Carrier phase-based positioning in wireless communication network

Abstract

Methods, devices, and systems are described for improving existing positioning techniques (e.g., time difference of arrival, angle of arrival, angle of departure, multiple round trip times, etc.) using carrier phase-based positioning in wireless communication systems. An example method for wireless communication includes a wireless device receiving a location reference signal from a network node, measuring one or more parameters of the location reference signal, and transmitting a report including the one or more parameters. Another example method for wireless communication includes a network node transmitting a location reference signal to a wireless device, and receiving a report from the wireless device that includes one or more parameters of the location reference signal.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present disclosure relates generally to digital wireless communications. Background Art

[0002] Mobile telecommunication technologies are moving the world towards an increasingly connected and networked society. Compared to existing wireless networks, next generation systems and wireless communication technologies will need to support a wider range of use case characteristics and provide a more complex and sophisticated range of access requirements and flexibility.

[0003] Long Term Evolution (LTE) is a standard for wireless communications for mobile devices and data terminals developed by the Third Generation Partnership Project (3GPP). LTE Advanced (LTE-A) is a wireless communications standard that enhances the LTE standard. The fifth generation wireless system, known as 5G, advances the LTE and LTE-A wireless standards and is committed to supporting higher data rates, a large number of connections, ultra-low latency, high reliability and other emerging business requirements. Summary of the invention

[0004] Disclosed are techniques for improving existing positioning techniques in wireless communication systems using carrier phase-based positioning. In one example, this is achieved by collecting phase information associated with subcarriers and / or physical resource blocks (PRBs) in different time slots carrying positioning reference signals (PRS), and using the measured and / or reported phase information to improve the positioning performance of time difference of arrival (TDOA), angle of arrival (AOA), angle of departure (AOD), multiple round trip time (multi-RTT), and other positioning methods. In another example, the disclosed embodiments can be used to identify other possible sources of positioning errors.

[0005] In one example aspect, a method for wireless communication includes receiving, by a wireless device, a location reference signal from a network node, measuring one or more parameters of the location reference signal, and sending a report including the one or more parameters.

[0006]

[0011] In another example aspect, a method for wireless communications includes a network node sending a location reference signal to a wireless device, and receiving a report from the wireless device including one or more parameters of the location reference signal.

[0007] In another exemplary aspect, the above method is implemented in the form of processor executable code and stored in a non-transitory computer readable storage medium. The code included in the computer readable storage medium causes the processor to implement the method described in this patent document when executed by the processor.

[0008] In yet another example embodiment, a device configured or operable to perform the above method is disclosed.

[0009] The above and other aspects and implementations thereof are described in more detail in the drawings, the description and the claims. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0010] Figure 1 An example of a carrier phase positioning scenario is shown.

[0011] Figure 2 An example of carrier phase positioning in a system with a Positioning Reference Unit (PRU) is shown.

[0012] Figure 3 An example of grouping subcarriers carrying positioning reference signals (PRS) is shown.

[0013] Figure 4 An example of dropping phase measurements from a subcarrier group is shown.

[0014] Figure 5 An example of phase variation in a positioning signal is shown.

[0015] Figure 6 An example of a carrier phase assisted measurement of angle of arrival is shown.

[0016] Figure 7-9 An example of the impact of angle of arrival (AOA) uncertainty on the positioning process is shown.

[0017] Fig.10 Examples of different phases on different carrier frequencies are shown.

[0018] Fig.11 An example of uncertainty in the same subcarrier phase group (SCPG) is shown.

[0019] Fig.12 An example of uncertainty in a Same Slot Phase Group (SSPG) is shown.

[0020] Fig.13 and 14 An example flow diagram for wireless communications is shown.

[0021] Fig.15 An example block diagram of a hardware platform that may be part of a network device or communication device is shown.

[0022] Fig.16 An example of wireless communication including a base station (BS) and a user equipment (UE) based on some implementations of the disclosed technology is shown. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0023] In recent years, many positioning technologies have been proposed in fifth generation (5G) enabled networks to achieve high-precision positioning of wireless devices (e.g., UE, user terminal, target device) with the help of network nodes (e.g., gNB, base station), location management function (LMF) or positioning reference unit (PRU, which is a fixed device whose location is known to gNB / LFM). However, with the increase in positioning accuracy requirements for different application scenarios, existing positioning technologies cannot meet the growing demand. Implementations of the disclosed technology aim to improve positioning accuracy by (for example) utilizing carrier phase positioning (CPP) technology as an auxiliary tool to improve current positioning technology.

[0024] The example titles of the following sections are used to help understand the disclosed subject matter and do not limit the scope of the claimed subject matter in any way. Therefore, one or more features of one example section can be combined with one or more features of another example section. In addition, for the sake of clarity of explanation, 5G terminology is used, but the technology disclosed in this document is not limited to 5G technology, but can be used in wireless systems that implement other protocols.

[0025] 1. Overview of Carrier Phase Positioning Methods

[0026] Figure 1 An example of a carrier phase positioning scenario is shown. As shown in the figure, the UE (e.g., wireless device, target device) receives the following signal from the gNB (e.g., network node, base station):

[0027] [N+φ / (2π)]λ=D+w (1)

[0028] Here, λ=c / f is the wavelength of the radio signal (c is the speed of light, f is the carrier frequency of the radio wave sent by the transmitter), N is the integer part of the carrier phase (the number of full wavelengths traversed between the transmitter and the receiver), φ is the carrier phase, φ / (2π) represents the fractional part of the carrier phase, D is the distance between the UE and the gNB (line of sight (LOS) distance), and w is the measurement noise.

[0029] Figure 2 An example of carrier phase positioning in a system with a positioning reference unit (PRU) is shown, which enables more accurate determination of carrier phase and subsequent positioning estimates. In some embodiments, for each pair of gNB and UE, the relationship between the measured distance and carrier phase is given by equation (1). In other embodiments, dual phase differences between different UEs and gNBs are utilized to mitigate or eliminate the side effects of measurement errors, further achieving better positioning performance.

