Method for acquiring timing advance (TA) and related device

Abstract

The invention provides a method for acquiring timing advance (TA) and a related device, a terminal uses a media access control element (MAC CE) to send position information to a network device under the condition that a condition is satisfied, the position information represents the position of the terminal, the position information is used for the network device to acquire the TA, and compared with the TA reported by the terminal, the TA reported by the terminal is more accurate. The TA obtained by the network equipment based on the position of the terminal is closer to the TA actually used by the terminal, so that the network equipment and the terminal can communicate by using the consistent TA, and conflict can be avoided in the HD communication mode.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] This application relates to the field of satellite communication technology, and in particular to a method and related apparatus for obtaining timing advance (TA). Background Technology

[0002] To reduce the cost of terminals, especially those for enterprise users, Reduced Capability (RedCap) communication has emerged. RedCap includes Half-Duplex (HD) communication mode. In HD communication mode, the terminal cannot send uplink data while receiving downlink data, nor can it receive downlink data while sending uplink data. Therefore, one of the key points in implementing HD communication mode is to prevent collisions, which refer to the overlap of time domain resources used by uplink transmission and downlink transmission.

[0003] In satellite communication scenarios, preventing conflicts in HD communication modes is a problem that needs to be solved. Summary of the Invention

[0004] This application provides a method and related apparatus for obtaining timing advance TA to resolve the conflict problem in HD communication mode. The disclosed technical solution is as follows:

[0005] The first aspect of this application provides a method for obtaining a timing advance report (TA), applied to a terminal. The method includes: under certain conditions, sending location information to a network device using a Media Access Control (MAC) CE, the location information representing the terminal's location, the location information being used by the network device to obtain the TA. The conditions include at least one TA reporting condition and a location reporting condition. The location reporting condition includes at least one first condition, a second condition, and a third condition. The first condition includes: the terminal obtaining a location information reporting indication sent by the network device; the second condition includes: the terminal obtaining a location offset reporting threshold indicated by the network device, and the terminal not having reported location information before; the third condition includes: the terminal obtaining a location offset reporting threshold indicated by the network device, and the offset of the terminal's location not less than the location offset reporting threshold.

[0006] Under certain conditions, the terminal sends location information to the network device. This location information is used by the network device to obtain the Location Tracking (TA). Compared to the TA reported by the terminal, the TA obtained by the network device based on the terminal's location is closer to the TA actually used by the terminal. Therefore, it is beneficial for the network device and the terminal to communicate using the same TA, and in HD communication mode, it is more conducive to avoiding conflicts. Furthermore, the conditions include at least one of the TA reporting conditions and the location reporting conditions. The location reporting conditions include one of multiple conditions, so there are multiple ways to trigger the terminal to report, which has greater flexibility and convenience. Using MAC CE to send location information is beneficial for compatibility with communication protocols and can be applied to most scenarios that require TA acquisition.

[0007] In some implementations, the MAC CE is used to send location information to the network device, including sending a Media Access Control Sub-Protocol Data Unit (MAC sub PDU) to the network device. The MAC sub PDU includes the MAC CE, and the MAC CE includes location information. This is beneficial for compatibility with communication protocols and can be applied to most scenarios that require obtaining the TA.

[0008] In some implementations, the MAC sub PDU also includes a subheader, which indicates that the MAC sub PDU carries location information, making it easier for network devices to identify the function of the MAC sub PDU.

[0009] In some implementations, the subheader includes a Logical Channel Identifier (LCID) field, the value of which indicates that the MACsub PDU carries location information.

[0010] In some implementations, location information is sent to network devices, including by using physical uplink shared channel resources.

[0011] In some implementations, the Physical Uplink Shared Channel (PUSCH) resource is used to send location information to the network device. This includes sending a MAC sub-PDU containing location information to the network device using the PUSCH resource, provided that the PUSCH resource can accommodate one MAC sub-PDU. Before sending, it is necessary to determine whether the PUSCH resource is sufficient to accommodate the message to be sent, which helps ensure that the location information is successfully sent to the network device.

[0012] In some implementations, before sending location information to the network device using the physical uplink shared channel resource, the method further includes: requesting physical uplink shared channel resource from the network device if the physical uplink shared channel resource cannot accommodate a MAC sub PDU; and after obtaining the physical uplink shared channel resource, using the physical uplink shared channel resource to send a MAC sub PDU containing location information to the network device, in order to further ensure that the location information is successfully sent to the network device.

[0013] In some implementations, the location information includes: first location information, which is obtained by reducing the precision of the actual location information of the terminal in order to protect the user's privacy.

[0014] In some implementations, the first location information includes M bits, of which N bits are set to preset values, where N is less than M, in order to ensure the accuracy of the location information while protecting user privacy.

[0015] In some implementations, obtaining location information reporting instructions sent by network devices includes: receiving request messages sent by network devices, whereby the request messages instruct the terminal to report location information. Triggering terminal location information reporting via request messages allows for greater flexibility, enabling the terminal to report location information only when requested by the network device.

[0016] In some implementations, obtaining the location offset reporting threshold indicated by the network device includes: receiving an RRC message sent by the network device, the RRC message including the location offset reporting threshold.

[0017] Some implementations also include sending a TA to the network device when certain conditions are met, which is compatible with the existing TA reporting mechanism.

[0018] In some implementations, the position offset includes the offset between the current position and a reference position. The reference position is the position closer to the current time than the first position or the second position. The first position is the position indicated by the previously reported position information, and the second position is the terminal's position when the TA (Telematics Targeting) was last reported. When reporting both TA and position information, the reference position is determined based on both the previously reported position information and the TA, which helps to obtain a more accurate position offset. This lays the foundation for network devices to obtain a TA that is closer to the TA actually used by the terminal.

