Lateral transmission method and terminal equipment

Abstract

The invention provides a sideline transmission method and terminal equipment. The method comprises: a first terminal device sends a first reference signal in an unlicensed frequency band, the first reference signal being used for sidelink positioning. By sending the reference signal for sidewalk positioning in the unlicensed frequency band, sidewalk positioning of the unlicensed frequency band can be realized.

Description

Side transmission method and terminal device Technical Field

[0001] The present application relates to the field of communication technology, and more specifically, to a sideline transmission method and terminal device. Background Art

[0002] The current standard is discussing sidelink positioning technology. However, the current discussion on sidelink positioning technology does not involve how to perform sidelink positioning in unlicensed frequency bands.

[0003] Summary of the Invention

[0004] The present application provides a sideline transmission method and terminal device. The following introduces various aspects of the present application.

[0005] In a first aspect, a sidelink transmission method is provided, comprising: a first terminal device sends a first reference signal in an unlicensed frequency band, wherein the first reference signal is used for sidelink positioning.

[0006] In a second aspect, a sidelink transmission method is provided, comprising: a second terminal device receives a first reference signal sent by a first terminal device in an unlicensed frequency band, wherein the first reference signal is used for sidelink positioning.

[0007] According to a third aspect, a terminal device is provided, which is a first terminal device. The first terminal device includes: a communication module for sending a first reference signal in an unlicensed frequency band, and the first reference signal is used for sidelink positioning.

[0008] In a fourth aspect, a terminal device is provided, which is a second terminal device, and the second terminal device includes: a communication module for receiving a first reference signal sent by the first terminal device in an unlicensed frequency band, and the first reference signal is used for sidelink positioning.

[0009] In a fifth aspect, a terminal device is provided, comprising a transceiver, a memory and a processor, wherein the memory is used to store programs, and the processor is used to call the programs in the memory and control the transceiver to receive or send signals so that the terminal executes the method as described in any one of the first and second aspects.

[0010] In a sixth aspect, a device is provided, comprising a processor for calling a program from a memory so that the device executes the method as described in any one of the first and second aspects.

[0011] In a seventh aspect, a chip is provided, comprising a processor for calling a program from a memory so that a device equipped with the chip executes the method as described in any one of the first and second aspects.

[0012] In an eighth aspect, a computer-readable storage medium is provided, on which a program is stored, wherein the program enables a computer to execute the method as described in any one of the first and second aspects.

[0013] In a ninth aspect, a computer program product is provided, comprising a program, wherein the program enables a computer to execute the method as described in any one of the first and second aspects.

[0014] In a tenth aspect, a computer program is provided, which enables a computer to execute the method as described in any one of the first and second aspects.

[0015] By sending a reference signal for sidetrack positioning in an unlicensed frequency band, sidetrack positioning in the unlicensed frequency band can be achieved. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0016] FIG1 is a diagram illustrating an example of a system architecture of a wireless communication system to which an embodiment of the present application may be applied.

[0017] FIG2 is an example diagram of a side communication scenario within network coverage.

[0018] FIG3 is an example diagram of a side communication scenario with partial network coverage.

[0019] FIG4 is an example diagram of a side communication scenario outside network coverage.

[0020] FIG5 is a diagram illustrating an example of a side communication scenario with a central control node.

[0021] FIG6 is an example diagram of a sideline communication method based on broadcasting.

[0022] FIG7 is an example diagram of a unicast-based sideline communication method.

[0023] FIG8 is an example diagram of a side communication method based on multicast.

[0024] FIG9 is a diagram showing an example of a time slot structure of certain side-by-side communication systems (e.g., an NR-V2X system).

[0025] FIG10 is an example diagram showing changes in the available OFDM symbols for the PSSCH in different time slots.

[0026] FIG11 is an example diagram of time-frequency resources occupied by the second-order SCI in a time slot.

[0027] FIG12 is a schematic diagram of a DMRS pattern of a PSCCH.

[0028] FIG13 is a schematic diagram of the time domain positions of four DMRS symbols when the number of PSSCH symbols is 14.

[0029] FIG14 is an example diagram of a single-symbol DMRS frequency domain type 1. FIG.

[0030] FIG15 is an example diagram of the time-frequency position of an SL CSI-RS.

[0031] FIG16 is a diagram illustrating an example of signal transmission performed by a communication device within a COT.

[0032] FIG. 17 is another exemplary diagram of signal transmission performed by a communication device within a COT.

[0033] FIG18 is a schematic flowchart of the side transmission method provided in an embodiment of the present application.

[0034] FIG19 is a schematic structural diagram of a terminal device provided in one embodiment of the present application.

[0035] FIG20 is a schematic structural diagram of a terminal device provided in another embodiment of the present application.

[0036] FIG21 is a schematic diagram of the structure of the device provided in an embodiment of the present application. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0037] The technical solution in this application will be described below with reference to the accompanying drawings.

[0038] Communication System

[0039] Figure 1 is a diagram illustrating the system architecture of a wireless communication system 100 used in an embodiment of the present application. The wireless communication system 100 may include a network device 110 and a terminal device 120. The network device 110 may be a device that communicates with the terminal device 120. The network device 110 may provide communication coverage for a specific geographic area and may communicate with the terminal device 120 located within the coverage area.

[0040] Optionally, the wireless communication system 100 may include multiple network devices and the coverage area of ​​each network device may include other numbers of terminal devices, which is not limited in this embodiment of the present application.

[0041] Optionally, the wireless communication system 100 may further include other network entities such as a network controller and a mobility management entity, which is not limited in the embodiments of the present application.

[0042] It should be understood that the technical solutions of the embodiments of the present application can be applied to various communication systems, such as: fifth generation (5G) system or new radio (NR), long term evolution (LTE) system, LTE frequency division duplex (FDD) system, LTE time division duplex (TDD), etc. The technical solutions provided in this application can also be applied to future communication systems, such as the sixth generation mobile communication system, satellite communication system, etc.

[0043] The terminal device in the embodiments of the present application may also be referred to as user equipment (UE), access terminal, user unit, user station, mobile station, mobile station (MS), mobile terminal (MT), remote station, remote terminal, mobile device, user terminal, terminal, wireless communication device, user agent or user device. The terminal device in the embodiments of the present application may refer to a device that provides voice and / or data connectivity to a user and can be used to connect people, objects and machines, such as a handheld device with wireless connection function, a vehicle-mounted device, etc. The terminal device in the embodiments of the present application can be a mobile phone, a tablet computer, a laptop computer, a PDA, a mobile internet device (MID), a wearable device, a virtual reality (VR) device, an augmented reality (AR) device, a wireless terminal in industrial control, a wireless terminal in self-driving, a wireless terminal in remote medical surgery, a wireless terminal in a smart grid, a wireless terminal in transportation safety, a wireless terminal in a smart city, a wireless terminal in a smart home, etc. Optionally, the terminal device can be used to act as a base station. For example, the terminal device can act as a scheduling entity that provides sidelink signals between terminal devices in vehicle-to-everything (V2X) or device-to-device (D2D) communication. For example, a cellular phone and a car communicate with each other using sidelink signals. Cell phones and smart home devices can communicate with each other without relaying the communication signal through a base station. Optionally, the terminal device can be used to act as a base station.

[0044] The network device in the embodiments of the present application may be a device for communicating with a terminal device, and may also be referred to as an access network device or a radio access network device. For example, the network device may be a base station. The network device in the embodiments of the present application may refer to a radio access network (RAN) node (or device) that connects a terminal device to a wireless network. A base station can broadly cover various names as follows, or be replaced with the following names, such as: NodeB, evolved NodeB (eNB), next generation NodeB (gNB), relay station, access point, transmission point (TRP), transmission point (TP), master station MeNB, secondary station SeNB, multi-standard radio (MSR) node, home base station, network controller, access node, wireless node, access point (AP), transmission node, transceiver node, baseband unit (BBU), remote radio unit (RRU), active antenna unit (AAU), remote radio head (RRH), central unit (CU), distributed unit (DU), positioning node, etc. A base station can be a macro base station, a micro base station, a relay node, a donor node or the like, or a combination thereof. A base station can also refer to a communication module, a modem or a chip used to be set in the aforementioned device or apparatus. The base station can also be a mobile switching center and a device that performs base station functions in device-to-device (D2D), vehicle-to-vehicle (V2V), vehicle-to-everything (V2X), and machine-to-machine (M2M) communications, a network-side device in a 6G network, and a device that performs base station functions in future communication systems. The base station can support networks with the same or different access technologies. The embodiments of this application do not limit the specific technology and specific device form adopted by the network equipment.

[0045] Base stations can be fixed or mobile. For example, a helicopter or drone can be configured to act as a mobile base station, and one or more cells can move based on the location of the mobile base station. In other examples, a helicopter or drone can be configured to act as a device that communicates with another base station.