[0030] 2. Implementation Methods for Grouping and Filtering Carriers

[0031] In some embodiments, the positioning reference signal (PRS) may be configured with a larger transmission bandwidth, and the transmission resources for the PRS may be divided into multiple subcarriers. For example, if the dedicated bandwidth is configured with a subcarrier spacing (SCS) of 30 kHz, the wavelength of each subcarrier will be slightly different. Specifically, in this example, the wavelength of the i-th subcarrier is λ i =c / (f c +Δf·i)(Δf=30kHz), so that a larger value of i will result in a shorter wavelength of the corresponding subcarrier. Therefore, the corresponding phases measured by the receiver on different subcarriers will also be different. Since phase determination is generally affected by measurement errors, if the LMF is configured to use the phase of a single subcarrier to calculate the position of the corresponding UE, the accuracy of the positioning method may not be satisfactory for certain applications. Implementations of the disclosed technology mitigate this possible loss of accuracy by using several subcarriers as a group to determine the carrier phase.

[0032] like Figure 3 As shown, in a given bandwidth resource, a subcarrier can be configured to carry a corresponding PRS signal. In another example, a physical resource block (PRB) can be configured to carry a corresponding PRS signal. In these scenarios, the target device is configured to determine the carrier frequency and the received carrier phase for every N (e.g., N=4) subcarriers or PRBs carrying PRS. In some embodiments, the LMF can configure a threshold and / or number of subcarriers for each group of PRBs.

[0033] exist Figure 3 In the context of , f1, f2, ... represent average frequencies corresponding to the grouped subcarriers, and φ1, φ2, ... represent the corresponding phases of each group. In one example, the number of subcarriers in each group is the same. In another example, the number of subcarriers in each group may be different.

[0034] Taking f1, f2 and φ1, φ2 as examples, formula (1) can be expressed as:

[0035] (N1+φ1 / (2π))c=(D+w)f1 (2)

[0036] (N2+φ2 / (2π))c=(D+w)f2 (3)

[0037] Here, N1, N2 are the integer parts of the carrier phase group f1, f2, i.e., the number of full wavelengths experienced between the transmitter and the receiver, and φ1 / (2π) and φ2 / (2π) represent the fractional parts of the carrier phase, respectively, c is the speed of light, D is the distance between the UE and the gNB (line of sight (LOS) distance), and w is the measurement noise.

[0038] The difference between formulas (2) and (3), i.e. (3)-(2), is determined as:

[0039] (N2-N1)c+(φ2-φ1) / (2π)c=(D+w)(f2-f1) (4)

[0040] This can be expressed as:

[0041]

[0042] Here, ΔN=N2-N1 represents the difference between integer wavelengths corresponding to the propagation distances of two subcarriers, Δφ=φ2-φ1 is the phase difference between f1 and f2, and Δf=f2-f1 is the frequency difference. Because the measurement error of the carrier phase at the UE side can vary, the LMF can be configured to discard the reported phase that deviates significantly (e.g., has a difference greater than a predetermined threshold) from the expected phase, such as Figure 4 Alternatively, the UE may report the carrier phases of all subcarriers carrying PRS in ascending (or descending) order of frequency. In the latter case, the LMF can effectively screen out phases that differ greatly from the expected phase.

[0043] In some embodiments, a more accurate estimate of the distance is obtained by determining the value of ΔN. Effective methods typically search for a specific ΔN value within a specific search range (e.g., [ΔN-M, ΔN+M]). Embodiments of the disclosed technology are configured to trade off computational complexity with distance estimation accuracy, for example, a larger M can improve positioning accuracy but result in higher computational complexity.

[0044] In one example, and based on equations (2) and (3), the integer portion of each subcarrier can be determined as:

[0045]

[0046] Figure 5 An example of the phase difference of signals transmitted from gNBs with the same initial phase and different subcarrier frequencies is shown. Figure 5 As can be seen in equations (6) and (7), ΔN is a function of at least three factors: the distance between the gNB and the UE (D), the frequency difference (Δf), and the carrier band.

[0047] In some embodiments, the aforementioned parameters may be used to determine the search window of ΔN, such as [ΔN−M, ΔN+M]. 12 = N2 – N1 can be used to determine the integer range such that ΔN 12 The search window is [ΔN 12 -ΔN 12 ·X,ΔN 12 +ΔN12 ·X], where X can be determined by a specific application scenario or positioning accuracy requirement. In these embodiments, LMF can be based on ΔN ij The range of the integer search window is determined by a percentage of (where i, j are two adjacent subcarrier groups), which is a function of the phase difference of the two subcarrier groups. In some embodiments, any two pairs of subcarrier groups (e.g., adjacent or non-adjacent groups) can be used to determine the search window range.

[0048] In other embodiments, the UE may autonomously determine the number of subcarriers per group and discard reported phases that are significantly different from the expected phase at the UE side.

[0049] In other embodiments, the UE may report the average carrier phase for each group instead of reporting the average carrier phase for each resource. Reporting the average carrier phase for each group reduces the bandwidth and energy requirements of the report message.

[0050] In some embodiments, the described method can further reduce the search range of the integer part of the carrier phase by distinguishing the integer parts of different carriers. In other embodiments, the accuracy of the phase determination can be effectively improved by screening the phase measurement values.

[0051] In some implementations, carrier grouping and filtering (eg, as described in this section) may be performed in conjunction with determining carrier phase uncertainty in different time slots (eg, as described in Section 7).

[0052] 3. Implementation Methods for Carrier Phases in Different Time Slots

[0053] In some implementations, the carrier phase may be used to determine the angle of arrival (AOA) for a single-antenna UE. Figure 6 The evolving position of the UE as a function of time is shown, and as shown, the UE is at C at time t, at C1 at time t1, and at C2 at time t2, where A represents the position of the gNB. The UE is configured to measure its carrier phase difference at time t1 and t2, such as Δφ1 (carrier difference between time t1 and t2) and Δφ2 (carrier difference between time t2 and t1). In one example, the LMF may configure thresholds for t1 and t2 for carrier phase assisted AOA reporting. In this embodiment, if the time difference is short enough, particularly when AC1-AC<λ or AC2-AC1<λ, a small phase measurement error will have a large impact on the angle report.

