Positioning method and device

Abstract

The invention relates to the technical field of communication, in particular to a positioning method and device, and aims to reduce the complexity of positioning terminal equipment in scenes such as ultra wide band (UWB) and the like. The method comprises the following steps: a network device sends a first pulse signal to a terminal device through a plurality of antennas in a pulse receiving time window of the terminal device; wherein a plurality of sending delays of sending time of sending the first pulse signal on the plurality of antennas relative to the initial sending time are different; the network equipment receives a first channel impulse response vector from the terminal equipment; the network device determines a transmission characteristic of the first pulse signal according to the plurality of sending delays and the first channel pulse response vector; and the network device positions the terminal device according to the transmission characteristics of the first pulse signal.

Description

Positioning method and device Technical Field

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

[0002] Currently, multiple positioning technologies are supported in the communications sector, including time of arrival (TOA) and time difference of arrival (TDOA). ToA and TDoA are essentially the same, both based on the propagation time of electromagnetic signals. Both require at least two network devices to locate a terminal device, limiting their application scenarios.

[0003] By measuring the channel impulse response (CIR) of multiple antennas, the transmission characteristics of the signal, such as the angular domain, can be obtained. By combining the angular domain information with the signal propagation time, the terminal device can be located based on a single network device. However, due to the size of the terminal device, the terminal device usually only has a single antenna. When the terminal device needs to obtain the channel impulse response of multiple antennas, the signals sent by the multiple antennas of the network device need to be orthogonal, so that the signals received by the single receiving antenna of the terminal device from multiple antennas can be orthogonally separated. However, for ultra-wide band (UWB) systems, UWB signals extend to the entire frequency domain, making it difficult to achieve frequency division orthogonality of the multiple signals received by the terminal device. If different signal waveforms are used to separate the signals of multiple antennas, the implementation complexity of the sender and receiver will be significantly increased. Therefore, how to reduce the complexity of terminal device positioning in UWB scenarios will be a question worth considering.

[0004] Summary of the Invention

[0005] The present application provides a positioning method and apparatus to reduce the complexity of positioning terminal devices in scenarios such as UWB.

[0006] In a first aspect, an embodiment of the present application provides a positioning method, which includes: a network device sends a first pulse signal to a terminal device through multiple antennas within a pulse reception time window of the terminal device; wherein the transmission time of sending the first pulse signal on the multiple antennas is different from multiple transmission delays relative to the initial transmission time, and the initial transmission time is the time when the first antenna among the multiple antennas that sends the first pulse signal sends the first pulse signal; the network device receives a first channel pulse response vector from the terminal device, wherein the first channel pulse response vector is determined by the terminal device based on the first pulse signals sent by the multiple antennas; the network device determines the transmission characteristics of the first pulse signal based on the multiple transmission delays and the first channel pulse response vector; the network device locates the terminal device based on the transmission characteristics of the first pulse signal. Optionally, the transmission characteristics of the first pulse signal include one or more of the departure angle and channel delay of the first pulse signal.

[0007] By controlling the transmission delays of multiple antennas within the terminal device's pulse reception time window, the method can separate the first sub-channel impulse response vectors corresponding to each antenna within the mixed first channel impulse response vector determined by the terminal device. Transmission characteristics such as the departure angle of the first pulse signal can be obtained, enabling terminal device positioning. This eliminates the need to separate signals from multiple antennas using different signal waveforms, reducing the complexity of terminal device positioning in scenarios such as UWB.

[0008] In one possible design, the network device determines the transmission characteristics of the first pulse signal based on multiple transmission delays and the first channel impulse response vector, including: the network device determines multiple first sub-channel impulse response vectors corresponding to multiple antennas of the terminal device based on the multiple transmission delays and the first channel impulse response vector; the network device determines the transmission characteristics of the first pulse signal based on the multiple first sub-channel impulse response vectors corresponding to the multiple antennas of the terminal device.

[0009] In the above design, the network device can accurately separate the first sub-channel impulse response vectors corresponding to each antenna of the network device in the mixed first channel impulse response vector determined by the terminal device based on the multiple transmission delays of the first pulse signal sent by multiple antennas of the network device, thereby calculating the transmission characteristics such as the departure angle of the first pulse signal, which is conducive to improving the positioning accuracy.

[0010] In one possible design, before the network device transmits a first pulse signal to the terminal device via multiple antennas within the terminal device's pulse reception time window, the method further includes: the network device determining the duration of the strong path delay corresponding to each of the multiple antennas based on the second channel impulse response vectors of the second pulse signal received from the terminal device by each of the multiple antennas; and the network device determining multiple transmission delays based on the duration of the strong path delay corresponding to each of the multiple antennas. Optionally, the method further includes: the network device transmitting the multiple transmission delays to the terminal device.

[0011] In the above design, the transmission delay can be actively controlled according to the mutual differences between the uplink and downlink channels to avoid the overlap of the main paths in the channel impulse responses from multiple antennas, thereby improving the positioning accuracy.

[0012] In one possible design, before the network device sends the first pulse signal to the terminal device through the multiple antennas within the pulse reception time window of the terminal device, the method further includes: the network device receives the second pulse signal from the terminal device through the multiple antennas; the network device sends the first pulse signal to the terminal device through the multiple antennas within the pulse reception time window of the terminal device, which may include the following two methods:

[0013] Method 1: The network device determines the second time for multiple antennas to send the first pulse signal to the terminal device based on the first time when any antenna among the multiple antennas receives the second pulse signal and the feedback delays corresponding to the multiple antennas, wherein the maximum difference between the second time when the multiple antennas send the first pulse signal to the terminal device is less than or equal to the length of the pulse receiving time window of the terminal device; the network device sends the first pulse signal to the terminal device through the multiple antennas based on the second time when the multiple antennas send the first pulse signal to the terminal device.

[0014] Method 2: The network device determines the second time when multiple antennas respectively send the first pulse signal to the terminal device based on the first time when the multiple antennas respectively receive the second pulse signal and the feedback delay corresponding to the multiple antennas, wherein the maximum difference between the second time when the multiple antennas respectively send the first pulse signal to the terminal device is less than or equal to the length of the pulse receiving time window of the terminal device; the network device sends the first pulse signal to the terminal device through the multiple antennas based on the second time when the multiple antennas respectively send the first pulse signal to the terminal device.

[0015] In one possible design, the first channel impulse response vector is determined by the terminal device based on first pulse signals respectively sent by multiple antennas and received in each sampling interval within multiple sampling intervals, where the multiple sampling intervals are determined based on multiple transmission delays.

[0016] In the above design, the terminal device can feedback the first channel impulse response vector only based on the first pulse signal received in multiple sampling intervals, which can reduce the overhead of the first channel impulse response vector feedback.

[0017] In one possible design, the first channel impulse response vector is determined by the terminal device based on a portion of first pulse signals having a signal amplitude greater than or equal to an amplitude threshold in first pulse signals respectively sent by multiple antennas.

[0018] In the above design, the terminal device can feedback the first channel impulse response vector only based on the portion of the first pulse signal whose signal amplitude is greater than or equal to the amplitude threshold, which can reduce the overhead of the first channel impulse response vector feedback.

[0019] In one possible design, the network device uses multiple different transmission delays to send first pulse signals to the terminal devices through multiple antennas within the pulse reception time window of the multiple terminal devices.

[0020] In the above design, different transmission delays are used within the pulse reception time windows of multiple terminal devices. Through active and opportunistic avoidance, more accurate transmission characteristics can be obtained to improve positioning accuracy.

[0021] In a second aspect, an embodiment of the present application provides a positioning method, which includes: a terminal device receives multiple first pulse signals from a network device, wherein the multiple first pulse signals are respectively sent by the network device to the terminal device through multiple antennas, and the sending time of the network device sending the first pulse signals on the multiple antennas is different from multiple sending delays relative to the initial sending time, and the initial sending time is the time when the first antenna among the multiple antennas to send the first pulse signal sends the first pulse signal; the terminal device determines a first channel pulse response vector based on the multiple first pulse signals; and the terminal device sends the first channel pulse response vector to the network device.

[0022] In one possible design, the method also includes: the terminal device sends a second pulse signal to the network device.

[0023] In one possible design, the terminal device determines a first channel impulse response vector based on multiple first pulse signals, including: the terminal device determines the first channel impulse response vector based on multiple first pulse signals received in each sampling interval within multiple sampling intervals, wherein the multiple sampling intervals are determined based on multiple transmission delays.

[0024] In one possible design, the method also includes: the terminal device receives multiple transmission delays from the network device.

[0025] In one possible design, the terminal device determines the first channel impulse response vector based on multiple first pulse signals, including: the terminal device determines the first channel impulse response vector based on some first pulse signals whose signal amplitudes are greater than or equal to an amplitude threshold among the multiple first pulse signals received.

[0026] In a third aspect, an embodiment of the present application provides a positioning method, which includes: a network device determines a first pulse signal, and the network device sends the first pulse signal to the terminal device through multiple antennas within a pulse receiving time window of the terminal device, wherein the sending time of the first pulse signal sent on the multiple antennas is different from multiple sending delays relative to the initial sending time, and the initial sending time is the time when the first antenna that sends the first pulse signal among the multiple antennas sends the first pulse signal.

