Positioning method and related apparatus

Abstract

The embodiment of the application provides a positioning method and related device, the method comprises the following steps: measuring channel sounding reference signals (SRS) received on multiple carriers respectively to obtain multiple first measurement quantities, wherein each first measurement quantity in the multiple first measurement quantities is obtained by measuring the SRS received on one carrier, and the first measurement quantity comprises signal arrival time and / or signal arrival angle; and transmitting the multiple first measurement quantities, wherein the multiple first measurement quantities are used for the same positioning. By using the method, joint positioning can be performed on the multiple carriers, and the positioning accuracy is improved.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] This application relates to the field of wireless communication, and more particularly to a positioning method and related apparatus. Background Technology

[0002] Location is one of the services provided by wireless networks, and various location features are defined in the 3rd Generation Partnership Project (3GPP). Taking 5G as an example, the Release 16 protocol introduced a location feature based on Uplink Time Difference of Arrival (UTDOA). This feature calculates the location of a terminal by measuring the time difference of arrival of the uplink channel sounding reference signal (SRS) sent by the terminal at multiple transmission reception points (TRPs). However, UTDOA only supports SRS sent by the terminal on a single carrier, and the location accuracy based on SRS on a single carrier needs improvement. Summary of the Invention

[0003] This application discloses a positioning method and related apparatus that can support a first communication device (such as a terminal) to jointly locate on multiple carriers, thereby improving positioning accuracy and having fewer limitations in use.

[0004] The first aspect of this application discloses a positioning method, the method comprising:

[0005] The channel sounding reference signals (SRS) received on multiple carriers are measured to obtain multiple first measurements. Each of the multiple first measurements is obtained by measuring the SRS received on one carrier. The first measurements include the signal arrival time and / or the signal arrival angle.

[0006] Send multiple first measurements, wherein the multiple first measurements are used for the same positioning.

[0007] Specifically, during a single positioning process, a second communication device (e.g., a base station) in the serving cell of the first communication device (e.g., a terminal) being located can receive SRS from the first communication device on multiple carriers, measure the SRS received on each carrier to obtain a first measurement, and then send the multiple first measurements to the core network equipment. Optionally, a third communication device can obtain and send multiple first measurements in the same manner. The third communication device is the communication device corresponding to a neighboring cell of the serving cell of the first communication device.

[0008] Using this method, in a single positioning operation, the first communication device (such as a terminal) transmits SRS on multiple carriers for positioning measurement. A set of measurement data can be obtained on each carrier, thus multiple sets of measurement data can be obtained. The final positioning result is generated based on multiple sets of measurement data, reducing positioning errors. Compared with using a single carrier to transmit SRS for positioning measurement, this method can improve positioning accuracy.

[0009] In one possible implementation of the first aspect, the plurality of carriers includes any one of non-contiguous carriers within a frequency band, contiguous carriers within a frequency band, or multiple carriers between frequency bands.

[0010] This method does not limit the form of multi-carrier and can use multiple carriers to perform joint positioning of the first communication device in various multi-carrier scenarios, making it widely applicable.

[0011] In one possible implementation of the first aspect, the method further includes:

[0012] Receive a first request message, wherein the first request message is used to request the location of the first communication device;

[0013] A first message is sent to a first communication device, wherein the first message indicates information for transmitting multiple carriers of multiple SRSs.

[0014] Specifically, when a location service client or core network device has a location requirement for a first communication device (such as a terminal), a second communication device (such as a base station) in the serving cell where the first communication device (such as the terminal) is located will receive a first request message from the core network device to request location of the first communication device. After receiving the first request message, the second communication device in the serving cell will configure resources for sending SRS for the first communication device (such as the terminal) according to the service and resource conditions, and send it to the first communication device through a first message to indicate the information of multiple carriers used by the first communication device to send SRS, wherein the multiple carriers are used for the same location measurement.

[0015] Using this method, when a second communication device (such as a base station) in the serving cell where the first communication device (such as a terminal) is located receives a positioning request, it allocates information for multiple carriers for transmitting SRS to the first communication device. The first communication device can transmit SRS on the allocated multiple carriers respectively for single positioning, thereby improving positioning accuracy.

[0016] In one possible implementation of the first aspect, the first message further indicates that multiple SRSs are transmitted in a carrier round-robin manner. It is worth noting that there is no limitation to the carrier aggregation scenario here, that is, the method decouples carrier aggregation from SRS carrier round-robin, and the first communication device (such as a terminal) can transmit multiple SRSs in a carrier round-robin manner whether in carrier aggregation state or single carrier state.

[0017] This method combines SRS carrier round-robin transmission with positioning, enabling the first communication device (such as a terminal) to transmit multiple SRS signals on multiple carriers in a round-robin manner for single positioning, thereby improving positioning accuracy.

[0018] In one possible implementation of the first aspect, the first message further indicates a switch from a connected state to an inactive state. The first message, while instructing the first communication device to transmit information about multiple carriers of the SRS, also instructs the first communication device (e.g., a terminal) to switch from a connected state to an inactive state. In this case, the first message could be an RRC Release message or another message.

[0019] Using this method, in the scenario where the first communication device (such as a terminal) switches from a connected state to an inactive state, before the first communication device switches to an inactive state, the information of multiple carriers for sending SRS is informed to the first communication device through a first message, so that the first communication device can successfully send SRS on multiple carriers in the inactive state. Moreover, the message indicating multiple carriers and the message indicating the first communication device to switch to an inactive state are in the same message, saving signaling overhead.

[0020] In one possible implementation of the first aspect, the information of the plurality of carriers includes time-frequency location information for transmitting the SRS on the plurality of carriers. For example, the first message may instruct a first communication device (such as a terminal) to transmit an SRS on a carrier with a frequency of X Hertz (Hz) at time a, and to transmit another SRS on a carrier with a frequency of Y Hertz (Hz) at time b.

[0021] In one possible implementation of the first aspect, before sending the multiple first measurements, the method further includes:

[0022] A first response message is sent, wherein the first response message is used to respond to the first request message, and the first response message indicates that the positioning measurement of the first communication device can be performed. Specifically, the second communication device (such as a base station) in the serving cell of the first communication device (such as a terminal) that needs to be located sends the first response message to the core network equipment, indicating that it has received and can execute the positioning request, or indicating that SRS resources have been configured and preparations for positioning measurement have been made.

[0023] In one possible implementation of the first aspect, the method further includes:

[0024] Receive a second request message, wherein the second request message is used to request feedback of positioning measurements.

[0025] Specifically, the second communication device (e.g., base station) in the serving cell of the first communication device (e.g., terminal) receives a second request message from the core network equipment. This second request message requests feedback on location measurement data and can also instruct the second communication device to measure multiple received SRS (Search and Reception Status Routers). Optionally, the third communication device can receive the second request message in the same manner. In one possible implementation, the second request message is received only after the second communication device sends a first response message, indicating its capability to perform location measurement, instructing it to perform the measurement and providing feedback on the location measurement data.

[0026] Using this method, the second communication device (such as a base station) only measures and reports the first measurement quantity upon receiving an instruction from the second request message, avoiding frequent measurement and data transmission, thereby reducing network load.

[0027] A second aspect of this application discloses a positioning method, the method comprising:

[0028] Receive a first message, wherein the first message indicates information about multiple carriers for transmitting multiple channel sounding reference signals (SRS);

[0029] Based on the first message, SRS is transmitted on multiple carriers respectively, wherein the SRS transmitted on multiple carriers are used for the same positioning.

[0030] Using this method, a first communication device (such as a terminal) transmits SRS on multiple allocated carriers according to the instruction of the first message. These multiple SRS are used for its own single positioning measurement to improve the positioning accuracy.

[0031] In one possible implementation of the second aspect, the plurality of carriers includes any one of the following: non-contiguous carriers within a frequency band, contiguous carriers within a frequency band, and multiple carriers between frequency bands.