[0054] exist Figure 6where P1=Δφ1 / (2π)·λ represents the distance difference between the UE and the base station between time t1 and t, P2=Δφ2 / (2π)·λ represents the distance difference between the UE and the base station between time t2 and t1, M1=v·(t2-t1), M2=v·(t1-t0) represents the distance moved by the UE in [t, t1] and [t1, t2], Y is the horizontal distance between the gNB and the UE (at time t, the UE's movement direction is assumed to be horizontal), X is the vertical distance between the gNB and the UE, and Z is the distance between the gNB and the UE.

[0055] In this embodiment, the AOA may be determined using the following calculation:

[0056] cosθ=Y / Z (8)

[0057] cosθ1=(Y+M1) / (Z+P1) (9)

[0058] cosθ2=(Y+M1+M2) / (Z+P1+P2) (10)

[0059] Equations (8), (9) and (10) can be rewritten as:

[0060] θ1=arccos[(Z·cosθ+M1) / (Z+P1)] (11)

[0061] Or cosθ1=(Z·cosθ+M1) / (Z+P1) (11a)

[0062] θ2=arccos[(Z·cosθ+M1+M2) / (Z+P1+P2)] (12)

[0063] Or cosθ2=(Z·cosθ+M1+M2) / (Z+P1+P2)(12a)

[0064] Equations (11), (11a), (12), and (12a) provide an initial set of calculations required to determine AOA, and can be further developed by exploiting the relationship between angle and phase based on the movement of the UE.

[0065] exist Figure 6 In the example above, let S0 represent the area of ​​△ABC, S1 represent the area of ​​△ACC1, and S2 represent the area of ​​△AC1C2. These areas can be determined as:

[0066] S0=1 / 2·Y·Z·sinθ (13)

[0067] S1=1 / 2·M1·(Z+P1)·sinθ1 (14)

[0068] S2=1 / 2·M2·(Z+P1+P2)·sinθ2 (15)

[0069] In addition, the following areas can be determined:

[0070] The area of ​​△ABC1 is:

[0071] 1 / 2·(Y+M1)·(Z+P1)·sinθ1(16)

[0072] The area of ​​△ACC2 is

[0073] 1 / 2·(M1+M2)·(Z+P1+P2)·sinθ2(17)

[0074] The area of ​​△ABC1 is equal to S0+S1 and is given by:

[0075] (Y+M1)·(Z+P1)·sinθ1=Y·Z·sinθ+M1·(Z+P1)·sinθ1 (18)

[0076] The area of ​​△ACC2 is equal to S2+S1 and is given by:

[0077] (M1+M2)·(Z+P1+P2)·sinθ2

[0078] =M1·(Z+P1)·sinθ1+M1·(Z+P1+P2)·sinθ2 (19)

[0079] Using the area calculations above, the following angles are determined:

[0080] θ=arcsin[(Z+P1)·sinθ1 / Z] (20)

[0081] Or sinθ=(Z+P1)·sinθ1 / Z (20a)

[0082] θ1=arcsin{M2(Z+P1+P2)·sinθ2 / [M1(Z+P1)]} (21)

[0083] Or sinθ1=M2(Z+P1+P2)·sinθ2 / [M1(Z+P1)](21a)

[0084] The angle of arrival (AOA) may be determined based on equations (11), (12), (20) and (21) and may be reported by the UE. Alternatively, the UE may report the phase-related information of the expected time slot to the network (eg, LMF).

[0085] This embodiment may advantageously enable a single-antenna UE to accurately determine the AOA using only the UE's movement and received carrier phase, and may be used to improve existing positioning techniques.

[0086] In some implementations, grouping and filtering of carriers (eg, as described in Section 2) may be used to determine P1 and / or P2.

[0087] In some embodiments, using multiple carriers to determine carrier phase (e.g., as described in Section 6) can be used to provide a better estimate of the range between the gNB and the UE.

[0088] 4. Implementation of Carrier Phase in TDOA

[0089] In some embodiments, and as part of an existing positioning implementation, the target device is configured to send a ProvideLocationInformation message to the server to send location information over a portion of the LTE Positioning Protocol (LPP). The corresponding message in an Observed Time Difference of Arrival (OTDOA) location information element includes a field specifying the OTDOA measurement quality, denoted OTDOA-MeasQuality.

[0090] In some implementations, OTDOA-MeasQuality includes three elements:

[0091] - Error-Resolution: Specifies the resolution used in the error-Value field;

[0092] - Error-Value: specifies the best estimate of the uncertainty of the OTDOA (or TOA) measurement by the target device (in m); and

[0093] - Error-NumSamples (optional): Provides the sample uncertainty of the OTDOA (or TOA) measurement, this field specifies how many measurements the target device has used to determine this (eg, sample size).

[0094] Embodiments of the disclosed technology are configured to define a relationship between an integer range of CPP and OTDOA uncertainty. In some embodiments, the integer portion of the carrier phase is searched within an uncertainty range R, which is based on the uncertainty reported by the target device, for example:

[0095]

[0096] In some embodiments, determining the carrier phase in TDOA (e.g., as described in this section) can be performed in conjunction with grouping and filtering the carrier (e.g., as described in Section 2) to determine the integer portion of the carrier phase.

[0097] 5. Implementation Methods for Carrier Phase in AOA / AOD

[0098] In some embodiments, and as part of existing positioning implementations, the NR-DL-PRS-AssistanceData message includes a field named nr-DL-PRS-ExpectedAoD-or-AoA, which specifies the expected AoD or AoA and uncertainty at the target device location. Embodiments of the disclosed technology are configured to define the relationship between the integer range of CPP and the AOA / AOD uncertainty.

[0099] Figure 7-9 An example of the effect of Angle of Arrival (AOA) uncertainty on the positioning process is shown. Although this example is for the calculation of AOA, AOD can be calculated similarly. In this example, and C r and C l is the limit of the UE position measured using the uncertainty of gNB B’s AOA.