[0027] In one possible design, before the network device sends a first pulse signal to the terminal device through multiple antennas within a pulse reception time window of the terminal device, the method further includes: the network device determines the time of strong path delay corresponding to the multiple antennas based on the second channel pulse response vector of the second pulse signal received from the terminal device by the multiple antennas; the network device determines multiple transmission delays based on the time of strong path delay corresponding to the multiple antennas.

[0028] In one possible design, before the network device sends the first pulse signal to the terminal device through the multiple antennas within the pulse reception time window of the terminal device, the method further includes: the network device receives the second pulse signal from the terminal device through the multiple antennas; the network device sends the first pulse signal to the terminal device through the multiple antennas within the pulse reception time window of the terminal device, which may include the following two methods:

[0029] Method 1: The network device determines the second time for multiple antennas to send the first pulse signal to the terminal device based on the first time when any antenna among the multiple antennas receives the second pulse signal and the feedback delays corresponding to the multiple antennas, wherein the maximum difference between the second time when the multiple antennas send the first pulse signal to the terminal device is less than or equal to the length of the pulse receiving time window of the terminal device; the network device sends the first pulse signal to the terminal device through the multiple antennas based on the second time when the multiple antennas send the first pulse signal to the terminal device.

[0030] Method 2: The network device determines the second time when multiple antennas respectively send the first pulse signal to the terminal device based on the first time when the multiple antennas respectively receive the second pulse signal and the feedback delay corresponding to the multiple antennas, wherein the maximum difference between the second time when the multiple antennas respectively send the first pulse signal to the terminal device is less than or equal to the length of the pulse receiving time window of the terminal device; the network device sends the first pulse signal to the terminal device through the multiple antennas based on the second time when the multiple antennas respectively send the first pulse signal to the terminal device.

[0031] In one possible design, the method also includes: the network device sends multiple sending delays to the terminal device.

[0032] In a fourth aspect, an embodiment of the present application provides a positioning method, which includes: a terminal device receives multiple first pulse signals from a network device, wherein the multiple first pulse signals are respectively sent by the network device to the terminal device through multiple antennas, and the transmission time of the first pulse signal respectively sent by the network device on the multiple antennas is different from the multiple transmission delays of the initial transmission time, and the initial transmission time is the time when the first antenna that sends the first pulse signal among the multiple antennas sends the first pulse signal; the terminal device determines the first channel pulse response vector based on the multiple first pulse signals; the terminal device determines the transmission characteristics of the first pulse signal based on the multiple transmission delays and the first channel pulse response vector; the terminal device locates the terminal device based on the transmission characteristics of the first pulse signal. Optionally, the transmission characteristics of the first pulse signal include one or more of the departure angle and channel delay of the first pulse signal.

[0033] In one possible design, the method also includes: the terminal device sends a second pulse signal to the network device.

[0034] In one possible design, the terminal device determines the transmission characteristics of the first pulse signal based on multiple transmission delays and the first channel impulse response vector, including: the terminal device determines multiple first sub-channel impulse response vectors corresponding to the multiple antennas of the terminal device based on the multiple transmission delays and the first channel impulse response vector; the terminal device determines the transmission characteristics of the first pulse signal based on the multiple first sub-channel impulse response vectors corresponding to the multiple antennas of the terminal device.

[0035] In one possible design, the method also includes: the terminal device receives multiple transmission delays from the network device.

[0036] In a fifth aspect, embodiments of the present application provide a communication device having the functionality to implement the method of the first or third aspect described above. The functionality may be implemented through hardware or through hardware executing corresponding software. The hardware or software includes one or more modules corresponding to the functionality, such as an interface unit and a processing unit.

[0037] In one possible design, the device may be a chip or an integrated circuit.

[0038] In one possible design, the apparatus includes a processor, which may be coupled to a memory configured to store instructions executed by the processor. When the instructions are executed by the processor, the apparatus may perform the method of the first or third aspect described above. "Coupled" refers to two components being directly or indirectly connected or having some type of communication relationship.

[0039] In one possible design, the device may be a complete network device.

[0040] In a sixth aspect, embodiments of the present application provide a communication device having the functionality to implement the method of the second or fourth aspect above. The functionality may be implemented by hardware or by hardware executing corresponding software. The hardware or software includes one or more modules corresponding to the functionality, such as an interface unit and a processing unit.

[0041] In one possible design, the device may be a chip or an integrated circuit.

[0042] In one possible design, the apparatus includes a processor, which may be coupled to a memory configured to store instructions executed by the processor. When the instructions are executed by the processor, the apparatus may perform the method of the second or fourth aspect described above. "Coupled" refers to two components being directly or indirectly connected or having some type of communication relationship.

[0043] In one possible design, the device may be a complete terminal device.

[0044] In a seventh aspect, an embodiment of the present application provides a communication device, comprising an interface circuit and a processor, wherein the processor and the interface circuit are coupled to each other. The processor implements the method of the first or third aspect described above through a logic circuit or execution instructions. The interface circuit is configured to receive signals from other communication devices outside the communication device and transmit them to the processor, or to transmit signals from the processor to other communication devices outside the communication device. It is understood that the interface circuit may be a transceiver, a transceiver, a transceiver, or an input / output interface.

[0045] Optionally, the communication device may further include a memory for storing instructions executed by the processor, or storing input data required by the processor to execute instructions, or storing data generated after the processor executes instructions. The memory may be a physically independent unit, or may be coupled to the processor, or the processor may include the memory.

[0046] In an eighth aspect, an embodiment of the present application provides a communication device, comprising an interface circuit and a processor, wherein the processor and the interface circuit are coupled to each other. The processor implements the method of the second aspect or the fourth aspect described above through a logic circuit or execution instructions. The interface circuit is configured to receive signals from other communication devices outside the communication device and transmit them to the processor, or to transmit signals from the processor to other communication devices outside the communication device. It is understood that the interface circuit may be a transceiver, a transceiver, a transceiver, or an input / output interface.

[0047] Optionally, the communication device may further include a memory for storing instructions executed by the processor, or storing input data required by the processor to execute instructions, or storing data generated after the processor executes instructions. The memory may be a physically independent unit, or may be coupled to the processor, or the processor may include the memory.

[0048] In the ninth aspect, an embodiment of the present application provides a positioning system, including a network device and a terminal device, wherein the network device is used to implement the method of the first aspect above, and the terminal device is used to implement the method of the second aspect above; or, the network device is used to implement the method of the third aspect above, and the terminal device is used to implement the method of the fourth aspect above.

[0049] In the tenth aspect, an embodiment of the present application provides a computer-readable storage medium, in which a computer program or instruction is stored. When the computer program or instruction is executed by a processor, the method of the above-mentioned first aspect, second aspect, third aspect or fourth aspect can be implemented.

[0050] In the eleventh aspect, an embodiment of the present application further provides a computer program product, comprising a computer program or instructions, which, when executed by a processor, can implement the method of the first aspect, the second aspect, the third aspect, or the fourth aspect mentioned above.

[0051] In the twelfth aspect, an embodiment of the present application also provides a chip system, which includes a processor, the processor is used to couple with a memory, and the memory is used to store programs or instructions. When the program or instruction is executed by the processor, the method of the first aspect, the second aspect, the third aspect, or the fourth aspect mentioned above can be implemented.

[0052] The technical effects that can be achieved in the above-mentioned second to twelfth aspects can refer to the technical effects that can be achieved in the above-mentioned first aspect, and will not be repeated here. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0053] FIG1 is a schematic diagram of the architecture of a communication system provided in an embodiment of the present application;

[0054] FIG2 is a schematic diagram of ranging provided in an embodiment of the present application;

[0055] FIG3 is a schematic diagram of ranging errors caused by overlapping multipath according to an embodiment of the present application;

[0056] FIG4 is a schematic diagram of a positioning method according to an embodiment of the present application;

[0057] FIG5 is a schematic diagram of pulse signal transmission according to an embodiment of the present application;

[0058] FIG6 is a schematic diagram of a second channel impulse response corresponding to a second pulse signal received by antenna 1 of a network device according to an embodiment of the present application;

[0059] FIG7 is a schematic diagram of an impulse response provided in an embodiment of the present application;

[0060] FIG8 is a schematic diagram of incident angle calculation provided by an embodiment of the present application;

[0061] FIG9 is a schematic diagram of terminal device positioning according to an embodiment of the present application;

[0062] FIG10 is a schematic diagram of strong path superposition between antennas under different transmission delays provided in an embodiment of the present application;

[0063] FIG11 is a second schematic diagram of a positioning method provided in an embodiment of the present application;

[0064] FIG12 is a schematic diagram of a communication device according to an embodiment of the present application;

[0065] FIG13 is a second schematic diagram of the structure of the communication device provided in an embodiment of the present application. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0066] The technical solutions of the embodiments of the present application can be applied to various communication systems, such as long term evolution (LTE) system, universal mobile telecommunication system (UMTS), world-wide interoperability for microwave access (WiMAX) communication system, fifth generation (5G) mobile communication system or new radio (NR), etc. The technical solutions provided in the present application can also be applied to future communication systems, such as the sixth generation mobile communication system. The communication system can also be a device-to-device (D2D) network, a WiFi network, a machine-to-machine (M2M) network, an Internet of Things (IoT) network or other networks.