[0019] In some implementations, the conditions for TA reporting include: the difference between the TA obtained at the current time and the reference TA is greater than the TA reporting threshold. The reference TA is the TA obtained more recently than the current time among the first TA and the second TA. The first TA is the TA reported last time, and the second TA is the TA obtained when the location information was reported last time, in order to be compatible with existing communication protocols.

[0020] A second aspect of this application provides a method for obtaining a timing advance TA (Target Aspect Ratio), applied to a network device. The method includes: instructing a terminal to report location information, where the location information represents the terminal's location; receiving the location information sent by the terminal via a Media Access Control (MAC) CE (Control Element Component); and obtaining the TA based on the location information. Compared to the TA reported by the terminal, the TA obtained by the network device based on the terminal's location is closer to the TA actually used by the terminal. Therefore, it is beneficial for the network device and the terminal to communicate using the same TA, and in HD (High-Definition) communication mode, it is more conducive to avoiding conflicts.

[0021] In some implementations, instructing the terminal to report location information includes sending a request message to the terminal, which instructs the terminal to report location information.

[0022] In some implementations, the terminal includes: a terminal that is in a Radio Resource Control (RRC) connection state with the network device.

[0023] In some implementations, instructing the terminal to report location information includes sending an RRC message to the terminal, the RRC message including a location offset reporting threshold.

[0024] In some implementations, the location information sent by the receiving terminal is received via the MAC CE, including: receiving a MAC subPDU, where the MAC subPDU includes the MAC CE and the MAC CE includes the location information.

[0025] In some implementations, the MAC sub PDU also includes a subheader, which indicates that the MAC sub PDU carries location information.

[0026] In some implementations, the subheader includes a Logical Channel Identifier (LCID) field, the value of which indicates that the MACsub PDU carries location information.

[0027] In some implementations, receiving location information sent by the terminal via MAC CE includes: using physical uplink shared channel resources pre-allocated to the terminal to receive location information sent by the terminal via MAC CE.

[0028] In some implementations, before receiving location information sent by the terminal via MACCE using the physical uplink shared channel resources pre-allocated to the terminal, the method further includes: allocating physical uplink shared channel resources to the terminal in response to the terminal's scheduling request for physical uplink shared channel resources.

[0029] Some implementations also include: instructing the terminal on the TA reporting threshold, so that the terminal can report the TA in accordance with the communication protocol while meeting the TA reporting threshold, thus achieving compatibility with the communication protocol.

[0030] In some implementations, the location information includes: first location information, which is obtained by reducing the precision of the actual location information of the terminal.

[0031] A third aspect of this application provides a terminal, including: one or more processors, a memory, and a touch screen, wherein the memory is used to store program code, and the processor is used to run the program code, so that the terminal implements the method for obtaining timing advance TA provided in the first aspect of this application.

[0032] A fourth aspect of this application provides a network device, including: one or more processors and a memory, the memory for storing program code and the processor for running the program code, such that the network device implements the method for obtaining timing advance (TA) provided in the second aspect of this application.

[0033] The fifth aspect of this application provides a computer-readable storage medium having instructions stored thereon, which, when executed on an electronic device, cause the electronic device to implement the method for obtaining timing advance (TA) provided in the first or second aspect of this application.

[0034] The sixth aspect of this application provides a computer program product having stored thereon an executable method that, when run on an electronic device, causes the electronic device to implement the method for obtaining timing advance TA provided in the first or second aspect of this application.

[0035] A seventh aspect of this application provides a chip system comprising: at least one processor and an interface, the interface being configured to receive code instructions and transmit them to the at least one processor, the at least one processor executing the code instructions to implement the method for obtaining timing advance (TA) provided in the first or second aspect of this application. Attached Figure Description

[0036] To more clearly illustrate the technical solutions in the embodiments of the present invention or the prior art, the drawings used in the description of the embodiments or the prior art will be briefly introduced below. Obviously, the drawings described below are some embodiments of the present invention. For those skilled in the art, other drawings can be obtained based on these drawings without creative effort.

[0037] Figure 1 This is an example of a network device configuring uplink and downlink resources based on the TA reported by the terminal;

[0038] Figure 2 This is a flowchart of a method for obtaining TA provided in an embodiment of this application;

[0039] Figure 3 This is an example of a MAC sub PDU provided in the embodiments of this application;

[0040] Figure 4 This is a flowchart of yet another method for obtaining TA provided in an embodiment of this application;

[0041] Figure 5 This is a flowchart of yet another method for obtaining TA provided in an embodiment of this application;

[0042] Figure 6 This is a flowchart of yet another method for obtaining TA provided in an embodiment of this application;

[0043] Figure 7 This is a structural example diagram of a terminal disclosed in an embodiment of this application;

[0044] Figure 8 This is a structural example diagram of a network device disclosed in an embodiment of this application. Detailed Implementation

[0045] The terms "first," "second," and "third," etc., used in this application specification, claims, and drawings are used to distinguish different objects, not to limit a specific order.

[0046] In the embodiments of this application, the words "in some implementations" or "for example" are used to indicate examples, illustrations or descriptions, and should not be construed as being more preferred or more advantageous than other embodiments or designs.

[0047] In terrestrial cellular communication scenarios, timing advance (TA) is used to resolve conflicts in HD communication mode, where the time domain resources used for uplink transmission overlap with those used for downlink transmission.

