COMMUNICATION METHOD, DEVICE, STORAGE MEDIUM, AND COMPUTER PROGRAM PRODUCT

Abstract

In the field of positioning technology, a communication method, an apparatus, a storage medium, and a computer program product are provided, which are used to configure a signal used for positioning and improve positioning accuracy. In this application, a first device receives first configuration information and second configuration information for a first signal and sends a first signal based on the first configuration information and the second configuration information. The first configuration information indicates that the first signal is associated with the spatial relationship of a target signal. The second configuration information indicates that the first signal is associated with the spatial relationship of a path of the target signal. In this manner, the beam of the first signal can face the direction of the path of the target signal. Therefore, the probability that an obstacle will be encountered on the transmission path of the first signal is low, and the accuracy of the measurement results obtained by performing measurements by the device to measure the first signal can be high, thereby improving the accuracy of positioning.

Description

[Technical Field]

[0001] The present application relates to the field of positioning technology, and in particular to a communication method, an apparatus, a storage medium, and a computer program product. [Background technology]

[0002] CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS This application claims priority to Chinese Patent Application No. 202211490362.4, entitled "COMMUNICATION METHOD, APPARATUS, STORAGE MEDIUM, AND COMPUTER PROGRAM PRODUCT," filed with the State Intellectual Property Office of China on November 25, 2022, the entire contents of which are incorporated herein by reference.

[0003] With the rapid development of communication technology, high-precision positioning has gradually been identified as a key research project in the 3rd generation partnership project (3GPP)'s fifth-generation (5G) mobile communication system. New Radio (NR) positioning scenarios mainly include enhanced mobile broadband (eMBB) outdoor, eMBB indoor, ultra-reliable low latency communications (URLLC), and massive machine-type communication (mMTC) / Internet of Things (IoT). NR positioning also requires characteristics such as high security, scalability, high availability, and guaranteed accuracy in high-speed applications.

[0004] In the 3GPP standard, the downlink arrival time difference ( downlink time difference of arrival, DL-TDOA), downlink-angle of departure (DL-AOD), uplink time difference of arrival ( uplink time difference of arrival Multiple positioning techniques are supported, such as UL-TDOA, uplink angle of arrival (UL-AOA), and round trip time (RTT). Positioning techniques can be mainly classified into uplink positioning techniques, downlink positioning techniques, and uplink / downlink positioning techniques. Uplink positioning techniques include, for example, UL-AOA. In this technique, a base station measures a signal sent by a terminal device to obtain the angle of arrival (AOA). The angle of arrival may be used to estimate the location of the terminal device. Uplink / downlink positioning techniques include, for example, RTT. In this positioning technique, both the terminal device and the base station need to measure the time of arrival of a received signal to obtain the RTT through resolution.

[0005] It can be seen that in positioning technology, devices involved in positioning need to send signals, and the measurement results of the signals can be used to locate devices that need to be located. How to configure the signals has become a problem that needs to be solved urgently at present. Summary of the Invention

[0006] Embodiments of the present application provide a communication method, an apparatus, a storage medium, and a computer program product for configuring signals, for example, the spatial relationship of the signals is configured to be related to the spatial relationship of the paths of the target signals, in other words, the spatial relationship of the signals is configured at the level of the paths to improve positioning accuracy.

[0007] According to a first aspect, an embodiment of the present application provides a communication method. The method may be applied to a first device. The first device may be, for example, a terminal device, or a unit, module, or chip (system) in a terminal device. The first device may alternatively be a network device or a network device It can be a chip (system) inside.

[0008] In the method, a first device receives first configuration information for a first signal, the first configuration information indicating that the first signal is associated with a spatial relationship of a target signal, the first device receives second configuration information for the first signal, the second configuration information indicating that the first signal is associated with a spatial relationship of a path of the target signal, and the first device sends the first signal based on the first configuration information and the second configuration information.

[0009] The first signal can be used to determine location information of the first device. Because the association of the first signal with the spatial relationship of the path of the target signal is configured by using the second configuration information, in other words, the spatial relationship of the signals is configured at the path level, a finer-grained configuration of the spatial relationship of the signals can be implemented. In this case, the association of the spatial relationship of the first signal sent by the first device with the path of the target signal can also be understood as the direction of the beam of the first signal sent by the first device being the direction of the path. In addition, the direction of the beam of the first signal is the direction of the path. Therefore, the probability that an obstacle will be encountered on the transmission path of the first signal is low, and the accuracy of the measurement results obtained by performing measurements by the device to measure the first signal can be high, thereby improving the accuracy of positioning.

[0010] In one possible implementation, the first device receives third configuration information for the second signal, the third configuration information indicating that the second signal is associated with a spatial relationship of the target signal, the first device receives fourth configuration information for the second signal, the fourth configuration information indicating that the second signal is associated with a spatial relationship of a path of the target signal, and the first device sends the second signal based on the third configuration information and the fourth configuration information.

[0011] Since a transmission delay exists in the process of acquiring the round-trip time of the signal transmission between the first device and the third device, this transmission delay causes a positioning deviation. The second device generates a signal for the first device that is associated with the spatial relationship of the two paths of the target signal, and the first device is then positioned based on the two signals. This reduces the impact of the RTT transmission delay on positioning accuracy and improves positioning accuracy.

[0012] When the second device determines that the spatial relationship of one signal needs to be associated with a path, the second device may display information about the path associated with the spatial relationship of the signals. For example, the second configuration information indicates that the first signal is associated with the spatial relationship of the first path of the target signal. For example, the second configuration information includes information about the first path. The first path is the first path, or the first path is another path. When the second device determines that the spatial relationship of one signal does not need to be associated with a path, the second device may not display information about the path associated with the spatial relationship of the signals. In this way, when the second device determines not to display information about the path associated with the spatial relationship of the signals, the first device determines that the spatial relationship of the signals does not need to be associated with a path.

[0013] In another possible implementation, the second device may set path switch information, and the path switch information may indicate whether the spatial relationship of the signals needs to be associated with a path. For example, the second configuration information may include one or more of first preset information in a message carrying the first configuration information, a first preset bit value carried on the first preset bit, or second preset information on the second preset bit. In this manner, when determining that the spatial relationship of the signals needs to be associated with a path based on the path switch information, the first device may determine the path that needs to be associated with the spatial relationship of the signals. For example, the first device selects the first path as the path associated with the spatial relationship of the first signals. In this manner, the second device may not indicate information regarding the path associated with the spatial relationship of the signals.

[0014] In this embodiment of the present application, the first path satisfies one or more of the following: the first path is a direct path of the target signal; the first path is a reflected path of the target signal; the first path is a path corresponding to the target signal whose reception time is ranked N1th, where N1 is a positive integer; or the first path is a path corresponding to the target signal whose energy is ranked M1th, where M1 is a positive integer. In other words, the multiple paths of the target signal can be distinguished according to a specific rule. For example, the multiple paths can be classified based on path type (e.g., whether the path is a reflected path or a direct path), sorted based on the reception time of the path, or sorted based on the energy of the path. The first path can be a path determined according to these rules. For example, the second device may configure, for the first device, a path associated with the spatial relationship of the first signal as the first path of the target signal, and the first path can be considered the path with the earliest reception time. In this case, the first device may associate the spatial relationship of the first signal with the first path of the target signal. In another example, the second device may indicate to the first device that the spatial relationship of the first signal is associated with the path of the target signal. In this case, the first device may select a path from the paths of the target signal (e.g., select the first path, select the path with the first-ranked energy, or select the path with the second-ranked energy) and associate the spatial relationship of the path with the first signal. In this way, the flexibility of the solution may be improved.

[0015] In a possible implementation, the second configuration information is carried in one or more of the following contents: information used to configure the spatial relationship of the first signal, information used to configure the resource of the first signal, or information used to configure the resource set of the first signal. In this way, the location of the second configuration information can be flexibly set based on actual requirements. In addition, this can be more compatible with conventional technologies.

[0016] In a possible implementation, a first device receives a target signal. The first device determines a first path of the target signal. The first device sends a first signal based on the first path, and the first signal is associated with the spatial relationship of the first path. The first device may receive a target signal from a third device and then send the first signal to the third device based on the first path of the target signal. The first path of the target signal may be determined by the first device based on the second configuration information or may be determined by the first device. The first device and the second device may determine a parameter, such as a round-trip time, used to position the first device through the transmission of the target signal and the first signal, and the first device may then be positioned based on the parameter.

[0017] In a possible implementation, the first device sends information indicating that the first signal is associated with the spatial relationship of the first path, for example, the information indicating that the first signal is associated with the spatial relationship of the first path includes identification information of the first signal and information about the first path.

[0018] In a possible implementation, the first device may send information to the third device indicating that the first signal is associated with the spatial relationship of the first path, so that the third device knows the specific path that is the target signal and associated with the spatial relationship of the first signal, and then can establish an association relationship between the measurement result of the first signal and the path based on the information. In this way, the device for positioning the first device can perform positioning based on more information, and therefore the positioning accuracy can be improved.

[0019] In another possible implementation, the first device may send information to the location management device indicating that the first signal is associated with the spatial relationship of the first path, so that the location management device knows the specific path that is that of the target signal and associated with the spatial relationship of the first signal, and then can establish an association relationship between the measurement result of the first signal and that path based on the information. In this way, the device for positioning the first device can perform positioning based on more information, and therefore the positioning accuracy can be improved.

[0020] In a possible implementation, the first device obtains a first measurement result based on a measurement result of a target signal, the first measurement result including a measurement result of a first path of the target signal. The first device sends the first measurement result. The first device may send the first measurement result to a third device or a location management device, and the first measurement result may be used to determine location information of the first device. For example, the first measurement result includes an arrival time of the target signal, and the first measurement result is used to determine a first RTT. For example, the first RTT is determined based on the target signal and the first signal, and the first RTT is used to determine location information of the first device. More signal measurements are used to position the first device. This can further improve positioning accuracy.

[0021] In a possible implementation, the first measurement result further includes information about the first route. In this way, the first device may notify the third device or the location management device of the association relationship between the first measurement result and the first route, so that the device for positioning the first device can perform positioning based on more information and improve positioning accuracy.

[0022] According to a second aspect, an embodiment of the present application provides a communication method. The method can be applied to a second device. The second device can be a network device, or a unit, module, or chip (system) in the network device. Alternatively, the second device can be a terminal device, or a unit, module, or chip (system) in the terminal device.

[0023] The second device sends first configuration information for the first signal, the first configuration information indicating that the first signal is associated with a spatial relationship of the target signal. The second device sends second configuration information for the first signal, the second configuration information indicating that the first signal is associated with a spatial relationship of the path of the target signal.

[0024] The first signal can be used to determine location information of the first device. Because the association of the first signal with the spatial relationship of the path of the target signal is configured by using the second configuration information, in other words, the spatial relationship of the signals is configured at the path level, a finer-grained configuration of the spatial relationship of the signals can be implemented. In this case, the association of the spatial relationship of the first signal sent by the first device with the path of the target signal can also be understood as the direction of the beam of the first signal sent by the first device being the direction of the path. In addition, the direction of the beam of the first signal is the direction of the path. Therefore, the probability that an obstacle will be encountered on the transmission path of the first signal is low, and the accuracy of the measurement results obtained by performing measurements by the device to measure the first signal can be high, thereby improving the accuracy of positioning.