[0067] The architecture of the communication system used in the embodiment of the present application can be shown in Figure 1. The communication system includes a wireless access network 100 and a core network 200. Optionally, the communication system may also include the Internet 300. The wireless access network 100 may include at least one network device, such as 110a and 110b in Figure 1, and may also include at least one terminal device, such as 120a-120j in Figure 1. 110a is a base station, 110b is a micro station, 120a, 120e, 120f, and 120j are mobile phones, 120b is a car, 120c is a gas pump, 120d is a home access point (HAP) arranged indoors or outdoors, 120g is a laptop, 120h is a printer, and 120i is a drone. The same terminal device or network device can provide different functions in different application scenarios. For example, in FIG1 , there are mobile phones 120 a , 120 e , 120 f , and 120 j . Mobile phone 120 a can access base station 110 a , connect to car 120 b , communicate directly with mobile phone 120 e , and access HAP. Mobile phone 120 b can access HAP and communicate directly with mobile phone 120 a . Mobile phone 120 f can be connected as micro station 110 b , connect to laptop computer 120 g , connect to printer 120 h , and mobile phone 120 j can control drone 120 i .

[0068] Terminal devices are connected to network devices, which are in turn connected to the core network. Core network devices and network devices can be independent, distinct physical devices, or they can integrate the core network device's functions and the network device's logical functions into the same physical device. Alternatively, a single physical device can integrate some core network device functions and some network device functions. Terminal devices and network devices can be connected to each other via wired or wireless means. Figure 1 is merely a schematic diagram; the communication system may also include other devices, such as wireless relay devices and wireless backhaul devices, which are not shown in Figure 1.

[0069] Network equipment, also known as radio access network equipment, can be a base station, an evolved NodeB (eNodeB), a transmission reception point (TRP), a next-generation NodeB (gNB) in a fifth-generation (5G) mobile communication system, a base station in a future mobile communication system, or an access node in a WiFi system. It can also be a module or unit that performs some of the functions of a base station, such as a centralized unit (CU) or a distributed unit (DU). The CU performs the functions of the base station's radio resource control protocol and packet data convergence protocol (PDCP), as well as the service data adaptation protocol (SDAP). The DU performs the functions of the base station's radio link control layer and medium access control (MAC) layer, as well as some or all of the physical layer. For detailed descriptions of each of these protocol layers, please refer to the relevant technical specifications of the Third Generation Partnership Project (3GPP). The network device may be a macro base station (such as 110a in FIG1 ), a micro base station or an indoor station (such as 110b in FIG1 ), a relay node or a donor node, etc. The embodiments of the present application do not limit the specific technology and specific device form used by the network device.

[0070] Terminal devices may also be referred to as terminals, user equipment (UE), mobile stations, mobile terminals, etc. Terminal devices can be widely used in various scenarios, such as D2D, vehicle to everything (V2X) communication, machine-type communication (MTC), IoT, virtual reality, augmented reality, industrial control, autonomous driving, telemedicine, smart grid, smart furniture, smart office, smart wearable, smart transportation, smart city, etc. Terminal devices can be mobile phones, tablet computers, computers with wireless transceiver functions, wearable devices, vehicles, drones, helicopters, airplanes, ships, robots, robotic arms, smart home devices, etc. The embodiments of this application do not limit the specific technology and specific device form adopted by the terminal devices.

[0071] Network devices and terminal devices can be fixed or mobile. They can be deployed on land, including indoors or outdoors, handheld or vehicle-mounted; on water; and in the air on aircraft, balloons, and satellites. The embodiments of this application do not limit the application scenarios of network devices and terminal devices.

[0072] The roles of network devices and terminal devices can be relative. For example, the helicopter or drone 120i in Figure 1 can be configured as a mobile network device. To terminal devices 120j accessing the wireless access network 100 via 120i, terminal device 120i is a network device. However, to network device 110a, 120i is a terminal device, meaning that communication between 110a and 120i occurs via a wireless air interface protocol. Of course, communication between 110a and 120i can also occur via an interface protocol between network devices. In this case, 120i is also a network device relative to 110a. Therefore, both network devices and terminal devices can be collectively referred to as communication devices. 110a and 110b in Figure 1 can be referred to as communication devices with network device functionality, while 120a-120j in Figure 1 can be referred to as communication devices with terminal device functionality.

[0073] Network devices and terminal devices, network devices and network devices, and terminal devices and terminal devices can communicate through authorized spectrum, unauthorized spectrum, or both; can communicate through spectrum below 6 gigahertz (GHz), spectrum above 6 GHz, or spectrum below 6 GHz and spectrum above 6 GHz simultaneously. The embodiments of the present application do not limit the spectrum resources used for wireless communications.

[0074] In the embodiments of the present application, the functions of the network device may also be performed by a module (such as a chip) in the network device, or by a control subsystem that includes the network device functions. The control subsystem that includes the network device functions here may be a control center in the above-mentioned application scenarios such as smart grid, industrial control, smart transportation, and smart city. The functions of the terminal device may also be performed by a module (such as a chip or a modem) in the terminal device, or by a device that includes the terminal device functions.

[0075] In order to facilitate understanding by those skilled in the art, some terms in this application are first explained before introducing the embodiments of this application.

[0076] 1) Line of sight (LOS) and non-line of sight (NLoS) refer to the line-of-sight transmission and non-line-of-sight transmission of wireless signals.

[0077] 2) Two-way ranging (TWR), or time-of-flight (TOF) ranging, is a method for measuring the distance between two devices based on the time it takes for a signal to travel between them. For example, referring to the ranging diagram shown in Figure 2, the network device can send a first ranging signal to the terminal device and record the time t0 of sending the first ranging signal. Upon receiving the first ranging signal from the network device, the terminal device records the time t1 of receiving the first ranging signal. The terminal device can then reply with a second ranging signal carrying t1 and record the time t2 of sending the second ranging signal. Upon receiving the second ranging signal, the network device records the time t3 of receiving the second ranging signal. After sending the second ranging signal, the terminal device can also send t2 to the network device via other signals. The network device can calculate the one-way signal propagation time T_1trip (or one-way flight time) between the network device and the terminal device based on ((t3-t0)-(t2-t1)) / 2. The distance between the network device and the terminal device can be determined based on S=T_1trip*SpeedofLight, where S represents the distance between the network device and the terminal device, T_1trip is the time required for a signal to be transmitted between the network device and the terminal device, and SpeedofLight is the propagation speed of the signal (the signal is an electromagnetic wave signal, and the propagation speed is usually the speed of light).

[0078] Because the network device and the terminal device are two different devices, a lack of clock synchronization between the two devices can lead to errors in the estimated T_1trip. Therefore, an improved method is to have one of the network device and the terminal device send at least two ranging signals. As shown in Figure 2, the network device can send a third ranging signal and record the time t4 when the third ranging signal is sent, and the terminal device records the time t5 when the third ranging signal is received. When the two devices are perfectly synchronized and their positions remain essentially unchanged, t4-t0 and t5-t1 are equal. Conversely, the clock rate difference can be compensated through calculation. For example: T_1trip = [(t3-t0)-(t2-t1)*(t4-t0) / (t5-t1)] / 2.

[0079] 3) ToA positioning technology: ToA positioning technology determines the location of the terminal device by measuring the distance between the terminal device and multiple network devices. After the terminal device obtains the distance to multiple network devices, the location of the terminal device can be estimated through triangulation and other calculations. The principle of triangulation and geometry calculation is that three non-collinear points a, b, and c in space can determine a plane. After the distances between the fourth point d and points a, b, and c are determined, a possible point d can be determined above and below the plane determined by points a, b, and c, or a possible point d can be determined in the plane determined by points a, b, and c. The principle of triangulation and geometry calculation is often used in satellite positioning. Three satellites are operating in space, and the earth is always below the plane determined by the three satellites. The target on the earth that needs to be located is also below the plane determined by the three satellites. The position of the target can be determined based on the distance between the target and the three satellites.

[0080] 4) TDOA positioning technology: TDOA positioning technology determines the location of a terminal device by measuring the transmission delay difference between the terminal device and multiple network devices. For example, if there are three network devices, the distance difference between the terminal device and Network Device 1 (R1) and the distance between the terminal device and Network Device 2 (R2) can be calculated based on the arrival time difference between the terminal device and Network Device 1 and Network Device 2 (R2): R21 = R2 - R1. Similarly, the distance difference between the terminal device and Network Device 1 and Network Device 3 (R31 = R3 - R1) can be calculated based on the arrival time difference between the terminal device and Network Device 1 and Network Device 3 (R31 = R3 - R1). Therefore, the terminal device is located on hyperbola 1, which has Network Device 1 and Network Device 2 as its foci and a constant distance difference between the two foci of R21, and on hyperbola 2, which has Network Device 1 and Network Device 3 as its foci and a constant distance difference between the two foci of R31. In other words, the terminal device is located at the intersection of hyperbola 1 and hyperbola 2.