[0032] This method is not limited to the form of multi-carrier communication and can use multiple carriers to perform joint positioning of the first communication device in various multi-carrier scenarios, making it widely applicable. In one possible implementation of the second aspect, the first message also indicates that multiple SRSs be sent in a carrier round-robin manner. It is worth noting that this method decouples carrier aggregation from SRS carrier round-robin, enabling the first communication device (such as a terminal) to send multiple SRSs in a carrier round-robin manner regardless of whether it is in carrier aggregation mode or single-carrier mode.

[0033] This method combines SRS carrier round-robin transmission with positioning, enabling the first communication device (such as a terminal) to transmit multiple SRS signals on multiple carriers in a round-robin manner for single positioning, thereby improving positioning accuracy.

[0034] In one possible implementation of the second aspect, transmitting the SRS on multiple carriers according to the first message includes:

[0035] In the inactive state, SRS is transmitted on multiple carriers according to the first message.

[0036] Using this method, the first communication device (such as a terminal) can transmit SRS on multiple carriers in an inactive state, thus successfully completing the single positioning.

[0037] In one possible implementation of the second aspect, the first message further instructs the first communication device to switch from a connected state to an inactive state, and the method further includes:

[0038] The first message indicates that the first communication device (such as a terminal) is switching from the connected state to the inactive state. Specifically, the first message instructs the first communication device (such as a terminal) to switch from the connected state to the inactive state while simultaneously instructing the first communication device to transmit information about multiple carriers of the SRS. At this time, the first message may be an RRC Release message or other messages.

[0039] In one possible implementation of the second aspect, the information of the plurality of carriers includes time-frequency location information for transmitting the SRS on the plurality of carriers. For example, the first message may instruct a first communication device (such as a terminal) to transmit an SRS on a carrier with a frequency of X Hz at time a, and then transmit another SRS on a carrier with a frequency of Y Hz at time b.

[0040] A third aspect of this application discloses a positioning method, the method comprising:

[0041] Receive a plurality of first measurements from a second communication device, wherein the plurality of first measurements are obtained by the second communication device measuring channel sounding reference signals (SRS) received on a plurality of carriers, each of the plurality of first measurements being a measurement of an SRS received on a single carrier, and the first measurements include signal arrival time and / or signal angle of arrival.

[0042] Receive a plurality of first measurements from a third communication device, wherein the plurality of first measurements are obtained by the third communication device measuring channel sounding reference signals (SRS) received on a plurality of carriers, and each of the plurality of first measurements is obtained by measuring the SRS received on a single carrier.

[0043] A positioning result for the first communication device is generated based on multiple first measurements from the second communication device and multiple first measurements from the third communication device.

[0044] Specifically, in a single location of the first communication device (such as a terminal), the core network device receives multiple first measurements from a second communication device (such as a base station) in the serving cell where the first communication device is located, and also receives multiple first measurements from a third communication device in a neighboring cell of the first communication device. The core network device generates a single location result for the first communication device based on the multiple first measurements measured by the second communication device (such as a base station) and the multiple first measurements measured by the third communication device (such as a base station).

[0045] Using this method, the core network equipment generates a single positioning result for the first communication device (such as a terminal) based on the first measurement measured on multiple carriers, which improves the positioning accuracy compared to using only the first measurement measured on a single carrier.

[0046] In one possible implementation of the third aspect, the plurality of carriers includes any one of the following: non-contiguous carriers within a frequency band, contiguous carriers within a frequency band, and multiple carriers between frequency bands.

[0047] This method is not limited to the form of multi-carrier communication and can be used for joint positioning of the first communication device in various multi-carrier scenarios, making it widely applicable. In one possible implementation of the third aspect, a positioning result for the first communication device is generated based on multiple first measurements, including:

[0048] By fitting multiple first measurements, a positioning result for the first communication device is generated.

[0049] Using this method, core network equipment (such as LMF) fits multiple first measurements on multiple carriers to obtain the final positioning result, making the positioning result more accurate.

[0050] In one possible implementation of the third aspect, generating a positioning result for the first communication device based on a plurality of first measurements includes:

[0051] A positioning result for the first communication device is generated based on the first measurement quantity that meets the preset conditions among multiple first measurement quantities.

[0052] Using this method, core network equipment can first filter multiple first measurements based on preset conditions, and then use the remaining first measurements to generate the final positioning result, making the positioning result more accurate.

[0053] Fourthly, embodiments of this application provide a communication device (e.g., a second communication device), which can be a network device or a device or functional module within a network device, wherein:

[0054] The communication device includes a module for performing the method described in the first aspect or any possible implementation thereof;

[0055] Alternatively, the communication device includes a processor for performing the method described in the first aspect or any possible implementation thereof.

[0056] Fifthly, embodiments of this application provide a communication device (such as a first communication device), which can be a terminal or a device or functional module within a terminal, wherein:

[0057] The communication device includes a module for performing the method described in the second aspect or any possible implementation thereof;

[0058] Alternatively, the communication device includes a processor for performing the method described in the second aspect or any possible implementation thereof.

[0059] Sixthly, embodiments of this application provide a communication device, which can be a core network device or a device or functional module within a core network device, wherein:

[0060] The communication device includes a module for performing the method described in the third aspect or any possible implementation of the third aspect;

[0061] Alternatively, the communication device includes a processor for performing the method described in the third aspect or any possible implementation thereof.

[0062] In a seventh aspect, embodiments of this application provide a communication device, characterized in that it includes a logic circuit and an interface, the logic circuit and the interface being coupled; the interface is used for inputting and / or outputting information, wherein:

[0063] The logic circuit is used to perform the method described in the first aspect or any possible implementation thereof, or...

[0064] The logic circuit is used to execute the method described in the second aspect or any possible implementation thereof, or...

[0065] The logic circuit is used to execute the method described in the third aspect or any possible implementation thereof.

[0066] Eighthly, embodiments of this application provide a computer-readable storage medium for storing a computer program, wherein:

[0067] When the computer program is executed, it is capable of implementing the first aspect or any possible implementation of the first aspect, or...

[0068] When the computer program is executed, it is capable of implementing the second aspect or any possible implementation of the second aspect, or...

[0069] When the computer program is executed, it is capable of implementing the third aspect or any possible implementation of the third aspect.

[0070] Ninthly, embodiments of this application provide a communication system, which includes a first communication device, a second communication device, and core network equipment, wherein:

[0071] The second communication device is used to perform the method described in the first aspect or any possible implementation of the first aspect, the first communication device is used to perform the method described in the second aspect or any possible implementation of the second aspect, and the core network device is used to perform the method described in the second aspect or any possible implementation of the second aspect. Attached Figure Description

[0072] The accompanying drawings used in the embodiments of this application are described below.

[0073] Figure 1 This is a schematic diagram of SRS carrier round-robin provided in an embodiment of this application;

[0074] Figure 2 This is a schematic diagram of an SRS BW Aggregation function provided in an embodiment of this application;

[0075] Figure 3 This is a schematic diagram of the structure of a communication system provided in an embodiment of this application;

[0076] Figure 4This is a schematic diagram of a positioning process based on UTDOA or UTDOA+AOA provided in an embodiment of this application;

[0077] Figure 5 This is a flowchart illustrating a multi-carrier joint positioning method provided in an embodiment of this application;

[0078] Figure 6 This is a flowchart illustrating a multi-carrier joint positioning method provided in an embodiment of this application;

[0079] Figure 7 This is a flowchart illustrating a multi-carrier joint positioning method provided in an embodiment of this application;

[0080] Figure 8 This is a schematic diagram of a communication device structure provided in an embodiment of this application;

[0081] Figure 9 This is a schematic diagram of a communication device structure provided in an embodiment of this application;

[0082] Figure 10 This is a schematic diagram of a communication device structure provided in an embodiment of this application. Detailed Implementation

[0083] In the description of the embodiments of this application, unless otherwise stated, " / " means "or," for example, A / B can mean A or B; the word "and / or" in the text is merely a description of the relationship between related objects, indicating that three relationships can exist. For example, A and / or B can represent: A alone, A and B simultaneously, and B alone. Furthermore, in the description of the embodiments of this application, "multiple" refers to two or more. Hereinafter, the terms "first" and "second" are used for descriptive purposes only and should not be construed as implying or suggesting relative importance or implicitly indicating the number of indicated technical features. Therefore, features defined with "first" and "second" can explicitly or implicitly include one or more of that feature. In the description of the embodiments of this application, unless otherwise stated, "multiple" means two or more.