[0025] In a possible implementation, the second device sends third configuration information of the second signal, the third configuration information indicating that the second signal is associated with a spatial relationship of the target signal, and the second device sends fourth configuration information of the second signal, the fourth configuration information indicating that the second signal is associated with a spatial relationship of the path of the target signal.

[0026] Since a transmission delay exists in the process of acquiring the round-trip time of the signal transmission between the first device and the third device, this transmission delay causes a positioning deviation. The second device generates a signal for the first device that is associated with the spatial relationship of the two paths of the target signal, and the first device is then positioned based on the two signals. This reduces the impact of the RTT transmission delay on positioning accuracy and improves positioning accuracy.

[0027] In a possible implementation, the second configuration information indicates that the first signal is associated with a spatial relationship of the first path of the target signal.

[0028] For related explanations and beneficial effects, please refer to the related explanations of the first embodiment, and details will not be described again.

[0029] In possible implementations, the first path is the first path, or the first path is another path.

[0030] For related explanations and beneficial effects, please refer to the related explanations of the first embodiment, and details will not be described again.

[0031] In a possible implementation, the second configuration information includes information about the first route.

[0032] For related explanations and beneficial effects, please refer to the related explanations of the first embodiment, and details will not be described again.

[0033] In a possible implementation, the second configuration information includes one or more of first preset information in a message carrying the first configuration information, a first preset bit value carried on the first preset bit, or second preset information on the second preset bit.

[0034] For related explanations and beneficial effects, please refer to the related explanations of the first embodiment, and details will not be described again.

[0035] In a possible implementation, the second configuration information is carried in one or more of the following content: information used to configure the spatial relationship of the first signal, information used to configure the resources of the first signal, or information used to configure the resource set of the first signal.

[0036] For related explanations and beneficial effects, please refer to the related explanations of the first embodiment, and details will not be described again.

[0037] In a possible implementation, the first path satisfies one or more of the following: the first path is a direct path of the target signal, the first path is a reflected path of the target signal, the first path is the path corresponding to the target signal whose reception time is ranked N1th, where N1 is a positive integer, or the first path is the path corresponding to the target signal whose energy is ranked M1th, where M1 is a positive integer.

[0038] For related explanations and beneficial effects, please refer to the related explanations of the first embodiment, and details will not be described again.

[0039] According to a third aspect, an embodiment of the present application provides a communication method. The method may be applied to a third device. The third device may be, for example, a terminal device, or a unit, module, or chip (system) in the terminal device. Alternatively, the third device may be a network device, or a unit, module, or chip (system) in the network device. In the present application, the third device and the second device may be the same device, or the third device and the second device may be two different devices.

[0040] The third device sends a target signal to the first device. The third device receives the first signal from the first device. The third device determines a second measurement based on a measurement of the first signal. The first signal is related to the spatial relationship of the first path of the target signal, and the second measurement is used to determine the location of the first device.

[0041] The spatial relationship of the first signal sent by the first device may be related to the path of the target signal, which may also be understood as the beam direction of the first signal sent by the first device being the path direction. In addition, the beam direction of the first signal is the path direction. Therefore, the probability that an obstacle will be encountered on the transmission path of the first signal is low, and the accuracy of the measurement results obtained by performing measurements by the third device can be high, thereby improving the accuracy of positioning.

[0042] In a possible implementation, the third device receives information indicating that the first signal is associated with the spatial relationship of the first path. For example, the information indicating that the first signal is associated with the spatial relationship of the first path includes identification information of the first signal and information about the first path. In this way, the third device may know the specific path that is the target signal and associated with the spatial relationship of the first signal, and then may establish an association relationship between the measurement result of the first signal and the path based on the information. In this way, the device for positioning the first device may perform positioning based on more information, and therefore, positioning accuracy may be improved.

[0043] In a possible implementation, the third device receives a first measurement result, the first measurement result including a measurement result of a first path of the target signal. The first measurement result can be used to determine location information of the first device. For example, the first measurement result includes an arrival time of the target signal, and the first measurement result is used to determine a first RTT. For example, the first RTT is determined based on the target signal and the first signal, and the first RTT is used to determine the location information of the first device. More signal measurements are used to position the first device. This can further improve positioning accuracy.

[0044] In a possible implementation, the first measurement result further includes information about the first route. In this way, the first device may notify the third device of the association relationship between the first measurement result and the first route, so that the device for positioning the first device can perform positioning based on more information and improve positioning accuracy.

[0045] In this embodiment of the present application, the third device may position the first device based on the second measurement result, or may send the second measurement result to another device. For example, the third device sends the second measurement result to the location management device, and thus the location management device positions the first device based on the second measurement result. Therefore, the flexibility of the solution can be improved, and the positioning operation can be performed by the location management device, thus reducing the workload of the third device.

[0046] In a possible implementation, the second measurement result includes information about the first route. In this way, the third device may notify the location management device of the association relationship between the second measurement result and the first route, so that the device for positioning the first device can perform positioning based on more information and improve positioning accuracy.

[0047] In a possible implementation, the second measurement result includes one or more of the horizontal arrival angle of the first signal, the vertical arrival angle of the first signal, or the first RTT, where the first RTT is an RTT corresponding to the target signal and the first signal. When the second measurement result includes information about the arrival angle and the first RTT, the first device can be positioned by using a third device. In this way, single-point positioning can be implemented, and the accuracy of the single-point positioning can be improved.

[0048] In one possible implementation, the third device receives a second signal from the first device, and determines a third measurement result based on a measurement result of the second signal, where the second signal is associated with the spatial relationship of the second path of the target signal, and the third measurement result is used to determine the location of the first device. Because a transmission delay exists in the process of acquiring the round-trip time of the signal transmission between the first device and the third device, this transmission delay causes positioning deviation. The first device sends a signal associated with the spatial relationship of the two paths of the target signal to the third device, and thus the device for positioning the first device positions the first device based on the two signals. This reduces the impact of the transmission delay of the RTT on positioning accuracy, thereby improving positioning accuracy.

[0049] In this embodiment of the present application, the third device may position the first device based on the second measurement result and the third measurement result, or may send the second measurement result and the third measurement result to another device. For example, the third device sends the second measurement result and the third measurement result to the location management device, and thus the location management device positions the first device based on the second measurement result and the third measurement result. Therefore, the flexibility of the solution can be improved, and the positioning operation can be performed by the location management device, thus reducing the workload of the third device.

[0050] In a possible implementation, the third measurement result includes information about the second route. In this way, the third device may notify the location management device of the association relationship between the third measurement result and the second route, so that the device for positioning the first device can perform positioning based on more information and improve positioning accuracy.

[0051] According to a fourth aspect, an embodiment of the present application provides a communication method. The method can be applied to a location management device. Alternatively, the location management device can be a network device, or a unit, module, or chip (system) in a network device.

[0052] The location management device receives a second measurement result, the second measurement result being determined based on the measurement result of the first signal, the first signal being associated with a spatial relationship of the first path of the target signal. The location management device determines a location of the first device based on the second measurement result.

[0053] The spatial relationship of the first signal may be related to the path of the target signal, which may be understood as the direction of the beam of the first signal may be the direction of the path. Therefore, the probability of encountering an obstacle on the transmission path of the first signal is low, and the accuracy of the measurement result obtained by performing the measurement by the third device can be high, and therefore the accuracy of the positioning can be improved.

[0054] In a possible implementation, the second measurement result includes information about the first route. In this way, the third device may notify the location management device of the association relationship between the second measurement result and the first route, so that the location management device can perform positioning based on more information and improve positioning accuracy.

[0055] In a possible implementation, the second measurement result includes one or more of the horizontal arrival angle of the first signal, the vertical arrival angle of the first signal, or the first RTT, where the first RTT is an RTT corresponding to the target signal and the first signal. When the second measurement result includes information about the arrival angle and the first RTT, the first device can be positioned by using a third device. In this way, single-point positioning can be implemented, and the accuracy of the single-point positioning can be improved.

[0056] In a possible implementation, the location management device receives a third measurement result, the third measurement result being determined based on the second signal, the second signal being associated with a spatial relationship of the second path of the target signal. Determining the location of the first device based on the second measurement result includes: the location management device determines the location of the first device based on the second measurement result and the third measurement result.

[0057] Since a transmission delay exists in the process of acquiring the round-trip time of the signal transmission between the first device and the third device, this transmission delay causes a positioning deviation. The first device sends a signal associated with the spatial relationship of the two paths of the target signal to the third device, and the location management device then positions the first device based on the two signals. This reduces the impact of the transmission delay of the RTT on positioning accuracy, thereby improving positioning accuracy.

[0058] In a possible implementation, the third measurement result includes information about the second route. In this way, the third device may notify the location management device of the association relationship between the third measurement result and the second route, so that the device for positioning the first device can perform positioning based on more information and improve positioning accuracy.

[0059] According to a fifth aspect, a communication device is provided. The communication device may be the first device, the second device, the third device, or the location management device described above. The communication device may include a communication unit and a processing unit to implement any one of the first to fourth aspects or any one of the possible implementations of the first to fourth aspects. The communication unit is configured to perform functions related to sending and receiving. Optionally, the communication unit includes a receiving unit and a transmitting unit. In a design, the communication device is a communication chip, the processing unit may be one or more processors or processor cores, and the communication unit may be an input / output circuit or port of the communication chip.

[0060] In another design, the communication unit may be a transmitter and a receiver, or the communication unit is a transmitter machine and a receiver machine.

[0061] Optionally, the communication apparatus further includes a module that may be configured to perform any one of the first to fourth aspects or any one of the possible implementations of the first to fourth aspects.

[0062] According to a sixth aspect, a communication device is provided. The communication device may be the first device, the second device, the third device, or the location management device described above. The communication device may include a processor and a memory to implement any one of the first to fourth aspects or any one of the possible implementations of the first to fourth aspects. Optionally, the communication device further includes a transceiver. The memory is configured to store computer programs or instructions. The processor is configured to retrieve and execute the computer programs or instructions from the memory. When the processor executes the computer programs or instructions in the memory, the communication device is enabled to implement any one of the first to fourth aspects or any one of the possible implementations of the first to fourth aspects.

[0063] Optionally, there are one or more processors and one or more memories.

[0064] Optionally, the memory may be integrated with the processor, or the memory and processor may be separately located.

[0065] Optionally, the transceiver may include a transmitter machine (transmitter) and a receiver machine (receiver).

[0066] According to a seventh aspect, there is provided a communication device. The communication device may be the above-mentioned first device, second device, third device, or location management device. The communication device may include a processor to implement any one of the first to fourth aspects or any one of the possible implementations of the first to fourth aspects. The processor is coupled to a memory. Optionally, the communication device further includes a memory. Optionally, the communication device further includes a communication interface, and the processor is coupled to the communication interface.

[0067] In implementation, when the communication device is a first device, a second device, a third device, or a location management device, the communication interface may be a transceiver or an input / output interface. Optionally, the transceiver may be a transceiver circuit. Optionally, the input / output interface may be an input / output circuit.