[0100] Figure 7 It is shown that gNB A and gNB B are two transmit-receive points (TRPs) that send downlink (DL) PRS to the target UE. Here, α A and α B is the expected AOA / AOD value, which can be converted from the reported azimuth (e.g., expected-DL-Azimuth-AOA or expected-DL-Azimuth-AOD), and C is the UE position measured using the AOA and / or AOD of A and B.

[0101] Figure 8 The AOA (α A , i.e. ∠BAC) and the lower limit of gNB B’s AOA (α B -Δα B / 2, that is, ∠ABC r ) Measured UE position C r , where Δα B (i.e. ∠C l BC r ), is the uncertainty of gNB B’s AOA, i.e., the expected DL azimuth AOA uncertainty. In the shaded triangle ABC r , we can determine:

[0102]

[0103] Equation (23) can be solved to determine Y r The value of A and C r The distance between is determined as:

[0104] AC r =Y r / sinα A (twenty four)

[0105] Similarly, for Fig. 9 The shaded triangle ABC in l , we can determine:

[0106]

[0107] Equation (23) can be solved to determine Y l The value of A and C l The distance between is determined as:

[0108] AC l =Y l / sinα A (26)

[0109] In some embodiments, the position difference calculated by the measurement uncertainty is equal to C l and C r The distance between the two is defined as Δd = C l C r =AC l -AC r , and the range of integers can be calculated as:

[0110]

[0111] In some embodiments, the integer portion of the carrier transmitted between A and C can be used as the center of the search window and define Δd r =CC r =AC-AC r , Δd l =CC l =AC l -AC, resulting in the range of integers being calculated as:

[0112]

[0113] Here, N c is the integer part of the estimate used for AC.

[0114] In some embodiments, determining the carrier phase in AOA / AOD (eg, as described in this section) can be performed in conjunction with grouping and filtering the carrier (eg, as described in Section 2) to determine the integer portion of the carrier phase.

[0115] 6. Implementation Method for Carrier Phase in Multi-Carrier

[0116] In some implementations, during the positioning process, multiple PRSs may be sent between target device pairs with the same TRP and different carriers. Fig.10 As shown, gNB uses different carrier frequencies f1, f2, ..., f n The corresponding positioning signal is sent, and the carrier phase received at the UE side is usually different for each carrier.

[0117] According to equation (2), it can be determined that:

[0118] φ1 / (2π)=[(D+w)f1 / c》 (29)

[0119] This calculation motivates the target device to report the carrier phase and its corresponding uncertainty for each of the different carrier frequencies to the LMF, which is configured to evaluate the likelihood of the positioning result. It should be noted that the initial transmission phase of the PRS can also vary with the transmission antenna, carrier frequency and / or beam selection. In this case, the gNB can specify the initial transmission phase of the PRS to enable calibration of the carrier phase on the gNB side.

[0120] exist Fig.10 In the context of n To represent the carrier frequencies f1, f2, ..., f n The phase of n Here, the distance between gNB and UE should be within the following range:

[0121] [(N i +φ i -Δφ i / 2-Ψ i )c / f i ,(N i +φ i +Δφ i / 2-Ψ i )c / f i ] (30)

[0122] Here, i ranges from 1 to n, and Ψ i is the carrier frequency f iIf the positioning result shows that the distance between the gNB and the target device is not within the above range, it means that there is a certain deviation in the positioning and the result should be corrected.

[0123] In some implementations, deriving positioning results (eg, as described in this section) can be performed in conjunction with grouping and filtering carriers (eg, as described in Section 2) to determine carrier phases.

[0124] 7. Implementation Methods for Carrier Phase Uncertainty in Different Time Slots

[0125] In some embodiments, during the positioning process, multiple PRSs can be transmitted between the same TRP and target device pair in different transmission time slots with the same subcarrier. Here, the carrier phase group is defined as the same subcarrier phase group (SCPG).

[0126] However, in actual implementation, the carrier phase will change with the channel environment and the movement of the UE. Therefore, the network (eg, LMF) may configure the duration for each SCPG.

[0127] For each SCPG, time slot t j The carrier phase range in can be expressed as:

[0128]

[0129] Here, is the time slot t j The phase of the carrier frequency in Represents the carrier phase uncertainty. Fig.11 As shown, finding the intersection of the phase range at different times can effectively smooth the phase uncertainty on the UE side. The phase uncertainty in SCPG can be determined as:

[0130]

[0131] Here, the phase range in SCPG is And the positioning error caused by the phase uncertainty (in meters, where the positioning error refers to the distance corresponding to the phase uncertainty gap) can be determined as:

[0132]

[0133] In some implementations, the target device may report the positioning error caused by the phase uncertainty in each SCPG.

[0134] 8. Implementation Methods for Carrier Phase Uncertainty in Different Subcarriers

[0135] In some embodiments, during the positioning process, multiple PRSs can be sent using different subcarriers in the same transmission time slot between the same TRP and target device pair. Here, a set of carrier phases is defined as a same time slot phase group (SSPG).

[0136] For each SSPG, subcarrier f i The carrier phase range in can be expressed as:

[0137]

[0138] here, is the carrier frequency f i The phase of Represents the carrier phase uncertainty. Fig.12 As shown, finding the average of the phase range at different carriers can effectively smooth the uncertainty on the UE side. The phase uncertainty in the SSPG can be calculated by first calculating the center phase of the SSPG as:

[0139]

[0140] The phase uncertainty of the SSPG is then determined as:

[0141]

[0142] Here, the possible phase range in SSPG is [φ ave -Δφ ave / 2,φ ave +Δφ ave / 2], and the positioning error caused by the phase uncertainty (in meters, where the positioning error refers to the distance corresponding to the phase uncertainty gap) can be determined as:

[0143] ε φ =Δφ ave / (2π)·λ (37)

[0144] In some implementations, the target device may report the positioning error caused by the phase uncertainty in each SSPG.

[0145] 9. Exemplary embodiments and implementations of the disclosed technology

[0146] The embodiments of the disclosed technology provide a technical solution for determining the integer part of the carrier phase (e.g., as described in Sections 2, 4, and 5), calculating the AOA of a given carrier phase at different time slots (e.g., as described in Section 3), providing a calibration method using the phase relationship between different carriers (e.g., as described in Section 6), and providing a relationship between the reported phase uncertainty and the corresponding position error in different phase groups (e.g., as described in Sections 7 and 8). These embodiments solve the technical problem that the existing positioning technology is not accurate enough for different application scenarios in current and emerging wireless communication networks.