[0081] It can be seen that the above-mentioned ToA positioning technology and TDoA positioning technology require the participation of at least three network devices. If there are fewer than three network devices in the environment, the terminal device cannot be positioned. At present, the transmission characteristics of the signal, such as the angle domain, can be obtained by measuring the channel impulse response (CIR) of multiple antennas. The angle domain information combined with the signal propagation time can be used to locate the terminal device based on a single network device. However, due to the size limitation of the terminal device, the terminal device usually has only a single antenna. When the terminal device needs to obtain the channel impulse response of multiple antennas, the signals sent by the multiple antennas of the network device need to be orthogonal, so that the signals received by the single receiving antenna of the terminal device from multiple antennas can be orthogonally separated.

[0082] However, for UWB systems, UWB signals extend across the entire frequency domain, making it difficult to achieve orthogonal frequency division of multiple signals received by terminal devices. Using different signal waveforms to separate signals from multiple antennas significantly increases the implementation complexity of the transmitter and receiver. Therefore, reducing the complexity of terminal device positioning in scenarios such as UWB is a question worth considering. Based on this, the present application provides a positioning method and apparatus to reduce the complexity of terminal device positioning in scenarios such as UWB.

[0083] In addition, ranging in current positioning methods relies on precise arrival timestamps (such as t1, t3, and t5 in Figure 2). These timestamps are affected by overlapping multipath, which may cause time deviations and lead to positioning errors. For example, a network device sends a first ranging signal at time t0, and a terminal device estimates the arrival time t1 by receiving the first ranging signal. As shown in Figure 3, when the first ranging signal reaches the terminal device via an NLoS path other than the LoS path, the delay of this NLoS path is greater than the LoS path. When the additional delay of this NLoS path compared to the LoS path is not significantly greater than the system's time resolution (the direct time resolution can be taken as 1 / BW, where BW represents bandwidth), the responses of the NLoS path and the LoS path alias, affecting the local amplitude of the LoS path response. Overlapping multipath causes time deviations, such as deviations from the dotted line position to the solid line, resulting in an inaccurate t1 timestamp, which in turn causes positioning errors. In embodiments of the present application, parameter extraction in the delay domain can be performed to compensate for the deviations and further improve positioning accuracy. The embodiments of the present application will be described in detail below with reference to the accompanying drawings.

[0084] Furthermore, it should be understood that ordinal numbers such as "first" and "second" in the embodiments of the present application are used to distinguish between multiple objects and are not used to define the size, content, order, timing, priority, or importance of the multiple objects. For example, a first ranging signal and a second ranging signal do not indicate a difference in priority or importance between the two ranging signals.

[0085] In the embodiments of the present application, the number of nouns, unless otherwise specified, means "singular noun or plural noun", that is, "one or more". "At least one" means one or more, and "plural" means two or more. "And / or" describes the association relationship of associated objects, indicating that there may be three relationships. For example, A and / or B can mean: A exists alone, A and B exist at the same time, and B exists alone, where A and B can be singular or plural. The character " / " generally indicates that the previous and next associated objects are in an "or" relationship. For example, A / B means: A or B. "At least one of the following items" or similar expressions refers to any combination of these items, including any combination of single items or plural items. For example, at least one of a, b, or c means: a, b, c, a and b, a and c, b and c, or a and b and c, where a, b, c can be single or multiple.

[0086] FIG4 is a schematic diagram of a positioning method provided in an embodiment of the present application, the method comprising:

[0087] S401: The network device sends first pulse signals to the terminal device through multiple antennas within a pulse receiving time window of the terminal device. Correspondingly, the terminal device receives multiple first pulse signals from the multiple antennas of the network device.

[0088] Among them, the sending delays of the network device for sending the first pulse signal on multiple antennas are different relative to the initial sending time, and the initial sending time is the time when the first antenna among the multiple antennas that sends the first pulse signal sends the first pulse signal.

[0089] S402: The terminal device determines a first channel impulse response vector according to multiple first impulse signals.

[0090] In an embodiment of the present application, the network device can control the transmission delay of the first pulse signal (such as a UWB pulse signal) sent by multiple antennas, so that the terminal device can obtain the first channel pulse response vector of multiple antenna delay aliasing by receiving multiple first pulse signals from multiple antennas of the network device within the pulse reception time window (such as the CIR maximum coherent cumulative reception window of the terminal device).

[0091] For example, a network device sends a first pulse signal to a terminal device through six antennas (antenna 1 to antenna 6). The order in which the six antennas send the first pulse signal is antenna 1, antenna 2, antenna 3, antenna 4, antenna 5, and antenna 6. The sending time of the first pulse signal sent by antenna 1 is the initial sending time t, and the sending delays of the sending time of the first pulse signal sent by antenna 1, antenna 2, antenna 3, antenna 4, antenna 5, and antenna 6 relative to the initial sending time t are Δt respectively. 1-1 , Δt 2-1 , Δt 3-1 , Δt 4-1 , Δt 5-1 , Δt 6-1 , where Δt 6-1 >Δt 5-1 >Δt 4-1 >Δt 3-1 >Δt 2-1 , Δt 1-1 is 0. The single antenna of the terminal device can obtain the first channel impulse response vector of the delayed aliasing of the six antennas of the network device by receiving the first pulse signals sent by the six antennas (antenna 1-antenna 6) of the network device respectively, that is, it can obtain the multi-input single-output (MISO) channel impulse response vector CIR_sum of the multiple antenna inputs of the corresponding network device and the single antenna output of the terminal device.

[0092] In a possible implementation, for multiple transmission delays, the network device can determine the delay interval Δt according to a pre-configured or set delay interval. Still taking the above network device sending the first pulse signal to the terminal device through 6 antennas (antenna 1 to antenna 6) as an example, the above Δt 1-1 Can be 0 (ie 0Δt), Δt 2-1 It can be Δt, Δt 3-1 It can be 2Δt, Δt 4-1 It can be 3Δt, Δt 5-1 It can be 4Δt, Δt 6-1 It can be 5Δt.

[0093] In another possible implementation, the network device may also determine multiple transmission delays based on second channel impulse response vectors of second pulse signals from the terminal device respectively received by multiple antennas.

[0094] Referring to the pulse signal transmission diagram shown in Figure 5, a terminal device with a single antenna can transmit a second pulse signal. Multiple antennas of a network device receive the second pulse signal from the terminal device, obtaining second channel impulse responses corresponding to each of the multiple antennas. The second channel impulse response vectors corresponding to the multiple antennas can be arranged side by side to form a single-input multi-output (SIMO) channel impulse response matrix H_simo corresponding to a single antenna input of the terminal device and multiple antenna outputs of the network device. The network device can determine the duration of the strong path delay corresponding to each of the multiple antennas based on the second channel impulse response vectors (or H_simo) corresponding to each of the multiple antennas, and can also determine multiple transmission delays based on the duration of the strong path delay corresponding to each of the multiple antennas.

[0095] Still taking the above-mentioned network device sending the first pulse signal to the terminal device through 6 antennas (antenna 1-antenna 6) as an example, if the second channel impulse response corresponding to the second pulse signal received by antenna 1 of the network device is shown in Figure 6, where the horizontal axis in Figure 6 represents time in nanoseconds (ns), and the vertical axis represents amplitude in decibels (dB), the second channel impulse response vector corresponding to antenna 1 is 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 100, 1500, 7200, 600, 700, 1400, 3500, 100, 0, the sampling period is 5ns, and the threshold value of strong path influence is 1000. It can be seen that there is an interval of 4 sampling periods between the peak value of the second channel impulse response vector 7200 and the last amplitude value of 3500 greater than 1000 after the peak, that is, the strong path delay time is 20ns, and Δt can be determined. 2-1 It can be 20ns.

[0096] In some implementations, in scenarios where the network device and the terminal device simultaneously perform TWR, time-of-flight ranging, etc., the network device may also, after receiving a pulse signal (taking the second pulse signal as an example) for ranging from the terminal device, feed back a second pulse signal to the terminal device based on the feedback delays corresponding to the pre-set multiple antennas, for example: sending the first pulse signal to the terminal device through multiple antennas respectively.

[0097] Because the positions of multiple antennas of the network device are different, the first times at which the multiple antennas of the network device receive the second pulse signal from the terminal device may differ. In one possible implementation, the network device can determine the second times at which the multiple antennas respectively send the first pulse signal to the terminal device based on the first time at which any one of the multiple antennas receives the second pulse signal and the feedback delays corresponding to the multiple antennas. For example, the second times at which the multiple antennas respectively send the first pulse signal to the terminal device are determined based on the sum of the first time and the feedback delays corresponding to the multiple antennas. The first pulse signal is then sent to the terminal device via the multiple antennas based on the second times corresponding to the multiple antennas.

[0098] In another possible implementation, the network device can also determine the second time when multiple antennas respectively send the first pulse signal to the terminal device based on the first time when the multiple antennas respectively receive the second pulse signal and the feedback delay corresponding to the multiple antennas, and send the first pulse signal to the terminal device through the multiple antennas according to the second time corresponding to the multiple antennas.

[0099] It should be understood that the setting of the feedback delay corresponding to the multiple antennas needs to satisfy the maximum difference between the second times when the multiple antennas send the first pulse signal to the terminal device, determined based on the feedback delay corresponding to the multiple antennas, and the first time when any antenna among the multiple antennas of the network device receives the second pulse signal or the first time when the multiple antennas of the network device respectively receive the second pulse signal, which is less than or equal to the duration of the pulse receiving time window of the terminal device, so as to ensure that the terminal device can receive the first pulse signal sent by the network device to the terminal device through multiple antennas within the duration of a pulse receiving time window.