[0068] In another implementation, when the communication device is a chip or chip system, the communication interface may be an input / output interface, interface circuitry, output circuitry, input circuitry, pins, related circuitry, etc. on the chip or chip system. The processor may alternatively be embodied as a processing circuit or a logic circuit.

[0069] According to an eighth aspect, there is provided a system, the system including the second device described above.

[0070] In a possible implementation, the system may further include one or more first devices. In another possible implementation, the system may further include one or more third devices. In yet another possible implementation, the system may further include a location management device.

[0071] According to a ninth aspect, there is provided a computer program product. The computer program product includes a computer program (also referred to as code or instructions). When the computer program runs, it enables a computer to perform any one of the first to fourth aspects, or any one of the possible implementations of the first to fourth aspects.

[0072] According to a tenth aspect, there is provided a computer-readable storage medium. The computer-readable storage medium stores a computer program (also referred to as code or instructions). When the computer program runs on a computer, it enables the computer to perform any one of the first to fourth aspects or any one of the possible implementations of the first to fourth aspects.

[0073] According to an eleventh aspect, a chip system is provided. The chip system may include a processor. The processor may be coupled to a memory and configured to perform any one of the first to fourth aspects or any one of the possible implementations of the first to fourth aspects. Optionally, the chip system further includes a memory. The memory is configured to store a computer program (also referred to as code or instructions). The processor is configured to call the computer program from the memory and execute the computer program, such that a device equipped with the chip system performs any one of the first to fourth aspects or any one of the possible implementations of the first to fourth aspects.

[0074] According to a twelfth aspect, there is provided a processing device. The device includes an interface circuit and a processing circuit. The interface circuit may include an input circuit and an output circuit. The processing circuit is configured to receive a signal via the input circuit and to transmit a signal via the output circuit, thereby implementing any one of the first to fourth aspects or any one of the possible implementations of the first to fourth aspects.

[0075] In a particular implementation, the processing device may be a chip, the input circuits may be input pins, the output circuits may be output pins, and the processing circuits may be transistors, gate circuits, triggers, various logic circuits, etc. An input signal received by an input circuit may be, for example, but not limited to, received and input by a receiver, a signal output by an output circuit may be, for example, but not limited to, output to a transmitter and transmitted by the transmitter, and the input circuit and the output circuit may be the same circuit, which is used as an input circuit and an output circuit at different moments. The particular implementation of the processor and various circuits is not limited by this application.

[0076] In implementation, when the communication device is a first device, a second device, a third device, or a location management device, the interface circuit may be a radio frequency processing chip in the first device, the second device, the third device, or the location management device, and the processing circuit may be a baseband processing chip in the first device, the second device, the third device, or the location management device.

[0077] In another implementation, the communication device may be some component in the first device, the second device, the third device, or the location management device, for example, an integrated circuit product such as a system chip or a communication chip. The interface circuit may be an input / output interface, interface circuit, output circuit, input circuit, pin, related circuit, etc. on a chip or chip system. The processing circuit may be a logic circuit on a chip. [Brief explanation of the drawings]

[0078] [Figure 1] 1 is a diagram of an architecture of a communication system according to an embodiment of the present application; [Figure 2A] FIG. 2 is a diagram of another communication system architecture according to an embodiment of the present application. [Figure 2B] FIG. 1 is a diagram of the architecture of another communication system to which embodiments of the present application are applicable. [Figure 2C] FIG. 1 is a diagram of the architecture of another communication system to which embodiments of the present application are applicable. [Figure 2D] FIG. 1 is a diagram of the architecture of another communication system to which embodiments of the present application are applicable. [Figure 2E] FIG. 1 is a diagram of the architecture of another communication system to which embodiments of the present application are applicable. [Figure 3] 1 is a diagram of the principle of determining information about the angle of arrival according to an embodiment of the present application; [Figure 4] 1 is a diagram of the principle of implementing positioning by using RTT positioning technology and angle of arrival positioning technology according to an embodiment of the present application; [Figure 5] 1 is a schematic flowchart of a communication method according to an embodiment of the present application; [Figure 6] 10A and 10B are possible diagrams of signal configuration information configured for a first device by a second device according to an embodiment of the present application; [Figure 7] FIG. 10 is another possible diagram of configuration information of a signal configured for a first device by a second device according to an embodiment of the present application. [Figure 8] 1 is a schematic flowchart of a communication method according to an embodiment of the present application; [Figure 9] 2 is a diagram of the principle of determining location information of a first device based on a first signal and a second signal according to an embodiment of the present application; [Figure 10] 1 is a schematic flowchart of a communication method according to an embodiment of the present application; [Figure 11] 1 is a diagram of the structure of a communication device according to an embodiment of the present application; [Figure 12] 1 is a diagram of the structure of a communication device according to an embodiment of the present application; [Figure 13] 1 is a diagram of the structure of a communication device according to an embodiment of the present application; DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0079] FIG. 1 is an example of an architecture diagram of a communication system 1000 to which embodiments of the present application are applicable. As shown in FIG. 1, the communication system includes a radio access network 100 and a core network 200. Optionally, the communication system 1000 may further include the Internet 300. The radio access network 100 may include at least one radio access network device (e.g., 110a and 110b in FIG. 1 ) and may further include at least one terminal device (e.g., 120a to 120j in FIG. 1 ). The terminal device is connected to the radio access network device in a wireless manner, and the radio access network device is connected to the core network in a wireless or wired manner. The core network device and the radio access network device may be separate and distinct physical devices, or the functions of the core network device and the logical functions of the radio access network device are integrated into the same physical device, or some functions of the core network device and some functions of the radio access network device are integrated into one physical device. The terminal devices may be connected to each other in a wired or wireless manner, and the radio access network devices may be connected to each other in a wired or wireless manner. Figure 1 is a diagram only. The communication system may further include other network devices, such as wireless relay devices and wireless backhaul devices, which are not shown in Figure 1.

[0080] The network device in the embodiment of the present application includes, for example, a radio access network (RAN) device. The radio access network device may be a base station, an evolved NodeB (eNodeB), a transmission reception point (TRP), a transmission point (TP), a next generation NodeB (gNB) in a fifth generation (5G) mobile communication system, a next generation base station in a sixth generation (6G) mobile communication system, a base station in a future mobile communication system, an access node in a Wi-Fi system, etc., or may be a module or unit that completes some functions of a base station, such as a central unit (CU) or a distributed unit (DU). The CU in this specification completes the functions of a radio resource control protocol and a packet data convergence protocol (PDCP) of a base station, and may further complete the function of a service data adaptation protocol (SDAP). The DU completes the functions of the radio link control layer and medium access control (MAC) layer of the base station, and may also complete some or all of the functions of the physical layer. For a specific description of the above protocol layers, please refer to the technical specifications related to the 3rd generation partnership project (3GPP).

[0081] The radio access network device may be a macro base station (e.g., 110a in FIG. 1), a micro base station or an indoor base station (e.g., 110b in FIG. 1), or a relay node or a donor node. The specific technology and the specific device form used by the radio access network device are not limited in the embodiments of the present application. For ease of explanation, the following description will be given by using an example in which a base station is used as the radio access network device.

[0082] The terminal device , Yu A terminal device may also be referred to as user equipment (UE), mobile station, mobile terminal device, etc. Terminal devices may be widely used in various scenarios, such as device-to-device (D2D) communication, vehicle-to-everything (V2X) communication, machine-type communication (MTC), Internet of Things (IoT), virtual reality, augmented reality, industrial control, autonomous driving, telemedicine, smart grid, smart furniture, smart office, smart wearable, smart transportation, and smart city. Terminal devices may be mobile phones, tablet computers, computers with wireless transceiver capabilities, wearable devices, vehicles, unmanned aerial vehicles, helicopters, airplanes, ships, robots, robotic arms, smart home devices, sensors, etc. The specific technologies and device configurations used by the terminal devices are not limited in the embodiments of the present application.

[0083] The terminal device may establish a connection to the carrier network through an interface (e.g., N1) provided by the carrier network and use services such as data and / or voice provided by the carrier network. The terminal device may further access a domain name system (DNS) by using the carrier network and use carrier services deployed in the DNS and / or services provided by a third party. The third party may be a service party other than the carrier network and the terminal device, and may provide services such as data and / or voice to the terminal device. The specific expression form of the third party may be specifically determined based on an actual application scenario, and is not limited herein.

[0084] A terminal device may also be referred to as a terminal device, user equipment (UE), mobile station, mobile terminal device, etc. Terminal devices may be widely used in various scenarios, such as device-to-device (D2D) communication, vehicle-to-everything (V2X) communication, machine-type communication (MTC), Internet of Things (IoT), virtual reality, augmented reality, industrial control, autonomous driving, telemedicine, smart grid, smart furniture, smart office, smart wearable, smart transportation, and smart city. Terminal devices may be mobile phones, tablet computers, computers with wireless transceiver capabilities, wearable devices, vehicles, unmanned aerial vehicles, helicopters, airplanes, ships, robots, robotic arms, smart home devices, roadside units (RSUs), etc. The specific technologies and device configurations used by the terminal devices are not limited in the embodiments of the present application.

[0085] The base station and the terminal device may be at a fixed location or may be mobile. The base station and the terminal device may be deployed on land, including indoor or outdoor, or handheld or vehicle-mounted, or on water, or on airborne aircraft, balloons, and satellites. The application scenarios of the base station and the terminal device are not limited in the embodiments of the present application.

[0086] The roles of a base station and a terminal device may be relative. For example, helicopter or unmanned aerial vehicle 120i in FIG. 1 may be configured as a mobile base station. To terminal devices 120j that access the wireless access network 100 through 120i, 120i is a base station. However, to base station 110a, 120i is a terminal device. In other words, communication between 110a and 120i is performed according to a wireless air interface protocol. Of course, communication between 110a and 120i may alternatively be performed based on an interface protocol between base stations. In this case, 120i is also a base station to 110a. Therefore, both base stations and terminal devices may be collectively referred to as communication devices. 110a and 110b in FIG. 1 may each be referred to as a communication device having base station functionality, and 120a to 120j in FIG. 1 may each be referred to as a communication device having terminal device functionality.

[0087] Communication between a base station and a terminal device, between base stations, or between terminal devices may be implemented by using licensed spectrum, unlicensed spectrum, or both licensed and unlicensed spectrum. Communication may be implemented by using spectrum below 6 gigahertz (GHz), spectrum above 6 GHz, or both spectrum below 6 GHz and spectrum above 6 GHz. The spectrum resources used for wireless communication are not limited in the embodiments of the present application.

[0088] In the embodiments of the present application, the functions of the base station may alternatively be implemented by a module (e.g., a chip) in the base station, or by a control subsystem including the functions of the base station. The control subsystem including the functions of the base station in this specification may be a control center in the above application scenarios, such as a smart grid, industrial control, smart transportation, and smart city. The functions of the terminal device may alternatively be implemented by a module (e.g., a chip or a modem) in the terminal device, or by a device including the functions of the terminal device.