[0046] In some deployments, the network device in the embodiments of the present application may refer to a CU or a DU, or the network device may include a CU and a DU. The gNB may also include an AAU.

[0047] The network equipment and terminal devices can be deployed on land, including indoors or outdoors, handheld or vehicle-mounted; they can also be deployed on water; they can also be deployed in the air on aircraft, balloons, and satellites. The embodiments of this application do not limit the scenarios in which the network equipment and terminal devices are located.

[0048] It should be understood that all or part of the functions of the communication device in this application can also be implemented through software functions running on hardware, or through virtualization functions instantiated on a platform (such as a cloud platform).

[0049] Sideline communication under different network coverage conditions

[0050] Sidelink communication (or sidelink transmission) refers to a communication technology based on sidelink (SL). Sidelink communication can be, for example, D2D or V2X. Sidelink communication supports direct communication and data transmission between terminal devices. Direct communication data transmission between terminal devices can achieve higher spectrum efficiency and lower transmission latency. For example, the Internet of Vehicles system uses sidelink communication technology.

[0051] In side communication, according to the network coverage of the terminal device, side communication can be divided into side communication within the network coverage, side communication with partial network coverage, side communication outside the network coverage and side communication controlled by the central node.

[0052] Figure 2 illustrates an example scenario for sidelink communication within network coverage. In the scenario shown in Figure 2, both terminal devices 120a are within the coverage of network device 110. Therefore, both terminal devices 120a can receive configuration signaling from network device 110 (configuration signaling in this application can also be replaced by configuration information) and determine the sidelink configuration based on the configuration signaling from network device 110. After both terminal devices 120a have configured their sidelinks, sidelink communication can proceed on the sidelink.

[0053] Figure 3 is an example diagram of a scenario of sidelink communication with partial network coverage. In the scenario shown in Figure 3, terminal device 120a and terminal device 120b perform sidelink communication. Terminal device 120a is located within the coverage range of network device 110, so terminal device 120a can receive the configuration signaling of network device 110 and determine the sidelink configuration based on the configuration signaling of network device 110. Terminal device 120b is located outside the network coverage and cannot receive the configuration signaling of network device 110. In this case, terminal device 120b can determine the sidelink configuration based on pre-configuration information and / or information carried in the physical sidelink broadcast channel (PSBCH) sent by terminal device 120a within the network coverage. After both terminal device 120a and terminal device 120b perform sidelink configuration, sidelink communication can be performed on the sidelink.

[0054] Figure 4 illustrates an example scenario for sidelink communication outside of network coverage. In the scenario shown in Figure 4, both terminal devices 120b are outside of network coverage. In this scenario, both terminal devices 120b can determine the sidelink configuration based on pre-configured information. After both terminal devices 120b have configured their sidelinks, sidelink communication can proceed over the sidelink.

[0055] Figure 5 illustrates an example scenario for sideline communication with a central control node. In the scenario shown in Figure 5, multiple terminal devices 120b may constitute a communication group. This communication group may include a central control node. In some cases, the central control node may serve as a cluster header (CH) terminal device. The central control node may have one or more of the following functions: responsible for establishing the communication group, managing the joining and leaving of group members, coordinating resources, allocating sideline transmission resources to other terminal devices, receiving sideline feedback information from other terminal devices, and coordinating resources with other communication groups.

[0056] Sideline communication mode

[0057] Certain standards or protocols (such as the 3rd Generation Partnership Project (3GPP)) define two sideline communication modes (or transmission modes): a first mode and a second mode.

[0058] In the first mode, the resources of the terminal device (the resources mentioned in this application may also be referred to as transmission resources, such as time-frequency resources) are allocated by the network device. The terminal device can send data on the side link according to the resources allocated by the network device. The network device can allocate resources for a single transmission to the terminal device, or it can allocate resources for semi-static transmission to the terminal device. This first mode can be applied to scenarios covered by a network device, such as the scenario shown in Figure 2 above. In the scenario shown in Figure 2, the terminal device 120a is within the network coverage of the network device 110, so the network device 110 can allocate resources used in the side transmission process to the terminal device 120a.

[0059] In the second mode, the terminal device can autonomously select one or more resources from a resource pool (RP). The terminal device can then perform side transmission based on the selected resources. For example, in the scenario shown in FIG4 , the terminal device 120b is located outside the cell coverage area. Therefore, the terminal device 120b can autonomously select resources from a pre-configured resource pool for side transmission. Alternatively, in the scenario shown in FIG2 , the terminal device 120a can also autonomously select one or more resources from a resource pool configured by the network device 110 for side transmission.

[0060] Data transmission method of side communication

[0061] Some sidewalk communication systems (such as LTE-V2X) support broadcast-based data transmission (hereinafter referred to as broadcast transmission). For broadcast transmission, the receiving terminal device can be any terminal device around the transmitting terminal device. Taking Figure 6 as an example, terminal device 1 is the transmitting terminal device, and the receiving terminal device corresponding to the transmitting terminal device is any terminal device around terminal device 1, such as terminal devices 2 to terminal devices 6 in Figure 6.

[0062] In addition to broadcast transmission, some communication systems also support unicast-based data transmission (hereinafter referred to as unicast transmission) and / or multicast-based data transmission (hereinafter referred to as multicast transmission). For example, NR-V2X aims to support autonomous driving. Autonomous driving places higher requirements on data exchange between vehicles. For example, data exchange between vehicles requires higher throughput, lower latency, higher reliability, wider coverage, and more flexible resource allocation. Therefore, to improve the performance of data exchange between vehicles, NR-V2X introduces unicast and multicast transmission.

[0063] For unicast transmission, there is typically only one receiving terminal device. For example, in Figure 7, unicast transmission occurs between terminal devices 1 and 2. Terminal device 1 can be the sending terminal device, and terminal device 2 can be the receiving terminal device, or alternatively, terminal device 1 can be the receiving terminal device, and terminal device 2 can be the sending terminal device.

[0064] For multicast transmission, the receiving terminal device can be a terminal device within a communication group, or a terminal device within a certain transmission distance. For example, in Figure 7, terminal devices 1, 2, 3, and 4 form a communication group. If terminal device 1 sends data, all other terminal devices in the group (terminal devices 2 through 4) can be receiving terminal devices.

[0065] Sideline communication system frame structure

[0066] A timeslot may include channels such as the physical sidelink control channel (PSCCH), the physical sidelink shared channel (PSSCH), and the physical sidelink feedback channel (PSFCH). These channels will be described in detail below and will not be repeated here.

[0067] Figure 9 shows an example of a time slot structure for certain sidelink communication systems (e.g., NR-V2X systems). Figure 9(a) shows an example of a time slot structure in which the physical sidelink feedback channel (PSFCH) is not included in the time slot. Figure 9(b) shows an example of a time slot structure in which the PSFCH is included in the time slot.

[0068] As shown in Figure 9, in the time domain, the PSCCH can start from the second sidelink symbol of the time slot and occupy 2 or 3 orthogonal frequency division multiplexing (OFDM) symbols. In the frequency domain, it can occupy {10, 12 15, 20, 25} physical resource blocks (PRBs). In order to reduce the complexity of blind detection of PSCCH by terminal devices, only one number of PSCCH symbols and PRBs can be configured in a resource pool. In addition, the subchannel is the minimum granularity of PSSCH resource allocation in some sidelink communication systems (such as NR-V2X systems). Therefore, the number of PRBs occupied by PSCCH must be less than or equal to the number of PRBs contained in a subchannel in the resource pool to avoid additional restrictions on PSSCH resource selection or allocation.

[0069] In the time domain, the PSSCH can start from the second side symbol of the time slot. The last time domain symbol in the time slot is the guard period (GP) symbol (also called the gap (GAP) symbol), and the remaining symbols can be mapped to the PSSCH. The first side symbol in the time slot can be a repetition of the second side symbol. The receiving terminal device can use the first side symbol as an automatic gain control (AGC) symbol, and the data on this symbol is usually not used for data demodulation. As shown in Figure 9(a), the PSSCH can occupy K subchannels in the frequency domain, and each subchannel can include N consecutive PRBs. K can be an integer greater than 0, and N can be an integer greater than 0.

[0070] As shown in FIG9( b ), when a time slot includes a PSFCH channel, the second to last and third to last symbols in the time slot can be used for PSFCH channel transmission, and a time domain symbol before the PSFCH channel can be used as a GP symbol.

[0071] PSSCH

[0072] In some sidelink communication systems (such as NR-V2X systems), PSSCH can be used to carry second-order sidelink control information (SCI). The second-order SCI can include SCI 2-A or SCI 2-B. The second-order SCI can use Polar coding. The second-order SCI can be fixedly modulated with QPSK. The data part of PSSCH can use low-density parity check (LDPC). The highest modulation order that the data part of PSSCH can support is 256QAM.