[0100] S403: The terminal device sends a first channel impulse response vector to the network device. Correspondingly, the network device receives the first impulse response vector from the terminal device.

[0101] The single antenna of the terminal device receives the first pulse signals sent by multiple antennas of the network device respectively. According to the received first pulse signal, it can obtain the first channel pulse response vector of the delay aliasing of multiple antennas of the corresponding network device, that is, the MISO channel pulse response vector CIR_sum. After obtaining the first channel pulse response vector of the delay aliasing of multiple antennas of the corresponding network device, the terminal device can send the obtained first channel pulse response vector to the network device.

[0102] In one possible implementation, in order to streamline the feedback content and reduce signaling overhead, when the terminal device obtains (or determines) the first channel impulse response vector, it can determine the first channel impulse response vector based on multiple first pulse signals received in each sampling interval within multiple sampling intervals, wherein the multiple sampling intervals are determined based on the above-mentioned multiple transmission delays.

[0103] Still taking the above network device sending the first pulse signal to the terminal device through 6 antennas (antenna 1-antenna 6) as an example, if the time length of any sampling interval is d, then the sampling interval 1 when antenna 1 sends the first pulse signal to the terminal device is [0, d], and the sampling interval 2 when antenna 2 sends the first pulse signal to the terminal device is [Δt 2-1 , Δt 2-1 +d], the sampling interval 3 of the antenna 3 sending the first pulse signal to the terminal device is [Δt 3-1 , Δt 3-1 +d], the sampling interval 4 of the antenna 4 sending the first pulse signal to the terminal device is [Δt 4-1 , Δt 4-1 +d], the sampling interval 5 of the antenna 5 sending the first pulse signal to the terminal device is [Δt 5-1 , Δt 5-1 +d], the sampling interval 6 of the antenna 6 sending the first pulse signal to the terminal device is [Δt 6-1 , Δt 6-1 +d]. It should be understood that the above-mentioned sampling interval can also be called the response interval of the main path. The time in the sampling interval 1-sampling interval 6 in the above example refers to the delay relative to the initial sampling time of the terminal device sending the first pulse signal to the terminal device through the 6 antennas (antenna 1-antenna 6) by the network device. The initial sampling time for the terminal device can be determined according to the time when the first peak of the first pulse signal of the terminal device is greater than the sampling threshold, or according to the time when the first pulse signal is received, etc. For example: the time of the first peak greater than the sampling threshold is t2, and the initial sampling time of the terminal device is t2-d / 2, that is, the sampling time corresponding to the sampling interval 1 is t2-d / 2 (t2-d / 2+0) to t2+d / 2 (t2-d / 2+d). Among them, multiple transmission delays can be sent by the network device to the terminal device, or can be pre-agreed or negotiated by the network device and the terminal device.

[0104] The network device still sends the first pulse signal to the terminal device through 6 antennas (antenna 1-antenna 6). The order of the 6 antennas sending the first pulse signal is antenna 1, antenna 2, antenna 3, antenna 4, antenna 5, and antenna 6. The sending time of the first pulse signal sent by antenna 1 is the initial sending time t. The sending delays of the sending time of the first pulse signal sent by antenna 1, antenna 2, antenna 3, antenna 4, antenna 5, and antenna 6 relative to the initial sending time t are Δt respectively. 1-1 , Δt 2-1 , Δt 3-1 , Δt 4-1 , Δt 5-1 , Δt 6-1 For example, refer to the pulse response diagram shown in Figure 7, wherein the horizontal axis in Figure 7 represents time, in ns, and the vertical axis represents amplitude, in dB. The upper half of Figure 7 is a diagram showing that a terminal device with a single antenna sends a second pulse signal, and the six antennas of the network device (antenna 1-antenna 6) receive the second pulse signal (i.e., SIMO) from the terminal device, and obtain the second channel pulse responses corresponding to the multiple antennas, respectively, according to the superposition of the transmission delays corresponding to the six antennas. The lower half of Figure 7 is a diagram showing that a single antenna of the terminal device receives the first pulse signal (i.e., MISO) sent by the six antennas of the network device, and obtains the first channel pulse response corresponding to the delay aliasing of the six antennas of the network device. In the upper half of Figure 7, A1-A6 respectively represent the second channel pulse responses of antenna 1-antenna 6 of the network device when receiving the second pulse signal, and the second channel pulse responses of antenna 2-antenna 6 when receiving the second pulse signal, respectively, with the transmission delay Δt added. 1-1 , Δt 2-1 , Δt 3-1 , Δt 4-1 , Δt 5-1 , Δt 6-1 , so as to compare and observe the first channel impulse response corresponding to the delayed aliasing of the six antennas of the network device in the lower half of Figure 7. In the lower half of Figure 7, B1-B6 respectively represent the first sub-channel impulse responses of the terminal device receiving the first pulse signal sent by antenna 1 to antenna 6 of the network device. B1-B6 are aliased as the first channel impulse response. Based on the sampling intervals corresponding to the six antennas, the terminal device can feedback the channel impulse response vector (i.e., the first channel impulse response vector) corresponding to the CIR segment contained in the black box in the lower half of the figure to the network device to save signaling overhead.

[0105] In another possible implementation, in order to streamline the feedback content and reduce signaling overhead, when the terminal device obtains (or determines) the first channel impulse response vector, the terminal device may determine the first channel impulse response vector based on the portion of the first pulse signals whose signal amplitudes are greater than or equal to the amplitude threshold among the received multiple first pulse signals. As an example, referring to the lower half of Figure 7, the terminal device may determine the first channel impulse response vector based on the portion of the aliased multiple first pulse signals (i.e., the first channel impulse responses of the antenna delay aliasing corresponding to the multiple first pulse signals) whose signal amplitudes are greater than or equal to the amplitude threshold (such as an amplitude threshold greater than or equal to 300 or 400).

[0106] S404: The network device determines a transmission characteristic of the first pulse signal according to the multiple transmission delays and the first channel impulse response vector.

[0107] The network device receives a first channel impulse response vector from the terminal device, and can divide the first channel impulse response vector into multiple segments based on multiple transmission delays corresponding to multiple antennas to obtain multiple first sub-channel impulse response vectors corresponding to multiple antennas.

[0108] In one possible implementation, based on the reciprocity of uplink and downlink channels, the network device may further receive second pulse signals from multiple antennas, obtain second channel impulse response vectors corresponding to the multiple antennas, and obtain multiple transmission delays corresponding to the multiple antennas. This method uses successive interference cancellation (SIC) to eliminate interference from the first transmitting antenna to the later transmitting antenna in the first channel impulse response vector, thereby obtaining first sub-channel impulse response vectors corresponding to the multiple antennas. The first sub-channel impulse response vectors corresponding to the multiple antennas may be arranged side by side to form a MISO channel impulse response matrix H_miso.

[0109] The network device can calculate the transmission characteristics of the first pulse signal, such as the departure angle and channel delay, based on the first sub-channel impulse response vectors (ie, H_miso) corresponding to the multiple antennas.

[0110] 8 , for the incident angle θ of the incident pulse signal, that is, the angle θ between the incident pulse signal and the multiple antennas (i.e., antenna array) of the network device, it can be seen that sin(θ)=r / d, where d is the distance between antenna A and antenna B, and r is the distance the incident pulse signal needs to be transmitted to antenna B after reaching antenna A. If the phase difference between the pulse signals received by antenna A and antenna B is φ, then r=λφ / 2π, where λ is the wavelength of the incident pulse signal. Based on r and d, the incident angle θ of the pulse signal can be calculated. Similarly, in an embodiment of the present application, the network device can determine the phase difference of the pulse signals transmitted between any two antennas based on the first sub-channel pulse response vectors corresponding to the multiple antennas, and calculate the departure angle of the first pulse signal in combination with the distance between the two antennas and the wavelength of the first pulse signal.

[0111] In addition, the network device can also determine the arrival time of the first pulse signal at the terminal device based on the first channel impulse response vector. For example, the arrival time of the first pulse signal at the terminal device can be determined by the power delay characteristic of the first channel impulse response vector projected on the departure angle of the first pulse signal in the (relative) delay-angle spectrum of the first channel impulse response vector. The channel delay can be obtained based on the difference between the arrival time and the transmission time of the first pulse signal. The channel delay can be calculated by the transmission time with the receiving party (such as the terminal device) as the reference after compensating for the difference in transmission and reception clock synchronization.

[0112] S405: The network device locates the terminal device according to the transmission characteristics of the first pulse signal.

[0113] When the transmission characteristics include the departure angle of the first pulse signal, the network device can combine the orientation or direction of its multiple antennas and the departure angle of the first pulse signal to determine the orientation of the terminal device relative to the network device and achieve positioning of the terminal device.

[0114] As an example, the directions of multiple antennas of the network device itself are the same as the Y-axis (north) direction, and the departure angle of the first pulse signal is θ, then the network device can determine that the terminal device is in the direction of θ west of its north.

[0115] In a possible implementation, the network device may also locate the terminal device according to the departure angle of the first pulse signal and the distance between the network device and the terminal device.