[0084] The relevant technical concepts involved in this application are introduced below.

[0085] (1) Carrier aggregation

[0086] Carrier aggregation (CA) is a crucial technology in 5G communication systems. It combines carrier signals from multiple frequency bands to achieve higher data transmission rates and greater network capacity. The purpose of carrier aggregation is to fully utilize the spectrum resources of different frequency bands and improve the overall performance of the wireless network. For example, peak rate is closely related to the bandwidth available to the terminal. If we consider data as vehicles on a highway, cell bandwidth is like the number of lanes on the highway. Under the same conditions, the more lanes, the higher the maximum speed achievable on the highway. To improve peak rate, we can consider increasing cell bandwidth. However, the maximum bandwidth of a single cell is fixed. Therefore, we can aggregate the bandwidth of multiple cells for the terminal to use. After aggregating multiple component carriers (CCs), the bandwidth available to the terminal is the sum of the bandwidths of the multiple carriers, and its peak rate can be improved almost proportionally.

[0087] (2) SRS Carrier Switch

[0088] SRS Carrier Switch technology is a key technology for optimizing uplink performance in 5G systems. It is mainly used to improve the measurement accuracy and spectral efficiency of SRS by switching the transmission of SRS between different carriers to achieve more accurate Channel State Information (CSI) estimation and more flexible resource allocation.

[0089] Figure 1 A schematic diagram of carrier round-robin transmission is provided. For example, the terminal transmits an SRS on carrier 1 at time 3, transmits an SRS on carrier 2 at time 8, transmits an SRS again on carrier 1 at time 13, and transmits an SRS again on carrier 2 at time 18.

[0090] SRS Carrier Switches are typically scheduled by network devices (such as base stations) via control signaling. The technical principle is briefly described below:

[0091] Carrier selection: 5G systems support the aggregation of multiple carriers, or CA, which provides the physical basis for SRS carrier round-robin transmission. Each carrier can independently transmit data and exchange control information. Network devices (such as base stations) dynamically determine which carriers to transmit SRS signals on based on network resources and terminal capabilities.

[0092] Round-robin mechanism: In a multi-carrier environment, the terminal can transmit SRS on different carriers. Network devices (such as base stations) can periodically or non-periodically require the terminal to transmit SRS signals on multiple carriers in turn according to a predefined timing sequence, instead of always transmitting through the same carrier.

[0093] Channel State Information Optimization: By transmitting SRS on different carriers, the base station can collect more comprehensive channel state information, including channel quality and interference conditions on different carriers, thereby enabling more accurate resource allocation and scheduling.

[0094] Improved resource efficiency: SRS carrier round-robin transmission can make better use of the resources of multiple carriers by dynamically switching the transmission carriers of SRS signals, thereby improving the overall performance of the network.

[0095] (3) SRS Bandwidth Aggregation (BW Aggregation)

[0096] In 5G networks, to improve positioning accuracy, the protocol introduces SRS BW Aggregation, which supports SRS aggregation of multiple consecutive carriers within a frequency band. The current Release 18 (R18) protocol supports 2-3 consecutive carriers within FR1, with a maximum continuous bandwidth of 300MHz for SRS transmission. Figure 2 As shown. With the help of higher positioning bandwidth, UTDOA technology based on SRS BWAggregation can effectively improve the positioning accuracy of the terminal.

[0097] Please see Figure 3 , Figure 3This is a schematic diagram of a communication system applicable to embodiments of this application. The communication system includes network device 301, network device 302, network device 303, terminal 304, and core network device 305. The network devices, terminal, and core network device can be hardware, functionally divided software, or a combination of both. The network devices, terminal, and core network device can communicate with each other through other devices or network elements. For example, the following communication technologies can be used for communication: Long Term Evolution (LTE) system, LTE Frequency Division Duplex (FDD) system, LTE Time Division Duplex (TDD) system, Universal Mobile Telecommunication System (UMTS), Worldwide Interoperability for Microwave Access (WiMAX) system, 5th Generation (5G) mobile communication system, New Radio Access Technology (NR), 6th Generation (6G) mobile communication system, or other radio access technologies. The communication technologies described above can be non-standalone (NSA) and / or standalone (SA) networking. Communication between the terminal and core network equipment requires transparent transmission or forwarding through network devices. In this system, multiple network devices can provide services to the same terminal. For example, terminal 304 can send uplink data to network devices 301 to 303. Multiple network devices can communicate and exchange information through interfaces (such as XN interfaces), and a single network device can transmit data with multiple terminals. A single core network device can also handle the service processing of multiple network devices. It should be understood that this communication system can include more / fewer network devices, more / fewer terminals, or more core network devices.

[0098] 1) Network device (access network, AN) is an access device that connects to the communication system wirelessly. It has wireless transceiver capabilities and is used to receive uplink signals from terminals or send downlink signals to terminals. For example, a base station (e.g., access point) can also be called a radio base station or basic radio station. It is a device that communicates with wireless terminals. The base station can communicate with mobile terminals in the area, manage and schedule communication resources through antennas. For example, network equipment may include: Base Transceiver Stations (BTS) in Global System for Mobile Communication (GSM) or Code Division Multiple Access (CDMA) networks; NodeBs (NBs) in Wideband Code Division Multiple Access (WCDMA); Evolved Node Bs (NodeBs, eNBs, or e-NodeBs) in Long Term Evolution-Advanced (LTE) or Long Term Evolution-Advanced (LTE-A) systems; Radio Network Controllers (RNCs); Basestation Controllers (BSCs); Home Base Stations (e.g., Home Evolved NodeBs or Home Node Bs, HNBs); Baseband Units (BBUs); Next Generation Node Bs (gNBs) in 5G NR networks; Transmission Points (TRPs or TPs); and Transmission Measurement Functions (TPs). Measurement function (TMF), or network nodes that constitute gNB or transmission points, etc., where gNB may include a central unit (CU) and a distributed unit (DU) integrated on the gNB.

[0099] This application does not limit the specific wireless access technology or specific device form used in the network device. In this application, the device used to implement the function of the network device can be the network device itself, or it can be a device that supports the network device to implement the function, such as a chip system. This device can be installed in the network device.

[0100] 2) A terminal is an entity used to receive and / or transmit signals, capable of sending uplink signals (e.g., uplink data) to network devices or receiving downlink signals (e.g., control information and downlink data) from network devices. This includes devices that provide voice and / or data connectivity to users; specifically, it includes devices that provide voice to users, or devices that provide data connectivity to users, or devices that provide both voice and data connectivity to users. For example, it may include a handheld device with wireless connectivity or a processing device connected to a wireless modem. The terminal can communicate with the core network via a radio access network (RAN), exchanging voice or data with the RAN, or interacting with the RAN for both voice and data. The terminal may include: user equipment (UE), wireless terminal, mobile terminal, device-to-device (D2D) terminal, vehicle-to-everything (V2X) terminal, machine-to-machine / machine-type communications (M2M / MTC) terminal, Internet of Things (IoT) terminal, light UE, reduced capability UE (REDCAP UE), subscriber unit, subscriber station, mobile station (MS), remote station, access point (AP), remote terminal, access terminal, user terminal, user agent, or user device, etc. For example, it may include mobile phones (or "cellular" phones), smartphones, computers with mobile terminals, portable, pocket-sized, handheld, computer-embedded mobile devices, laptop computers, wireless data cards, tablet computers, wireless modems, wearable devices, or other processing devices connected to wireless modems.Examples include personal communication service (PCS) phones, cordless phones, session initiation protocol (SIP) phones, wireless local loop (WLL) stations, personal digital assistants (PDAs), mobile routers, and vehicle-mounted terminals (Transmission Control Units).