[0073] In some sideline communication systems (such as NR-V2X systems), PSSCH supports up to two stream transmissions and uses a unit precoding matrix to map data on two layers to two antenna ports. At most, only one TB can be sent in one PSSCH. However, unlike the transmission method of the PSSCH data part, when PSSCH adopts a dual-stream transmission method, the modulation symbols sent by the second-order SCI on the two streams are exactly the same. This design can ensure the reception performance of the second-order SCI in highly correlated channels.

[0074] In some sideline communication systems (such as NR-V2X systems), the maximum number of retransmissions of a PSSCH is 32 times. If there are PSFCH resources in the resource pool and the configuration period of the PSFCH resources is 2 or 4, the OFDM symbols available in the time slot where different transmissions of a PSSCH are located may change. Figure 10 is an example diagram of the change in the available OFDM symbols of the PSSCH in different time slots. As shown in Figure 10, due to the existence of PSFCH resources, the number of OFDM symbols available for the nth transmission and the n+1th transmission of the PSSCH is different. If the number of symbols transmitted by the PSSCH is calculated according to the actual number of OFDM symbols in a time slot The difference in the number of symbols available for PSSCH transmission in a time slot may cause Q′ SCI2 Different, and Q′ SCI2 The change of will lead to the change of the size of the TB carried by PSSCH, as described below. In order to ensure that the transmission block size (TBS) remains unchanged during multiple transmissions of PSSCH, The actual number of PSFCH symbols is not used. The number of resource elements (REs) occupied by the PSSCH demodulation reference signal (DMRS) and the number of REs occupied by the phase-tracking reference signal (PT-RS), which may change during the retransmission process, are not taken into account.

[0075] The code rate of the second-order SCI can be dynamically adjusted within a certain range, and the specific code rate used can be indicated by the first-order SCI. Therefore, even after the code rate changes, the receiver does not need to perform blind detection on the second-order SCI. Figure 11 shows an example of the time-frequency resources occupied by the second-order SCI in a time slot. As shown in Figure 11, the modulation symbols of the second-order SCI can be mapped starting from the symbol where the first PSSCH DMRS is located, using a frequency domain first and then a time domain mapping. In the OFDM symbol where the DMRS is located, the second-order SCI can be mapped to REs not occupied by the DMRS.

[0076] Within a resource pool, the data portion of the PSSCH can use multiple different modulation and coding scheme (MCS) tables. For example, one or more of the following tables can be used: the conventional 64QAM MCS table, the 256QAM MCS table, and the low spectrum efficiency 64QAM MCS table. In a transmission, the specific MCS table used for the data portion of the PSSCH can be indicated by the "MCS table indication" field in the first-order SCI. In order to control the PAPR, the PSSCH must be sent using continuous PRBs. Since the subchannel is the minimum frequency domain resource granularity of the PSSCH, the PSSCH must occupy continuous subchannels.

[0077] Sidelink TBS

[0078] PSSCH follows the TBS determination mechanism of PDSCH and PUSCH, that is, the TBS can be determined based on the reference value of the number of REs used for PSSCH in the time slot where PSSCH is located, so that the actual code rate is as close to the target code rate as possible. It should be noted that the purpose of using the reference value of the number of REs instead of the actual number of REs is to ensure that the number of REs used to determine the TBS remains unchanged during the PSSCH retransmission process, so that the determined TBS size remains the same. To achieve this goal, the reference value N of the number of REs occupied by PSSCH in the TBS determination process is used. RE It can be determined according to the following formula:

[0079] Among them, n PRB is the number of PRBs occupied by PSSCH, is the number of REs occupied by the first-order SCI (including the REs occupied by the DMRS of the PSCCH), is the number of REs occupied by the second-order SCI (as described above), N′ RE Indicates the number of reference REs that can be used for PSSCH in a PRB. N' RE It can be determined by the following formula:

[0080] in, It can represent the number of subcarriers in a PRB, for example, Indicates the number of symbols available for sidelink in a time slot, which may not include the last GP symbol and the first symbol used for AGC. A reference value indicating the number of symbols occupied by the PSFCH, for example, or 3. The specific value can be indicated by the "PSFCH symbol number" field in the first-order SCI. It can represent the reference value of the number of REs occupied by PT-RS and channel state information-reference signal (CSI-RS), and can be configured by radio resource control (RRC) layer parameters. It can represent the average number of DMRS REs in a time slot, which is related to the DMRS pattern allowed in the resource pool. Table 1 shows the DMRS pattern allowed in the resource pool and The corresponding relationship.

[0081] Table 1

[0082]

[0083] Sidelink DMRS

[0084] In some sideline communication systems (such as NR-V2X systems), the DMRS pattern of the PSCCH can be the same as that of the physical downlink control channel (PDCCH). That is, the DMRS can exist on each OFDM symbol of the PSCCH and can be located in the {#1, #5, #9} REs of a PRB in the frequency domain. Figure 12 is a schematic diagram of a DMRS pattern of the PSCCH. The DMRS sequence of the PSCCH is generated by the following formula:

[0085]

[0086] Among them, the pseudo-random sequence c(m) can be obtained by Initialize. Wherein, l can represent the index of the OFDM symbol where the DMRS is located in the time slot, It can represent the index of the time slot where the DMRS is located in the system frame. It can represent the number of OFDM symbols in a time slot, N ID ∈{0,1,…,65535}, in a resource pool N ID The specific value is configured or pre-configured by the network.

[0087] Some sideline communication systems (such as NR-V2X systems) use multiple time-domain PSSCH DMRS patterns, which draws on the design of the Uu interface of the NR system. Within a resource pool, the number of available DMRS patterns can be related to the number of PSSCH symbols in the resource pool. For a specific number of PSSCH symbols (including the first AGC symbol) and PSCCH symbols, the available DMRS patterns and the position of each DMRS symbol within the pattern are shown in Table 2. Figure 13 shows the time-domain position of four DMRS symbols when the PSSCH has 14 symbols.

[0088] Table 2

[0089]

[0090] If multiple time-domain DMRS patterns are configured within the resource pool, the transmitting terminal device selects the specific time-domain DMRS pattern to use and indicates this in the first-order SCI. This design allows high-speed terminal devices to select a high-density DMRS pattern, thereby ensuring channel estimation accuracy, while low-speed terminal devices can use a low-density DMRS pattern, thereby improving spectral efficiency.

[0091] The generation method of the PSSCH DMRS sequence is almost identical to that of the PSCCH DMRS sequence. The only difference is the initialization formula c(m) of the pseudo-random sequence. init middle, Among them, p i The ith CRC bit of the PSCCH that schedules the PSSCH. L may be the number of bits of the PSCCH CRC, for example, L=24.

[0092] In the NR communication system, two frequency domain DMRS patterns are supported in PDSCH and PUSCH, namely DMRS frequency domain type 1 and DMRS frequency domain type 2. For each frequency domain type, there are two different types: single DMRS symbol and double DMRS symbol. Single-symbol DMRS frequency domain type 1 supports 4 DMRS ports, and single-symbol DMRS frequency domain type 2 can support 6 DMRS ports. In the case of double DMRS symbols, the number of supported ports is doubled. However, in sideline communication systems (such as NR-V2X), since PSSCH only needs to support two DMRS ports at most, only single-symbol DMRS frequency domain type 1 can be supported. Figure 14 is an example diagram of a single-symbol DMRS frequency domain type 1.

[0093] Sidelink CSI-RS

[0094] The sidelink communication system can support sidelink CSI-RS (SL CSI-RS) to better support unicast communication. SL CSI-RS can be transmitted when the following three conditions are met: the terminal device transmits the corresponding PSSCH (that is, the terminal device cannot only transmit SL CSI-RS); higher-layer signaling activates SL CSI-RS reporting; when higher-layer signaling activates SL CSI-RS reporting, the corresponding bit in the second-order SCI sent by the terminal device triggers SL CSI-RS reporting.

[0095] The maximum number of ports supported by SL CSI-RS is 2. Two ports are SL CSI-RSs from different ports, multiplexed via code division on two adjacent REs in the same OFDM symbol. The number of SL CSI-RSs per port within a PRB is 1, meaning the density is 1. Therefore, an SL CSI-RS appears in at most one OFDM symbol within a PRB. The specific location of this OFDM symbol can be determined by the transmitting terminal device. To avoid impacting the resource mapping of the PSCCH and second-order SCI, the SL CSI-RS cannot be located in the same OFDM symbol as the PSCCH and second-order SCI. Because the channel estimation accuracy of the OFDM symbol where the PSSCH DMRS resides is higher, and the SL CSI-RSs of two ports occupy two consecutive REs in the frequency domain, the SL CSI-RS cannot be transmitted in the same OFDM symbol as the PSSCH DMRS. The OFDM symbol location of the SL CSI-RS is indicated by the sl-CSI-RS-FirstSymbol parameter in the PC5RRC.