[0048] With the development of communication technology, 5.5G and 6G will support half-duplex communication in non-terrestrial networks (NTN).

[0049] In NTN scenarios, satellite-based communication has two modes: transparent forwarding mode (also known as transparent transmission mode) and regeneration mode. Transparent forwarding mode can be understood as the satellite forwarding information (e.g., information reported by the terminal to the satellite) to the ground base station. In other words, network-side control information is processed by the base station, and the satellite acts as a forwarder during information transmission. Regeneration mode can be understood as some or all of the base station's functions being integrated into the satellite. In regeneration mode, the satellite possesses the ability to receive and process data, meaning that some or all of the network-side control information is processed by the satellite.

[0050] In the embodiments of this application, satellites and ground base stations are collectively referred to as network devices.

[0051] The communication standard specifies that: based on satellite ephemeris and the terminal's location, the terminal reports its TA (Transmission Time) to the network device. In regeneration mode, the network device uses the TA reported by the terminal as the final acquired TA. In transparent forwarding mode, the network device uses the sum of the TA reported by the terminal and the propagation delay between the ground base station and the reference point as the final acquired TA.

[0052] Because of the terminal's location and the movement of the satellite, the TA (Transmission Address) acquired by the terminal will change. Furthermore, because the communication standard stipulates that the terminal will not report the changed TA to the network device if the change in TA does not exceed a certain reporting threshold, the TA reported by the terminal to the network device may not be the same as the TA actually used by the terminal.

[0053] In other words, one difference between NTN and terrestrial cellular communication is that the TA used by the base station and the terminal may not be the same. In this case, combined with Figure 1 As shown, taking regeneration mode as an example, the network device configures the uplink time domain resources based on the TA reported by the terminal as "configured UL transmission" and the downlink time domain resources as "configured DL transmission". There is no conflict between "configured UL transmission" and "configured DL transmission".

[0054] However, there is a difference between the TA actually used by the terminal (referred to as the actual TA) and the TA reported (referred to as the reported TA) (referred to as the TA difference). Figure 1 In the example where the actual TA is less than the reported TA, the time domain resources "configured UL transmission" determined by the terminal for uplink based on the actual TA conflict with the "configured DL transmission" of the network device.

[0055] In other words, the network device assumes that the terminal sends uplink data at least one time interval (including an additional gap) before the "configured DL transmission," but the terminal actually sends uplink data at least one actual time interval before the "configured DL transmission." The difference between the at least one time interval for reporting a TA and the at least one actual time interval is one TA difference. Therefore, a conflict arises between the downlink transmission time domain resources configured by the network device and the uplink transmission time domain resources actually used by the terminal. This conflict refers to a time domain overlap between the downlink and uplink transmission time domain resources.

[0056] exist Figure 1 In the situation shown, HD communication cannot be performed normally.

[0057] In conclusion, preventing conflicts in HD communication modes is a problem that needs to be solved in NTN scenarios.

[0058] To address the aforementioned problems, embodiments of this application provide a method for obtaining a TA (Telematics Access Node). This method is applied in an NTN (Network Telecommunications) communication system. An NTN communication system includes terminals and network equipment. Network equipment can also be referred to as a base station and / or a satellite access node (SAN).

[0059] NTN communication systems include, but are not limited to: Long Term Evolution (LTE) systems, LTE Frequency Division Duplex (FDD) systems, LTE Time Division Duplex (TDD) systems, Universal Mobile Telecommunications System (UMTS), Worldwide Interoperability for Microwave Access (WiMAX) systems, UMTS Terrestrial Radio Access Network (UTRAN) systems, or GSM EDGE Radio Access Network (GERAN) systems of Global System for Mobile Communication (GSM) / Enhanced Data Rate for GSM Evolution (EDGE) systems. Furthermore, the technical solutions provided in this application can also be applied to any other wireless communication system with similar structure and function, such as Public Land Mobile Network (PLMN) systems, 5th Generation (5G) communication systems, communication systems after 5G, New Radio Access Technology (NR) systems, and various future communication systems such as 6th Generation (6G) communication systems, and Vehicle-to-X (V2X) systems.The V2X system may include vehicle-to-network (V2N) systems, vehicle-to-vehicle (V2V) systems, vehicle-to-infrastructure (V2I) systems, vehicle-to-pedestrian (V2P) systems, Long Term Evolution-Vehicle (LTE-V) systems, vehicle-to-everything (V2X) systems, machine-type communication (MTC) systems, Internet of Things (IoT) systems, Long Term Evolution-Machine (LTE-M) systems, and machine-to-machine (M2M) systems, etc., and this application does not impose any limitations on these embodiments.

[0060] The satellites in network equipment can be low Earth orbit (LEO) satellites, non-geostationary Earth orbit (NGEO) satellites, middle Earth orbit (MEO) satellites, or geostationary Earth orbit (GEO) satellites.

[0061] Base stations in network equipment include, but are not limited to: evolved Node B (NodeB, eNB, or e-NodeB) in LTE, base stations (gNodeB or gNB) or transmission receiving points / transmission reception points (TRPs) in NR, radio access network (RAN) equipment, base stations evolved from 3GPP, access nodes, wireless relay nodes, and wireless backhaul nodes in WiFi systems. Network equipment can also be radio controllers, centralized units (CUs), and / or distributed units (DUs) in cloud radio access network (CRAN) scenarios. Network equipment can also be servers, wearable devices, or vehicle-mounted equipment.