[0089] In this application, a base station sends downlink signals or downlink information to a terminal device, and the downlink information is carried on a downlink channel, and the terminal device sends uplink signals or uplink information to the base station, and the uplink information is carried on an uplink channel. To communicate with the base station, the terminal device needs to establish a wireless connection to a cell controlled by the base station. The cell that establishes a wireless connection to the terminal device is called the serving cell of the terminal device. When communicating with the serving cell, the terminal device is further interfered with by signals from neighboring cells.

[0090] The core network in the embodiment of the present application includes network devices that process and forward user signaling and data, and may include core network devices such as an access and mobility management function (AMF), a session management function (SMF), a user plane gateway, and a location management device. The user plane gateway may be a server that has functions specific to user plane data, such as mobility management, routing, and forwarding. The user plane gateway may be, for example, a serving gateway (SGW), a packet data network gateway (PGW), or a user plane gateway. Function ( The user plane function (UPF) is generally located on the network side. The AMF and SMF correspond to the mobility management entity (MME) in a long term evolution (LTE) system. The AMF is mainly responsible for authorization, and the SMF is mainly responsible for session management. Of course, the core network may further include other network elements that are not listed one by one here.

[0091] The location management device has a positioning function. The location management device in the embodiments of the present application may include a location management function (LMF) or a location management component (LMC), may be a local location management function (LLMF) located in a network device, or may be a positioning server. This is not limited in the embodiments of the present application. For ease of explanation, the following embodiments will be described by using an example in which the location management device is an LMF.

[0092] Based on the contents shown in Fig. 1, Fig. 2A is an example of an architecture diagram of a communication system to which the embodiments of the present application are applicable. This communication system is illustrated by using the positioning architecture in LTE and NR Rel-16 as an example. As shown in Fig. 2A, the involved network elements / modules mainly include three parts: a next generation radio access network (NG RAN), a terminal device, and a core network.

[0093] The core network includes a location management function (LMF), an access and mobility management function (AMF), a service location protocol (SLP), an evolved serving mobile location center (E-SMLC), etc. The positioning server, i.e., the location management function (LMF), is connected to the AMF, and the LMF and AMF are connected via the NLs interface. The UE communicates with the serving base station via a Uu link. The ng-eNB is an LTE base station, and the gNB is an NR base station. The base stations communicate with each other via the Xn interface. The base station communicates with the AMF via the NG-C interface. The AMF (Access and Mobility Management Function) corresponds to a router for communication between the gNB and the LMF. The LMF estimates the UE's location, and the AMF communicates with the LMF via the NLs interface. The LMF is responsible for supporting different types of location services related to terminal devices, including positioning terminal devices and forwarding assistance data to terminal devices. The LMF may perform positioning calculations on terminal devices based on measurement results of other network elements. The AMF may receive a terminal device-related location service request from a 5th generation core network location service (5GC LCS) entity, or the AMF may initiate several location services for a specific terminal device and forward the location service request to the LMF. After obtaining the location information returned by the terminal device, the AMF returns the relevant location information to the 5GC LCS entity.

[0094] The NG RAN may include a next generation NodeB (gNB), a next generation evolved NodeB (ng-eNB), etc. The gNB and ng-eNB are connected via an Xn interface, and the LMF and ng-eNB / gNB are connected via an NG-C interface.

[0095] One or more network devices on the NG RAN side configure resources used for sending reference signals and send the reference signals to the terminal device. The terminal device measures downlink signals such as the reference signals and feeds back the measurement results to the LMF to support positioning. It should be understood that the reference signals are used for positioning and are also referred to as positioning reference signals. This specification mainly focuses on downlink positioning. Therefore, the positioning reference signal may be a PRS, a cell common reference signal (CRS), a channel state information (CSI)-RS, etc. In this specification, an example in which the positioning reference signal is a PRS is used for explanation. For other reference signal schemes, please refer to the examples. Details will not be described again in this specification. In a possible implementation, the PRS resources may be configured based on a cell level, in other words, the PRS resources are configured for each cell. After the terminal device re-establishes a radio resource control (RRC) connection to the target cell, the base station of the target cell may configure PRS resources for the target cell, and the terminal device acquires the configured PRS resources for the target cell and receives and measures PRS on the PRS resources.

[0096] The communication methods provided in the embodiments of the present application may be applied to various communication systems, for example, LTE systems, fifth-generation (5G) systems such as NR systems, and next-generation communication systems such as 6G systems. Of course, the technical solutions in the embodiments of the present application may also be applied to other communication systems as long as the communication systems have positioning requirements for terminal devices. In addition, the communication systems may be further applicable to future-oriented communication technologies. The systems described in the embodiments of the present application are intended to more clearly explain the technical solutions in the embodiments of the present application and are not limitations on the technical solutions provided in the embodiments of the present application. Those skilled in the art may understand that with the development of network architectures, the technical solutions provided in the embodiments of the present application may also be applicable to similar technical problems.

[0097] 2B shows the network architecture of another communication system to which an embodiment of the present application is applicable. This communication system includes a core network, an NG-RAN, and a terminal device. The core network includes network elements / modules such as an LMF, an AMF, a secure user plane location (SUPL) location platform (SLP), and an enhanced serving mobile location center (E-SMLC). The NG-RAN includes network elements / modules such as a gNB and an ng-eNB. For specific functions of network elements / modules such as the LMF, the AMF, the SLP, the E-SMLC, the gNB, and the ng-eNB, as well as the connection relationships between the network elements / modules, please refer to the description of the relevant parts in FIG. 2A above. Details will not be described again herein.

[0098] The difference from FIG. 2A is that in the network architecture shown in FIG. 2B, the LMC is added to the NG-RAN, and a specific deployment method of the LMC is arranged in the base station, for example, in the gNB or ng-ENB. In this network architecture, the LMC acts as an internal function of the base station. Therefore, no new interface needs to be introduced. The LMC may take over some of the functions of the LMF. In this architecture, the gNB does not report measurement results of signals used for positioning to the LMF in the core network, which can reduce signaling overhead and positioning delay.

[0099] Figure 2C shows the network architecture of yet another communication system to which the embodiments of the present application can be applied. As shown in Figure 2C, this communication system also includes a core network, an NG-RAN, and a terminal device. The difference from Figure 2B is that the LMC in the network architecture shown in Figure 2C acts as an independent logical node in the NG-RAN and is connected to the base station via a new interface. For example, in Figure 2C, the LMC is connected to the gNB-CU via the interface Itf.

[0100] FIG. 2D illustrates a network architecture of yet another communication system to which an embodiment of the present application can be applied. As illustrated in FIG. 2D, this communication system also includes a core network, an NG-RAN, and a terminal device. The LMC serves as an independent logical node in the NG-RAN. The difference from FIG. 2C is that in FIG. 2D, the LMC can be connected to multiple base stations via a new interface. In FIG. 2D, an example is used in which the LMC is connected to two base stations. In a specific implementation, the LMC can alternatively be connected to more base stations.

[0101] It should be understood that Figures 2A, 2B, 2C, and 2D are examples for describing communication systems to which embodiments of the present application are applicable, and do not particularly limit the types, quantities, connection methods, etc. of network elements included in communication systems to which the present application is applicable. In addition, network elements / modules depicted with dashed lines in Figures 2A, 2B, 2C, and 2D are not required but are optional. For example, E-SMLC or SLP is not required. Alternatively, the network elements / modules depicted with dashed lines exist in a different form. For example, a gNB or ng-eNB may also be referred to as a transmission reception point (TRP) in some embodiments, and a terminal device may be referred to as a SUPL enabled terminal (SET) in some embodiments, where SUPL stands for secure user plane location (SUPL).

[0102] FIG. 2E is an example diagram of a network architecture of yet another communication system according to an embodiment of the present application. As shown in FIG. 2E, the communication system includes a first device, a second device, and a third device. Optionally, the communication system may further include a location management device. In this embodiment of the present application, the second device may configure information for the first device. For example, the second device may configure configuration information of signals used for positioning for the first device. The signals used for positioning may be transmitted between the first device and the third device. The third device may determine the location of the first device based on measurement results, or the third device may report measurement results to the location management device. In this embodiment of the present application, information may also be transmitted between the first device and the location management device. For example, the first device may also transmit measurement results to the location management device. The second device and the third device may be the same device or two different devices.

[0103] The first device and / or the third device in this embodiment of the present application may be the network device, the chip (system) in the network device, the terminal device, or the terminal of FIG. 1, FIG. 2A, FIG. 2B, FIG. 2C, or FIG. 2D. device It can be a chip (system) inside.

[0104] The first device is a terminal device or terminal shown in FIG. 1, FIG. 2A, FIG. 2B, FIG. 2C, or FIG. 2D. device When the third device can be a chip (system) in FIG. 1, FIG. 2A, FIG. 2B, FIG. 2C, or FIG. 2D, the terminal device, the terminal device The first device may be a chip (system) in a network device, a network device, or a chip (system) in a network device. The first device may be a network device or a network device shown in FIG. 1, FIG. 2A, FIG. 2B, FIG. 2C, or FIG. 2D. device When the third device can be a chip (system) in FIG. 1, FIG. 2A, FIG. 2B, FIG. 2C, or FIG. 2D, the terminal device, the terminal device It may be a chip (system) in a network device, a network device, or a chip (system) in a network device.

[0105] In this embodiment of the present application, the second device and the third device can be the same device or two different devices. The second device can be the network device, a chip (system) in the network device, a terminal device, or a terminal of FIG. 1, FIG. 2A, FIG. 2B, FIG. 2C, or FIG. 2D. device For example, the second device may be a terminal device or a chip (system) in a terminal device, and the second device may also be a chip (system) in the first terminal device. device For example, the second device may be a road side unit (RSU).

[0106] The location management apparatus in this embodiment of the present application may be the location management device or a chip (system) in the location management device of Figure 1, Figure 2A, Figure 2B, Figure 2C, or Figure 2D. The location management device may include one or more of an LMF, an LMC, or an LLMF.

[0107] In the following, names or terms in the embodiments of this application will be explained first.

[0108] (1) Positioning reference signal.

[0109] The target signal, the first signal, and the second signal in the embodiments of the present application may be understood as signals that can be used for positioning. The target signal, the first signal, and the second signal in the embodiments of the present application may also be referred to as positioning signals. For distinction, for example, the target signal may be referred to as a target positioning signal, the first signal may be referred to as a first positioning signal, and the second signal may be referred to as a second positioning signal.

[0110] In the embodiments of the present application, one or more of the target signal, the first signal, and the second signal may be a positioning reference signal (PRS), a sounding reference signal (SRS), or one or more of a channel state information reference signal (CSI-RS), a demodulation reference signal (DMRS), a phase-tracking reference signal (PTRS), a sidelink positioning reference signal (SL-PRS), and a synchronization signal and a physical sidelink broadcast channel block (SSB).

[0111] The solutions provided in the embodiments of the present application are applicable to transmission of signals used for positioning between two devices, for example, transmission of signals used for positioning between a first device and a third device. Each of the two devices may be a terminal device or a chip (system) in a terminal device. In this case, the solutions provided in the embodiments of the present application may also be understood to be applicable to a sidelink.