[0101] In this application embodiment, the device for implementing the terminal's functions can be a terminal itself, or a device capable of supporting the terminal in implementing those functions, such as a chip system, which can be installed in the terminal. In this application embodiment, the chip system can be composed of chips, or it can include chips and other discrete devices. This application embodiment does not impose any special limitations on the specific type of terminal. The technical solutions provided in this application embodiment are described using the example of a terminal as the device for implementing the terminal's functions.

[0102] 3) Core network equipment is a crucial component of mobile communication networks, primarily responsible for implementing core mobile communication functions and service processing. Core network equipment consists of multiple modules. For example, in a 5G core network, these include: Access and Mobility Management Function (AMF), Session Management Function (SMF), User Plane Function (UPF), Location Management Function (LMF), User Data Management (UDM), and Gateway Mobile Location Center (GMLC), among others.

[0103] The Access and Mobility Management Function (AMF) is responsible for terminal access management, mobility management, authentication, and session management, ensuring that terminals can correctly access the network and handling their mobility requirements. For example, when a terminal moves from one area to another, the AMF handles related mobility management tasks such as handover and location updates.

[0104] SMF is responsible for managing and controlling terminal sessions, including creating, updating, and deleting sessions, and coordinating the entire path of user data.

[0105] UPF is the core of user plane functionality, responsible for forwarding and routing user data, and handling the forwarding of data traffic, especially the data flow between the terminal and the external network.

[0106] LMF is a functional component that handles terminal location management and real-time acquisition, primarily responsible for real-time location acquisition and location updates.

[0107] UDM is responsible for managing the terminal's identity information, subscription information, and related service data, playing a crucial role in the terminal's lifecycle, especially in access control and service delivery.

[0108] GMLC is a core network functional component primarily used for location services, and it is related to the location services of terminals (such as UEs). GMLC plays a crucial role in providing location services for mobile terminals, especially in applications that require the provision of basic location services.

[0109] In this application embodiment, the device for implementing the core network function can be a core network device, a module in the core network device, or a device that can support the core network device or a module (such as LMF) of the core network device to implement the function, such as a chip system. The device can be installed in the core network device or a module (such as LMF) of the core network device.

[0110] In the above system architecture, positioning technologies based on UTDOA or based on uplink time difference of arrival plus angle of arrival (UTDOA + Angle of Arrival, UTDOA + AOA) can be used to locate the terminal. For example... Figure 4As shown, when a location service client (LCS Client) has a location requirement, it sends a location service request to the core network equipment. Specifically, the location service client first sends the location request to the Gateway Mobile Location Center (GMLC) of the core network equipment. The GMLC then sends the location service request to the AMF of the core network equipment via the NL2 interface. After receiving the location service request, the AMF selects the LMF of the terminal to serve the location service. The terminal then sends an uplink SRS signal to the network equipment (such as a base station). The network equipment (such as the base station) receives the SRS signal and measures the Time of Arrival (TOA) or Angle of Arrival (AOA), and transmits the relevant measurements to the LMF via the AMF. The LMF calculates the final terminal location information and transmits it to the GMLC via the AMF. The GMLC then sends the calculated location information to the location service client that initiated the location request. During this process, the terminal sends an uplink SRS signal to the network equipment (such as the base station) via a single carrier for measurement. To improve positioning accuracy, the SRS BW Aggregation function was subsequently introduced, which allows the SRS signal sent by the terminal to support 2 to 3 consecutive carriers. However, this function requires the operator to have intra-band continuous carrier spectrum resources, which has significant limitations.

[0111] In view of the above problems, embodiments of this application provide a positioning method and related apparatus that can perform joint positioning on multiple carriers, obtain multiple sets of measurement data on multiple carriers, and generate a final positioning result based on the multiple sets of measurement data, so as to reduce positioning errors and improve positioning accuracy. Moreover, the form of the multiple carriers is not limited. Positioning can be performed using multiple carriers in scenarios such as non-continuous carriers within a frequency band, continuous carriers within a frequency band, or multiple carriers between frequency bands.

[0112] like Figure 5 As shown, Figure 5 This is a flowchart illustrating a multi-carrier joint positioning method provided in an embodiment of this application. This method can be based on... Figure 3The system architecture shown can also be implemented based on other system architectures. The first communication device in this method can be a terminal or a device within a terminal in the aforementioned system architecture. The second and third communication devices can be network devices (such as base stations) or devices within network devices in the aforementioned system architecture. Specifically, the second communication device is a network device (such as a Serving Transmission Reception Point (TRP)) of the serving cell where the first communication device is located, and the third communication device is a network device (such as a Neighbor Transmission Reception Point (TRP)) of a neighboring cell of the first communication device. This method includes, but is not limited to, the following steps:

[0113] Step S501: The core network device sends a first request message to the second communication device.

[0114] Specifically, when the core network equipment needs to locate the first communication device (such as a terminal), the core network equipment sends a first request message to the second communication device (such as a base station) in the serving cell where the first communication device (such as the terminal) is located. The first request message is used to request the location of the first communication device (such as the terminal).

[0115] In one exemplary implementation, when the Location Service Client (LCS Client) has a location requirement for the first communication device (such as a terminal), the LCS Client sends a location request to the core network device. For example, the location request first reaches the GMLC responsible for mobile positioning, and then is sent to the first core network device (AMF) through an interface. The first core network device (AMF) then sends a first request message to the second communication device, and the first core network device (AMF) selects a suitable second core network device (LMF) for this location request to perform location calculation.

[0116] Correspondingly, the second communication device receives the first request message.

[0117] Step S502: The second communication device sends a first message to the first communication device.

[0118] Specifically, after receiving a location request for the first communication device (such as a terminal), the second communication device allocates multiple carriers that can be used to transmit multiple SRSs to the first communication device according to the current resources and service conditions, and sends a first message to the first communication device. The first message indicates information about the multiple carriers used to transmit multiple SRSs, wherein the SRSs are used for location.

[0119] It is worth noting that these multiple carriers can be non-contiguous carriers within the intra-band, contiguous carriers within the intra-band, or multiple carriers between the inter-band.

[0120] Optionally, the information of the multiple carriers includes time-frequency location information for transmitting multiple SRSs on the multiple carriers. For example, the first message instructs the first communication device (such as a terminal) to transmit an SRS on a carrier with a frequency of X Hertz (Hz) at time a, and then transmit another SRS on a carrier with a frequency of Y Hertz (Hz) at time b. In one possible implementation, the information of the multiple carriers may further include a round-robin period for transmitting multiple SRSs using multiple carriers, for example, switching the carrier for transmitting SRS every round-robin period.

[0121] In one exemplary implementation, the first message further instructs the transmission of SRS in an SRS carrier-round-switching manner, that is, to transmit multiple SRSs on multiple allocated carriers in a carrier-round-switching manner. For example, a second communication device (such as a base station) can configure resources for transmitting SRS to a first communication device (such as a terminal) through the SRS Carrier Switch field (“CarrierSwitching field”) in an RRC message. In this case, the first message is an RRC message or is carried in an RRC message; optionally, the first message can also be other types of messages. Optionally, the first communication device may also be pre-configured to transmit SRS in a carrier-round-switching manner.