[0062] Terminals can include handheld devices or vehicle-mounted devices with wireless transceiver capabilities, specifically including but not limited to: mobile phones, tablets, PDAs, laptop computers, laptops, computers with wireless transceiver capabilities, mobile internet devices (MIDs), wearable devices, virtual reality (VR) devices, augmented reality (AR) devices, wireless terminals in industrial control, vehicle-mounted terminal equipment, wireless terminals in self-driving vehicles, wireless terminals in remote medical surgery, wireless terminals in smart grids, wireless terminals in transportation safety, wireless terminals in smart cities, wireless terminals in smart homes, cellular phones, cordless phones, session initiation protocol (SIP) phones, wireless local loop (WLL) stations, and personal digital assistants (PDAs). The embodiments of this application do not limit this to personal assistants (PDAs), handheld devices with wireless communication capabilities, computing devices or other processing devices connected to a wireless modem, in-vehicle devices, wearable devices, terminal devices in 5G networks or terminal devices in future evolved public land mobile networks (PLMNs).

[0063] As an example and not a limitation, in this embodiment, the terminal can also be a wearable device. Wearable devices, also known as wearable smart devices, are a general term for devices that utilize wearable technology to intelligently design and develop everyday wearables, such as glasses, gloves, watches, clothing, and shoes. Wearable devices are portable devices that are worn directly on the body or integrated into the user's clothing or accessories. Wearable devices are not merely hardware devices, but also achieve powerful functions through software support, data interaction, and cloud interaction. Broadly speaking, wearable smart devices include those that are feature-rich, large in size, and can achieve complete or partial functions without relying on a smartphone, such as smartwatches, smart helmets, or smart glasses, as well as those that focus on a specific type of application function and require the use of other devices such as smartphones, such as various smart bracelets and smart jewelry for vital sign monitoring.

[0064] Furthermore, in this embodiment, the terminal can also be a terminal device in an Internet of Things (IoT) system. IoT is an important component of the future development of information technology. Its main technical feature is to connect objects to the network through communication technology, thereby realizing an intelligent network of human-machine interconnection and object-to-object interconnection.

[0065] The terminal in this application embodiment may also be referred to as: electronic device, user equipment (UE), mobile station (MS), subscriber unit (SU), mobile terminal (MT), access terminal, access terminal equipment, vehicle-mounted terminal, industrial control terminal, UE unit, UE station, user unit, user station, mobile station, mobile station, remote station, remote terminal, remote terminal equipment, mobile device, user terminal, UE terminal equipment, terminal, wireless communication equipment, user agent, UE agent, UE device, or user equipment, etc.

[0066] Figure 2 This is a flowchart of a method for obtaining a TA provided by an embodiment of this application. In some implementations, the network device has established a Radio Resource Control (RRC) connection with the terminal before performing the steps of this embodiment, but this is not a limitation. That is to say, the network device may not have established an RRC connection with the terminal before performing the steps of this embodiment.

[0067] Figure 2 The process includes the following steps:

[0068] S11. The network device sends a request message to the terminal, which instructs the terminal to report location information.

[0069] Location information indicates the location of the terminal.

[0070] In some implementations, the network device can send a request message to the terminal to obtain location information when needed, such as when it needs to acquire the TA required for uplink transmission. In other implementations, the network device can also periodically send request messages to the terminal to periodically obtain location information. Optionally, in still other implementations, the network device configures the terminal to periodically report location information, and the terminal periodically reports location information to the network device according to the configuration information.

[0071] S12. The terminal determines whether the Physical Uplink Shared Channel (PUSCH) resource can accommodate a Medium Access Control (MAC) subProtocol Data Unit (sub PDU). If yes, execute S16; otherwise, execute S13.

[0072] In the embodiments of this application, the terminal sends location information to the network device via the MAC control element (CE) on the physical uplink shared channel resource. Therefore, before sending, it is necessary to determine whether the PUSCH resource is sufficient to accommodate the message to be sent.

[0073] by Figure 3 For example, the MAC CE is the payload part of the MAC sub PDU. In addition to a MAC CE, a MAC sub PDU also includes a sub-header. Therefore, the message to be sent is a MAC sub PDU. So, it is necessary to determine whether the physical uplink shared channel resources are sufficient to accommodate a MAC sub PDU, that is, whether they are sufficient to accommodate a MAC CE and a sub-header.

[0074] S12 helps ensure that location information is successfully sent to network devices.

[0075] S13. The terminal determines whether a location offset scheduling request has been configured. If yes, execute S14. If no, wait for PUSCH resources and execute S16 after obtaining PUSCH resources.

[0076] A location offset scheduling request can be understood as a request for the ability to schedule resources. The requested resources are used for reporting location information. When a terminal has the aforementioned capability and needs to report location information but does not have sufficient resources available, it can send a request message to request the resources to report the location information.

[0077] In some implementations, after the terminal is in RRC connected state, the network device sends a location offset scheduling request to the terminal. In this embodiment, the message, timing, and process used for configuration are not limited.

[0078] S14, The terminal triggers a location offset scheduling request.

[0079] Once the location offset scheduling request is triggered, a PUSCH resource is requested from the network device.

[0080] S15. The terminal obtains the PUSCH resources configured by the network device.

[0081] It is understandable that S13-S15 are merely one way for a terminal to request PUSCH resources from a network device, and are not intended as a limitation.

[0082] S16. The terminal sends a MAC sub PDU to the network device using the PUSCH resource.