[0112] The sidelink (SL) in the embodiment of the present application refers to a sidelink. (side link), Da Erect link, side link (side-link), secondary link, etc. In the embodiments of the present application, each of the above terms refers to a link established between devices of the same type and has the same meaning. The link established between devices of the same type may be a link between terminal devices, etc. Links between terminal devices include D2D links defined in 3GPP Release (Rel)-12 / 13, which are between vehicles, between a vehicle and a mobile phone, or between a vehicle and any entity, and V2X links defined by 3GPP for the Internet of Vehicles. V2X links include V2X links defined in 3GPP Rel-14 / 15, and further include NR system-based V2X links, for example, in Rel-16 and subsequent releases currently being studied by 3GPP.

[0113] (2) Spatial Relationship

[0114] The spatial relationship in the embodiments of the present application may be a spatial relation. In the embodiments of the present application, the spatial relationship between two signals (for example, the spatial relationship between the first signal and the target signal, the spatial relationship between the second signal and the target signal, the spatial relationship between the first signal and the first path of the target signal, and the spatial relationship between the second signal and the second path of the target signal, which are involved below) may be a relationship between the two signals while the two signals are propagating in space. The spatial relationship in the embodiments of the present application may also be replaced by another name, for example, a beam, a beam direction, a sending direction, a transmitting beam direction, a receiving direction, or a receiving beam direction.

[0115] In embodiments of the present application, the association of a spatial relationship between two signals (e.g., the association of a spatial relationship between a first signal and a target signal, the association of a spatial relationship between a second signal and a target signal, the association of a spatial relationship between a first signal and a first path of the target signal, and the association of a spatial relationship between a second signal and a second path of the target signal, which will be involved below) may mean that the directions of the two signals are aligned or close while the two signals are propagating in space. The association of a spatial relationship between two signals in embodiments of the present application may alternatively mean that there is an association relationship in space between the transmit beam or receive beam of one signal and the transmit beam or receive beam of the other signal. For example, the beam directions of the transmit beam or receive beam of one signal and the transmit beam or receive beam of the other signal are aligned or close.

[0116] (3) Information about the angle of arrival

[0117] (3.1) How to calculate the angle of arrival

[0118] An example in which the third device measures a signal from the first device to obtain information about the arrival angle is used below for explanation. A solution in which the first device obtains information about the arrival angle by measuring a signal from the third device is similar to this solution. Details will not be described again.

[0119] The third device may estimate the angle of arrival by using the phase difference between multiple antenna array elements. FIG. 3 is an example diagram of the principle of determining information about the angle of arrival according to an embodiment of the present application. For example, the third device measures the signal sent by the first device to determine the angle of arrival. As shown in FIG. 3, the third device may include multiple antenna array elements (e.g., may include two or more antenna array elements, and the antenna array elements may also be referred to as array antennas). Generally, assuming that the distance between the first device and the third device is sufficiently long, the propagation paths of the signal sent by the first device toward each of the antenna array elements of the third device may be considered to be parallel. Thus, in a possible implementation, the angle of arrival may be calculated by using the following equations (1) and (2).

[0120]

number

[0121]

number

[0122] In the above equations (1) and (2), ψ is the phase difference between the antenna array elements, θ is the angle of arrival of the signal sent by the first device, d is the distance between the antenna array elements, c is the speed of light, τ is the wave path difference between the signal sent by the first device and the antenna array element, and e -jω can be a preset constant.

[0123] (3.2) Information about the angle of arrival

[0124] In the embodiment of the present application, the information about the arrival angle is referred to as the azimuth angle of arrival (AOA) and / or the zenith angle of arrival (ZOA). 2 It contains at least one of the following contents:

[0125] In an embodiment of the present application, the information about the angle of arrival may further include information about a coordinate system, which may be a global coordinate system (GCS) or a local coordinate system (LCS). The global coordinate system is a coordinate system of a three-dimensional space in which an object is located. In a local coordinate system, the center of the object is used as the coordinate origin of the coordinate system, and an operation such as a rotation or translation of the object is performed around the local coordinate system. In this case, when an operation such as a rotation or translation is performed on the object model, the corresponding rotation or translation operation is also performed on the local coordinate system.

[0126] When the angular coordinate system is GCS, the azimuth angle of arrival can be the included angle between the incidence angle direction and true north or the included angle between the projection of the incidence angle direction onto a horizontal plane and true north, and the ZOA can be the included angle between the incidence angle direction and the zenith.When the angular coordinate system is LCS, the azimuth angle of arrival can be the included angle between the projection of the incidence angle direction onto the xy plane of a Cartesian coordinate system and true north, and the ZOA can be the included angle between the incidence angle direction and the z axis.

[0127] In the above possible implementation, when the information about the arrival angle does not include an angular coordinate system (e.g., when the information about the arrival angle includes only the azimuth arrival angle or only the ZOA), a default coordinate system may be used in this implementation. For example, a default coordinate system may be defined for each of the azimuth arrival angle and the ZOA. The default coordinate system defined for the azimuth arrival angle may be the coordinate system of the GCS or the coordinate system of the LCS. The default coordinate system defined for the ZOA may be the coordinate system of the GCS or the coordinate system of the LCS.

[0128] For example, the azimuth arrival angle in the arrival angle information may be the angle between true north and the projection of the signal transmission path between the third device and the first device onto a horizontal plane at the end of the third device. The ZOA included in the arrival angle information may be the angle between the zenith and the projection of the signal transmission path between the third device and the first device onto a horizontal plane at the end of the third device.

[0129] (3.3)RTT

[0130] RTT may be understood as the loopback time of a signal between two devices.

[0131] For example, a third device may send a signal to the first device. a1 (Signal a1 is, for example, a positioning reference signal (PRS)), the third device records the transmission time t0 of signal a1 by using the local clock of the third device, and the first device measures the arrival time t1 of signal a1 by using the local clock of the first device.

[0132] After receiving signal a1, the first device sends signal a2 (e.g., signal a2 is a sounding reference signal (SRS)) to the third device, and the first device records the transmission time t2 of signal a2 by using the local clock of the first device, and the third device measures the arrival time t3 of signal a2 by using the local clock of the third device. The RTT of the signal transmission between the first device and the third device is [(t3-t0)-(t2-t1)].

[0133] Possible positioning solutions are described below. In the positioning solution, RTT positioning technology and angle-of-arrival positioning technology are used for positioning. FIG. 4 is an example diagram of the principle of performing positioning by using RTT positioning technology and angle-of-arrival positioning technology according to an embodiment of the present application. As shown in FIG. 4, the RTT is obtained through signal transmission between a third device and a first device, and then the value of the distance R between the third device and the first device can be determined to be (RTT × c / 2), where c is the speed of light, × represents multiplication, and / represents division. Therefore, the first device can be determined to be located on a circle using the third device as the center of the circle and R as the radius. In addition, the third device measures a signal from the first device to obtain information about the angle of arrival. A ray can be determined by using the information about the angle of arrival, where the ray uses the third device as the starting point, and the included angle between the ray and the third device is the angle of arrival θ. The intersection point of the ray and the circle with radius R is the location of the first device.

[0134] The positioning solution can implement single-point positioning, in other words, one third device (in other words, multiple third devices are not required) can implement positioning of the first device. The solution provided in the embodiment of the present application can also be applied to a scenario in which the first device is positioned by using multiple third devices. In this scenario, the third device-side solution provided in the embodiment of the present application can be applied to all or some of the multiple third devices.

[0135] In the process of positioning a device that needs to be positioned using positioning technology, the devices involved in the positioning procedure need to send signals, and the measurement results of the signals can be used to position the device that needs to be positioned. How to configure the first signal is an urgent problem to be solved. Two possible implementations are described below in the embodiments of the present application. In the following Implementation 1, the second device may configure the spatial relationship of the signals used for positioning for the first device at the path level. In the following Implementation 2, the second device may configure multiple signals used for positioning for the first device, and the spatial relationship of at least two of the multiple signals used for positioning may be associated with different paths of the same signal.

[0136] Implementation 1: The second device may configure, as a path level, the spatial relationship of the signals that are of the first device and that are used for positioning.

[0137] For example, a second device may configure a signal (e.g., a first signal) used for positioning for a first device. If the second device configures the spatial relationship of the first signal as a signal level, for example, a third device configures the spatial relationship of the first signal as a target signal. In this case, there is a high probability that the beam of the first signal sent by the first device will not face the path of the target signal, and there is a high probability that an obstacle will be encountered on the transmission path of the first signal. As a result, there is a high probability that the measurement result obtained by the third device measuring the received first signal will be inaccurate, and there is a high probability that the accuracy of the positioning of the first device will be low.

[0138] To address the above problem, the embodiments of the present application provide a possible implementation. In this implementation, the spatial relationship configured for the first device by the second device is at the level of the signal path. For example, the third device configures the spatial relationship of the first signal as the path of the target signal. In this case, the beam of the first signal sent by the first device faces the path of the target signal, and the probability of encountering an obstacle on the transmission path of the first signal is low. Therefore, the accuracy of the measurement results obtained by the third device measuring the received first signal can be high, and thus the accuracy of positioning can be improved.

[0139] Implementation 2: The second device may configure, for the first device, a plurality of signals used for positioning, and the spatial relationship of at least two of the plurality of signals used for positioning may be associated with different paths of the same signal.

[0140] For example, a third device sends a target signal to a first device, the third device records the transmission time of the target signal by using the local clock of the third device, and the first device measures the arrival time of the target signal by using the local clock of the first device. After receiving the target signal, the first device sends a first signal to the third device. The first device records the transmission time of the first signal by using the local clock of the first device, and the third device measures the arrival time of the first signal by using the local clock of the third device. The RTT of signal transmission between the first device and the third device is [(arrival time of the first signal - transmission time of the target signal) - (transmission time of the first signal - arrival time of the target signal)].

[0141] In the above example, there is a transmission delay in the process of obtaining the RTT of the signal transmission between the first device and the third device, and this transmission delay causes a positioning deviation. For example, the transmission delay is a delay at the nanosecond level. In the positioning process, a transmission delay of 1 nanosecond may cause the deviation of the determined location information to be about 0.3 m.

[0142] To reduce the impact of RTT transmission delays on positioning accuracy, the embodiments of the present application provide a possible implementation. In this implementation, a second device may configure multiple signals for a first device, and the spatial relationship of at least two of the multiple signals may be configured as different paths of the same signal. For example, the second device configures a first signal and a second signal for the first device, and the spatial relationship of the first signal is the first path of a target signal, and the spatial relationship of the second signal is the second path of the target signal. A third device sends a target signal to the first device, and the third device records the transmission time of the target signal by using the local clock of the third device, and the first device measures the arrival time of the target signal by using the local clock of the first device. After receiving the target signal, the first device sends the first signal and the second signal to the third device. The first device records the transmission time of the first signal by using the local clock of the first device, and the third device measures the arrival time of the first signal by using the local clock of the third device. The RTT1 of the signal transmission between the first device and the third device is [(arrival time of the first signal−transmission time of the target signal)−(transmission time of the first signal−arrival time of the target signal)]. The first device records the transmission time of the second signal by using the local clock of the first device, and the third device measures the arrival time of the second signal by using the local clock of the third device. The RTT2 of the signal transmission between the first device and the third device is [(arrival time of the second signal−transmission time of the target signal)−(transmission time of the second signal−arrival time of the target signal)]. The RTT1 and RTT2 can be combined to determine the location information of the first device. In addition, in a solution in which the location information of the first device is determined by combining the two RTTs, the impact of transmission delay on positioning accuracy can be reduced, and therefore the accuracy of positioning is improved.