[0147] Fig.13 An example flow diagram of wireless communication is shown. The method 1300 includes a wireless device receiving a location reference signal from a network node (1302), measuring one or more parameters of the location reference signal (1304), and sending a report including the one or more parameters (1306).

[0148] Fig.14 An example flow diagram of wireless communication is shown. The method 1400 includes a network node sending a location reference signal to a wireless device (1402), and receiving a report from the wireless device including one or more parameters of the location reference signal (1404).

[0149] The embodiments of the disclosed technology particularly provide the following technical solutions that advantageously improve the positioning system in wireless communication.

[0150] A1. A method for positioning performed by a target device, comprising (1) signal reception, such as receiving a positioning-related configuration signal and a positioning reference signal (PRS); (2) signal measurement, such as measuring a positioning-related reference signal; and (3) measurement reporting, such as reporting measurement results of the positioning-related reference signal.

[0151] A2. The method according to scheme A1, wherein the positioning-related configuration includes a threshold value for the number of PRBs / subcarriers of each group used to carry the positioning reference signal.

[0152] A3. A method according to scheme A1, wherein the measurement result of the positioning-related reference signal includes the carrier phase of all subcarriers carrying PRS in order from low to high frequency (or from high to low).

[0153] A4. A method according to scheme A1, wherein the positioning related configuration includes the range of the integer search window, such as ΔN ij The percentage of (where i and j are two adjacent subcarrier groups), that is, X, the phase difference between the two subcarrier groups.

[0154] A5. A method according to scheme A1, wherein the measurement results of the positioning-related reference signal include carrier phases of different subcarriers having a tolerable difference from the expected phase, or an average carrier phase of each subcarrier group.

[0155] A6. A method according to scheme A1, wherein the positioning related configuration includes thresholds of t1 and t2 (time of phase reporting) for carrier phase assisted AOA measurement.

[0156] A7. A method according to scheme A1, wherein the measurement results of the positioning-related reference signal include the AOA calculated using equations (11), (12), (20) and (21).

[0157] A8. A method according to scheme A1, wherein the measurement results of the positioning related reference signal include phase-related information of the expected time slot.

[0158] A9. The method of claim A1, wherein a mapping between the range of integers of the CPP and the OTDOA uncertainty (R, in m) is determined as:

[0159]

[0160] A10. The method of claim A1, wherein the mapping between the integer range of the CPP and the AOA / AOD uncertainty (Δα) is determined as:

[0161] Option 1:

[0162] Option 2: Where Δd, Δd r and Δd l is calculated using the equation mentioned in the implementation for the carrier phase in AOA / AOD.

[0163] A11. The method according to scheme A1, wherein the positioning related configuration includes a duration limit for each SCPG.

[0164] A12. A method according to scheme A1, wherein the measurement results of the reference signal related to positioning include a carrier phase, and the carrier phase has corresponding uncertainties with respect to different carrier frequencies and time slots.

[0165] A13. A method according to scheme A1, wherein the measurement result of the positioning related reference signal includes an initial transmission phase of the PRS.

[0166] A14. A method according to scheme A1, wherein the measurement results of the positioning related reference signal include a positioning error (in meters) caused by a phase uncertainty in the SCPG, which is determined as:

[0167]

[0168] A15. A method according to scheme A1, wherein the measurement result of the positioning related reference signal includes a positioning error (in m) caused by a phase uncertainty in the SSPG, which is determined as:

[0169] ε φ =Δφ ave / (2π)·λ

[0170] A16. A method for positioning performed by a base station, comprising: (1) signal reception, such as receiving a configuration signal related to positioning; (2) signal measurement, such as measuring a reference signal related to positioning; and (3) measurement reporting, such as reporting measurement results of a reference signal related to positioning.

[0171] The embodiments of the disclosed technology further provide the following technical solutions that advantageously improve the positioning system in wireless communications.

[0172] B1. A wireless communication method, comprising: a wireless device receiving a location reference signal from a network node; measuring one or more parameters of the location reference signal; and sending a report including the one or more parameters.

[0173] B2. A wireless communication method, comprising: a network node sending a location reference signal to a wireless device; and receiving a report including one or more parameters of the location reference signal from the wireless device.

[0174] B3. The method according to scheme B2 further includes: the network node measures the sounding reference signal; and sends a report including one or more parameters of the sounding reference signal.

[0175] B4. The method according to any one of schemes B1 to B3 further comprises: receiving a positioning-related configuration signal from a location management function.

[0176] B5. A method according to any one of schemes B1 to B4, wherein the transmission resources of the position reference signal (PRS) include multiple physical resource blocks (PRBs) or multiple subcarriers, and wherein measuring one or more parameters of the position reference signal (PRS) includes: measuring the carrier phase of each of one or more subcarriers in the multiple PRBs.

[0177] B6. A method according to scheme B5, wherein multiple PRBs or multiple subcarriers are divided into one or more PRB groups or one or more subcarrier groups, respectively.

[0178] B7. A method according to scheme B6, wherein a threshold associated with each of one or more PRB groups or a group number of each of one or more subcarrier groups is configured by a location management function (LMF).

[0179] B8. A method according to scheme B6, wherein one or more parameters include carrier phases of multiple PRBs or multiple subcarriers.

[0180] B9. According to the method described in scheme B8, the carrier phases of multiple subcarriers are sorted based on the corresponding frequency of each subcarrier in the multiple subcarriers.

[0181] B10. A method according to scheme B9, wherein the carrier phases are sorted from the corresponding highest frequency to the corresponding lowest frequency.

[0182] B11. A method according to scheme B9, wherein the carrier phases are sorted from the corresponding lowest frequency to the corresponding highest frequency.

[0183] B12. A method according to scheme B8, wherein the location management function (LMF) is configured to discard one or more carrier phases among the carrier phases, which differ from the expected phase by a value greater than a threshold.