[0083] The MAC sub PDU contains a MAC CE, and the MAC CE contains location information. In some implementations, to indicate that the MAC sub PDU carries the terminal's location information, a specific identifier is carried in the sub-header of the MAC sub PDU. For example, a specific value is pre-configured for the logical channel identifier (LCID) field in the sub-header of the MAC sub PDU, and this specific value is used to indicate that the MAC sub PDU carries the terminal's location information.

[0084] In some implementations, location information is represented as longitude and latitude values. For example, longitude values ​​are represented using 24-bit binary numbers, and latitude values ​​are represented using 24-bit binary numbers.

[0085] In other implementations, location information is expressed as a location offset. The offset represents the difference in location before and after the change, indicating the difference from the previously reported location information. For example, location offsets include longitude and latitude offsets, with both longitude and latitude offsets represented using 8-bit binary values. Using location offsets reduces the amount of location information transmitted, thus saving transmission resources.

[0086] In some implementations, the position information is a three-dimensional position coordinate or an offset of a three-dimensional position coordinate. Both the three-dimensional position coordinates and the offset of a three-dimensional position coordinate can be represented using a certain number of binary bits.

[0087] To protect user privacy, in some implementations, the location information reported by the terminal is obtained by reducing the precision of the actual location information.

[0088] For example, when the location information is a binary value, a preset number of bits in the binary value are set to zero to ensure that the reported location information represents the approximate location of the terminal, rather than the precise location.

[0089] However, since the location information is used by network devices to obtain TA, the precision cannot be too low. Therefore, a preset number of low bits in the binary value are set to zero.

[0090] For example, the lower 4 bits of the 8-bit longitude and 8-bit latitude offset values ​​are set to zero. The more low-bit values ​​that are set to zero, the lower the precision of the location information.

[0091] It is understandable that setting it to zero is just an example; it can also be set to other values, such as a specific symbol. That is, M bits are set to preset values, and the example of the preset value is zero.

[0092] In some implementations, the terminal is positioned based on a pre-configured positioning method such as Global Navigation Satellite System (GNSS).

[0093] S17. The network device determines the TA used for uplink transmission based on the received location information.

[0094] For details on the specific implementation of S17, please refer to the communication standard; it will not be elaborated here.

[0095] The method for obtaining TA provided in this embodiment involves the network device instructing the terminal to report location information, thereby obtaining the TA for uplink transmission based on the location information. Compared with the TA reported by the terminal, the TA obtained by the network device based on the terminal's location is closer to the TA actually used by the terminal. Therefore, it is beneficial for the network device and the terminal to communicate using the same TA. In HD communication mode, it is also more beneficial to avoid conflicts.

[0096] Because satellites move relatively fast, the TA (Transmission Address) obtained by the terminal based on ephemeris changes drastically. Therefore, if the terminal reports the actual TA, it needs to report it frequently. Thus, it is beneficial for the terminal to report location information instead of TA to save terminal resources.

[0097] Figure 4 This is another method for obtaining TA provided in the embodiments of this application. The difference from the above embodiments is that the process is based on RRC to instruct the terminal to report location information. Figure 4 The process includes the following steps:

[0098] S21. During the process of establishing an RRC connection between the terminal and the network device, the network device sends an RRC establishment request message to the terminal. The RRC establishment request message includes a location offset reporting threshold.

[0099] S22. After the terminal establishes an RRC connection with the network device, the terminal determines whether it has reported location information to the network device. If yes, execute S24; otherwise, execute S23.

[0100] In some implementations, the terminal determines whether it has reported location information to the network device by querying the logs.

[0101] S23. The terminal reports its location information to the network device.

[0102] In other words, after establishing an RRC connection, if the terminal has not yet reported location information, it will report location information to the network device once in response to the location offset reporting threshold.

[0103] S24. The terminal determines whether the change in the terminal's position is not less than the position offset reporting threshold. If so, execute S25.

[0104] S25. The terminal reports its location information to the network device.

[0105] In this embodiment, the specific method by which the terminal reports location information to the network device can be found in S16, and will not be repeated here.

[0106] S26. The network device determines the TA used for uplink transmission based on the location information reported by the terminal.

[0107] Figure 4 The embodiment shown sends a location offset reporting threshold to the terminal based on the RRC establishment process. After the RRC is established, the terminal reports location information to the network device based on the location offset reporting threshold, laying the foundation for the network device and the terminal to use the same TA.

[0108] Understandable Figure 4 The example shown is only an illustration of how to establish a location offset reporting threshold to the terminal based on RRC. Other methods, such as RRC reconstruction or RRC reconfiguration, can also be used to indicate the location offset reporting threshold to the terminal. Figure 2 and Figure 4 It can also be combined and transformed into another method to obtain TA, such as Figure 5 As shown, it includes the following steps:

[0109] S31. The network device sends an RRC message to the terminal. The RRC message includes the location offset reporting threshold.

[0110] The RRC message in this step can be the aforementioned RRC establishment request message, or it can be an RRC reconfiguration message, or an RRC re-establishment message, etc., without any limitation here.

[0111] Furthermore, it is understandable that RRC messages can be various types of RRC messages mentioned above. For example, after a network device establishes a message indicating the location offset reporting threshold through RRC, the network device may need to re-indicate the location offset reporting threshold. In this case, the network device sends an RRC reconfiguration message to the terminal, which includes the location offset reporting threshold that needs to be indicated.

[0112] S32. If the terminal determines that it has not yet reported location information to the network device, it reports the location information to the network.

[0113] S33. The network device sends a request message to the terminal, which instructs the terminal to report its location information.