[0122] It is worth noting that the first communication device (such as a terminal) can be in either carrier aggregation (CA) or single-carrier state at this time. That is, regardless of whether the first communication device (such as a terminal) is in CA or single-carrier state, the second communication device can allocate multiple carrier resources for transmitting multiple SRSs to the first communication device. For example, regardless of whether the first communication device is in CA or single-carrier state, the second communication device can instruct the first communication device (such as a terminal) to transmit SRSs using SRS carrier round-robin.

[0123] Accordingly, the first communication device (such as a terminal) receives the first message.

[0124] It should be noted that at this time, the first communication device (such as a terminal) can be in the RRC connection (RRC_CONNECTED) state, that is, an RRC connection has been established with the second communication device (such as a base station), so it can communicate with the second communication device (such as receiving the first message).

[0125] Step S503: The first communication device transmits SRS on multiple carriers respectively.

[0126] Specifically, the first communication device transmits SRS on multiple carriers according to the instruction of the first message. The SRS transmitted on multiple carriers are used for the same positioning operation; that is, during a single positioning operation, the first communication device needs to transmit SRS to the second communication device (e.g., a base station) on the multiple carriers indicated by the first message. In simpler terms, in the same positioning operation, the first communication device needs to transmit multiple SRS to the second communication device (e.g., a gNB) on multiple carriers according to the instruction of the first message. For example, the first communication device transmits SRS to the second communication device on carriers with frequencies of X Hz and Y Hz, respectively.

[0127] In one exemplary implementation, the first message further indicates that, in the case of sending SRS in an SRS carrier-switching manner, the first communication device (such as a terminal) sends SRS to the second communication device (such as a base station) in an SRS carrier-switching manner.

[0128] In one possible implementation, the first message further instructs the first communication device (such as a terminal) to switch from a connected state (RRC_CONNECTED) to an inactive state (RRC_INACTIVE). In this implementation, the first communication device switches from the connected state to the inactive state before transmitting SRS on multiple carriers. In this case, before the first communication device switches to the inactive state, the first message informs the first communication device of the information on the multiple carriers for transmitting SRS, enabling the first communication device to successfully transmit SRS on multiple carriers in the inactive state. Optionally, the first message can be an RRC Release message, or it can be carried in an RRC Release message; the first message can also be other types of messages.

[0129] Correspondingly, the second communication device (such as a base station) receives SRS on multiple carriers respectively.

[0130] Step S504: Measure the SRS received on multiple carriers respectively to obtain multiple first measurement quantities.

[0131] The second communication device (such as a base station) can receive SRS on multiple carriers respectively and measure the SRS received on each carrier to obtain multiple first measurement quantities, wherein the first measurement quantities include the time of arrival (TOA) and / or the angle of arrival (AOA).

[0132] For example, assuming that the second communication device (such as a base station) allocates three carriers to the first communication device (such as a terminal) to transmit SRS in this positioning task, then when using the multi-frequency UTDOA-based positioning technology provided in this embodiment, the second communication device can receive one SRS on each of the three carriers and measure the TOA of the SRS to obtain three TOAs.

[0133] Optionally, before the second communication device measures the SRS received on multiple carriers, it may first send a first response message to the core network equipment. This first response message responds to the first request message and indicates that positioning measurements can be performed on the first communication device (e.g., a terminal). Regarding the timing of the second communication device sending the first response message, at least the following scenarios are possible:

[0134] In scenario one, after receiving the first request message but before sending the first message, the second communication device sends a first response message. This first response message responds to the first request message, indicating that it has received a request to locate the first communication device and is capable of executing the location request, such as... Figure 5 As shown.

[0135] In scenario two, after sending the first message and before receiving the SRS, the second communication device sends a first response message. This first response message responds to the first request message, indicating that carrier resources have been configured for the first communication device and that measurement preparations have been made for this positioning request. Figure 6 As shown. Optionally, before the second communication device (e.g., a base station) measures the SRS on multiple carriers, a second request message may be received first, wherein the second request message is used to request feedback of the positioning measurement. Regarding the timing of receiving the second request message, one possible implementation is that after the second communication device (e.g., a base station) sends the first message and before receiving the SRS on multiple carriers respectively, the second communication device receives the second request message. At this time, the second request message is used to request measurement of the SRS received on multiple carriers respectively, and to feed back the positioning measurement (i.e., the first measurement) to the core network equipment. Optionally, this possible implementation can be combined with any of the above at least two scenarios. For example, the timing of receiving the second request message occurs after the second communication device sends the first response message. Taking the combination with scenario one as an example, the flowchart of the method is as follows. Figure 7 As shown.

[0136] In one optional implementation, when the second communication device receives the second request message, after receiving the second request message and before receiving SRS on multiple carriers respectively, the second communication device may send a second response message. The second response message is used to respond to the second request message, indicating that a request has been received to measure the SRS received on multiple carriers and to provide feedback on the positioning measurement, or to provide feedback on the measurement results (first measurement) of the SRS measured on multiple carriers.

[0137] In summary, the three actions of receiving the second request message, sending the second response message, and sending multiple first measurement quantities can be combined in at least the following ways:

[0138] First, the second communication device receives the second request message and sends a second response message to respond to the second request message, indicating that it has received the request to measure and provide feedback on the measurement results, or indicating that it has received the request to provide feedback on the measurement results. Then, it measures the received SRS according to the second request message. After the measurement is completed and multiple first measurements are obtained, it sends multiple first measurement quantities to the core network equipment.

[0139] Secondly, the second communication device receives the second request message and measures the received SRS according to the second request message. After the measurement is completed and multiple first measurements are obtained, multiple first measurement quantities are sent to the core network equipment. At this time, the action of sending multiple first measurement quantities is the response to the second request message.

[0140] Third, the second communication device does not receive the second request message, that is, it does not need the instruction of the second request message, and autonomously measures the received SRS. After the measurement is completed and multiple first measurements are obtained, it sends multiple first measurement quantities to the core network equipment.

[0141] Step S505: The second communication device sends multiple first measurement quantities to the core network equipment.

[0142] The second communication device (such as a base station) is responsible for measuring the received SRS data (first measurement quantity). The calculation of the location information of the first communication device (such as a terminal) using the first measurement quantity is completed by the core network equipment. After the second communication device obtains multiple first measurement quantities, it sends the multiple first measurement quantities to the core network equipment. For example, the multiple first measurement quantities are sent to the second core network equipment (LMF). In one exemplary implementation, the multiple first measurement quantities are sent to the first core network equipment (AMF), and then the first core network equipment (AMF) transparently transmits them to the second core network equipment (LMF).

[0143] Correspondingly, the core network equipment receives multiple first measurements.

[0144] It is worth noting that, due to the different relative positions and distances between the second and third communication devices and the first communication device (such as the terminal), the Time of Arrival (TOA) and Angle of Arrival (AOA) of the SRS sent by the first communication device to the second and third communication devices are different. In UTDOA-based positioning technology, both the second and third communication devices measure the TOA of the received SRS separately; while in UTDOA+AOA-based positioning technology, both the second and third communication devices measure the TOA and AOA of the received SRS separately. Therefore, in steps S503 to S505, except for the operation of sending the first response message, all other related operations and descriptions performed by the second communication device in steps S503 to S505 are applicable to the third communication device.

[0145] For example, a third communication device (such as a base station) can receive SRS on multiple carriers respectively, measure the SRS received on multiple carriers to obtain multiple first measurement quantities, and then send the multiple first measurement quantities to the core network equipment. Optionally, the third communication device can receive a second request message, and optionally, the third communication device can also send a second response message. For detailed descriptions of these actions, please refer to the relevant descriptions of the second communication device in steps S503 to S505. These will not be repeated here; please refer to [link / reference]. Figures 5 to 7 .