[0096] The position of the first RE occupied by SL CSI-RS in a PRB can be indicated by the sl-CSI-RS-FreqAllocation parameter in PC5RRC. If SL CSI-RS is one port, the parameter can be a bitmap with a length of 12, corresponding to 12 REs in one PRB. If SL CSI-RS is two ports, the parameter is a bitmap with a length of 6. In this case, SL CSI-RS can occupy two REs, 2f(1) and 2f(1)+1. Among them, f(1) can represent the index of the bit with a value of 1 in the above bitmap. The frequency domain position of SL CSI-RS can also be determined by the transmitting terminal device. The determined frequency domain position of SL CSI-RS cannot conflict with PT-RS. Figure 15 is an example diagram of the time-frequency position of SL CSI-RS. In FIG15 , the number of SL CSI-RS ports is 2, the sl-CSI-RS-FirstSymbol is 8, and the sl-CSI-RS-FreqAllocation is [b5, b4, b3, b2, b1, b0] = [0, 0, 0, 1, 0, 0].

[0097] Unlicensed spectrum communications

[0098] Unlicensed spectrum (or unlicensed frequency bands) is spectrum designated by countries and regions for use by radio equipment. This spectrum is generally considered shared spectrum, meaning that as long as communications equipment meets national or regional regulatory requirements for the spectrum, it can use it without applying for exclusive spectrum authorization from the national or regional spectrum management agency. Unlicensed spectrum may also be referred to as shared spectrum, unlicensed spectrum, unlicensed frequency bands, or unlicensed frequency bands.

[0099] In LTE systems, unlicensed spectrum has been used as a supplementary frequency band to licensed spectrum for cellular networks. NR systems can achieve seamless cellular network coverage, high spectral efficiency, high peak rates, and high reliability. NR systems can also use unlicensed spectrum as part of 5G cellular network technology to provide services to users. The 3GPP Release 16 standard discusses NR systems using unlicensed spectrum, referred to as NR-unlicensed (NR-U) systems.

[0100] The NR-U system supports two networking modes: licensed spectrum assisted access and unlicensed spectrum independent access. Licensed spectrum assisted access requires the use of licensed spectrum to access the network, and unlicensed spectrum is used as a secondary carrier. Unlicensed spectrum independent access can independently network through unlicensed spectrum, and terminal devices can directly access the network through unlicensed spectrum. The range of unlicensed spectrum used by the NR-U system introduced in 3GPP R16 is concentrated in the 5GHz and 6GHz frequency bands. For example, in the United States, the range of unlicensed spectrum is 5925–7125MHz; in Europe, the range of unlicensed spectrum is 5925–6425MHz. In the R16 standard, band 46 (5150MHz-5925MHz) is newly defined for use as unlicensed spectrum.

[0101] The use of unlicensed spectrum needs to meet the specific regulatory requirements of each country and region. For example, communication equipment can use unlicensed spectrum to achieve channel access on the unlicensed spectrum through channel monitoring to avoid conflicts with other communication equipment or other communication systems (such as WiFi systems). As an implementation method, communication equipment can use unlicensed spectrum in accordance with the principle of "listen-before-talk" (LBT). Therefore, for NR-U, NR technology needs to be enhanced accordingly to adapt to the regulatory requirements of unlicensed frequency bands, while efficiently utilizing unlicensed spectrum to provide services. In the 3GPP R16 standard, the standardization of NR-U technology in the following aspects is mainly completed: channel monitoring process; initial access process; control channel design; HARQ and scheduling; scheduling-free authorized transmission, etc.

[0102] LBT

[0103] The LBT principle may include: before a communication device uses a channel on an unlicensed spectrum to send a signal, it must first perform LBT. In the case of a successful LBT, the result of the channel monitoring is that the channel is idle. Only when the channel is idle can the communication device send a signal through the channel. If the channel monitoring result of the communication device on the channel is that the channel is busy or LBT fails, then the communication device cannot send a signal through the channel. In addition, in order to ensure fairness in the use of spectrum resources of the shared spectrum, if a communication device succeeds in LBT on a channel on an unlicensed spectrum, the duration for which the communication device can use the channel for communication transmission cannot exceed a certain duration. By limiting the maximum duration for communication after a successful LBT, this mechanism can give different communication devices the opportunity to access the shared channel, thereby allowing different communication systems to coexist in a friendly manner on the shared spectrum.

[0104] Signal transmission in unlicensed spectrum involves concepts related to channel occupancy, such as channel occupancy time (COT), maximum channel occupancy time (MCOT), the COT of network devices (such as base stations), and the COT of terminal devices.

[0105] MCOT refers to the maximum duration a communication device is allowed to transmit signals using unlicensed spectrum channels if LBT is successful. It should be understood that MCOT refers to the duration of signal transmission. Different communication devices with different channel access priorities may have different MCOT values. For example, the maximum MCOT value can be set to 10ms.

[0106] FIG16 is an example diagram showing a channel occupancy time obtained by a communication device after successful LBT on a channel of an unlicensed spectrum, and signal transmission using resources within the channel occupancy time.

[0107] Although channel sensing is not a global regulatory requirement, it can provide interference avoidance and coexistence benefits for communication systems on shared spectrum. Therefore, during the design of NR systems on unlicensed spectrum, channel sensing is a feature that communication equipment in the system must support.

[0108] Channel access methods for unlicensed or shared spectrum

[0109] Some communication systems (such as NR-U systems) introduce channel access via LBT. Some communication systems may also support channel access via short control signaling transmission (SCSt). The following describes these two channel access methods.

[0110] From a system networking perspective, LBT can be implemented in two ways: load-based equipment (LBE) LBT, also known as dynamic channel monitoring or dynamic channel occupancy; and frame-based equipment (FBE) LBT, also known as semi-static channel monitoring or semi-static channel occupancy. The principle of dynamic channel monitoring LBT is that a communication device performs LBT on a carrier in unlicensed spectrum upon service arrival and begins transmitting signals on that carrier after successful LBT.

[0111] The LBT mode of dynamic channel monitoring may include a Type 1 (Type 1) channel access mode and a Type 2 (Type 2) channel access mode.

[0112] The following describes in detail the Type 1 channel access method and the Type 2 channel access method using a network device as an example. It is understandable that the channel monitoring process of other communication devices such as terminal devices using the Type 1 channel access method or the Type 2 channel access method is similar.

[0113] Type 1 channel access method can also be called multi-slot channel detection with random backoff based on contention window size adjustment. In type 1 channel access method, the communication device can initiate channel occupation of length Tmcot according to the channel access priority p. If the network device uses type 1 channel access method, then the network device can not only send its own data during the channel occupation period, but also share the COT with the terminal device. The so-called sharing of COT with the terminal device means: allowing the terminal device to send data within the time length corresponding to the COT (that is, the COT obtained by the network device through channel access). Accordingly, if the terminal device uses type 1 channel access method, then the terminal device can not only send its own data during the channel occupation period, but also share the COT with the network device.

[0114] Table 3 shows the channel access priority and its corresponding parameters when the terminal device performs type 1 channel access.

[0115] Table 3

[0116]

[0117] The default channel access mode on the network device side is type 1 channel access mode. The channel access parameters corresponding to the channel access priority p are shown in Table 3. In Table 3, m p It can refer to the number of fallback slots corresponding to the channel access priority p, CW p It can refer to the contention window (CW) size corresponding to the channel access priority p. min,p It can refer to the CW corresponding to the channel access priority p p Minimum value, CW max,p It can refer to the CW corresponding to the channel access priority p p The maximum value, T mcot,p It refers to the maximum channel occupancy time corresponding to the channel access priority p.

[0118] Type 2 channel access methods (Type 2 channel access methods) can also be referred to as channel access methods based on fixed-length channel monitoring time slots. Type 2 channel access methods include Type 2A channel access methods (Type 2A channel access methods), Type 2B channel access methods (Type 2B channel access methods), and Type 2C channel access methods (Type 2C channel access methods). When resources within a COT are shared with other communication devices, other communication devices can use Type 2 channel access methods, as shown in Figure 17.

[0119] In Type 2A channel access, a communication device can use a single-slot detection of the channel every 25 us. This means that the communication device can begin channel detection 25 us before starting to send data. This 25 us channel detection can include one 16 us channel detection and one 9 us channel detection. If both detection results indicate that the channel is idle, the channel is considered idle and channel access can be performed.

[0120] In the Type 2B channel access method, the communication device can use a 16-us single-slot channel detection process. During the channel detection process, if the communication device detects that the channel is idle for more than 4 us within the last 9 us, it can be considered that the channel is idle.

[0121] In the Type 2C channel access method, communication devices can transmit data directly over the channel without performing channel detection. In the Type 2C channel access method, the time difference between the current transmission and the previous transmission is less than or equal to 16us. In other words, if the time difference between two transmissions is less than or equal to 16us, they can be considered to be the same transmission and channel detection is not required. It should be noted that in the Type 2C channel access method, the transmission time of communication devices is limited and generally cannot exceed 584us.