[0184] B13. A method according to scheme B6, wherein the group carrier phase of the PRB group or subcarrier group includes an integer part and a fractional part.

[0185] B14. A method according to scheme B13, wherein the length of the search window for the integer part of the group carrier phase is based on the phase difference between adjacent subcarrier groups.

[0186] B15. A method according to scheme B13, wherein the one or more parameters include an average carrier phase for each of one or more PRB groups or one or more subcarrier groups.

[0187] B16. A method according to any one of schemes B1 to B4, wherein the wireless device is configured to determine the location of the wireless device based on the angle of arrival (AOA) of the signal measured at the antenna of the wireless device in multiple time slots.

[0188] B17. A method according to scheme B16, wherein the wireless device is located at a first position in a first time slot among multiple time slots, at a second position in a second time slot among multiple time slots, and at a third position in a third time slot among multiple time slots, and wherein the maximum difference between (a) the second time slot and the first time slot or (b) the third time slot and the second time slot is configured by a location management function (LMF).

[0189] B18. The method of scheme B17, wherein the wireless device is configured to determine the distance between the wireless device and the network node based on a carrier phase of the signal.

[0190] B19. The method of scheme B17, wherein the AOA at the first position is θ0, the AOA at the second position is θ1, and the AOA at the third position is θ2, wherein the angle of arrival is determined as:

[0191] θ1=arccos[(Z·cosθ+M1) / (Z+P1)]

[0192] θ2=arccos[(Z·cosθ+M1+M2) / (Z+P1+P2)]

[0193] θ=arcsin[(Z+P1)·sinθ1 / Z]

[0194] θ1=arcsin{M2(Z+P1+P2)·sinθ2 / [M1(Z+P1)]}

[0195] In B19, P1 is the distance difference between the wireless device and the network node between the first time slot and the second time slot, P2 is the distance difference between the wireless device and the network node between the second time slot and the third time slot, M1 is the distance between the first position and the second position, M1+M2 is the distance between the first position and the third position, and Z is the distance between the wireless device and the network node at the first position in the first time slot.

[0196] B20. The method according to scheme B19, wherein M1 is equal to M2.

[0197] B21. A method according to scheme B19, wherein M1 is not equal to M2.

[0198] B22. A method according to scheme B17, wherein the one or more parameters include a carrier phase of the signal at a first position, a second position or a third position.

[0199] B23. A method according to any one of schemes B1 to B4, wherein the wireless device is configured to determine the location of the wireless device based on an observed time difference of arrival (OTDOA) positioning framework.

[0200] B24. A method according to scheme B23, wherein the one or more parameters include a carrier phase of the PRS, and wherein the carrier phase includes an integer part and a fractional part.

[0201] B25. A method according to scheme B24, wherein the wireless device is configured to send a location information message to the network node, and wherein the location information message includes a range uncertainty of a measurement made using an OTDOA positioning framework.

[0202] B26. A method according to scheme B25, wherein the integer part (N c ) is determined as: where λ is the wavelength associated with the location information message, and where R (in m) is the measurement uncertainty of the OTDOA positioning framework.

[0203] B27. A method according to any one of schemes B1 to B4, wherein the wireless device is configured to determine the location of the wireless device based on an angle of arrival (AOA) or an angle of departure (AOD) positioning framework.

[0204] B28. The method of scheme B27, wherein the wireless device is configured to receive a location information message including an angular uncertainty associated with an AOA or AOD positioning framework.

[0205] B29. A method according to scheme B28, wherein the carrier phase of the location information message includes an integer part and a fractional part, and wherein the wireless device is configured to determine the distance uncertainty based on the angle uncertainty and the distance between the wireless device and the network node.

[0206] B30. A method according to scheme B29, wherein the integer part (N c ) is determined as: where λ is the wavelength associated with the position information message, and where Δd is the distance uncertainty associated with the angle uncertainty.

[0207] B31. A method according to scheme B29, wherein the integer part (N c ) is determined as: where λ is the wavelength associated with the location information message, and Δd r and Δd l is the distance uncertainty associated with the angle uncertainty on the different sides.

[0208] B32. A method according to any one of schemes B1 to B4, wherein a position reference signal (PRS) is communicated on multiple carriers, each of the multiple carriers being associated with a corresponding carrier frequency.

[0209] B33. A method according to scheme B32, wherein the one or more parameters include a carrier phase and a corresponding uncertainty associated with each of the carrier frequencies.

[0210] B34. A method according to scheme B32 or B33, wherein the wireless device is configured to receive an initial transmission phase of a PRS on each of a plurality of carriers from a network node.

[0211] B35. A method according to any one of schemes B1 to B4, wherein a position reference signal (PRS) is communicated in multiple time slots in the same subcarrier.

[0212] B36. A method according to scheme B35, wherein the same subcarrier phase group (SCPG) includes each carrier phase of multiple carrier phases of the same subcarrier in each time slot in a corresponding time slot in multiple time slots.

[0213] B37. A method according to scheme B36, wherein the duration of the SCPG is configured by a location management function (LMF).

[0214] B38. A method as described in scheme B36 or B37, wherein the wireless device is configured to determine a maximum phase uncertainty from a plurality of phase uncertainties associated with corresponding carrier phases in a plurality of carrier phases. and minimum phase uncertainty

[0215] B39. A method according to scheme B38, wherein the wireless device is further configured to convert the positioning error (ε φ ) is determined as: Where λ is a wavelength associated with the PRS, and where the one or more parameters include a positioning error.

[0216] B40. A method according to any one of schemes B1 to B4, wherein a position reference signal (PRS) is communicated in multiple subcarriers in the same time slot.

[0217] B41. A method according to scheme B40, wherein the same time slot phase group (SSPG) includes each carrier phase of multiple carrier phases of corresponding subcarriers among multiple subcarriers in the same time slot.

[0218] B42. A method according to scheme B41, wherein the wireless device is configured to determine an average phase uncertainty (Δφ) of multiple carrier phases ave ).

[0219] B43. A method according to scheme B42, wherein the wireless device is further configured to convert the positioning error (ε φ ) is determined as: φ =Δφ ave / (2π)·λ, where λ is a wavelength associated with the PRS, and where the one or more parameters include a positioning error.

