, the predetermined fingerprint including a correspondence between a measurement set and a location set.

[0182] The term "circuitry" as used herein may refer to a combination of hardware circuits and / or hardware circuits and software. For example, a circuit system may be a combination of analog and / or digital hardware circuits and software / firmware. As another example, a circuit system may be any part of a hardware processor (including (multiple) digital signal processors), software, and (multiple) memories with software, which work together to enable devices such as terminal devices or network devices to perform various functions. In another example, a circuit system may be a hardware circuit and / or processor, such as a microprocessor or a part of a microprocessor, which requires software / firmware to operate, but when the operation is not required, the software may not exist. As used herein, the term circuit system also encompasses the implementation of only a hardware circuit or (multiple) processors or a part of a hardware circuit or (multiple) processors and their accompanying software and / or firmware.

[0183] In summary, the embodiments of the present disclosure may provide the following solutions.

[0184] In one solution, a communication method includes: determining, at a network device, information of a repeater device and an indication indicating whether the repeater device is used for communication between the network device and a terminal device; and transmitting the information of the repeater device and the indication to a positioning device for positioning the terminal device.

[0185] In some embodiments, the information of the repeater device includes at least one of: a processing delay of the repeater device; a transmission delay between the network device and the repeater device; or location information of the repeater device.

[0186] In some embodiments, the above method further includes: based on determining that the repeater device is movable, when the position of the repeater device changes, updating the position information of the repeater device.

[0187] In some embodiments, the location information of the repeater device includes the location of the repeater device and the type of the location of the repeater device.

[0188] In some embodiments, the information of the repeater device is associated with a positioning method used to locate the terminal device.

[0189] In some embodiments, the above method further includes: transmitting identification information of the reference signal resource to the positioning device, and the reference signal carried by the reference signal resource is transmitted between the network device and the terminal device via the repeater device.

[0190] In some embodiments, the above method also includes: transmitting a configuration to a terminal device, the configuration indicating a reference signal resource, the reference signal resource being associated with an index set of an access beam of a corresponding set of repeater devices, the set of repeater devices being associated with a network device; and determining a departure angle of a path between the repeater device and the terminal device based on a measurement of the reference signal resource associated with the access beam of the repeater device.

[0191] In some embodiments, the positioning device is a terminal device, and transmitting the information of the repeater device includes: transmitting information of a set of repeater devices associated with the network device to the terminal device, the information of the repeater device set including at least one of the following: a processing delay of a first repeater device in the repeater device set; a transmission delay between the network device and the first repeater device; or location information of the first repeater device.

[0192] In some embodiments, the method further comprises: transmitting an indication for activating the location of the second repeater device in response to determining that the communication between the network device and the terminal device is switched to be performed via the second repeater device.

[0193] In some embodiments, the above method also includes: based on determining that the repeater device is transparent to the terminal device, and the communication between the network device and the terminal device is switched to be performed via the repeater device, or without the repeater device, or via another repeater device, transmitting to the terminal device an indication indicating an update of the positioning-related information; or based on determining that the repeater device supports the determination of the arrival angle and an error occurs in the repeater device, transmitting to the positioning device an indication indicating an error in the repeater device.

[0194] In some embodiments, the above method further includes: receiving a request for information of the repeater device from a location server.

[0195] In some embodiments, the positioning device is a terminal device, and transmitting the information of the repeater device and the indication includes: transmitting the information of the repeater device and the indication to a location server for transmission to the terminal device.

[0196] In another solution, a communication method includes: at a positioning device used to locate a terminal device, receiving information of a repeater device and an indication indicating whether the repeater device is used for communication between the network device and the terminal device from a network device; determining positioning-related information provided by at least one of the network device or the terminal device; and locating the terminal device based on the information of the repeater device, the indication and the positioning-related information.

[0197] In some embodiments, the information of the repeater device includes at least one of: a processing delay of the repeater device; a transmission delay between the network device and the repeater device; or location information of the repeater device.

[0198] In some embodiments, the above method further includes: receiving an update of the location information of the repeater device from the network device.

[0199] In some embodiments, the location information of the repeater device includes the location of the repeater device and the type of the location of the repeater device.

[0200] In some embodiments, the information of the repeater device is associated with a positioning method used to locate the terminal device.

[0201] In some embodiments, positioning a terminal device includes: receiving identification information of a reference signal resource from a network device, a reference signal carried on the reference signal resource being transmitted between the network device and the terminal device via a repeater device; and positioning the terminal device by adjusting positioning-related information associated with the reference signal resource provided by at least one of the network device or the terminal device based on information from the repeater device.