[0122] Sidelink-based positioning

[0123] Sidelink-based positioning is one of the enhancements to Release 18 positioning technology. This topic will consider the scenarios and requirements for supporting sidelink positioning use cases within, partially within, and outside the coverage of cellular networks.

[0124] Furthermore, R18 will also consider the positioning requirements of V2X use cases, public safety use cases, commercial use cases and industrial internet of things (IIOT) use cases.

[0125] Furthermore, R18 will also consider supporting the following features:

[0126] Absolute positioning, distance / direction finding and relative positioning;

[0127] Study the positioning method combining lateral measurement and Uu interface measurement;

[0128] Study side-track positioning reference signals, including signal design, physical layer control signaling, resource allocation, physical layer measurements, and related physical layer processes; and

[0129] Study the positioning system architecture and signaling process, such as configuration, measurement reporting, etc.

[0130] Existing sidelink positioning technologies do not discuss how to perform sidelink positioning in unlicensed spectrum.

[0131] Figure 18 is a schematic flow chart of a sideline transmission method provided in an embodiment of the present application. The method of Figure 18 may be executed by a first terminal device, which may be, for example, the terminal device 120 shown in Figure 1 .

[0132] Referring to Figure 18, in step S1810, a first terminal device transmits a first reference signal in an unlicensed frequency band (or unlicensed spectrum, or shared spectrum, or shared frequency band). This first reference signal can be used for sidelink positioning. Accordingly, a second terminal device can receive the first reference signal transmitted by the first terminal device in the unlicensed frequency band.

[0133] In some implementations, the first reference signal may be referred to as a sidelink positioning reference signal (SL PRS).

[0134] In some implementations, the first reference signal may be referred to as a sidelink unlicensed positioning reference signal (SL-U PRS).

[0135] In some implementations, the sending of the first reference signal is triggered based on a first rule. The first rule may include one or more cases / conditions.

[0136] In some implementations, the first rule is associated with one or more of the following: a trigger condition; a service type of the first terminal device; configuration information of the network device; indication information of the network device; indication information of terminal devices other than the first terminal device (such as a second terminal device that receives the first reference signal); and activation information of terminal devices other than the first terminal device (such as a second terminal device or a network device that receives the first reference signal).

[0137] For example, if a certain triggering condition for sending the first reference signal is met, the sending of the first reference signal will be triggered.

[0138] For another example, if the service type of the first terminal device belongs to a preset service type (such as a service requiring positioning), the sending of a reference signal will be triggered.

[0139] For another example, if the first terminal device receives configuration information of the network device (such as configuration information for configuring the sending timing of the first reference signal), the sending of the first reference signal can be triggered based on the configuration information.

[0140] For another example, if the first terminal device receives indication information from the network device (such as an indication of the timing for sending the first reference signal), the sending of the first reference signal may be triggered based on the indication information.

[0141] For another example, if the first terminal device receives indication information sent by other terminal devices (such as the indication information instructing the first terminal device to send a first reference signal), the sending of the first reference signal can be triggered based on the indication information.

[0142] For another example, if the first terminal device receives activation information (activating the function of sending a reference signal for sidelink positioning) sent by a network device or other terminal device, the sending of the first reference signal can be triggered based on the activation information.

[0143] In some implementations, the function of transmitting a reference signal for sidelink positioning of the first terminal device may be always in an on state (or always in an on state, i.e., an always-on state). In other words, the function of transmitting a reference signal for sidelink positioning of the first terminal device may transmit a reference signal for sidelink positioning on available resources of the first terminal device without being triggered under any conditions.

[0144] In some implementations, the transmission of the first reference signal may be indicated based on first sidelink information / channel. The first sidelink information / channel may indicate the transmission time of the first reference signal (or the time domain unit for transmitting the first reference signal, such as a time slot) or the retransmission time of the first reference signal (or the time domain unit for retransmitting the first reference signal, such as a time slot).

[0145] In some implementations, the time domain unit (e.g., time slot) corresponding to the first sidelink information / channel may be a time domain unit (e.g., time slot) in which a reference signal (for sidelink positioning) is not transmitted. Alternatively, the time domain unit (e.g., time slot) corresponding to the first sidelink information / channel may be a time domain unit (e.g., time slot) in which access to the reference signal channel fails. Accordingly, the first sidelink information / channel indicates in which time domain unit the reference signal for sidelink positioning is delayed. Alternatively, the first sidelink information / channel indicates in which time domain unit the reference signal for sidelink positioning is retransmitted.

[0146] In some implementations, the first sidelink information / channel may include one or more of the following: first-order SCI, PSCCH, second-order SCI, PSSCH; medium access control element (MAC CE); and RRC signaling.

[0147] In some implementations, the first sidelink information / channel is located in a first time domain unit, and the first reference signal is located in a second time domain unit, where the second time domain unit is later than the first time domain unit in time domain. For example, the first sidelink information / channel may be sent in the current time slot n, and the first reference signal may be sent in a time slot after the current time slot n.

[0148] In some implementations, the first sidelink information / channel is used to indicate a first parameter, and the first parameter is related to a time interval between the first time domain unit and the second time domain unit.

[0149] In some implementations, the first parameter is used to indicate the number of time domain units between the first time domain unit and the second time domain unit. For example, the time domain position of the first sidelink information / channel is the current time slot n, and the first sidelink information / channel includes a first parameter, and the first parameter indicates that the interval between the current time slot n and the time slot k in which the first reference signal is sent is a time slots, where a>0 and is a positive integer.

[0150] In some implementations, the first parameter indicates the minimum number of time domain units between the first time domain unit and the second time domain unit. For example, the time domain location of the first sidelink information / channel is the current time slot n, and the first sidelink information / channel includes a first parameter indicating that the minimum interval between the current time slot n and the time slot k in which the first reference signal is transmitted is b time slots, where b>0 and is a positive integer. In other words, the time slot k in which the first reference signal is transmitted is time slot n+b or a time slot after time slot n+b.

[0151] In some implementations, the first time domain unit is located within a first COT, and the second time domain unit is located within the first COT. For example, the time domain location of the first sidelink information / channel is the current time slot n, and the time slot indicated by the first sidelink information / channel for sending the first reference signal is time slot k. Time slot k and time slot n are located within the same COT.

[0152] In some implementations, the second time domain unit is located in a second COT that is different from the first COT. For example, the time domain location of the first sideline information / channel is the current time slot n, and the time slot indicated by the first sideline information / channel for sending the first reference signal is time slot k. Time slot n is located in the first COT, and time slot k is located in a COT that follows the first COT.

[0153] In some implementations, the first reference signal may be transmitted with the target signal / channel based on time division multiplexing or frequency division multiplexing to better utilize resources and improve the resource utilization efficiency of the system. The target signal may include one or more of the following: sidelink synchronization signal block (S-SSB), PSCCH, PSSCH, and PSFCH.

[0154] In some implementations, if the first reference signal is not transmitted based on an interlaced resource block (IRB), the first reference signal and the target signal / channel may be transmitted based on a time division multiplexing (TDM) manner.

[0155] In some implementations, if the first reference signal can be transmitted based on an IRB, the first reference signal and the target signal / channel can be transmitted based on a TDM or frequency division multiplexing (FDM) manner.

[0156] In some implementations, the transmission resources and / or reception resources of the first reference signal are located in a first resource pool. The first resource pool is a dedicated resource pool for reference signals used for sidelink positioning.

[0157] In some implementations, transmit resources and / or receive resources for the first reference signal are located in a first resource pool. The first resource pool is a shared resource pool for multiple signals / channels, including a reference signal for sidelink positioning. Other signals / channels in the multiple signals / channels may include one or more of the following: S-SSB, PSCCH, PSSCH, and PSFCH.

[0158] In some implementations, the first reference signal may be sent based on a first channel access method or a second channel access method. The first channel access method is a channel access method based on channel sensing (or requiring channel sensing based on LBT); the second channel access method is a channel access method not based on channel sensing (or a channel access method not requiring channel sensing).

[0159] In some implementations, the second channel access method may include one or more of the following: a type 2B channel access method (the type 2B channel access method can be found in the previous description); and short control signaling transmission (SCSt) transmission.

[0160] The method embodiment of the present application is described in detail above in conjunction with Figures 1 to 18 . The device embodiment of the present application is described in detail below in conjunction with Figures 19 to 21 . It should be understood that the description of the method embodiment corresponds to the description of the device embodiment. Therefore, for portions not described in detail, reference can be made to the above method embodiment.

[0161] Figure 19 is a schematic diagram of the structure of a terminal device provided by one embodiment of the present application. Terminal device 1900 in Figure 19 may be the first terminal device mentioned above. The first terminal device may include a communication module 1910. Communication module 1910 may be configured to transmit a first reference signal in an unlicensed frequency band, where the first reference signal is used for sidelink positioning.