[0220] B44. An apparatus for wireless communication, comprising a processor configured to implement the method according to one or more of schemes B1 to B43.

[0221] B45. A non-transitory computer-readable program storage medium having stored thereon a code which, when executed by a processor, causes the processor to implement a method according to one or more of schemes B1 to B43.

[0222] Fig.15 An example block diagram of a hardware platform 1500 that may be part of a network device (e.g., a base station) or a communication device (e.g., a user equipment (UE)) is shown. The hardware platform 1500 includes at least one processor 1510 and a memory 1505 having instructions stored thereon. The instructions executed by the processor 1510 configure the hardware platform 1500 to perform Fig.13 and 14 The operations of various embodiments described in and described in this patent document. Transmitter 1515 transmits or sends information or data to another device. For example, a network device transmitter can send a message to a user device. Receiver 1520 receives information or data sent or transmitted by another device. For example, a user device can receive a message from a network device.

[0223] The implementation described above will be applied to wireless communications. Fig.16 An example of a wireless communication system (e.g., a 5G or NR cellular network) including a base station 1620 and one or more user equipments (UEs) 1611, 1612, and 1613 is shown. In some embodiments, the UE accesses the BS (e.g., the network) using a communication link to the network (sometimes referred to as an uplink direction, as shown by dashed arrows 1631, 1632, 1633), which then enables subsequent communication from the BS to the UE (e.g., shown in a direction from the network to the UE, sometimes referred to as a downlink direction, as shown by arrows 1641, 1642, 1643). In some embodiments, the BS sends information to the UE (sometimes referred to as a downlink direction, as shown by arrows 1641, 1642, 1643), and the UE then enables subsequent communication from the UE to the BS (e.g., shown in a direction from the UE to the BS, sometimes referred to as an uplink direction, as shown by dashed arrows 1631, 1632, 1633). The UE may be, for example, a smart phone, a tablet, a mobile computer, a machine-to-machine (M2M) device, an Internet of Things (IoT) device, etc.

[0224] Some embodiments described herein are described in the general context of a method or process, which in one embodiment may be implemented by a computer program product included in a computer-readable medium including computer executable instructions such as program code executed by a computer in a networked environment. Computer-readable media may include removable and non-removable storage devices, including but not limited to read-only memory (ROM), random access memory (RAM), compact disk (CD), digital versatile disk (DVD), etc. Therefore, computer-readable media may include non-transient storage media. In general, program modules may include routines, programs, objects, components, data structures, etc. that perform specific tasks or implement specific abstract data types. Computer or processor executable instructions, associated data structures, and program modules represent examples of program codes for performing the steps of the methods disclosed herein. A specific sequence of such executable instructions or associated data structures represents an example of corresponding actions for implementing the functions described in such steps or processes.

[0225] Some disclosed embodiments may be implemented as devices or modules using hardware circuits, software or a combination thereof. For example, a hardware circuit implementation may include discrete analog and / or digital components, which are, for example, integrated as part of a printed circuit board. Alternatively or additionally, the disclosed components or modules may be implemented as application specific integrated circuits (ASICs) and / or field programmable gate arrays (FPGAs) devices. Some implementations may additionally or alternatively include a digital signal processor (DSP), which is a dedicated microprocessor with an architecture optimized for the operational needs of digital signal processing associated with the functions disclosed in the present application. Similarly, various components or subcomponents within each module may be implemented with software, hardware or firmware. Any connection method and medium known in the art may be used to provide connections between modules and / or between components within a module, including but not limited to communications over the Internet, wired or wireless networks using appropriate protocols.

[0226] Although many details are included herein, these should not be interpreted as limitations on the scope of the claimed invention or the scope that may be claimed, but rather as descriptions of specific features of specific embodiments. Certain features described in the context of separate embodiments in this document 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 individually or in any suitable sub-combination in multiple embodiments. In addition, although features may be described above as working in certain combinations and even initially claimed as such, one or more features from the claimed combination may be deleted from the combination in some cases, and the claimed combination may be for a sub-combination or a variant of a sub-combination. Similarly, although operations are depicted in a particular order in the accompanying drawings, this should not be understood as requiring that the operations be performed in the particular order shown or in sequence, or that all of the operations shown be performed to achieve the desired result.

[0227] Only a few implementations and examples are described, and other implementations, enhancements, and variations may be made based on what is described and illustrated in this disclosure.

Claims

1. A wireless communication method, comprising: receiving, by the wireless device, a location reference signal from a network node; measuring one or more parameters of the position reference signal; as well as A report including the one or more parameters is sent.

2. A wireless communication method, comprising: The network node sends a location reference signal to the wireless device; as well as A report including one or more parameters of the location reference signal is received from the wireless device.

3. The method according to claim 2, further comprising: Measuring, by the network node, a sounding reference signal; as well as A report is sent including one or more parameters of the sounding reference signal.

4. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 3, further comprising: Receive positioning related configuration signals from the location management function.

5. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 4, wherein the transmission resource of the position reference signal (PRS) comprises a plurality of physical resource blocks (PRBs) or a plurality of subcarriers, and wherein measuring the one or more parameters of the position reference signal (PRS) comprises: A carrier phase of each of the plurality of PRBs or each of the plurality of subcarriers is measured. 6 . The method according to claim 5 , wherein the plurality of PRBs or the plurality of subcarriers are divided into one or more PRB groups or one or more subcarrier groups, respectively.

7. The method of claim 6, wherein the threshold associated with each of the one or more PRB groups, or the group number of each of the one or more subcarrier groups, is configured by a location management function (LMF).

8. The method of claim 6, wherein the one or more parameters include the carrier phase for the plurality of PRBs or the plurality of subcarriers.

9. The method of claim 8, wherein the carrier phases for the plurality of subcarriers are ordered based on a corresponding frequency of each of the plurality of subcarriers.

10. The method of claim 9, wherein the carrier phases are ordered from a corresponding highest frequency to a corresponding lowest frequency. The method of claim 9 , wherein the carrier phases are ordered from a corresponding lowest frequency to a corresponding highest frequency.