[0114] S34. The terminal responds to the request message and reports its location information to the network device.

[0115] Based on S33-S34, it can be seen that network devices can trigger terminals to report location information based on demand.

[0116] S35. The terminal determines whether the change in the terminal's position is not less than the position offset reporting threshold. If so, execute S36.

[0117] S36. The terminal reports its location information to the network device.

[0118] It is understandable that the execution order of S32-S33, S34, and S35-S36 is not limited.

[0119] S37. The network device determines the TA used for uplink transmission based on the received location information.

[0120] from Figure 5 As can be seen from the process shown, the terminal can be triggered to report location information under various conditions, realizing flexible and diverse location reporting methods.

[0121] Combination Figure 2 , Figure 4 as well as Figure 5 It can be seen that when the location reporting conditions are met, the terminal reports its location information to the network device.

[0122] The location reporting conditions include at least one of a first condition, a second condition, and a third condition. The first condition includes: the terminal obtains a location information reporting instruction sent by the network device (such as S11 or S33). The second condition includes: the terminal obtains a location offset reporting threshold indicated by the network device and the terminal has not yet reported the location information (such as S22-S23 or S32). The third condition includes: the terminal obtains a location offset reporting threshold indicated by the network device and the offset of the terminal's position is not less than the location offset reporting threshold (such as S24-S25 or S35-S36).

[0123] As mentioned above, existing communication standards specify that terminals report the TA (Telematics Reporting) obtained by the terminal based on the TA reporting threshold indicated by the network device. The method provided in the above embodiments is compatible with existing TA reporting mechanisms, including the following situations:

[0124] If only the terminal is configured with a TA reporting threshold, TA reporting is performed based on existing communication standards.

[0125] When only the terminal is configured with location reporting conditions, the terminal reports location information based on the method provided in the above embodiments, and the network device determines the TA used for uplink transmission based on the location information reported by the terminal.

[0126] The following section will provide a detailed explanation of the scenario where both TA reporting thresholds and location reporting conditions are configured.

[0127] Figure 6 Another method for obtaining a Reporting Tag (TA) provided in the embodiments of this application is applied in the following scenario: the network device has indicated to the terminal the TA reporting threshold and the location offset reporting threshold. The method by which the network device indicates the TA reporting threshold can be found in communication standards, and the method by which the network device indicates the location offset reporting threshold can be found in the above embodiments. Before performing the following steps, an RRC connection has been established between the terminal and the network device.

[0128] Figure 6 The process includes the following steps:

[0129] S41. If the TA reporting threshold is met, the terminal shall report at least one of the TA and location information to the network device.

[0130] For methods of reporting TA, please refer to the communication standards; for methods of reporting location information, please refer to the above embodiments.

[0131] S42. When the location reporting conditions are met, the terminal reports its location information to the network device.

[0132] The location reporting conditions are as described above and will not be repeated here.

[0133] If the location reporting conditions are met, in addition to location information, the terminal can also report TA to the network.

[0134] S43. When the TA reporting threshold and location reporting conditions are met, the terminal reports location information to the network device.

[0135] In this step, the TA can also be reported to the network device.

[0136] In this example, one way to report TA and location information simultaneously is to use a MAC sub PDU to carry the TA and location information. Specifically, the MAC CE of the MAC sub PDU contains the TA and location information. Furthermore, the MAC sub PDU is transmitted using the physical uplink shared channel resource; see S16 for details.

[0137] When using a MAC sub PDU to carry TA and location information, the LCID field in the sub-header of the MAC sub PDU can be set to a preset value to indicate that the MAC sub PDU carries TA and location information.

[0138] Figure 6 In the above steps, meeting the TA reporting threshold means that the difference between the TA obtained at the current time and the reference TA is greater than the TA reporting threshold. The reference TA can be the TA reported last time (referred to as TA1) or the TA calculated by the terminal when the location information was reported last time (referred to as TA2). In order to inform the network device and the terminal of information that is closer to the actual situation, the TA that was obtained more recently than the current time is used as the reference TA.

[0139] Similarly, when reporting location information based on a location offset reporting threshold, if the difference between the current terminal location and the reference location is not less than the location offset reporting threshold, location information representing the current location is reported. The reference location can be the location represented by the previously reported location information (referred to as location 1), or the terminal's location when the last TA was reported (referred to as location 2). To provide network devices with information that more closely reflects the actual situation of the terminal, the location closer to the current time between location 1 and location 2 is used as the reference location.

[0140] Figure 7 This is a structural example diagram of a terminal disclosed in an embodiment of this application. Taking a mobile phone as an example, it includes a processor 310, an external memory interface 320, an internal memory 321, a display screen 330, a camera 340, an antenna 1, an antenna 2, a mobile communication module 350, and a wireless communication module 360, etc.

[0141] It is understood that the structure illustrated in this embodiment does not constitute a specific limitation on the terminal. In other embodiments, the terminal may include more or fewer components than illustrated, or combine some components, or split some components, or have different component arrangements. The illustrated components may be implemented in hardware, software, or a combination of software and hardware.

[0142] Processor 310 may include one or more processing units, such as application processor (AP), modem processor, graphics processing unit (GPU), image signal processor (ISP), controller, video codec, digital signal processor (DSP), baseband processor, and / or neural network processing unit (NPU). These different processing units may be independent devices or integrated into one or more processors.

[0143] The external storage interface 320 can be used to connect an external storage card, such as a Micro SD card, to expand the terminal's storage capacity. The external storage card communicates with the processor 310 through the external storage interface 320 to perform data storage functions. For example, music, video, and other files can be saved on the external storage card.