[0162] In some implementations, the sending of the first reference signal is triggered based on a first rule.

[0163] In some implementations, the first rule is associated with one or more of the following: a trigger condition; a service type of the first terminal device; configuration information of a network device; indication information of a network device; indication information of terminal devices other than the first terminal device; and activation information of terminal devices other than the first terminal device.

[0164] In some implementations, the function of sending the reference signal for sidelink positioning of the first terminal device is always turned on.

[0165] In some implementations, the sending of the first reference signal is based on first sidelink information / channel indication.

[0166] In some implementations, the first sidelink information / channel includes one or more of the following: first-order SCI; PSCCH; second-order SCI; PSSCH; MAC CE; and RRC signaling.

[0167] In some implementations, the first sidelink information / channel is located in a first time domain unit, the first reference signal is located in a second time domain unit, and the second time domain unit is later than the first time domain unit in time domain.

[0168] In some implementations, the first sidelink information / channel is used to indicate a first parameter, where the first parameter is related to a time interval between the first time domain unit and the second time domain unit.

[0169] In some implementations, the first parameter is used to indicate one of the following: the number of time domain units between the first time domain unit and the second time domain unit; and the minimum number of time domain units between the first time domain unit and the second time domain unit.

[0170] In some implementations, the first time domain unit is located within a first channel occupancy time (COT), the second time domain unit is located within the first COT, or the second time domain unit is located within a second COT different from the first COT.

[0171] In some implementations, the first reference signal and the target signal / channel are transmitted based on time division multiplexing or frequency division multiplexing.

[0172] In some implementations, the target signal / channel includes one or more of: S-SSB; PSCCH; PSSCH; and PSFCH.

[0173] In some implementations, if the first reference signal is not transmitted based on IRB, the first reference signal and the target signal / channel are transmitted based on time division multiplexing; and / or if the first reference signal is transmitted based on IRB, the first reference signal and the target signal / channel are transmitted based on time division multiplexing or frequency division multiplexing.

[0174] In some implementations, the sending resources and / or receiving resources of the first reference signal are located in a first resource pool, and the first resource pool is a dedicated resource pool for reference signals used for sidelink positioning, or the first resource pool is a shared resource pool of multiple signals / channels including reference signals used for sidelink positioning.

[0175] In some implementations, the sending of the first reference signal is based on a first channel access method or a second channel access method, the first channel access method is a channel access method based on channel sensing, and the second channel access method is a channel access method not based on channel sensing.

[0176] In some implementations, the second channel access method includes one or more of the following: a type 2B channel access method; and short control signaling transmission.

[0177] In some implementations, the first reference signal is a SL PRS; or, the first reference signal is a SL-U PRS.

[0178] Figure 20 is a schematic diagram of the structure of a terminal device provided by one embodiment of the present application. Terminal device 2000 in Figure 20 may be the second terminal device mentioned above. The second terminal device may include a communication module 2010. Communication module 2010 may be configured to receive a first reference signal in an unlicensed frequency band, the first reference signal being used for sidelink positioning.

[0179] In some implementations, the sending of the first reference signal is triggered based on a first rule.

[0180] In some implementations, the first rule is associated with one or more of the following: a trigger condition; a service type of the first terminal device; configuration information of a network device; indication information of a network device; indication information of terminal devices other than the first terminal device; and activation information of terminal devices other than the first terminal device.

[0181] In some implementations, the function of sending the reference signal for sidelink positioning of the first terminal device is always turned on.

[0182] In some implementations, the sending of the first reference signal is based on first sidelink information / channel indication.

[0183] In some implementations, the first sidelink information / channel includes one or more of the following: first-order SCI; PSCCH; second-order SCI; PSSCH; MAC CE; and RRC signaling.

[0184] In some implementations, the first sidelink information / channel is located in a first time domain unit, the first reference signal is located in a second time domain unit, and the second time domain unit is later than the first time domain unit in time domain.

[0185] In some implementations, the first sidelink information / channel is used to indicate a first parameter, where the first parameter is related to a time interval between the first time domain unit and the second time domain unit.

[0186] In some implementations, the first parameter is used to indicate one of the following: the number of time domain units between the first time domain unit and the second time domain unit; and the minimum number of time domain units between the first time domain unit and the second time domain unit.

[0187] In some implementations, the first time domain unit is located within a first channel occupancy time (COT), the second time domain unit is located within the first COT, or the second time domain unit is located within a second COT different from the first COT.

[0188] In some implementations, the first reference signal and the target signal / channel are transmitted based on time division multiplexing or frequency division multiplexing.

[0189] In some implementations, the target signal / channel includes one or more of: S-SSB; PSCCH; PSSCH; and PSFCH.

[0190] In some implementations, if the first reference signal is not transmitted based on IRB, the first reference signal and the target signal / channel are transmitted based on time division multiplexing; and / or if the first reference signal is transmitted based on IRB, the first reference signal and the target signal / channel are transmitted based on time division multiplexing or frequency division multiplexing.

[0191] In some implementations, the sending resources and / or receiving resources of the first reference signal are located in a first resource pool, and the first resource pool is a dedicated resource pool for reference signals used for sidelink positioning, or the first resource pool is a shared resource pool of multiple signals / channels including reference signals used for sidelink positioning.

[0192] In some implementations, the sending of the first reference signal is based on a first channel access method or a second channel access method, the first channel access method is a channel access method based on channel sensing, and the second channel access method is a channel access method not based on channel sensing.

[0193] In some implementations, the second channel access method includes one or more of the following: a type 2B channel access method; and short control signaling transmission.

[0194] In some implementations, the first reference signal is an SL PRS; or, the first reference signal is an SL-U PRS.

[0195] FIG21 is a schematic diagram of the structure of an apparatus according to an embodiment of the present application. The dashed lines in FIG21 indicate that the unit or module is optional. Apparatus 2100 may be used to implement the method described in the above method embodiment. Apparatus 2100 may be a chip or a terminal device.

[0196] The device 2100 may include one or more processors 2110. The processor 2110 may support the device 2100 to implement the method described in the above method embodiment. The processor 2110 may be a general-purpose processor or a special-purpose processor. For example, the processor may be a central processing unit (CPU). Alternatively, the processor may be another general-purpose processor, a digital signal processor (DSP), an application-specific integrated circuit (ASIC), a field programmable gate array (FPGA) or other programmable logic device, discrete gate or transistor logic device, discrete hardware component, etc. The general-purpose processor may be a microprocessor or the processor may be any conventional processor, etc.

[0197] The apparatus 2100 may further include one or more memories 2120. The memories 2120 store programs that can be executed by the processor 2110, causing the processor 2110 to perform the methods described in the above method embodiments. The memories 2120 may be independent of the processor 2110 or integrated into the processor 2110.

[0198] The apparatus 2100 may further include a transceiver 2130. The processor 2110 may communicate with other devices or chips via the transceiver 2130. For example, the processor 2110 may transmit and receive data with other devices or chips via the transceiver 2130.

[0199] The present application also provides a computer-readable storage medium for storing a program. The computer-readable storage medium can be applied to a terminal device provided in the present application, and the program enables a computer to execute the method performed by the terminal device in each embodiment of the present application.

[0200] The present application also provides a computer program product. The computer program product includes a program. The computer program product can be applied to the terminal device provided in the present application, and the program causes a computer to execute the method performed by the terminal device in each embodiment of the present application.

[0201] The embodiments of the present application also provide a computer program. The computer program can be applied to the terminal device provided in the embodiments of the present application, and the computer program enables a computer to execute the method executed by the terminal device in each embodiment of the present application.

[0202] It should be understood that the terms "system" and "network" in this application can be used interchangeably. In addition, the terms used in this application are only used to explain the specific embodiments of this application and are not intended to limit this application. The terms "first", "second", "third", and "fourth" in the specification and claims of this application and the accompanying drawings are used to distinguish different objects rather than to describe a specific order. In addition, the terms "including" and "having" and any variations thereof are intended to cover non-exclusive inclusions.

[0203] In the embodiments of this application, the term "indication" may refer to a direct indication, an indirect indication, or an indication of an association. For example, "A indicates B" may refer to a direct indication of B, e.g., B can obtain information through A; it may refer to an indirect indication of B, e.g., A indicates C, e.g., B can obtain information through C; or it may refer to an association between A and B.

[0204] In the embodiment of the present application, "B corresponding to A" means that B is associated with A and B can be determined based on A. However, it should be understood that determining B based on A does not mean determining B based solely on A, but B can also be determined based on A and / or other information.

[0205] In the embodiments of the present application, the term "corresponding" may indicate a direct or indirect correspondence between the two, or an association relationship between the two, or a relationship between indication and indication, configuration and configuration, etc.