[0116] As an example, referring to the positioning diagram shown in FIG9 , the orientation of the multiple antennas of the network device itself is the same as the Y-axis (north) direction, and the departure angle of the first pulse signal is θ. Then the network device can determine that the terminal device is in the direction of θ west of its north, and combined with the distance D between the network device and the terminal device, the network device can determine that the terminal device is in the direction of θ west of its north, at a distance D from the network device. The distance D between the network device and the terminal device can be the ranging method described in FIG2 . Optionally, in order to save signaling overhead, the second pulse signal, the first pulse signal, etc. transmitted between the network devices can also be used as ranging signals, such as the first ranging signal and the second ranging signal in FIG2 , which simultaneously act on the ranging between the network device and the terminal device.

[0117] In the case where the transmission characteristics include the channel delay of the first pulse signal, the network device can also correct the ranging deviation (or the deviation in the time of transmission of the ranging signal between the two) caused by overlapping multipath between the network device and the terminal device based on the channel delay. For example, based on the distance between the network device and the terminal device determined based on the channel delay, the distance between the network device and the terminal device measured based on the flight time is corrected, and the terminal device is positioned based on the corrected distance. For example: the position of the terminal device is determined based on the positions of multiple network devices and the corrected distances between them and the terminal device. Alternatively, the position of the terminal device relative to the network device is determined based on the corrected distance and the departure angle of the first pulse signal, and the position of the terminal device can be determined in combination with the position of the network device.

[0118] In addition, in an embodiment of the present application, the network device can also use multiple different transmission delays through multiple antennas within the pulse reception time window of multiple terminal devices to change the time or order of the multiple antennas sending the first pulse signal, thereby reducing the impact and probability of the superposition of strong paths between different antennas, thereby obtaining more accurate transmission characteristics and improving positioning accuracy. As shown in Figure 10, by using different transmission delays, the probability of the strong path of the antenna with the mth delayed transmission being repeatedly superimposed on the main path of the antenna with the m+1th delayed transmission can be actively reduced.

[0119] The positioning method shown in FIG4 is mainly described from the perspective of positioning processing performed by a network device. It is understandable that positioning processing can also be performed by a terminal device. FIG11 is a schematic diagram of another positioning method provided in an embodiment of the present application, which includes:

[0120] S1101: The network device sends first pulse signals to the terminal device through multiple antennas within a pulse receiving time window of the terminal device. Correspondingly, the terminal device receives multiple first pulse signals from the multiple antennas of the network device.

[0121] Among them, the sending delays of the network device for sending the first pulse signal on multiple antennas are different relative to the initial sending time, and the initial sending time is the time when the first antenna among the multiple antennas that sends the first pulse signal sends the first pulse signal.

[0122] S1102: The terminal device determines a first channel impulse response vector based on multiple first impulse signals.

[0123] S1103: The terminal device determines the transmission characteristics of the first pulse signal based on multiple transmission delays and the first channel impulse response vector.

[0124] S1104: The terminal device locates the terminal device according to the transmission characteristics of the first pulse signal.

[0125] The implementation of the above S1101-S1104 is similar to the implementation of S401-S405. The difference between the positioning method shown in Figure 11 and the positioning method shown in Figure 4 is that in Figure 11, the terminal device determines the transmission characteristics of the first pulse signal based on multiple transmission delays and the first channel pulse response vector to locate the terminal device, rather than the network device locating the terminal device. The specific implementation of S1101-S1104 can refer to the implementation of S401-S405 and will not be repeated here.

[0126] It is understood that in order to implement the functions in the above embodiments, the terminal devices and network devices include hardware structures and / or software modules corresponding to the execution of each function. Those skilled in the art should readily appreciate that, in combination with the units and method steps of each example described in the embodiments disclosed in this application, the present application can be implemented in the form of hardware or a combination of hardware and computer software. Whether a function is executed in hardware or in a manner driven by computer software depends on the specific application scenario and design constraints of the technical solution.

[0127] Figures 12 and 13 are schematic diagrams of the structures of possible communication devices provided by embodiments of the present application. These communication devices can be used to implement the functions of the terminal device and network device in the above method embodiments, thereby also achieving the beneficial effects of the above method embodiments. In one possible implementation, the communication device can be a terminal device or a network device, or a module (such as a chip) applied to a terminal device or a network device.

[0128] As shown in Figure 12, the communication device 1200 includes a processing unit 1210 and an interface unit 1220, wherein the interface unit 1220 can also be a transceiver unit or an input / output interface. The communication device 1200 can be used to implement the functions of the terminal device and the network device in the method embodiment shown in Figure 4 or Figure 11 above.

[0129] When the communication device 1200 is used to implement the functions of the network device in the method embodiment shown in FIG4 :

[0130] The interface unit 1220 is used to send a first pulse signal to the terminal device through multiple antennas within a pulse reception time window of the terminal device; wherein the sending time of the first pulse signal sent on the multiple antennas is different from multiple sending delays relative to the initial sending time, and the initial sending time is the time when the first antenna among the multiple antennas that sends the first pulse signal sends the first pulse signal; and receive a first channel pulse response vector from the terminal device, wherein the first channel pulse response vector is determined by the terminal device based on the first pulse signals sent by the multiple antennas; the processing unit 1210 is used to determine the transmission characteristics of the first pulse signal based on the multiple sending delays and the first channel pulse response vector; and locate the terminal device based on the transmission characteristics of the first pulse signal.

[0131] In one possible design, the transmission characteristics of the first pulse signal may include, but are not limited to, one or more of a departure angle and a channel delay of the first pulse signal.

[0132] In one possible design, when the processing unit 1210 determines the transmission characteristics of the first pulse signal based on multiple transmission delays and the first channel impulse response vector, it is specifically used to determine multiple first sub-channel impulse response vectors corresponding to multiple antennas of the terminal device based on the multiple transmission delays and the first channel impulse response vector; and determine the transmission characteristics of the first pulse signal based on the multiple first sub-channel impulse response vectors corresponding to the multiple antennas of the terminal device.

[0133] In one possible design, the processing unit 1210 is also used to determine the times of strong path delays corresponding to the multiple antennas according to the channel pulse response vectors of the second pulse signals received from the terminal device by the multiple antennas before the interface unit 1220 sends the first pulse signal to the terminal device through the multiple antennas within the pulse reception time window of the terminal device; and determine multiple transmission delays according to the times of strong path delays corresponding to the multiple antennas.

[0134] In one possible design, the interface unit 1220 is further configured to receive a second pulse signal from a terminal device through multiple antennas; when the interface unit 1220 sends the first pulse signal to the terminal device through the multiple antennas within the pulse reception time window of the terminal device, the interface unit 1220 is specifically configured to determine, based on the first time when any of the multiple antennas receives the second pulse signal and the feedback delays corresponding to the multiple antennas, the second time when the multiple antennas respectively send the first pulse signal to the terminal device, wherein the maximum difference between the second times when the multiple antennas respectively send the first pulse signal to the terminal device is less than or equal to the duration of the pulse reception time window of the terminal device; send the first pulse signal to the terminal device through the multiple antennas according to the second time when the multiple antennas respectively send the first pulse signal to the terminal device; or determine, based on the first time when the multiple antennas respectively receive the second pulse signal and the feedback delays corresponding to the multiple antennas, the second time when the multiple antennas respectively send the first pulse signal to the terminal device, wherein the maximum difference between the second times when the multiple antennas respectively send the first pulse signal to the terminal device is less than or equal to the duration of the pulse reception time window of the terminal device; send the first pulse signal to the terminal device through the multiple antennas according to the second time when the multiple antennas respectively send the first pulse signal to the terminal device.

[0135] In one possible design, the first channel impulse response vector is determined by the terminal device based on first pulse signals respectively sent by multiple antennas and received in each sampling interval within multiple sampling intervals, where the multiple sampling intervals are determined based on multiple transmission delays.

[0136] In one possible design, the interface unit 1220 is also used to send multiple transmission delays to the terminal device.

[0137] In a possible design, the first channel impulse response vector may be determined by the terminal device based on a portion of first pulse signals having a signal amplitude greater than or equal to an amplitude threshold in first pulse signals respectively sent by multiple antennas.

[0138] In one possible design, the interface unit 1220 uses multiple different transmission delays to send first pulse signals to the terminal devices through multiple antennas within the pulse reception time window of the multiple terminal devices.

[0139] When the communication device 1200 is used to implement the functions of the terminal device in the method embodiment shown in FIG4 :

[0140] The interface unit 1220 is used to receive multiple first pulse signals from the network device, wherein the multiple first pulse signals are sent by the network device to the terminal device respectively through multiple antennas, and the sending time of the first pulse signals sent by the network device on the multiple antennas respectively has multiple different sending delays relative to the initial sending time, and the initial sending time is the time when the first antenna among the multiple antennas to send the first pulse signal sends the first pulse signal; the processing unit 1210 is used to determine the first channel pulse response vector based on the multiple first pulse signals; the interface unit 1220 is also used to send the first channel pulse response vector to the network device.

[0141] In one possible design, the interface unit 1220 is also used to send a second pulse signal to the network device.

[0142] In one possible design, when the processing unit 1210 determines the first channel impulse response vector based on multiple first pulse signals, it is specifically used to determine the first channel impulse response vector based on multiple first pulse signals received in each sampling interval within multiple sampling intervals, wherein the multiple sampling intervals are determined based on multiple transmission delays.