[0144] Internal memory 321 can be used to store executable program code, including instructions. Processor 310 executes various terminal functions and data processing by running the instructions stored in internal memory 321. Internal memory 321 may include a program storage area and a data storage area. The program storage area may store the operating system, at least one application program required for a function (such as sound playback, image playback, etc.), etc. The data storage area may store data created during terminal use (such as audio data, phonebook, etc.). Furthermore, internal memory 321 may include high-speed random access memory and may also include non-volatile memory, such as at least one disk storage device, flash memory device, universal flash storage (UFS), etc. Processor 310 executes various terminal functions and data processing by running instructions stored in internal memory 321 and / or instructions stored in memory located within the processor.

[0145] The terminal's wireless communication function can be implemented through antenna 1, antenna 2, mobile communication module 350, wireless communication module 360, modem processor, and baseband processor.

[0146] Antenna 1 and antenna 2 are used to transmit and receive electromagnetic wave signals. Each antenna in the terminal can be used to cover one or more communication frequency bands. Different antennas can also be reused to improve antenna utilization. For example, antenna 1 can be reused as a diversity antenna for a wireless local area network. In some other embodiments, the antennas can be used in conjunction with a tuning switch.

[0147] The mobile communication module 350 can provide solutions for wireless communication applications including 2G / 3G / 4G / 5G in terminals. The mobile communication module 350 may include at least one filter, switch, power amplifier, low-noise amplifier (LNA), etc. The mobile communication module 350 can receive electromagnetic waves via antenna 1, and perform filtering, amplification, and other processing on the received electromagnetic waves before transmitting them to a modem processor for demodulation. The mobile communication module 350 can also amplify the signal modulated by the modem processor and convert it into electromagnetic waves for radiation via antenna 1. In some embodiments, at least some functional modules of the mobile communication module 350 may be housed in the processor 310. In some embodiments, at least some functional modules of the mobile communication module 350 and at least some modules of the processor 310 may be housed in the same device.

[0148] In some embodiments, the terminal initiates or receives call requests via the mobile communication module 350 and the antenna 1.

[0149] In addition, an operating system runs on top of the aforementioned components. Examples include iOS, Android, and Windows. Applications can be installed and run on this operating system.

[0150] Figure 8 This is a structural example diagram of a network device 900 disclosed in an embodiment of this application, including parts 910, 920 and 930.

[0151] Section 910 is primarily used for baseband processing and control; section 910 is typically the control center of the network device, often referred to as a processor, used to control the network device to perform processing operations on the network device side in the above method embodiments. Section 920 is primarily used to store computer program code and data. Section 930 is primarily used for the transmission and reception of radio frequency (RF) signals and the conversion between RF signals and baseband signals; section 930 is often referred to as a transceiver module, transceiver, transceiver circuit, or transceiver unit. The transceiver module of section 930, also referred to as a transceiver or transceiver unit, includes an antenna 933 and an RF circuit (not shown in the figure), where the RF circuit is mainly used for RF processing. Optionally, the device in section 930 used to implement the receiving function can be considered as a receiver, and the device used to implement the transmitting function can be considered as a transmitter; that is, section 930 includes a receiver 932 and a transmitter 931. The receiver can also be referred to as a receiving module, receiver circuit, or receiving circuit, and the transmitter can be referred to as a transmitting module, transmitter, or transmitting circuit, etc.

[0152] Sections 910 and 920 may include one or more single boards, each of which may include one or more processors and one or more memories. The processors are used to read and execute programs in the memories to implement baseband processing functions and control network devices. If multiple single boards exist, they can be interconnected to enhance processing capabilities. As an alternative implementation, multiple single boards may share one or more processors, multiple single boards may share one or more memories, or multiple single boards may simultaneously share one or more processors.

[0153] For example, in one implementation, the transceiver module in section 930 is used to execute the transceiver-related processes performed by the network device in the above embodiments. The processor in section 910 is used to execute the processing-related processes performed by the network device in the above embodiments.

[0154] It should be understood that Figure 8 This is for illustrative purposes only and not as a limitation. The network devices mentioned above, including processors, memory, and transceivers, may not depend on... Figure 8 The structure shown.

[0155] The above description is merely a specific embodiment of this application, but the scope of protection of this application is not limited thereto. Any changes or substitutions within the technical scope disclosed in this application should be included within the scope of protection of this application. Therefore, the scope of protection of this application should be determined by the scope of the claims.

Claims

1. A method for obtaining a timing advance TA, characterized in that, Applied to a terminal, the method includes: Under certain conditions, the Media Access Control (MAC) CE element is used to send location information to the network device, the location information representing the location of the terminal, and the location information is used by the network device to obtain the TA. The conditions include at least one of TA reporting conditions and location reporting conditions. The location reporting conditions include at least one of a first condition, a second condition, and a third condition. The first condition includes: the terminal obtains a location information reporting instruction sent by the network device. The second condition includes: the terminal obtains a location offset reporting threshold indicated by the network device, and the terminal has not yet reported the location information. The third condition includes: the terminal obtains the location offset reporting threshold indicated by the network device, and the offset of the terminal's location is not less than the location offset reporting threshold.

2. The method according to claim 1, characterized in that, Sending location information to network devices using the MAC CE includes: The network device sends a Media Access Control Sub-Protocol Data Unit (MAC sub PDU), the MAC sub PDU including the MAC CE, and the MAC CE including the location information.

3. The method according to claim 2, characterized in that, The MAC sub PDU further includes a sub-header, which indicates that the MAC sub PDU carries the location information.