[0206] In the embodiments of the present application, "pre-definition" or "pre-configuration" may be implemented by pre-storing corresponding codes, tables, or other methods that can be used to indicate relevant information in a device (e.g., a terminal device and a network device). The present application does not limit the specific implementation method. For example, pre-definition may refer to information defined in a protocol.

[0207] In the embodiments of the present application, the “protocol” may refer to a standard protocol in the communications field, for example, it may include an LTE protocol, an NR protocol, and related protocols used in future communication systems, and the present application does not limit this.

[0208] In the embodiments of this application, the term "and / or" is simply a description of the association relationship between related objects, indicating that three relationships can exist. For example, A and / or B can represent: A exists alone, A and B exist at the same time, and B exists alone. In addition, the character " / " in this document generally indicates that the related objects are in an "or" relationship.

[0209] In various embodiments of the present application, the size of the serial numbers of the above-mentioned processes does not mean the order of execution. The execution order of each process should be determined by its function and internal logic, and should not constitute any limitation on the implementation process of the embodiments of the present application.

[0210] The units described as separate components may or may not be physically separate, and the components shown as units may or may not be physical units, that is, they may be located in one place or distributed across multiple network units. Some or all of these units may be selected to achieve the purpose of this embodiment according to actual needs.

[0211] In addition, each functional unit in each embodiment of the present application may be integrated into one processing unit, or each unit may exist physically separately, or two or more units may be integrated into one unit.

[0212] In the above embodiments, it can be implemented in whole or in part by software, hardware, firmware or any combination thereof. When implemented using software, it can be implemented in whole or in part in the form of a computer program product. The computer program product includes one or more computer instructions. When the computer program instructions are loaded and executed on a computer, the process or function described in the embodiment of the present application is generated in whole or in part. The computer can be a general-purpose computer, a special-purpose computer, a computer network, or other programmable device. The computer instructions can be stored in a computer-readable storage medium or transmitted from one computer-readable storage medium to another computer-readable storage medium. For example, the computer instructions can be transmitted from one website, computer, server or data center to another website, computer, server or data center via a wired (e.g., coaxial cable, optical fiber, digital subscriber line (DSL)) or wireless (e.g., infrared, wireless, microwave, etc.) method. The computer-readable storage medium can be any available medium that can be read by a computer or a data storage device such as a server or data center that includes one or more available media integrated therein. The available medium may be a magnetic medium (eg, a floppy disk, a hard disk, a magnetic tape), an optical medium (eg, a digital versatile disc (DVD)), or a semiconductor medium (eg, a solid state disk (SSD)).

[0213] The above description is merely a specific embodiment of the present application, but the scope of protection of the present application is not limited thereto. Any changes or substitutions that can be easily conceived by a person skilled in the art within the technical scope disclosed in this application should be included in the scope of protection of this application. Therefore, the scope of protection of this application should be based on the scope of protection of the claims.

Claims

1. A side transmission method, characterized in that: include: The first terminal device sends a first reference signal in an unlicensed frequency band, where the first reference signal is used for sidelink positioning.

2. The method according to claim 1, characterized in that: The sending of the first reference signal is triggered based on a first rule.

3. The method according to claim 2, characterized in that The first rule is associated with one or more of the following: Trigger conditions; The service type of the first terminal device; Configuration information of network devices; Indicative information of network equipment; Indication information of other terminal devices except the first terminal device; as well as Activation information of other terminal devices except the first terminal device.

4. The method according to claim 1, characterized in that: The function of sending the reference signal for side link positioning of the first terminal device is always turned on.

5. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 4, characterized in that The sending of the first reference signal is based on first sidelink information / channel indication.

6. The method according to claim 5, characterized in that The first side information / channel includes one or more of the following: First order sidelink control information SCI; Physical sidelink control channel PSCCH; Second-order SCI; Physical sidelink shared channel PSSCH; Media Access Control Element MAC CE; as well as Radio Resource Control (RRC) signaling.

7. The method according to claim 5 or 6, characterized in that: The first sideline information / channel is located in a first time domain unit, the first reference signal is located in a second time domain unit, and the second time domain unit is later than the first time domain unit in time domain.

8. The method according to claim 7, characterized in that The first sideline information / channel is used to indicate a first parameter, where the first parameter is related to a time interval between the first time domain unit and the second time domain unit.

9. The method according to claim 8, characterized in that The first parameter is used to indicate one of the following: The number of time domain units between the first time domain unit and the second time domain unit; and The minimum number of time domain units between the first time domain unit and the second time domain unit.

10. The method according to any one of claims 7 to 9, characterized in that: The first time domain unit is located in a first channel occupied time COT, the second time domain unit is located in the first COT, or the second time domain unit is located in a second COT different from the first COT.

11. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 10, characterized in that The first reference signal and the target signal / channel are transmitted based on time division multiplexing or frequency division multiplexing.

12. The method according to claim 11, characterized in that The target signal / channel includes one or more of the following: Sidelink synchronization signal block S-SSB; PSCCH; PSSCH; and Physical Sidelink Feedback Channel PSFCH.

13. The method according to claim 11 or 12, characterized in that: If the first reference signal is not transmitted based on a comb-tooth resource block IRB, the first reference signal and the target signal / channel are transmitted based on time division multiplexing; and / or If the first reference signal is transmitted based on IRB, the first reference signal and the target signal / channel are transmitted based on time division multiplexing or frequency division multiplexing.

14. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 13, characterized in that The sending resources and / or receiving resources of the first reference signal are located in a first resource pool, and the first resource pool is an exclusive resource pool for reference signals for sidelink positioning, or the first resource pool is a shared resource pool of multiple signals / channels including reference signals for sidelink positioning.

15. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 14, characterized in that The sending of the first reference signal is based on a first channel access method or a second channel access method, the first channel access method is a channel access method based on channel sensing, and the second channel access method is a channel access method not based on channel sensing.

16. The method according to claim 15, characterized in that The second channel access method includes one or more of the following: Type 2B channel access method; and Short control signaling transmission.

17. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 16, characterized in that The first reference signal is a sidelink positioning reference signal SL PRS; or, the first reference signal is a sidelink unlicensed positioning reference signal SL-U PRS.

18. A side transmission method, characterized in that: include: The second terminal device receives a first reference signal sent by the first terminal device in an unlicensed frequency band, where the first reference signal is used for sidelink positioning.

19. The method according to claim 18, characterized in that The sending of the first reference signal is triggered based on a first rule.

20. The method according to claim 19, characterized in that The first rule is associated with one or more of the following: Trigger conditions; The service type of the first terminal device; Configuration information of network devices; Indicative information of network equipment; Indication information of other terminal devices except the first terminal device; as well as Activation information of other terminal devices except the first terminal device.

21. The method according to claim 18, characterized in that The function of sending the reference signal for side link positioning of the first terminal device is always turned on.

22. The method according to any one of claims 18 to 21, characterized in that The sending of the first reference signal is based on first sidelink information / channel indication.

23. The method according to claim 22, characterized in that The first side information / channel includes one or more of the following: First order sidelink control information SCI; Physical sidelink control channel PSCCH; Second-order SCI; Physical sidelink shared channel PSSCH; Media Access Control Element MAC CE; as well as Radio Resource Control (RRC) signaling.

24. The method according to claim 22 or 23, characterized in that The first sideline information / channel is located in a first time domain unit, the first reference signal is located in a second time domain unit, and the second time domain unit is later than the first time domain unit in time domain.

25. The method according to claim 24, characterized in that The first sideline information / channel is used to indicate a first parameter, where the first parameter is related to a time interval between the first time domain unit and the second time domain unit.

26. The method according to claim 25, characterized in that The first parameter is used to indicate one of the following: The number of time domain units between the first time domain unit and the second time domain unit; and The minimum number of time domain units between the first time domain unit and the second time domain unit.

27. The method according to any one of claims 24 to 26, characterized in that The first time domain unit is located in a first channel occupied time COT, the second time domain unit is located in the first COT, or the second time domain unit is located in a second COT different from the first COT.

28. The method according to any one of claims 18 to 27, characterized in that The first reference signal and the target signal / channel are transmitted based on time division multiplexing or frequency division multiplexing.

29. The method according to claim 28, characterized in that The target signal / channel includes one or more of the following: Sidelink synchronization signal block S-SSB; PSCCH; PSSCH; and Physical Sidelink Feedback Channel PSFCH.

30. The method according to claim 28 or 29, characterized in that: If the first reference signal is not transmitted based on a comb-tooth resource block IRB, the first reference signal and the target signal / channel are transmitted based on time division multiplexing; and / or If the first reference signal is transmitted based on IRB, the first reference signal and the target signal / channel are transmitted based on time division multiplexing or frequency division multiplexing.

31. The method according to any one of claims 18 to 30, characterized in that The sending resources and / or receiving resources of the first reference signal are located in a first resource pool, and the first resource pool is an exclusive resource pool for reference signals for sidelink positioning, or the first resource pool is a shared resource pool of multiple signals / channels including reference signals for sidelink positioning.