[0143] In one possible design, the interface unit 1220 is further used to receive multiple transmission delays from the network device.

[0144] In one possible design, when the processing unit 1210 determines the first channel impulse response vector based on multiple first pulse signals, it is specifically used to determine the first channel impulse response vector based on a portion of the first pulse signals whose signal amplitudes are greater than or equal to an amplitude threshold among the received multiple first pulse signals.

[0145] When the communication device 1200 is used to implement the functions of the network device in the method embodiment shown in FIG11 :

[0146] The processing unit 1210 is used to determine the first pulse signal; the interface unit 1220 is used to send the first pulse signal to the terminal device through multiple antennas within the pulse receiving time window of the terminal device, wherein the sending time of the first pulse signal on the multiple antennas is different from the multiple sending delays relative to the initial sending time, and the initial sending time is the time when the first antenna that sends the first pulse signal among the multiple antennas sends the first pulse signal.

[0147] In one possible design, before the interface unit 1220 sends a first pulse signal to the terminal device through multiple antennas within a pulse reception time window of the terminal device, the processing unit 1210 is further used to determine the time of strong path delays corresponding to the multiple antennas based on the channel pulse response vectors of the second pulse signals received from the terminal device by the multiple antennas; and determine multiple transmission delays based on the time of strong path delays corresponding to the multiple antennas.

[0148] In one possible design, the interface unit 1220 is further configured to receive a second pulse signal from a terminal device through multiple antennas; when the interface unit 1220 sends the first pulse signal to the terminal device through the multiple antennas within the pulse reception time window of the terminal device, the interface unit 1220 is specifically configured to determine, based on the first time when any of the multiple antennas receives the second pulse signal and the feedback delays corresponding to the multiple antennas, the second time when the multiple antennas respectively send the first pulse signal to the terminal device, wherein the maximum difference between the second times when the multiple antennas respectively send the first pulse signal to the terminal device is less than or equal to the duration of the pulse reception time window of the terminal device; send the first pulse signal to the terminal device through the multiple antennas according to the second time when the multiple antennas respectively send the first pulse signal to the terminal device; or determine, based on the first time when the multiple antennas respectively receive the second pulse signal and the feedback delays corresponding to the multiple antennas, the second time when the multiple antennas respectively send the first pulse signal to the terminal device, wherein the maximum difference between the second times when the multiple antennas respectively send the first pulse signal to the terminal device is less than or equal to the duration of the pulse reception time window of the terminal device; send the first pulse signal to the terminal device through the multiple antennas according to the second time when the multiple antennas respectively send the first pulse signal to the terminal device.

[0149] In one possible design, the interface unit 1220 is also used to send multiple transmission delays to the terminal device.

[0150] When the communication device 1200 is used to implement the functions of the terminal device in the method embodiment shown in FIG11 :

[0151] The interface unit 1220 is used to receive multiple first pulse signals from the network device, wherein the multiple first pulse signals are sent by the network device to the terminal device respectively through multiple antennas, and the sending time of the first pulse signal sent by the network device on the multiple antennas is different from the multiple sending delays relative to the initial sending time, and the initial sending time is the time when the first antenna among the multiple antennas to send the first pulse signal sends the first pulse signal; the processing unit 1210 is used to determine the first channel pulse response vector based on the multiple first pulse signals; determine the transmission characteristics of the first pulse signal based on the multiple sending delays and the first channel pulse response vector; and locate the terminal device based on the transmission characteristics of the first pulse signal.

[0152] In one possible design, the transmission characteristics of the first pulse signal include one or more of a departure angle and a channel delay of the first pulse signal.

[0153] In one possible design, when the processing unit 1210 determines the transmission characteristics of the first pulse signal based on multiple transmission delays and the first channel impulse response vector, it is specifically used to determine multiple first sub-channel impulse response vectors corresponding to multiple antennas of the terminal device based on the multiple transmission delays and the first channel impulse response vector; and determine the transmission characteristics of the first pulse signal based on the multiple first sub-channel impulse response vectors corresponding to the multiple antennas of the terminal device.

[0154] In one possible design, the interface unit 1220 is also used to send a second pulse signal to the network device.

[0155] In one possible design, the interface unit 1220 is further used to receive multiple transmission delays from the network device.

[0156] As shown in Figure 13, the present application also provides a communication device 1300, including a processor 1310 and an interface circuit 1320. The processor 1310 and the interface circuit 1320 are coupled to each other. It is understood that the interface circuit 1320 can be a transceiver, an input / output interface, an input interface, an output interface, a communication interface, etc. Optionally, the communication device 1300 may also include a memory 1330 for storing instructions executed by the processor 1310, or storing input data required by the processor 1310 to execute instructions, or storing data generated after the processor 1310 executes instructions. Optionally, the memory 1330 may also be integrated with the processor 1310.

[0157] When the communication device 1300 is used to implement the method shown in FIG. 4 or FIG. 11 , the processor 1310 may be used to implement the functions of the processing unit 1210 , and the interface circuit 1320 may be used to implement the functions of the interface unit 1220 .

[0158] It is understood that the processor in the embodiments of the present application may be a central processing unit (CPU), or may be other general-purpose processors, digital signal processors (DSP), application-specific integrated circuits (ASIC), logic circuits, field programmable gate arrays (FPGA) or other programmable logic devices, transistor logic devices, hardware components, or any combination thereof. The general-purpose processor may be a microprocessor or any conventional processor.

[0159] The method steps in the embodiments of the present application can be implemented by hardware or by a processor executing software instructions. The software instructions can be composed of corresponding software modules, and the software modules can be stored in a random access memory, a flash memory, a read-only memory, a programmable read-only memory, an erasable programmable read-only memory, an electrically erasable programmable read-only memory, a register, a hard disk, a mobile hard disk, a CD-ROM or any other form of storage medium well known in the art. An exemplary storage medium is coupled to the processor so that the processor can read information from the storage medium and write information to the storage medium. Of course, the storage medium can also be an integral part of the processor. The processor and the storage medium can be located in an ASIC. In addition, the ASIC can be located in a network device or a terminal device. Of course, the processor and the storage medium can also be present in a network device or a terminal device as discrete components.

[0160] In the above embodiments, all or part of the embodiments can be implemented using software, hardware, firmware, or any combination thereof. When implemented using software, all or part of the embodiments can be implemented in the form of a computer program product. The computer program product includes one or more computer programs or instructions. When the computer program or instructions are loaded and executed on a computer, the processes or functions described in the embodiments of the present application are performed in whole or in part. The computer can be a general-purpose computer, a special-purpose computer, a computer network, a network device, a user device, or other programmable device. The computer program or instructions can be stored in a computer-readable storage medium or transmitted from one computer-readable storage medium to another. For example, the computer program or instructions can be transmitted from one network device, terminal, computer, server, or data center to another network device, terminal, computer, server, or data center via wired or wireless means. The computer-readable storage medium can be any available medium that can be accessed by a computer or a data storage device such as a server or data center that integrates one or more available media. The available medium can be a magnetic medium, such as a floppy disk, hard disk, or magnetic tape; it can also be an optical medium, such as a digital video disk; or it can be a semiconductor medium, such as a solid-state drive. The computer-readable storage medium may be a volatile or nonvolatile storage medium, or may include both volatile and nonvolatile types of storage media.

[0161] In the various embodiments of the present application, unless otherwise specified or there is a logical conflict, the terms and / or descriptions between different embodiments are consistent and can be referenced by each other. The technical features in different embodiments can be combined to form new embodiments according to their inherent logical relationships.

[0162] Furthermore, it should be understood that in the embodiments of this application, the word "exemplary" is used to indicate an example, illustration, or description. Any embodiment or design described in this application as "exemplary" should not be construed as preferred or advantageous over other embodiments or designs. Rather, the use of the word "exemplary" is intended to present concepts in a concrete manner.

[0163] It is understood that the various numbers used in the embodiments of this application are merely for ease of description and are not intended to limit the scope of the embodiments of this application. The order of the sequence numbers of the above-mentioned processes does not necessarily imply a specific order of execution; the order of execution of the processes should be determined by their functions and inherent logic.

Claims

1. A positioning method, characterized in that: include: The network device sends a first pulse signal to the terminal device through multiple antennas within a pulse receiving time window of the terminal device; wherein the sending time of sending the first pulse signal on the multiple antennas respectively has different sending delays relative to the initial sending time, and the initial sending time is the time when the first antenna among the multiple antennas that sends the first pulse signal sends the first pulse signal; The network device receives a first channel impulse response vector from the terminal device, wherein the first channel impulse response vector is determined by the terminal device according to the first impulse signals respectively sent by the multiple antennas; The network device determines, according to the multiple transmission delays and the first channel impulse response vector, a transmission characteristic of the first pulse signal; The network device locates the terminal device according to the transmission characteristics of the first pulse signal.

2. The method according to claim 1, characterized in that The transmission characteristics of the first pulse signal include one or more of a departure angle and a channel delay of the first pulse signal.