[0143] Based on the embodiments shown in Figures 1, 2A, 2B, 2C, 2D, 2E, 3, and 4 and other contents above, Figure 5 is a schematic flowchart example of a communication method according to an embodiment of the present application. For ease of understanding the present application, interactions between a first device, a second device, a third device, and a location management device are described in Figure 5. In Figure 5, the first device, the second device, the third device, and the location management device may be the first device, the second device, the third device, and the location management device in Figure 4. For related descriptions, please refer to the above contents. Details will not be described again.

[0144] As shown in FIG. 5, the method includes the following steps:

[0145] Step 501: A second device sends first configuration information in a first signal.

[0146] In response, the first device receives the first configuration information in the first signal.

[0147] In an embodiment of the present application, the first signal is used to determine the location information of the first device. The first signal may be the above-mentioned signal used for positioning. For related examples, please refer to the above description. Details will not be described again in this specification.

[0148] The first configuration information of the first signal indicates that the first signal is associated with the spatial relationship of the target signal. In an embodiment of the present application, the association of the first signal with the spatial relationship of the target signal may also be referred to as the spatial relationship of the first signal and the target signal being associated (or having an associative relationship), or the spatial relationship of the first signal and the spatial relationship of the target signal being associated (or having an associative relationship).

[0149] In embodiments of the present application, the association of the first signal with the spatial relationship of the target signal may also be understood as a spatial association relationship between the propagation directions of the first signal and the target signal, such that there is an association relationship between the sending direction of the first signal and the direction in which the target signal is received (e.g., the two directions are coincident or close), that the transmission beam direction of the first signal and the propagation direction of the target signal are associated (e.g., the two directions are coincident or close), or that the transmission beam direction of the first signal and the transmission beam direction of the target signal are associated (e.g., the two directions are coincident or close).

[0150] In one possible implementation, the first configuration information includes identification information of the target signal. In this manner, the first device can determine, based on the identification information of the target signal, that the spatial relationship of the first signal is associated with the spatial relationship of the target signal.

[0151] In another possible implementation, the first configuration information of the first signal includes spatial relation configuration information, which is used to configure the spatial relationship of the first signal, and the English term for the spatial relation configuration information may be, for example, spatial relation information, and the spatial relation configuration information may include identification information of the target signal. In this way, if the first device determines that the identification information of the target signal is present in the spatial relation configuration information included in the first configuration information, it may determine that the spatial relationship of the first signal is associated with the spatial relationship of the target signal.

[0152] In an embodiment of the present application, the target signal can be used to locate the first device. The target signal can be the above-mentioned signal used for positioning. For related examples, please refer to the above description. Details will not be described again in this specification.

[0153] In an embodiment of the present application, the identification information of the target signal may include information capable of indicating the target signal, such as one or more of resource information of the target signal, a cell index corresponding to the target signal, an index of the target signal, or configuration information of the target signal. For example, if the target signal is an SSB, the identification information of the target signal may include one or more of a cell index, an SSB index, and SSB configuration information. In another example, if the target signal is a PRS, the identification information of the target signal may include one or more of an identifier of the PRS, a resource set index of the PRS, or a resource index of the PRS.

[0154] Step 502: The second device sends second configuration information in the first signal.

[0155] In response, the first device receives second configuration information, the second configuration information indicating that the first signal is associated with a spatial relationship of the path of the target signal.

[0156] In an embodiment of the present application, the second device may configure, for the first device, information indicating that signals are associated with the spatial relationship of the paths. The second device may configure, for the first device, a path associated with the spatial relationship of one signal, or a path associated with each spatial relationship of multiple signals. Two possible implementations will be described below by using examples of Implementation A1 and Implementation A2.

[0157] In implementation A1, when the second device determines that the spatial relationship of one signal needs to be associated with a path, the second device may indicate information about the path associated with the spatial relationship of the signals. For example, the second configuration information indicates that the first signal is associated with the spatial relationship of the first path of the target signal. When the second device determines that the spatial relationship of one signal does not need to be associated with a path, the second device may not indicate information about the path associated with the spatial relationship of the signals. In this way, when the second device determines not to indicate information about the path associated with the spatial relationship of the signals, the first device determines that the spatial relationship of the signals does not need to be associated with a path.

[0158] In implementation A2, the second device may set path switch information, which may indicate whether the spatial relationship of the signals needs to be associated with a path. In this manner, when the first device determines, based on the path switch information, that the spatial relationship of one signal needs to be associated with a path, it may determine the path that needs to be associated with the spatial relationship of the signals. In this manner, the second device may not indicate information about the path associated with the spatial relationship of the signals.

[0159] Implementation A1: When the second device determines that the spatial relationship of one signal needs to be associated with a path, the second device may indicate information about the path associated with the spatial relationship of the signal.

[0160] Implementation A1-1: A second device configures a first signal for a first device.

[0161] For example, the second device may determine that the spatial relationship of the first signal needs to be associated with the first path of the target signal, and the second device may send second configuration information to the first device. The second configuration information may be for the target signal and indicate information about the path associated with the spatial relationship of the first signal. For example, the second configuration information indicates that the first signal is associated with the spatial relationship of the first path of the target signal.

[0162] In a possible implementation, the second configuration information includes information about the first path. In this way, the first device can determine, based on the information included in the second configuration information regarding the first path, that the spatial relationship of the first signal should be associated with the first path of the target signal.

[0163] In another possible implementation, the second configuration information in the present application may be carried in one or more of the following contents: information used to configure the spatial relationship of the first signal, information used to configure the resource of the first signal, or information used to configure the resource set of the first signal. In this way, the location of the second configuration information may be flexibly set based on actual requirements. In addition, this may be more compatible with conventional technologies.

[0164] For example, the second configuration information may be located in the first configuration information. For example, the first configuration information of the first signal includes spatial relation configuration information. The spatial relation configuration information may be written as spatial relation information in English. The spatial relation configuration information is used to configure the spatial relationship of the first signal, and the spatial relation configuration information may include identification information of the target signal and information about the first path. In this way, if the first device determines that the identification information of the target signal and information about the first path are present in the spatial relation configuration information included in the first configuration information, the first device may determine that the spatial relationship of the first signal is associated with the spatial relationship of the first path of the target signal.

[0165] In an embodiment of the present application, there are multiple possible options for the path associated with the spatial relationship of the signals. For example, the first path is a first path, and the information included in the second configuration information may be information indicating the first path. Alternatively, the first path is another path. In an embodiment of the present application, this another path may alternatively be replaced by an additional path. The information included in the second configuration information is related to the first path and may be information indicating this other path. This other path is a path other than the first path. The first path may be understood as the fastest path received by the first device in a path corresponding to the target signal. For example, the first path may be a path that is a line of sight (LOS). route It could be.

[0166] In another example, the first path is a direct path or a reflected path of the target signal. The target signal may propagate via a line of sight (LOS) path (specifically, the straight-line distance between the terminal device and the gNB). Due to the presence of an obstacle (e.g., a tree, a building, or a wall), the positioning signal is reflected. Therefore, the target signal may also propagate via a non-line of sight (NLOS) path. The NLOS path may be considered a reflected path.

[0167] In another example, the first path may be the path that is ranked N1th in terms of reception time among the paths corresponding to the target signal, where N1 is a positive integer. For example, the first device may determine the reception times of the paths of the target signal and sort the paths by reception time from earliest to latest. For example, the first path may be the path with the earliest reception time.

[0168] In another example, the first path is the path that is ranked M1th in energy among the paths corresponding to the target signal, where M1 is a positive integer. For example, the first device may determine signal strength values ​​(signal strength values ​​may also be referred to as capabilities) corresponding to the paths of the target signal and sort the paths in descending order of signal strength values. For example, the first path may be the path with the strongest signal strength value.

[0169] It can be seen that the multiple paths of the target signal can be distinguished according to certain rules. For example, the multiple paths can be classified based on path type (e.g., whether the path is a reflected path or a direct path), sorted based on the path's reception time, or sorted based on the path's energy. The first path can be a path determined according to these rules. For example, the second device may configure, for the first device, a path associated with the spatial relationship of the first signal as the first path of the target signal, where the first path may be considered the path with the earliest reception time. In this case, the first device may associate the spatial relationship of the first signal with the first path of the target signal. In another example, the second device may indicate to the first device that the spatial relationship of the first signal is associated with the path of the target signal. In this case, the first device may select a path from the paths of the target signal (e.g., select the first path, select the path with the first-ranked energy, or select the path with the second-ranked energy) and associate the spatial relationship of the path with the first signal. In this way, the flexibility of the solution can be improved.

[0170] In an embodiment of the present application, the configuration information of a signal may further include some other information. Below, we will use the configuration information of a first signal as an example to describe possible examples of several types of configuration information. This example is also applicable to subsequent configuration information of another signal, for example, the configuration information of a second signal.

[0171] In a possible implementation, the configuration information of the first signal includes, for example, information about a reference signal of the serving cell, for example, an identifier of the serving cell and information about the reference signal. The information about the reference signal (e.g., may be considered as first configuration information) may indicate a type of reference signal associated with a spatial relationship of a signal sent by the first device in the serving cell, identification information of the reference signal, etc. The identification information of the reference signal may be, for example, an index of the reference signal, a resource index, or resource set information. The second configuration information may be configured in the information about the reference signal of the serving cell. For example, the information about the reference signal of the serving cell further includes information about the first path.

[0172] In another possible implementation, the configuration information of the first signal includes, for example, SSB information. The SSB information includes, for example, an ID, an SSB index, and an SSB configuration of a neighboring cell. The SSB information (e.g., one or both of the SSB index and the SSB configuration may be considered as first configuration information) may indicate that a reference signal associated with the spatial relationship of the signal sent by the first device in the neighboring cell is an SSB indicated by the SSB index and the SSB configuration. The second configuration information may be configured in the SSB information of the neighboring cell. For example, the SSB information of the neighboring cell further includes information regarding the first path.

[0173] In yet another possible implementation, the configuration information of the first signal includes, for example, PRS information. The PRS information includes, for example, a PRS ID, a PRS resource set index, and a PRS resource index. The PRS ID, the PRS resource set index, and the PRS resource index (e.g., one or more of the PRS ID, the PRS resource set index, and the PRS resource index may be considered as first configuration information) may indicate that a reference signal associated with the spatial relationship of the signal sent by the first device in a neighboring cell is a PRS indicated by the PRS ID, the PRS resource set index, and the PRS resource index. The second configuration information may be configured in the PRS information of the neighboring cell. For example, the PRS information of the neighboring cell further includes information regarding the first path.

[0174] Implementation A1-2: The second device configures multiple signals (eg, a first signal and a second signal) for the first device.