4. The method according to claim 3, characterized in that, The subheader includes a Logical Channel Identifier (LCID) field, the value of which indicates that the MAC sub PDU carries the location information.

5. The method according to any one of claims 1-4, characterized in that, Sending location information to the network device includes: The location information is sent to the network device using the physical uplink shared channel resource.

6. The method according to claim 5, characterized in that, The step of using physical uplink shared channel resources to send the location information to the network device includes: If the physical uplink shared channel resource can accommodate one MAC sub PDU, the physical uplink shared channel resource is used to send a MAC sub PDU including the location information to the network device.

7. The method according to claim 5 or 6, characterized in that, Before sending the location information to the network device using the physical uplink shared channel resource, the method further includes: If the physical uplink shared channel resources are insufficient to accommodate a MAC sub PDU, the physical uplink shared channel resources are requested from the network device. After acquiring the physical uplink shared channel resource, the MAC sub PDU including the location information is sent to the network device using the physical uplink shared channel resource.

8. The method according to any one of claims 1-7, characterized in that, The location information includes: first location information, which is obtained by reducing the precision of the actual location information of the terminal.

9. The method according to claim 8, characterized in that, The first location information includes: M bits, of which N bits are set to preset values, where N is less than M.

10. The method according to any one of claims 1-9, characterized in that, The step of obtaining the location information reporting instruction sent by the network device includes: The terminal receives a request message sent by the network device, the request message instructing the terminal to report the location information.

11. The method according to any one of claims 1-10, characterized in that, The step of obtaining the location offset reporting threshold indicated by the network device includes: Receive an RRC message sent by the network device, wherein the RRC message includes the location offset reporting threshold.

12. The method according to any one of claims 1-11, characterized in that, Also includes: If the conditions are met, a TA is sent to the network device.

13. The method according to claim 12, characterized in that, The offset of the position includes: The offset between the current position and the reference position, wherein the reference position is the position that is closer to the current time than the first position and the second position, the first position is the position represented by the last reported position information, and the second position is the position of the terminal when the TA was last reported.

14. The method according to claim 12 or 13, characterized in that, The conditions for TA reporting include: The difference between the TA obtained at the current moment and the reference TA is greater than the TA reporting threshold. The reference TA is the TA that was obtained more recently than the current moment between the first TA and the second TA. The first TA is the TA that was reported last time, and the second TA is the TA that was obtained when the location information was reported last time.

15. A method for obtaining a timing advance (TA), characterized in that, Applied to network devices, the method includes: The terminal is instructed to report its location information, which indicates the location of the terminal. The location information sent by the terminal is received by the Media Access Control (MAC) CE control element; TA is obtained based on the location information.

16. The method according to claim 15, characterized in that, The instruction terminal reports location information, including: A request message is sent to the terminal, instructing the terminal to report its location information.

17. The method according to claim 16, characterized in that, The terminal includes: a terminal that is in a Radio Resource Control (RRC) connection state with the network device.

18. The method according to claims 15-17, characterized in that, The instruction terminal reports location information, including: Send an RRC message to the terminal, the RRC message including a location offset reporting threshold.

19. The method according to any one of claims 15-18, characterized in that, Receiving the location information sent by the terminal via the MAC CE includes: Receive a MAC sub PDU, the MAC sub PDU including the MAC CE, the MAC CE including the location information.

20. The method according to claim 19, characterized in that, The MAC sub PDU further includes a sub-header, which indicates that the MAC sub PDU carries the location information.

21. The method according to claim 20, characterized in that, The subheader includes a Logical Channel Identifier (LCID) field, the value of which indicates that the MAC sub PDU carries the location information.

22. The method according to any one of claims 15-21, characterized in that, Receiving the location information sent by the terminal via the MAC CE includes: Using the physical uplink shared channel resources pre-allocated to the terminal, the location information sent by the terminal is received via the MAC CE.

23. The method according to claim 22, characterized in that, Before receiving the location information sent by the terminal via the MAC CE using the physical uplink shared channel resources pre-allocated to the terminal, the method further includes: In response to the scheduling request of the physical uplink shared channel resources of the terminal, the physical uplink shared channel resources are allocated to the terminal.

24. The method according to any one of claims 15-23, characterized in that, Also includes: Instruct the terminal to report the threshold using TA.

25. The method according to any one of claims 15-24, characterized in that, The location information includes: The first location information is obtained by reducing the precision of the actual location information of the terminal.

26. A terminal, characterized in that, include: One or more processors, memory, and a touchscreen; The memory is used to store program code; The processor is used to run the program code, so that the terminal implements the method for obtaining timing advance TA as described in any one of claims 1 to 14.

27. A network device, characterized in that, include: One or more processors, and a memory; the memory is used to store program code; The processor is used to run the program code, causing the network device to implement the method for obtaining timing advance (TA) as described in any one of claims 15 to 25.

28. A computer-readable storage medium, characterized in that, It stores instructions that, when executed on an electronic device, cause the electronic device to perform the method for obtaining timing advance (TA) as described in any one of claims 1 to 25.

29. A computer program product, characterized in that, It stores an execution method that, when the computer program product is run on the electronic device, causes the electronic device to implement the method for obtaining timing advance TA as described in any one of claims 1 to 25.

30. A chip system, characterized in that, include: At least one processor and an interface, the interface being used to receive code instructions and transmit them to the at least one processor; The at least one processor executes the code instructions to implement the method for obtaining timing advance TA as described in any one of claims 1-25.

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