[0202] In some embodiments, the method further includes: at the location server, transmitting a request for reporting positioning-related information to the terminal device; and at the location server, receiving an indication from the terminal device indicating that the terminal device has the following capabilities: updating positioning-related information when a trigger from a network device or a location server is received; or updating positioning-related information when communication between the network device and the terminal device is switched to be executed via a repeater device, or without a repeater device, or via another repeater device.

[0203] In some embodiments, the repeater device supports determination of an angle of arrival of a path between the repeater device and the terminal device.In these embodiments, the method further comprises: receiving an indication indicating an error in the repeater device.

[0204] In some embodiments, the method further comprises: receiving an indication from the repeater device that the repeater device has the capability to determine an angle of arrival of a path between the repeater device and the terminal device.

[0205] In some embodiments, the positioning device is a terminal device, and receiving the information of the repeater device and the indication includes: receiving the information of the repeater device and the indication from a network device via a location server.

[0206] In another solution, a communication method includes: at a positioning device for locating a terminal device, receiving location information of a repeater device from a network device; determining measurement information provided by at least one of the terminal device or the network device; and locating the terminal device based on the measurement information according to a predetermined fingerprint associated with the location information, the predetermined fingerprint including a correspondence between a measurement set and a location set.

[0207] In some embodiments, the measurement information is associated with at least one of: a reference signal received power, a round trip time, or a received signal strength indicator.

[0208] In some embodiments, the positioning device is a terminal device or a location server.

[0209] In another solution, a communication device comprises: a processor configured to cause the device to perform the method according to the above solution.

[0210] Generally, various embodiments of the present disclosure may be implemented using hardware or dedicated circuits, software, logic, or any combination thereof. Some aspects may be implemented using hardware, while other aspects may be implemented using firmware or software that may be executed by a controller, microprocessor, or other computing device. Although various aspects of the embodiments of the present disclosure are illustrated and described as block diagrams, flow charts, or using some other graphical representations, it should be understood that, as non-limiting examples, the boxes, devices, systems, techniques, or methods described herein may be implemented using hardware, software, firmware, dedicated circuits or logic, general-purpose hardware or controllers or other computing devices, or some combination thereof.

[0211] The present disclosure also provides at least one computer program product tangibly stored on a non-transitory computer-readable storage medium. The computer program product includes computer executable instructions, such as instructions included in a program module, which are executed in a device on a target real or virtual processor to perform the above referenced Figures 1 to 9A program module is a process or method for executing a program. Typically, a program module includes routines, programs, libraries, objects, classes, components, data structures, etc. that perform specific tasks or implement specific abstract data types. In various embodiments, the functions of program modules can be combined or split between program modules as needed. The machine executable instructions of program modules can be executed in local or distributed devices. In distributed devices, program modules can be located in both local and remote storage media.

[0212] The program code for executing the method of the present disclosure can be written in any combination of one or more programming languages. These program codes can be provided to a processor or controller of a general-purpose computer, a special-purpose computer or other programmable data processing device so that the program code is implemented when executed by the processor or controller in the flow chart and / or the block diagram. The program code can be executed completely on the machine, partially on the machine, as an independent software package, partially on the machine and partially on a remote machine, or completely on a remote machine or server.

[0213] The above program code can be embodied in a machine-readable medium, which can be any tangible medium that can contain or store a program for use by an instruction execution system, device or equipment or used in combination with it. The machine-readable medium can be a machine-readable signal medium or a machine-readable storage medium. The machine-readable medium can include, but is not limited to, electronic, magnetic, optical, electromagnetic, infrared or semiconductor systems, devices or equipment, or any suitable combination of the foregoing. A more specific example of a machine-readable storage medium will include an electrical connection with one or more wires, a portable computer floppy disk, a hard disk, a random access memory (RAM), a read-only memory (ROM), an erasable programmable read-only memory (EPROM or flash memory), an optical fiber, a portable compact disc read-only memory (CD-ROM), an optical storage device, a magnetic storage device, or any suitable combination of the foregoing.

[0214] In addition, although the operations are described in a particular order, this should not be understood as requiring such operations to be performed in the particular order shown or in order or performing all the operations shown to obtain the desired result. In some cases, multitasking and parallel processing may be advantageous. Similarly, although several specific implementation details are included in the above discussion, these should not be interpreted as limitations on the scope of the present disclosure, but rather descriptions of features that may be specific to a particular embodiment. Certain features described in the context of a separate embodiment may also be implemented in combination in a single embodiment. On the contrary, the various features described in the context of a single embodiment may also be implemented in multiple embodiments individually or in any suitable sub-combination.