[0146] It is worth noting that the first communication device transmits the same SRS on the same carrier at the same time, but the second and third communication devices can both receive the SRS on the same carrier, only at different times or angles. For example, the first communication device (such as a terminal) transmits an SRS on a carrier with a frequency of X Hertz (Hz) at time a according to the instruction of the first message. The second and third communication devices can both receive the SRS on the carrier with a frequency of X Hertz (Hz), and each performs a measurement to obtain a first measurement quantity, which is then sent to the core network equipment. The core network equipment calculates the distance difference between a group of terminals and each pair of base stations.

[0147] Step S506: The core network equipment generates a positioning result for the first communication device based on multiple first measurements.

[0148] Specifically, the core network equipment generates a single location result for the first communication device based on multiple first measurements taken by the second communication device (such as ServingTRP) and the third communication device (such as NeighborTRP). The first measurements obtained by the second communication device from SRS received on one carrier and the first measurements obtained by the third communication device from SRS received on the same carrier belong to the same set. The core network equipment (such as LMF) calculates the time difference of arrival of the SRS signals on the same carrier to calculate the location of the first communication device. Therefore, multiple sets of first measurements can be obtained by measuring on multiple carriers. The core network equipment (such as LMF) generates the final single location result based on these multiple sets of first measurements.

[0149] For example, when the first measurement includes the time of arrival (TOA), the LMF combines the first measurement measured by the second and third communication devices to calculate the uplink time difference of arrival (UTDOA) of the SRS transmitted by the first communication device (e.g., a terminal) to the second and third communication devices respectively on the same carrier. (For example, the first communication device transmits SRS to the second and third communication devices respectively on a carrier with a frequency of X Hz. The SRS arrives at the second device at time m and at the third device at time n. m and n are sent to the LMF, then the LMF calculates the uplink time difference of arrival on that carrier.) k is the difference between time m and time n. The arrival time difference can be used to determine a hyperbola of the possible location of the first communication device (such as a terminal). Since there are at least two third communication devices, at least two sets of UTDOA can be obtained (for example, the core network equipment can obtain one set of UTDOA based on multiple first measurements taken by the second communication device and one of the third communication devices, and another set of UTDOA based on multiple first measurements taken by the second communication device and another third communication device). The intersection of the two hyperbolas is the location of the first communication device (such as a terminal). Therefore, the location of the first communication device (such as a terminal) can be determined by the two sets of UTDOA.

[0150] In one exemplary implementation, a core network device (such as an LMF) fits multiple first measurements sent by a second communication device and multiple first measurements sent by a third communication device to generate a single positioning result for the first communication device.

[0151] In another exemplary implementation, the core network device (such as LMF) performs preliminary screening on multiple first measurement quantities sent by the second communication device and multiple first measurement quantities sent by the third communication device according to preset conditions, such as removing first measurement quantities with obviously large measurement errors, and generating a positioning result for the first communication device based on the first measurement quantities that meet the preset conditions among the multiple first measurement quantities.

[0152] In the embodiments of this application, the steps listed above are only illustrative examples. Some steps may be omitted or replaced with other steps, or new steps may be added, which can also constitute a new feasible solution. In addition, the order of description of the steps above does not represent the order of execution of the steps. The order of execution of the steps may be the same as the order of description or may be different from the order of description (but the logic must be coherent and reasonable).

[0153] Using this method, when locating the first communication device (such as a terminal), the second communication device (such as a base station) configures multiple carrier resources for the first communication device to transmit multiple SRSs. Each carrier is used to transmit one SRS. By measuring the SRS on multiple carriers, multiple sets of measurement data are obtained. Compared with using a single carrier, the positioning accuracy is improved. Moreover, this method does not limit the form of the multiple carriers. Multiple carriers can be used for positioning measurement in scenarios with non-continuous carriers within a frequency band (Intra-Band), continuous carriers within a frequency band (Intra-Band), or multiple carriers between frequency bands (Inter-Band).

[0154] The following describes the communication device provided in the embodiments of this application.

[0155] This application divides the communication device into functional modules according to the above-described method embodiments. For example, each function can be divided into its own functional modules, or two or more functions can be integrated into one processing module. The integrated modules can be implemented in hardware or as software functional modules. It should be noted that the module division in this application is illustrative and represents only one logical functional division; other division methods may be used in actual implementation. The following will combine... Figures 8 to 10 The communication device of the present application embodiment is described in detail.

[0156] Figure 8 This is a schematic diagram of a communication device structure provided in an embodiment of this application, such as... Figure 8 As shown, the communication device includes a processing module 801 and a transceiver module 802. The transceiver module 802 can implement corresponding communication functions, and the processing module 801 is used for data processing. The transceiver module 802 can also be called an interface, a communication interface, or a communication module, etc.

[0157] In some embodiments of this application, the communication device can be used to perform the actions performed by the first communication device, the second communication device, or the core network device in the above method embodiments. For example, the first communication device, the second communication device, or the core network device can be the device itself or a chip or functional module configurable within the device. The transceiver module 802 is used to perform operations related to transmission and reception at the sending end in the above method embodiments, and the processing module 801 is used to perform operations related to processing at the sending end in the above method embodiments. The processing module 801 can perform corresponding operations by calling a computer program or by using corresponding hardware circuits. The transceiver module 802 can perform transmission and reception operations independently or under the control of the processing module 801.

[0158] For example, Figure 8 The communication device shown can be the second communication device in the above method embodiment or a component in the second communication device (such as a network device). The processing module 801 and the transceiver module 802 in the communication device can respectively perform the following operations:

[0159] The processing module 801 is used to measure the channel sounding reference signals (SRS) received on multiple carriers respectively to obtain multiple first measurement quantities, wherein each of the multiple first measurement quantities is obtained by measuring the SRS received on one carrier, and the first measurement quantity includes the signal arrival time and / or the signal arrival angle.

[0160] The transceiver module 802 is used to send multiple first measurements, wherein the multiple first measurements are used for the same positioning.

[0161] Reuse Figure 8 In other embodiments of this application, exemplarily, Figure 8 The communication device shown can be a first communication device or a component within a first communication device (such as a terminal). The processing module 801 and the transceiver module 802 in this communication device can respectively perform the following operations:

[0162] The transceiver module 802 is used to receive a first message, wherein the first message indicates information about multiple carriers for transmitting multiple channel sounding reference signals (SRS);

[0163] The transceiver module 802 is also used to transmit SRS on multiple carriers according to the first message, wherein the SRS transmitted on multiple carriers are used for the same positioning.

[0164] Reuse Figure 8 In other embodiments of this application, exemplarily, Figure 8The communication device shown can be a core network device or a component within a core network device. The processing module 801 and the transceiver module 802 in this communication device can respectively perform the following operations:

[0165] The transceiver module 802 is configured to receive a plurality of first measurements from a second communication device, wherein the plurality of first measurements are obtained by the second communication device measuring channel sounding reference signals (SRS) received on a plurality of carriers, each of the plurality of first measurements being a measurement of an SRS received on a single carrier, and the first measurements include signal arrival time and / or signal angle of arrival.

[0166] The transceiver module 802 is also configured to receive a plurality of first measurements from a third communication device, wherein the plurality of first measurements are obtained by the third communication device measuring channel sounding reference signals (SRS) received on a plurality of carriers, and each of the plurality of first measurements is obtained by measuring the SRS received on a carrier.

[0167] The processing module 801 is used to generate a positioning result of the first communication device based on a plurality of first measurements from the second communication device and a plurality of first measurements from the third communication device.

[0168] The specific descriptions of the transceiver module and processing module shown in the above embodiments are merely examples. For the specific functions or execution steps of the transceiver module and processing module, please refer to the above method embodiments, which will not be described in detail here.

[0169] The communication device according to the embodiments of this application has been described above. The following describes the possible product forms of the communication device. Any device possessing the above-described... Figure 8 Any form of product that incorporates the functionality of the aforementioned communication device falls within the protection scope of the embodiments of this application.

[0170] The following description is merely an example and does not limit the product form of the communication device in the embodiments of this application to this.