32. The method according to any one of claims 18 to 31, characterized in that The sending of the first reference signal is based on a first channel access method or a second channel access method, the first channel access method is a channel access method based on channel sensing, and the second channel access method is a channel access method not based on channel sensing.

33. The method according to claim 32, characterized in that The second channel access method includes one or more of the following: Type 2B channel access method; and Short control signaling transmission.

34. The method according to any one of claims 18 to 33, characterized in that The first reference signal is a sidelink positioning reference signal SL PRS; or, the first reference signal is a sidelink unlicensed positioning reference signal SL-U PRS.

35. A terminal device, characterized in that: The terminal device is a first terminal device, and the first terminal device includes: The communication module is used to send a first reference signal in an unlicensed frequency band, where the first reference signal is used for sidelink positioning.

36. The terminal device according to claim 35, characterized in that: The sending of the first reference signal is triggered based on a first rule.

37. The terminal device according to claim 36, characterized in that: The first rule is associated with one or more of the following: Trigger conditions; The service type of the first terminal device; Configuration information of network devices; Indicative information of network equipment; Indication information of other terminal devices except the first terminal device; as well as Activation information of other terminal devices except the first terminal device.

38. The terminal device according to claim 35, characterized in that: The function of sending the reference signal for side link positioning of the first terminal device is always turned on.

39. The terminal device according to any one of claims 35 to 38, characterized in that: The sending of the first reference signal is based on first sidelink information / channel indication.

40. The terminal device according to claim 39, characterized in that: The first side information / channel includes one or more of the following: First order sidelink control information SCI; Physical sidelink control channel PSCCH; Second-order SCI; Physical sidelink shared channel PSSCH; Media Access Control Element MAC CE; as well as Radio Resource Control (RRC) signaling.

41. The terminal device according to claim 39 or 40, characterized in that: The first sideline information / channel is located in a first time domain unit, the first reference signal is located in a second time domain unit, and the second time domain unit is later than the first time domain unit in time domain.

42. The terminal device according to claim 41, characterized in that: The first sideline information / channel is used to indicate a first parameter, where the first parameter is related to a time interval between the first time domain unit and the second time domain unit.

43. The terminal device according to claim 42, characterized in that: The first parameter is used to indicate one of the following: The number of time domain units between the first time domain unit and the second time domain unit; and The minimum number of time domain units between the first time domain unit and the second time domain unit.

44. The terminal device according to any one of claims 41 to 43, characterized in that: The first time domain unit is located in a first channel occupied time COT, the second time domain unit is located in the first COT, or the second time domain unit is located in a second COT different from the first COT.

45. The terminal device according to any one of claims 35 to 44, characterized in that: The first reference signal and the target signal / channel are transmitted based on time division multiplexing or frequency division multiplexing.

46. ​​The terminal device according to claim 45, characterized in that: The target signal / channel includes one or more of the following: Sidelink synchronization signal block S-SSB; PSCCH; PSSCH; as well as Physical Sidelink Feedback Channel PSFCH.

47. The terminal device according to claim 45 or 46, characterized in that: If the first reference signal is not transmitted based on a comb-tooth resource block IRB, the first reference signal and the target signal / channel are transmitted based on time division multiplexing; and / or If the first reference signal is transmitted based on IRB, the first reference signal and the target signal / channel are transmitted based on time division multiplexing or frequency division multiplexing.

48. The terminal device according to any one of claims 35 to 47, characterized in that: The sending resources and / or receiving resources of the first reference signal are located in a first resource pool, and the first resource pool is an exclusive resource pool for reference signals for sidelink positioning, or the first resource pool is a shared resource pool of multiple signals / channels including reference signals for sidelink positioning.

49. The terminal device according to any one of claims 35 to 48, characterized in that: The sending of the first reference signal is based on a first channel access method or a second channel access method, the first channel access method is a channel access method based on channel sensing, and the second channel access method is a channel access method not based on channel sensing.

50. The terminal device according to claim 49, characterized in that: The second channel access method includes one or more of the following: Type 2B channel access method; and Short control signaling transmission.

51. The terminal device according to any one of claims 35 to 50, characterized in that: The first reference signal is a sidelink positioning reference signal SL PRS; or, the first reference signal is a sidelink unlicensed positioning reference signal SL-U PRS.

52. A terminal device, characterized in that: The terminal device is a second terminal device, and the second terminal device includes: The communication module is used to receive a first reference signal sent by a first terminal device in an unlicensed frequency band, where the first reference signal is used for sidelink positioning.

53. The terminal device according to claim 52, characterized in that: The sending of the first reference signal is triggered based on a first rule.

54. The terminal device according to claim 53, characterized in that: The first rule is associated with one or more of the following: Trigger conditions; The service type of the first terminal device; Configuration information of network devices; Indicative information of network equipment; Indication information of other terminal devices except the first terminal device; as well as Activation information of other terminal devices except the first terminal device.

55. The terminal device according to claim 52, characterized in that: The function of sending the reference signal for side link positioning of the first terminal device is always turned on.

56. The terminal device according to any one of claims 52-55, characterized in that: The sending of the first reference signal is based on first sidelink information / channel indication.

57. The terminal device according to claim 56, characterized in that: The first side information / channel includes one or more of the following: First order sidelink control information SCI; Physical sidelink control channel PSCCH; Second-order SCI; Physical sidelink shared channel PSSCH; Media Access Control Element MAC CE; as well as Radio Resource Control (RRC) signaling.

58. The terminal device according to claim 56 or 57, characterized in that: The first sideline information / channel is located in a first time domain unit, the first reference signal is located in a second time domain unit, and the second time domain unit is later than the first time domain unit in time domain.

59. The terminal device according to claim 58, characterized in that: The first sideline information / channel is used to indicate a first parameter, where the first parameter is related to a time interval between the first time domain unit and the second time domain unit.

60. The terminal device according to claim 59, characterized in that: The first parameter is used to indicate one of the following: The number of time domain units between the first time domain unit and the second time domain unit; and The minimum number of time domain units between the first time domain unit and the second time domain unit.

61. The terminal device according to any one of claims 58 to 60, characterized in that: The first time domain unit is located in a first channel occupied time COT, the second time domain unit is located in the first COT, or the second time domain unit is located in a second COT different from the first COT.

62. The terminal device according to any one of claims 52 to 61, characterized in that: The first reference signal and the target signal / channel are transmitted based on time division multiplexing or frequency division multiplexing.

63. The terminal device according to claim 62, characterized in that: The target signal / channel includes one or more of the following: Sidelink synchronization signal block S-SSB; PSCCH; PSSCH; as well as Physical Sidelink Feedback Channel PSFCH.

64. The terminal device according to claim 62 or 63, characterized in that: If the first reference signal is not transmitted based on a comb-tooth resource block IRB, the first reference signal and the target signal / channel are transmitted based on time division multiplexing; and / or If the first reference signal is transmitted based on IRB, the first reference signal and the target signal / channel are transmitted based on time division multiplexing or frequency division multiplexing.

65. The terminal device according to any one of claims 52 to 64, characterized in that: The sending resources and / or receiving resources of the first reference signal are located in a first resource pool, and the first resource pool is an exclusive resource pool for reference signals for sidelink positioning, or the first resource pool is a shared resource pool of multiple signals / channels including reference signals for sidelink positioning.

66. The terminal device according to any one of claims 52 to 65, characterized in that: The sending of the first reference signal is based on a first channel access method or a second channel access method, the first channel access method is a channel access method based on channel sensing, and the second channel access method is a channel access method not based on channel sensing.

67. The terminal device according to claim 66, characterized in that: The second channel access method includes one or more of the following: Type 2B channel access method; and Short control signaling transmission.

68. The terminal device according to any one of claims 52 to 67, characterized in that: The first reference signal is a sidelink positioning reference signal SL PRS; or, the first reference signal is a sidelink unlicensed positioning reference signal SL-U PRS.

69. A terminal device, characterized in that: It includes a transceiver, a memory and a processor, wherein the memory is used to store programs, and the processor is used to call the programs in the memory and control the transceiver to receive or send signals so that the terminal executes the method as described in any one of claims 1-17 or 18-34.

70. A device, characterized in that It comprises a processor, which is used to call a program from a memory so that the device executes the method as described in any one of claims 1-17 or 18-34.

71. A chip, characterized in that: It comprises a processor, which is used to call a program from a memory, so that a device equipped with the chip executes the method as described in any one of claims 1-17 or 18-34.

72. A computer-readable storage medium, characterized in that A program is stored thereon, the program causing a computer to execute the method as claimed in any one of claims 1-17 or 18-34.

73. A computer program product, characterized in that It comprises a program which causes a computer to execute the method as claimed in any one of claims 1 to 17 or 18 to 34.

74. A computer program, characterized in that The computer program causes a computer to execute the method according to any one of claims 1-17 or 18-34.

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