[0175] In this embodiment of the present application, the second device may also configure multiple signals for the first device, for example, separately configuring the first signal and the second signal. The second device may send third configuration information to the first device, which is used to configure the spatial relationship of the second signal to be associated with the target signal. The content of the third configuration information is similar to the content of the first configuration information. Details will not be described. The second device may determine that the spatial relationship of the second signal needs to be associated with the second path of the target signal, and the second device may send fourth configuration information to the first device. The fourth configuration information may be for the target signal and may indicate information about the path associated with the spatial relationship of the second signal. For example, the second configuration information indicates that the second signal is associated with the spatial relationship of the second path of the target signal.

[0176] The second path is different from the first path. There may be multiple cases for the second path. For example, the second path may be the first path (in this case, the first path is not the first path), another path, a direct path, a reflected path, a path corresponding to the target signal whose reception time is ranked N2th, or a path corresponding to the target signal whose energy is ranked M2th, where N2 is a positive integer and M2 is a positive integer. The related content is similar to that of the first path. Details will not be described again.

[0177] In a possible implementation, the fourth configuration information includes information about the second path. In this way, the first device can determine, based on the information included in the second configuration information regarding the second path, that the spatial relationship of the first signal needs to be associated with the first path of the target signal.

[0178] In another possible implementation, the fourth configuration information in the present application may be carried in one or more of the following contents: information used to configure the spatial relationship of the second signal, information used to configure the resource of the second signal, or information used to configure the resource set of the second signal. In this way, the location of the second configuration information may be flexibly set based on actual requirements. In addition, this may be more compatible with conventional technologies.

[0179] For example, the fourth configuration information may be located in the third configuration information. For example, the third configuration information of the second signal includes spatial relation configuration information. The spatial relation configuration information may be written as spatial relation information in English. The spatial relation configuration information is used to configure the spatial relationship of the second signal, and the spatial relation configuration information may include identification information of the target signal and information about the second path. In this way, if the first device determines that the identification information of the target signal and information about the second path are present in the spatial relation configuration information included in the first configuration information, the first device may determine that the spatial relationship of the second signal is associated with the spatial relationship of the second path of the target signal.

[0180] In a possible implementation, the first route may be a first route and may be related to the first route, and the information included in the second configuration information may be information indicating the first route. The second route may be another route and may be related to the second route, and the information included in the fourth configuration information may be information indicating this another route. This another route is a route other than the first route. In this case, the second device may select a route to be associated with the spatial relationship of the second signal by itself or according to a default rule from among routes other than the first route.

[0181] 6 is an example of a possible diagram of signal configuration information configured for a first device by a second device according to an embodiment of the present application. As shown in FIG. 6, the second device configures a first signal and a second signal for the first device, where the resource of the first signal is SRS resource 1, and the spatial relationship configuration information of the first signal includes PRS resource 1 and a first path. The first path included in the spatial relationship configuration information of the first signal may be, for example, information indicating the first path. The spatial relationship configuration information indicates that the SRS sent by the first device on SRS resource 1 is associated with the spatial relationship of the first path of the signal corresponding to PRS resource 1. The resource of the second signal is SRS resource 2, and the spatial relationship configuration information of the second signal includes PRS resource 1 and a second path. The second path included in the spatial relationship configuration information of the second signal may be, for example, information indicating another path. The spatial relationship configuration information indicates that the SRS sent by the first device on SRS resource 2 is associated with a spatial relationship of a second path of the signal corresponding to PRS resource 1. The first path is, for example, a first path (or direct path) corresponding to PRS resource 1, and the second path is, for example, 、P This is the reflection path of the signal corresponding to RS resource 1 (the ground reflection path shown in bold in the figure).

[0182] In another possible implementation, the fourth configuration information may indicate a particular path among other paths as the second path. For example, the fourth configuration information may indicate that the second path is the path that is ranked second in reception time among all paths of the target signal, or that the second path is the path that is ranked second in energy among all paths of the target signal.

[0183] In the embodiment of the present application, the content of the fourth configuration information is the same as the content of the second configuration information, and the details will not be described again.

[0184] Implementation A1-3: The second device configures more than two signals for the first device.

[0185] In an embodiment of the present application, the second device may configure more than two signals for the first device, for example, the second device configures a first signal, a second signal, and a third signal for the first device.

[0186] In a possible implementation, the second device may indicate to the first device that the spatial relationship of the first signal is associated with a first path (e.g., the first path), and the second device may indicate to the first device that the spatial relationship of the second signal is associated with a second path (e.g., the second path is another path) (e.g., the information used to configure the path included in the spatial relationship of the second signal is information indicating this another path), and that the spatial relationship of the third signal is associated with a third path (e.g., the third path is another path) (e.g., the second path is another path). 3 The information used to configure the path included in the spatial relationship of the signals is information indicating this other path. In this implementation, the information about the second path and the information about the third path sent by the second device to the first device are the same. In this manner, the first device may associate the first signal with the first path, and the first device may determine, by itself or according to a preset rule, the path associated with the spatial relationship of the second signal and the spatial relationship of the third signal from a path other than the first path.

[0187] The path associated with the spatial relationship of the second signal may be different from the path associated with the spatial relationship of the third signal. In this manner, measurements corresponding to more paths may be provided, and positioning accuracy may be further improved. Alternatively, the path associated with the spatial relationship of the second signal may be the same as the path associated with the spatial relationship of the third signal. In this manner, by using measurements corresponding to multiple signals on the path, more accurate measurements corresponding to the path may be obtained, thereby improving positioning accuracy.

[0188] In another possible implementation, when the second device configures two or more signals for the first device, in addition to indicating information about the first path associated with the spatial relationship of the first signal, for some or all of the remaining signals, the second device may indicate information about the specific path associated with each spatial relationship of some or all of the signals (e.g., the second device sends path identification information to the first device). Specifically, the first device may uniquely determine the second path based on information about the second path (e.g., the second path identification information) sent by the second device, and may uniquely determine the third path based on information about the third path (e.g., the third path identification information). The second path and the third path may be the same or different. For example, the second device may indicate to the first device that the second signal is associated with the spatial relationship of the path whose reception time is ranked second among the paths corresponding to the target signal, and that the third signal is associated with the spatial relationship of the path whose reception time is ranked third among the paths corresponding to the target signal.

[0189] Implementation A2: The second device may set path switch information, and the path switch information may indicate whether the spatial relationship of the signals needs to be associated with a path.

[0190] In Implementation A2, it may also be understood that the second device may set path switch information for the first signal of the first device. When the path switch information indicates that the path switch is in an on state, it indicates that the spatial relationship of the first signal needs to be associated with the path of the target signal. When the path switch information indicates that the path switch is in an off state, it indicates that the spatial relationship of the first signal needs to be associated with the target signal, but does not need to be associated with the path of the target signal.

[0191] In implementation A2, when the path switch information indicates that the path switch is in an on state, the first device may select a path associated with the spatial relationship of the first signal. In another possible implementation, when the path switch information indicates that the path switch is in an on state, the first device may select a path associated with the spatial relationship of the first signal according to a preset rule. For example, the first device may determine, according to the preset rule, that the spatial relationship of the first signal is associated with the first path of the target signal. The first path may be, for example, a first path, a reflected path, or a direct path determined according to the preset rule.

[0192] Below, several ways of setting path switch information are described by using Example A2-1, Example A2-2 and Example A2-3.

[0193] Example A2-1: The second device indicates whether the path switch is in an on state or an off state depending on whether the message carries the first preset information.

[0194] The first preset information may be used as path switch information. For example, if the first preset information exists in the message, the first device may determine that the path switch is in an on state. In another possible implementation, if the first preset information does not exist in the message, the first device may determine that the path switch is in an off state.

[0195] The first preset information may be, for example, an information element. stomach In a possible implementation, the first configuration information and the second configuration information may be carried in the same message. When the message carrying the first configuration information includes the first preset information (this may be understood as the second configuration information including the first preset information in the message carrying the first configuration information), the first device may determine that the first signal is associated with the spatial relationship of the path of the target signal.

[0196] In another possible implementation, when the message carrying the first configuration information does not include the first preset information (also called an information element), the first device may determine that the message carrying the first configuration information does not include the second configuration information, and the first device may associate the first signal with the spatial relationship of the target signal; in other words, the spatial relationship of the first signal may not need to be associated with the level of the path of the target signal, i.e., the path switch is in an off state.

[0197] Example A2-2: The second device indicates whether the path switch is in the on state or the off state by using the preset bit value of the preset bit in the message.

[0198] For example, a first preset bit is preset in the message, and the first preset bit may include one bit or multiple bits. For example, if the first preset bit is one bit, the first preset bit value may be defined as 1. When the bit value of the first preset bit in the message is 1, the first device may determine that the path switch is in an on state. In another possible implementation, when the bit value of the first preset bit in the message is not the first preset value (e.g., 0), the first device may determine that the path switch is in an off state.

[0199] In a possible implementation, the first configuration information and the second configuration information may be carried in the same message. When the first preset bit in the message carrying the first configuration information carries the first preset bit value (this may be understood as the second configuration information including the first preset bit value carried on the first preset bit in the message carrying the first configuration information), the first device may determine that the first signal is associated with the spatial relationship of the path of the target signal.

[0200] In another possible implementation, when the value carried on the first preset bit in the message carrying the first configuration information is not the first preset bit value, the first device may determine that the message carrying the first configuration information does not include the second configuration information, and the first device may associate the first signal with a spatial relationship of the target signal; in other words, the spatial relationship of the first signal may not need to be associated with the level of the path of the target signal, i.e., the path switch is in an off state.

[0201] Example A2-3: The second device indicates whether the path switch is in the on or off state by using the preset information on the preset bit in the message.

[0202] For example, a second preset bit may be preset in the message, and the second preset bit may include one bit or multiple bits. The second preset bit may carry preset information. For example, the preset information carried on the second preset bit may be "on" or "valid." In this case, the first device may determine that the path switch is in an on state.

[0203] In another possible implementation, when the information conveyed on the second preset bit in the message is not preset information, for example, the information conveyed is " off " or "disabled", the first device may determine that the path switch is in an off state.

[0204] In a possible implementation, the first configuration information and the second configuration information may be carried in the same message. When the second preset bit in the message carrying the first configuration information carries the second preset information (this may be understood as the second configuration information including the second preset information carried on the second preset bit in the message carrying the first configuration information), the first device may determine that the first signal is associated with the spatial relationship of the path of the target signal.

[0205] In another possible implementation, when the value carried on the second preset bit in the message carrying the first configuration information is not the second preset information, the first device may determine that the message carrying the first configuration information does not include the second configuration information, and the first device may associate the first signal with a spatial relationship of the target signal; in other words, the spatial relationship of the first signal may not need to be associated with the level of the path of the target signal, i.e., the path switch is in an off state.

[0206] The content of Example A2-3 is somewhat similar to that of Example A2-2. The difference is that in Example A2-2, the first device can determine the path switch state by using the bit value of the first preset bit, and in Example A2-3, the first device can determine the path switch state by using information obtained by decoding the bit value carried on the second preset bit.