3. The method according to claim 1 or 2, characterized in that The network device determines, according to the multiple transmission delays and the first channel impulse response vector, a transmission characteristic of the first pulse signal, including: The network device determines, according to the multiple transmission delays and the first channel impulse response vector, multiple first sub-channel impulse response vectors of the terminal device corresponding to the multiple antennas; The network device determines the transmission characteristics of the first pulse signal according to multiple first sub-channel impulse response vectors of the terminal device corresponding to the multiple antennas.

4. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 3, characterized in that Before the network device sends the first pulse signal to the terminal device through multiple antennas within the pulse receiving time window of the terminal device, the method further includes: The network device determines the strong path delay times corresponding to the multiple antennas respectively according to the second channel impulse response vectors of the second pulse signals respectively received by the multiple antennas from the terminal device; The network device determines the multiple transmission delays according to the time of the strong path delays respectively corresponding to the multiple antennas.

5. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 3, characterized in that Before the network device sends the first pulse signal to the terminal device through multiple antennas within the pulse receiving time window of the terminal device, the method further includes: The network device receives a second pulse signal from the terminal device through the multiple antennas; The network device sends a first pulse signal to the terminal device through multiple antennas within a pulse receiving time window of the terminal device, including: The network device determines the second time at which the multiple antennas respectively send the first pulse signal to the terminal device according to the first time at which any antenna among the multiple antennas receives the second pulse signal and the feedback delays corresponding to the multiple antennas, wherein the maximum difference between the second times at which the multiple antennas respectively send the first pulse signal to the terminal device is less than or equal to the duration of the pulse receiving time window of the terminal device; the network device sends the first pulse signal to the terminal device respectively through the multiple antennas according to the second time at which the multiple antennas respectively send the first pulse signal to the terminal device; or, The network device determines that the multiple antennas respectively send the first pulse signal to the terminal device according to the first time when the multiple antennas respectively receive the second pulse signal and the feedback delays corresponding to the multiple antennas respectively. The maximum difference between the second times at which the multiple antennas respectively send the first pulse signals to the terminal device is less than or equal to the duration of the pulse receiving time window of the terminal device; the network device sends the first pulse signals to the terminal device through the multiple antennas according to the second time at which the multiple antennas respectively send the first pulse signals to the terminal device.

6. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 5, characterized in that The first channel impulse response vector is determined by the terminal device according to the first pulse signals respectively transmitted by the multiple antennas and received in each sampling interval in a plurality of sampling intervals, wherein the plurality of sampling intervals are determined according to the plurality of transmission delays.

7. The method according to claim 6, characterized in that The method further comprises: The network device sends the plurality of transmission delays to the terminal device.

8. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 5, characterized in that: The first channel impulse response vector is determined by the terminal device according to a portion of the first pulse signals having a signal amplitude greater than or equal to an amplitude threshold value, among the first pulse signals respectively transmitted by the multiple antennas.

9. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 8, characterized in that The network device uses different multiple transmission delays to send first pulse signals to the terminal devices respectively through the multiple antennas within the pulse reception time windows of the multiple terminal devices.

10. A positioning method, characterized in that: include: The terminal device receives multiple first pulse signals from the network device, wherein the multiple first pulse signals are respectively sent by the network device to the terminal device through multiple antennas, and the sending time of the first pulse signal respectively sent by the network device on the multiple antennas has multiple different sending delays relative to the initial sending time, and the initial sending time is the time when the first antenna among the multiple antennas that sends the first pulse signal sends the first pulse signal; The terminal device determines a first channel impulse response vector according to the plurality of the first impulse signals; The terminal device sends the first channel impulse response vector to the network device.

11. The method according to claim 10, characterized in that The method further comprises: The terminal device sends a second pulse signal to the network device.

12. The method according to claim 10 or 11, characterized in that The terminal device determines a first channel impulse response vector according to the plurality of first impulse signals, including: The terminal device determines the first channel impulse response vector according to the multiple first pulse signals received in each sampling interval in a plurality of sampling intervals, wherein the multiple sampling intervals are determined according to the multiple transmission delays.

13. The method according to any one of claims 10 to 12, characterized in that: The method further comprises: The terminal device receives the plurality of transmission delays from the network device.

14. The method according to claim 10 or 11, characterized in that: The terminal device determines a first channel impulse response vector according to the plurality of first impulse signals, including: The terminal device determines the first channel impulse response vector based on part of the first pulse signals whose signal amplitudes are greater than or equal to an amplitude threshold among the multiple first pulse signals received.

15. A positioning method, characterized in that: include: The terminal device receives multiple first pulse signals from the network device, wherein the multiple first pulse signals are respectively sent by the network device to the terminal device through multiple antennas, and the sending time of the first pulse signal respectively sent by the network device on the multiple antennas has multiple different sending delays relative to the initial sending time, and the initial sending time is the time when the first antenna among the multiple antennas that sends the first pulse signal sends the first pulse signal; The terminal device determines a first channel impulse response vector according to the plurality of the first impulse signals; The terminal device determines the transmission characteristics of the first pulse signal according to the multiple transmission delays and the first channel impulse response vector; The terminal device locates the terminal device according to the transmission characteristics of the first pulse signal.

16. The method according to claim 15, characterized in that The transmission characteristics of the first pulse signal include one or more of a departure angle and a channel delay of the first pulse signal.

17. The method according to claim 15 or 16, characterized in that The terminal device determines, according to the multiple transmission delays and the first channel impulse response vector, a transmission characteristic of the first pulse signal, including: The terminal device determines, according to the multiple transmission delays and the first channel impulse response vector, multiple first sub-channel impulse response vectors of the terminal device corresponding to the multiple antennas; The terminal device determines the transmission characteristics of the first pulse signal according to multiple first sub-channel impulse response vectors corresponding to the multiple antennas of the terminal device.

18. The method according to any one of claims 15 to 17, characterized in that The method further comprises: The terminal device sends a second pulse signal to the network device.

19. The method according to any one of claims 15 to 18, characterized in that The method further comprises: The terminal device receives the plurality of transmission delays from the network device.

20. A positioning method, characterized in that: include: The network device determines a first pulse signal; The network device sends the first pulse signal to the terminal device through multiple antennas within the pulse receiving time window of the terminal device, wherein the sending time of the first pulse signal respectively sent on the multiple antennas has multiple different sending delays relative to the initial sending time, and the initial sending time is the time when the first antenna among the multiple antennas that sends the first pulse signal sends the first pulse signal.

21. The method of claim 20, wherein: Before the network device sends the first pulse signal to the terminal device through multiple antennas within the pulse receiving time window of the terminal device, the method further includes: The network device determines the strong path delay times corresponding to the multiple antennas respectively according to the second channel impulse response vectors of the second pulse signals respectively received by the multiple antennas from the terminal device; The network device determines the multiple transmission delays according to the time of the strong path delays respectively corresponding to the multiple antennas.

22. The method of claim 20, wherein: Before the network device sends the first pulse signal to the terminal device through multiple antennas within the pulse receiving time window of the terminal device, the method further includes: The network device receives a second pulse signal from the terminal device through the multiple antennas; The network device sends a first pulse signal to the terminal device through multiple antennas within a pulse receiving time window of the terminal device, including: The network device determines the second time at which the multiple antennas respectively send the first pulse signal to the terminal device according to the first time at which any antenna among the multiple antennas receives the second pulse signal and the feedback delays corresponding to the multiple antennas, wherein the maximum difference between the second times at which the multiple antennas respectively send the first pulse signal to the terminal device is less than or equal to the duration of the pulse receiving time window of the terminal device; the network device sends the first pulse signal to the terminal device respectively through the multiple antennas according to the second time at which the multiple antennas respectively send the first pulse signal to the terminal device; or, The network device determines that the multiple antennas respectively send the first pulse signal to the terminal device according to the first time when the multiple antennas respectively receive the second pulse signal and the feedback delays corresponding to the multiple antennas respectively. The maximum difference between the second times at which the multiple antennas respectively send the first pulse signals to the terminal device is less than or equal to the duration of the pulse receiving time window of the terminal device; the network device sends the first pulse signals to the terminal device through the multiple antennas according to the second time at which the multiple antennas respectively send the first pulse signals to the terminal device.

23. The method according to any one of claims 20 to 22, characterized in that The method further comprises: The network device sends the plurality of transmission delays to the terminal device.

24. A communication device, characterized in that: including an interface unit and a processing unit; An interface unit for receiving and sending data; A processing unit, configured to execute the method according to any one of claims 1 to 23 through the interface unit.

25. A communication device, characterized in that: It includes a processor and an interface circuit, wherein the interface circuit is used to receive signals from other communication devices outside the communication device and transmit them to the processor, or send signals from the processor to other communication devices outside the communication device, and the processor is used to implement the method as described in any one of claims 1-23 through logic circuits or execution instructions.

26. A computer program product, characterized in that Contains instructions, which, when executed by a processor, enable the method according to any one of claims 1 to 23 to be implemented.

27. A chip system, characterized in that: The chip system includes a processor, the processor is coupled to a memory, the memory is used to store programs or instructions, and when the program or instructions are executed by the processor, the method as described in any one of claims 1-23 is implemented.

28. A computer-readable storage medium, characterized in that: The storage medium stores a computer program or instruction. When the computer program or instruction is executed by a processor, the method according to any one of claims 1 to 23 is implemented.

Images