12. The method of claim 8, wherein a location management function (LMF) is configured to discard one or more of the carrier phases that differ from an expected phase by a value greater than a threshold.

13. The method of claim 6, wherein the group carrier phase of the PRB group or the subcarrier group comprises an integer part and a fractional part.

14. The method of claim 13, wherein the length of the search window for the integer portion of the group carrier phase is based on the phase difference between adjacent groups of subcarriers.

15. The method of claim 13, wherein the one or more parameters include an average carrier phase for each of the one or more PRB groups or the one or more subcarrier groups.

16. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 4, wherein the wireless device is configured to determine the position of the wireless device based on an angle of arrival (AOA) of a signal measured at an antenna of the wireless device in a plurality of time slots.

17. The method of claim 16, wherein the wireless device is located at a first position in a first time slot of the plurality of time slots, at a second position in a second time slot of the plurality of time slots, and at a third position in a third time slot of the plurality of time slots, and wherein a maximum difference between (a) the second time slot and the first time slot or (b) the third time slot and the second time slot is configured by a location management function (LMF).

18. The method of claim 17, wherein the wireless device is configured to determine the distance between the wireless device and the network node based on a carrier phase of the signal.

19. The method of claim 17, wherein the AOA at the first position is θ0, the AOA at the second position is θ1, and the AOA at the third position is θ2, wherein the angle of arrival is determined as: θ1=arccos[(Z·cosθ+M1) / (Z+P1)] θ2=arccos[(Z·cosθ+M1+M2) / (Z+P1+P2)] θ=arcsin[(Z+P1)·sinθ1 / Z] θ1=arcsin{M2(Z+P1+P2)·sinθ2 / [M1(Z+P1)]} Wherein P1 is the distance difference between the wireless device and the network node between the first time slot and the second time slot, P2 is the distance difference between the wireless device and the network node between the second time slot and the third time slot, M1 is the distance between the first position and the second position, M2 is the distance between the first position and the third position, and Z is the distance between the wireless device and the network node at the first position in the first time slot.

20. The method of claim 19, wherein M1 is equal to M2. The method of claim 19 , wherein M1 is not equal to M2 .

22. The method of claim 17, wherein the one or more parameters include a carrier phase of the signal at the first location, the second location, or the third location.

23. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 4, wherein the wireless device is configured to determine the location of the wireless device based on an Observed Time Difference of Arrival (OTDOA) positioning framework.

24. The method of claim 23, wherein the one or more parameters include a carrier phase of the PRS, and wherein the carrier phase includes an integer part and a fractional part.

25. The method of claim 24, wherein the wireless device is configured to send a location information message to the network node, and wherein the location information message includes a range uncertainty of measurements made using the OTDOA positioning framework.

26. The method of claim 25, wherein the integer part (N c ) is determined as: where λ is the wavelength associated with the location information message, and where R is the measurement uncertainty of the OTDOA positioning framework.

27. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 4, wherein the wireless device is configured to determine the position of the wireless device based on an angle of arrival (AOA) or an angle of departure (AOD) positioning framework.

28. The method of claim 27, wherein the wireless device is configured to receive a location information message including an angular uncertainty associated with the AOA or the AOD positioning framework.

29. The method of claim 28, wherein the carrier phase of the location information message comprises an integer part and a fractional part, and wherein the wireless device is configured to determine a distance uncertainty based on the angle uncertainty and a distance between the wireless device and the network node.

30. The method of claim 29, wherein the integer portion (N c ) is determined as: wherein λ is the wavelength associated with the position information message, and wherein Δd is the distance uncertainty associated with the angle uncertainty.

31. The method of claim 29, wherein the integer portion (N c ) is determined as: where λ is the wavelength associated with the location information message, and Δd r and Δd l is the distance uncertainty associated with the angle uncertainty on different sides.

32. The method of any one of claims 1 to 4, wherein the position reference signal (PRS) is communicated over a plurality of carriers, each carrier of the plurality of carriers being associated with a corresponding carrier frequency.

33. The method of claim 32, wherein the one or more parameters include a carrier phase and a corresponding uncertainty associated with each of the carrier frequencies.

34. The method of claim 32 or 33, wherein the wireless device is configured to receive an initial transmission phase of the PRS on each of the plurality of carriers from the network node.

35. The method of any one of claims 1 to 4, wherein the position reference signal (PRS) is communicated in multiple time slots in the same subcarrier.

36. The method of claim 35, wherein the same subcarrier phase group (SCPG) comprises: Each carrier phase of a plurality of carrier phases for the same subcarrier in each of corresponding ones of the plurality of time slots.

37. The method of claim 36, wherein the duration of the SCPG is configured by a Location Management Function (LMF).

38. The method of claim 36 or 37, wherein the wireless device is configured to determine a maximum phase uncertainty from a plurality of phase uncertainties associated with corresponding carrier phases of the plurality of carrier phases. and minimum phase uncertainty 39. The method of claim 38, wherein the wireless device is further configured to calculate the positioning error (ε φ ) is determined as: wherein λ is a wavelength associated with the PRS, and wherein the one or more parameters include the positioning error.

40. The method of any one of claims 1 to 4, wherein the position reference signal (PRS) is communicated in multiple subcarriers in the same time slot.

41. The method of claim 40, wherein a same slot phase group (SSPG) comprises: Each carrier phase of a plurality of carrier phases for a corresponding subcarrier of the plurality of subcarriers in the same time slot.

42. The method of claim 41, wherein the wireless device is configured to determine an average phase uncertainty (Δφ) for the plurality of carrier phases. ave ).

43. The method of claim 42, wherein the wireless device is further configured to calculate the positioning error (ε φ ) is determined as: e φ =Df ave / (2π)·λ wherein λ is a wavelength associated with the PRS, and wherein the one or more parameters include the positioning error.

44. An apparatus for wireless communication, comprising a processor configured to implement the method recited in one or more of claims 1 to 43.

45. A non-transitory computer-readable program storage medium having codes stored thereon, which, when executed by a processor, cause the processor to implement the method recited in one or more of claims 1 to 43.

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