[0171] In one possible implementation, Figure 8In the communication device shown, the processing module 801 can be one or more processors, and the transceiver module 802 can be a transceiver, or the transceiver module 802 can also be a transmitting module and a receiving module. The transmitting module can be a transmitter, and the receiving module can be a receiver. The transmitting module and the receiving module are integrated into one device, such as a transceiver. In the embodiments of this application, the processor and the transceiver can be coupled, etc., and the connection method between the processor and the transceiver is not limited in the embodiments of this application. In the process of executing the above method, the process of sending information in the above method can be the process of the processor outputting the above information. When outputting the above information, the processor outputs the above information to the transceiver so that the transceiver can transmit it. After the above information is output by the processor, it may need to undergo other processing before reaching the transceiver. Similarly, the process of receiving information in the above method can be the process of the processor receiving the input above information. When the processor receives the input information, the transceiver receives the above information and inputs it into the processor. Furthermore, after the transceiver receives the above information, the above information may need to undergo other processing before being input into the processor.

[0172] like Figure 9 As shown, the communication device 90 includes one or more processors 920 and a transceiver 910. Exemplarily, the transceiver 910 is used to perform actions such as... Figure 8 The transceiver module 802 shown implements the functions or steps, and the processor 920 is used to execute such functions or steps. Figure 8 The processing module 801 shown illustrates the functions or steps implemented by it. For detailed information on the processor 920 and transceiver 910, please refer to [reference needed]. Figure 8 Alternatively, the method embodiments shown above will not be described in detail here.

[0173] The descriptions of the relevant steps and information in the above embodiments can be found in the descriptions of the method embodiments above, and will not be detailed here.

[0174] exist Figure 9 In various implementations of the communication apparatus shown, the transceiver may include a receiver for performing a receiving function (or operation) and a transmitter for performing a transmitting function (or operation). The transceiver is also used to communicate with other devices / appliances via a transmission medium.

[0175] Optionally, the communication device 90 may further include one or more memories 930 for storing program instructions and / or data. The memories 930 are coupled to the processor 920. The coupling in this embodiment is an indirect coupling or communication connection between devices, units, or modules, and can be electrical, mechanical, or other forms, used for information exchange between devices, units, or modules. The processor 920 may operate in conjunction with the memories 930. The processor 920 may execute program instructions stored in the memories 930. Optionally, at least one of the aforementioned memories may be included in the processor.

[0176] This application embodiment does not limit the specific connection medium between the transceiver 910, processor 920, and memory 930. This application embodiment... Figure 9 The memory 930, processor 920, and transceiver 910 are connected via a bus 940, and the bus is in... Figure 9 The connections between other components are shown in bold and are for illustrative purposes only, not as limiting information. The bus can be divided into address bus, data bus, control bus, etc. For ease of illustration, Figure 9 The bus is represented by a single thick line, but this does not mean that there is only one bus or one type of bus.

[0177] In the embodiments of this application, the processor may be a general-purpose processor, a digital signal processor, an application-specific integrated circuit (ASIC), a field-programmable gate array (FPGA), or other programmable logic devices, discrete gate or transistor logic devices, discrete hardware components, etc., and can implement or execute the various methods, steps, and logic block diagrams disclosed in the embodiments of this application. The general-purpose processor may be a microprocessor or any conventional processor. The steps of the methods disclosed in the embodiments of this application can be directly manifested as being executed by a hardware processor, or being executed by a combination of hardware and software modules within the processor.

[0178] In this application embodiment, the memory may include, but is not limited to, non-volatile memory such as hard disk drive (HDD) or solid-state drive (SSD), random access memory (RAM), erasable programmable read-only memory (EPROM), read-only memory (ROM), or compact disc read-only memory (CD-ROM), etc. Memory is any storage medium capable of carrying or storing program code in the form of instructions or data structures, and capable of being read and / or written by a computer (such as the communication device shown in this application), but is not limited to this. The memory in this application embodiment may also be a circuit or any other device capable of implementing storage functions, used to store program instructions and / or data.

[0179] The processor 920 is primarily used for processing communication protocols and data, controlling the entire communication device, executing software programs, and processing software program data. The memory 930 is primarily used for storing software programs and data. The transceiver 910 may include control circuitry and an antenna. The control circuitry is primarily used for converting baseband signals to radio frequency signals and processing radio frequency signals. The antenna is primarily used for transmitting and receiving radio frequency signals in the form of electromagnetic waves. Input / output devices, such as touchscreens, displays, and keyboards, are primarily used for receiving user input data and outputting data to the user.

[0180] When the communication device is powered on, the processor 920 can read the software program in the memory 930, interpret and execute the instructions of the software program, and process the data of the software program. When data needs to be transmitted wirelessly, the processor 920 performs baseband processing on the data to be transmitted and outputs the baseband signal to the radio frequency (RF) circuit. The RF circuit processes the baseband signal and transmits the RF signal outward in the form of electromagnetic waves through the antenna. When data is sent to the communication device, the RF circuit receives the RF signal through the antenna, converts the RF signal into a baseband signal, and outputs the baseband signal to the processor 920. The processor 920 converts the baseband signal into data and processes the data.

[0181] In another implementation, the radio frequency circuitry and antenna can be set up independently of the processor performing baseband processing. For example, in a distributed scenario, the radio frequency circuitry and antenna can be arranged remotely, independent of the communication device.

[0182] The communication device shown in the embodiments of this application may also have a higher... Figure 9This application does not limit the use of other components or other related elements. The methods performed by the processor and transceiver shown above are merely examples; the specific steps performed by the processor and transceiver can be found in the methods described above.

[0183] In another possible implementation Figure 8 In the communication device shown, the processing module 801 can be one or more logic circuits, and the transceiver module 802 can be an input / output interface, or a communication interface, or an interface circuit, or an interface, etc. Alternatively, the transceiver module 802 can also be a transmitting module and a receiving module; the transmitting module can be an output interface, and the receiving module can be an input interface, integrated into one module, such as an input / output interface. Figure 10 As shown, Figure 10 The communication device shown includes logic circuit 1001 and interface 1002. That is, the processing module 801 can be implemented using logic circuit 1001, and the transceiver module 802 can be implemented using interface 1002. The logic circuit 1001 can be a chip, processing circuit, integrated circuit, or system-on-chip (SoC) chip, etc., and the interface 1002 can be a communication interface, input / output interface, pins, etc. For example, Figure 10 Taking the aforementioned communication device as an example, the chip includes a logic circuit 1001 and an interface 1002.

[0184] In this embodiment, the logic circuit and the interface can also be coupled to each other. The specific connection method between the logic circuit and the interface is not limited in this embodiment. For example, the logic circuit 1001 can be used to perform... Figure 8 The processing module 801 shown implements the functions or steps, and the interface 1002 can be used to execute such functions or steps. Figure 8 The transceiver module 802 shown illustrates the functions or steps implemented by this module. For detailed explanations of the logic circuit 1001 and interface 1002, please refer to [link / reference needed]. Figure 8 Alternatively, the method embodiments shown above will not be described in detail here.

[0185] The above description of the communication device is merely an example; for... Figure 10 For a detailed description of the communication device shown, please refer to the method embodiments above or Figure 8 or Figure 9 This will not be elaborated upon here.

[0186] The communication device shown in the embodiments of this application can implement the method provided in the embodiments of this application in hardware form, or it can implement the method provided in the embodiments of this application in software form, etc., and the embodiments of this application do not limit it in this way.

[0187] The descriptions of relevant steps and information in the above embodiments can be found in the descriptions of the method embodiments above, and will not be detailed here. For Figure 10 For specific implementations of the various embodiments shown, please refer to the above embodiments, which will not be described in detail here.

[0188] This application also provides a communication system, which includes a first communication device (such as a terminal), a second communication device (such as a network device), and a core network device that interact to perform all or part of the steps in any of the foregoing method embodiments.