[0215] Although the present disclosure has been described in language specific to structural features and / or methodological acts, it should be understood that the present disclosure defined in the appended claims is not necessarily limited to the specific features or acts described above. Instead, the specific features and acts described above are disclosed as example forms of implementing the claims.

Claims

1. A method of communication, comprising: At the network device, determining information of a repeater device and an indication indicating whether the repeater device is used for communication between the network device and a terminal device; as well as The information and the indication of the repeater device are transmitted to a positioning device for positioning the terminal device.

2. The method according to claim 1, wherein the information of the repeater device comprises at least one of the following: processing delays of the repeater devices; Transmission delay between the network device and the repeater device; or The location information of the repeater device.

3. The method according to claim 2, further comprising: According to determining that the repeater device is movable, when the position of the repeater device changes, the position information of the repeater device is updated. 4 . The method according to claim 2 , wherein the location information of the repeater device comprises a location of the repeater device and a type of the location of the repeater device. 5 . The method according to claim 1 , wherein the information of the repeater device is associated with a positioning method used for the positioning of the terminal device.

6. The method according to claim 1, further comprising: The identification information of the reference signal resource is transmitted to the positioning device, and the reference signal carried by the reference signal resource is transmitted between the network device and the terminal device via the repeater device.

7. The method according to claim 1, further comprising: Transmitting a configuration to the terminal device, the configuration indicating a reference signal resource, the reference signal resource being associated with an index set of access beams of a corresponding set of repeater devices, the set of repeater devices being associated with the network device; as well as A departure angle of a path between the relay device and the terminal device is determined based on measurements of the reference signal resources associated with an access beam of the relay device.

8. The method according to claim 1, wherein the positioning device is the terminal device, and wherein transmitting the information of the repeater device comprises: Transmitting information of a set of repeater devices associated with the network device to the terminal device, the information of the set of repeater devices including at least one of the following: a processing delay of a first repeater device in the set of repeater devices; transmission delay between the network device and the first repeater device; or The location information of the first repeater device.

9. The method according to claim 8, further comprising: Based on determining that the communication between the network device and the terminal device is switched to be performed via a second repeater device, an indication of a location for activating the second repeater device is transmitted.

10. The method according to claim 1, further comprising: transmitting, to the terminal device, an indication indicating an update of positioning related information based on determining that the repeater device is transparent to the terminal device, and the communication between the network device and the terminal device is switched to be performed via the repeater device, or without the repeater device, or via another repeater device; or Based on determining that the repeater device supports determination of an angle of arrival and an error has occurred in the repeater device, transmitting an indication to the positioning device indicating the error in the repeater device.

11. The method according to claim 1, further comprising: A request for the information of the repeater device is received from a location server.

12. The method of claim 1, wherein the positioning device is the terminal device, and wherein transmitting the information and the indication of the repeater device comprises: The information and the indication of the repeater device are transmitted to a location server for transmission to the terminal device.

13. A communication method, comprising: At a positioning device for positioning a terminal device, receiving information of a repeater device and an indication indicating whether the repeater device is used for communication between the network device and the terminal device from a network device; Determining positioning related information provided by at least one of the network device or the terminal device; as well as The terminal device is positioned based on the information of the repeater device, the indication and the positioning related information.

14. The method according to claim 13, wherein the information of the repeater device comprises at least one of the following: processing delays of the repeater devices; Transmission delay between the network device and the repeater device; or The location information of the repeater device.

15. The method according to claim 14, further comprising: An update of the location information of the repeater device is received from the network device. 16 . The method of claim 14 , wherein the location information of the repeater device comprises a location of the repeater device and a type of the location of the repeater device.

17. The method according to claim 13, wherein the information of the repeater device is associated with a positioning method used for the positioning of the terminal device.

18. The method according to claim 13, wherein locating the terminal device comprises: receiving identification information of a reference signal resource from the network device, wherein a reference signal carried on the reference signal resource is transmitted between the network device and the terminal device via the repeater device; as well as The terminal device is positioned by adjusting positioning-related information associated with the reference signal resources provided by at least one of the network device or the terminal device based on the information of the relay device.

19. The method according to claim 13, wherein the method further comprises: At the location server, transmitting to the terminal device a request for reporting location-related information; as well as At the location server, receiving an indication from the terminal device indicating that the terminal device has the following capabilities: When a trigger from the network device or the location server is received, updating the positioning related information; or When the communication between the network device and the terminal device is switched to be performed via the repeater device, or without the repeater device, or via another repeater device, the positioning related information is updated.

20. A communication device comprising: A processor configured to cause the device to perform a method according to any one of claims 1 to 12 or any one of claims 13 to 19.

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