[0189] In addition, this application also provides a computer program for implementing the operations and / or processes performed by various communication devices in the method provided in this application.

[0190] This application also provides a computer-readable storage medium storing computer code that, when executed on a computer, causes the computer to perform the operations and / or processes performed by various communication devices in the methods provided in this application.

[0191] This application also provides a computer program product comprising computer code or a computer program that, when run on a computer, causes the operations and / or processes performed by various entities in the method provided in this application to be executed.

[0192] In the embodiments provided in this application, it should be understood that the disclosed systems, apparatuses, and methods can be implemented in other ways. For example, the apparatus embodiments described above are merely illustrative. For instance, the division of modules is only a logical functional division, and in actual implementation, there may be other division methods. For example, multiple modules or components may be combined or integrated into another system, or some features may be ignored or not executed. In addition, the mutual coupling or direct coupling or communication connection shown or discussed may be indirect coupling or communication connection through some interfaces, devices, or units, or it may be an electrical, mechanical, or other form of connection.

[0193] The modules described as separate components may or may not be physically separate. The components shown as modules may or may not be physical modules; that is, they may be located in one place or distributed across multiple network modules. Some or all of the modules can be selected according to actual needs to achieve the technical effects of the solutions provided in the embodiments of this application.

[0194] Furthermore, the functional modules in the various embodiments of this application can be integrated into one processing module, or each module can exist physically separately, or two or more modules can be integrated into one module. The integrated modules described above can be implemented in hardware or as software functional modules.

[0195] If the integrated module is implemented as a software functional module and sold or used as an independent product, it can be stored in a computer-readable storage medium. Based on this understanding, the technical solution of this application, in essence, or the part that contributes to the prior art, or all or part of the technical solution, can be embodied in the form of a software product. This computer software product is stored in a readable storage medium and includes several instructions to cause a computer device (which may be a personal computer, server, or network device, etc.) to execute all or part of the steps of the methods described in the various embodiments of this application. The aforementioned readable storage medium includes various media capable of storing program code, such as USB flash drives, portable hard drives, read-only memory (ROM), random access memory (RAM), magnetic disks, or optical disks.

[0196] The above description is merely a specific embodiment of this application, but the scope of protection of this application is not limited thereto. Any variations or substitutions that can be easily conceived by those skilled in the art within the scope of the technology 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 positioning method, characterized in that, The method includes: The channel sounding reference signals (SRS) received on multiple carriers are measured to obtain multiple first measurements, wherein each of the multiple first measurements is obtained by measuring the SRS received on one carrier, and the first measurements include the signal arrival time and / or the signal arrival angle. The plurality of first measurements are sent, wherein the plurality of first measurements are used for the same positioning.

2. The method according to claim 1, characterized in that, The multiple carriers include any one of the following: non-contiguous carriers within a frequency band, continuous carriers within a frequency band, and multiple carriers between frequency bands.

3. The method according to claim 1 or 2, further comprising: Receive a first request message, wherein the first request message is used to request the location of the first communication device; A first message is sent to the first communication device, wherein the first message indicates information for transmitting multiple carriers of the multiple SRS.

4. The method according to claim 3, characterized in that, The first message also instructs that the plurality of SRSs be transmitted in a carrier round-robin manner.

5. The method according to claim 4, characterized in that, When the first communication device is in carrier aggregation or single-carrier mode, the first message also instructs the multiple SRSs to be transmitted in a carrier round-robin manner.

6. The method according to any one of claims 3-5, characterized in that, The first message also indicates a switch from the connected state to the inactive state.

7. The method according to any one of claims 3-6, characterized in that, The information of the multiple carriers includes the time-frequency location information of the SRS transmitted on the multiple carriers.

8. The method according to any one of claims 3-7, characterized in that, Before sending the plurality of first measurements, the method further includes: Send a first response message, wherein the first response message is used to respond to the first request message, and the first response message indicates that the first communication device can be positioned and measured.

9. The method according to any one of claims 1-8, characterized in that, The method further includes: Receive a second request message, wherein the second request message is used to request feedback of positioning measurements.

10. A positioning method, characterized in that, The method includes: Receive a first message, wherein the first message indicates information about multiple carriers for transmitting multiple channel sounding reference signals (SRS); The SRS is transmitted on the plurality of carriers according to the first message, wherein the SRS transmitted on the plurality of carriers is used for the same positioning.

11. The method according to claim 10, characterized in that, The multiple carriers include any one of the following: non-contiguous carriers within a frequency band, continuous carriers within a frequency band, and multiple carriers between frequency bands.

12. The method according to claim 10 or 11, characterized in that, The first message also instructs that the plurality of SRSs be transmitted in a carrier round-robin manner.

13. The method according to claim 12, characterized in that, In carrier aggregation mode or single carrier mode, the first message also indicates that the plurality of SRSs be transmitted in a carrier round-robin manner.

14. The method according to any one of claims 10-13, characterized in that, The step of transmitting the SRS on the plurality of carriers according to the first message includes: In the inactive state, the SRS is transmitted on the plurality of carriers respectively according to the first message.

15. The method according to any one of claims 10-14, characterized in that, The first message also instructs the first communication device to switch from a connected state to an inactive state, and the method further includes: Switch from the connected state to the inactive state.

16. The method according to any one of claims 10-15, characterized in that, The information of the multiple carriers includes the time-frequency location information of the SRS transmitted on the multiple carriers.

17. A positioning method, characterized in that, The method includes: Receive a plurality of first measurements from a second communication device, wherein the plurality of first measurements are obtained by the second communication device measuring channel sounding reference signals (SRS) received on a plurality of carriers, each of the plurality of first measurements being measured on an SRS received on a single carrier, and the first measurements include signal arrival time and / or signal angle of arrival. Receive multiple first measurements from a third communication device, wherein the multiple first measurements are obtained by the third communication device measuring channel sounding reference signals (SRS) received on the multiple carriers; A positioning result for the first communication device is generated based on a plurality of first measurements from the second communication device and a plurality of first measurements from the third communication device.

18. The method according to claim 17, characterized in that, The multiple carriers include any one of the following: non-contiguous carriers within a frequency band, continuous carriers within a frequency band, and multiple carriers between frequency bands.

19. The method according to claim 17 or 18, characterized in that, The step of generating a positioning result for the first communication device based on the plurality of first measurements includes: The plurality of first measurements are fitted to generate a positioning result for the first communication device.

20. The method according to claim 17 or 18, characterized in that, The step of generating a positioning result for the first communication device based on the plurality of first measurements includes: A positioning result for the first communication device is generated based on the first measurement quantity that meets the preset conditions among the plurality of first measurement quantities.

21. A communication device, characterized in that, The communication device includes a module for performing the method as described in any one of claims 1-9; or, the communication device includes a processor for performing the method as described in any one of claims 1-9.

22. A communication device, characterized in that, The communication device includes a module for performing the method as described in any one of claims 10-16; or, the communication device includes a processor for performing the method as described in any one of claims 10-16.

23. A communication device, characterized in that, The communication device includes a module for performing the method as described in any one of claims 17-20; or, the communication device includes a processor for performing the method as described in any one of claims 17-20.

24. A communication device, characterized in that, Includes logic circuits and interfaces, wherein the logic circuits and interfaces are coupled; The interface is used for inputting and / or outputting information, and the logic circuit is used for performing the method as described in any one of claims 1-20.

25. A computer-readable storage medium, characterized in that, The computer-readable storage medium is used to store a computer program, which, when executed, performs the method as described in any one of claims 1-20.

26. A communication system, characterized in that, The device includes a first communication device, a second communication device, and a core network device. The second communication device is used to perform the method as described in any one of claims 1-9, the first communication device is used to perform the method as described in any one of claims 10-16, and the core network device is used to perform the method as described in any one of claims 17-20.

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