[0207] In a possible implementation, in the embodiment of the present application, there are multiple options for the location for carrying the path switch information (for example, when the path switch information indicates that the path switch is in an on state, the path switch information is the second configuration information). For example, the path switch information (for example, the second configuration information) is carried in one or more of the following contents: information used to configure the spatial relationship of the first signal, information used to configure the resources of the first signal, or information used to configure the resource set of the first signal. In this way, the location of the second configuration information can be flexibly set based on actual requirements. In addition, this can be more compatible with conventional technologies. The information used to configure the spatial relationship of the first signal may be written as, for example, spatial relation information in English. When the first signal is an SRS, the information used to configure the resources of the first signal may be written as, for example, SRS resource configure in English. When the first signal is an SRS, the information used to configure the resource set of the first signal may be written as, for example, SRS resource set configure in English.

[0208] In another possible implementation, the second device may configure multiple signals for the first device. In this possible implementation, the second device may configure a spatial relationship for each signal, for example, configuring path switch information for each signal. In another possible implementation, the second device may configure one path switch information for multiple signals. For example, the second device may configure a first signal and a second signal for the first device, and the second device may configure one path switch information. This path switch information is path switch information for the first signal and the second signal, and the path switch information indicates that the path switch is in an on state. In this case, the spatial relationship between the first signal and the second signal is at the path level. For example, if the first signal is further associated with the spatial relationship of the target signal, the first device may determine that the first signal is associated with the spatial relationship of the path of the target signal. In another example, if the second signal is further associated with the spatial relationship of the target signal, the first device may determine that the second signal is associated with the spatial relationship of the path of the target signal.

[0209] In yet another possible implementation, multiple signals to which path switch information is applicable may have a spatial relationship with different signal paths. For example, a second device configures a first signal and a third signal for a first device, and the second device configures one piece of path switch information. This path switch information is path switch information for the first signal and the third signal, and the path switch information indicates that the path switch is in an on state. In this case, the spatial relationship between the first signal and the third signal is at the path level. For example, if the first signal is further associated with the spatial relationship of a target signal, the first device determines that the first signal is associated with the spatial relationship of the path of the target signal. In another example, if the third signal is further associated with the spatial relationship of a fourth signal, the first device determines that the third signal is associated with the spatial relationship of the path of the fourth signal. For example, the first device may associate the first signal with the first path of the target signal and the third signal with the spatial relationship of the first path of the fourth signal.

[0210] In an embodiment of the present application, when path switch information is applicable to multiple signals, for example, when it may be applicable to signals corresponding to resources in a resource set, the path switch information may be placed in information used to configure the resource set, for example, an SRS resource set configuration. In another example, when path switch information is applicable to multiple signals, the path switch information may be placed in an area carrying common information, a special location may be set to carry the information, or the signals to which the path switch information is applicable may be indicated by using one indication information.

[0211] 7 is another possible diagram example of signal configuration information configured for a first device by a second device according to an embodiment of the present application. As shown in FIG. 7, the second device configures a first signal and a second signal for the first device, where the resource of the first signal is SRS resource 1, and the spatial relationship configuration information of the first signal includes PRS resource 1. The spatial relationship configuration information indicates that the SRS sent by the first device on SRS resource 1 is associated with the spatial relationship of the signal corresponding to PRS resource 1. The resource of the second signal is SRS resource 2, and the spatial relationship configuration information of the second signal includes PRS resource 1. The spatial relationship configuration information indicates that the SRS sent by the first device on SRS resource 2 is associated with the spatial relationship of the signal corresponding to PRS resource 1. The second device further configures path switch information for the first signal and the second signal (e.g., the information is path spatial relationship enable), and the path switch information indicates that the path switch is in an on state. The first device may be of PRS resource 1 and may determine two specific paths whose spatial relationship is associated with the first signal and the second signal, respectively. For example, the first device may determine that the first signal is associated with the direct path (or referred to as the first path) corresponding to PRS resource 1, and the second signal is associated with the spatial relationship of the reflected path (the bold ground reflection path in the figure) of the signal corresponding to PRS resource 1. In another possible implementation, the first device may determine, according to a preset rule, two specific paths whose spatial relationship is associated with the first signal and the second signal, respectively. For example, the first device may determine, according to the preset rule, that the first signal is associated with the first path corresponding to PRS resource 1, and the second signal is associated with the spatial relationship of the path whose reception time is second among the paths of the signal corresponding to PRS resource 1.

[0212] Step 503: A third device sends a target signal.

[0213] In response, the first device receives the target signal.

[0214] In an embodiment of the present application, the second device and the third device may be the same device. For example, both the second device and the third device are network devices, and the first device is a terminal device. In another example, the second device and the third device may be two different devices. For example, the first device and the third device are two terminal devices, and the second device is a network device.

[0215] Step 504: The first device sends a first measurement result.

[0216] In response, the third device receives the first measurement.

[0217] Step 504 is an optional step. The first device may measure the target signal to obtain a first measurement result. The first measurement result includes a measurement result of a first path of the target signal. The first measurement result may be used to position the first device. The first device may report the first measurement result to a third device or a location management device. FIG. 5 is a diagram using an example in which the first device reports the first measurement result to a third device.

[0218] The first measurement result may include several parameters used for positioning, and these parameters may correspond to a positioning technology. For example, when an RTT positioning technology is used to position the first device, the first measurement result is used to determine a first RTT, and the first RTT is used to determine location information of the first device. For example, the first measurement result may include information regarding the time at which a first path of a target signal arrives at the first device. In another example, the first measurement result may further include a transmission time of the first signal, and the transmission time of the first signal is used to determine the first RTT. In another example, the first measurement result may further include other information, such as a phase difference and a departure angle corresponding to the target signal. More measurements can further improve positioning accuracy.

[0219] In a possible implementation, the first measurement result further includes information about the first path. In this way, a device receiving the first measurement result may determine that the first measurement result was obtained by measuring the first path of the target signal, and thus the accuracy of positioning may be improved.

[0220] Step 505: The first device sends a first signal.

[0221] In response, the third device receives the first signal.

[0222] In step 505, the first device may send a first signal based on the first configuration information and the second configuration information. For example, the first device may determine a first path and send a first signal based on the first path, where the first signal is associated with a spatial relationship of the first path.

[0223] If the second device sets the second configuration information in the manner of Implementation A1, the first device may determine the first path based on information related to the first path and indicated by using the second configuration information. If the second device sets the second configuration information in the manner of Implementation A2, the first device may use the path of the target signal as the path associated with the spatial relationship of the first signal. In other words, the first device determines to select the path of the target signal as the first path.

[0224] For example, a third device sends a target signal to a first device, and the first device measures the target signal in multiple beam directions. For example, the first device acquires signal strengths of the first and second paths through measurements using beam 1, and acquires signal strengths of the first and second paths through measurements using beam 2. Two signal strengths of the same path acquired through measurements in the two beam directions may differ. This is caused by different directions of the two beams. For example, the signal strength value of the first path acquired through measurements using beam 1 by the first device is b1, and the signal strength value of the first path acquired through measurements using beam 2 by the first device is b2, where b2 and b1 are different. If the beam direction and the path direction are more consistent, it indicates that the signal strength value acquired by measuring the path using the beam is larger. In an embodiment of the present application, the signal strength value acquired by measuring each path is, for example, reference signal received path power (RSRPP).

[0225] In a possible implementation, for a first path of the target signal, the first device sends a first signal having strong energy (large signal strength value) and associated with the spatial relationship of the first path by using a beam corresponding to the first path, thereby associating the spatial relationship of the first signal with the first path of the target signal.

[0226] For example, among multiple signal strength values ​​obtained by measuring a first path by a first device, the signal strength value obtained by measuring the first path by the first device using Beam 1 is the largest. In this case, when the first device sends a first signal by using Beam 1, the beam of the first signal facing the first path may also be understood as the first device sending the first signal by using Beam 1 and relating the spatial relationship of the first signal to the first path of the target signal.

[0227] Step 506: The first device sends information indicating that the first signal is associated with a spatial relationship of the first path.

[0228] In response, the third device receives information indicating that the first signal is associated with a spatial relationship of the first path.

[0229] Step 506 is an optional step. The first device may send information to the third device indicating that the first signal is associated with the spatial relationship of the first route (this is used as an example for illustration in FIG. 5), or may send information to the location management device indicating that the first signal is associated with the spatial relationship of the first route.

[0230] In step 506, the first device may report the spatial relationship of the transmitted signal at the path level. For example, when the third device is a network device, the first device may send information indicating that the first signal is associated with the spatial relationship of the first path to the third device by using an RRC message. In another example, the first device may send information indicating that the first signal is associated with the spatial relationship of the first path to a location management device according to the long term evolution positioning protocol (LPP).

[0231] In an embodiment of the present application, the information indicating that the first signal is associated with the spatial relationship of the first path includes identification information of the first signal and information about the first path.

[0232] In an embodiment of the present application, the second device may also configure a plurality of signals for the first device, for example, a first signal and a second signal, where the first signal and the second signal are associated with the spatial relationship of the first path and the second path of the target signal, respectively. In this case, the first device may report information indicating that each of the plurality of signals is associated with the spatial relationship of the paths.

[0233] For example, the first device may perform one report per signal, where the first device may report the identity of the first signal (if the first signal is an SRS, the identity of the first signal may be, for example, an SRS resource identifier) ​​and information about the first path, and the first device may continue to report the identity of the second signal (if the second signal is an SRS, the identity of the second signal may be, for example, an SRS resource identifier) ​​and information about the second path.

[0234] In another example, the first device may report two lists, one list containing identification information for signals and the other list containing information about routes, with the elements in the two lists sorted in a one-to-one correspondence, e.g., if the identification information for a first signal is located at the first element of one list, the information about the first route is located at the first element of the other list, or if the identification information for a second signal is located at the second element of one list, the information about the second route is located at the second element of the other list.

[0235] In another example, a first device may report a list containing information about paths, but not a list containing identification information for signals. The elements in the list containing information about paths may be sorted according to a preset rule, so that a device receiving the list can determine the identification information for signals corresponding to the information about each path in the list. For example, the elements in the list containing information about paths may be sorted in a preset order (e.g., ascending or descending) of the resource identifiers of the signals corresponding to the paths. For example, the resource identifier of the first signal is 3, and the resource identifier of the second signal is 2. The list containing information about paths may sequentially include information about the second path and information about the first path, in ascending order of the resource identifiers.

[0236] Step 506 is an optional step. Alternatively, the first device may not report information about the route, and the third device may not determine information about the route corresponding to the received signal. In an embodiment of the present application, when the first device does not report information about the route, the third device may alternatively determine information about the route corresponding to the received signal according to a preset rule. For example, the third device may obtain configuration information of the first signal. The configuration information of the first signal may include resource information of the first signal and information about the route associated with the spatial relationship of the first signal. Then, the third device may determine information about the route corresponding to the resource information based on the received resource information of the first signal, and then determine the route associated with the spatial relationship of the received signal.

[0237] Step 507: A third device obtains a second measurement result.

[0238] In step 507, the third device may measure the first signal and determine a second measurement based on the measurement of the first signal, which is used to determine the location of the first device.

[0239] For example, the second measurement result may include information about the angle of arrival, where the information about the angle of arrival may include a horizontal angle of arrival of the first signal and / or a vertical angle of arrival of the first signal. In an embodiment of the present application, the horizontal angle of arrival may be an azimuth angle of arrival, and the vertical angle of arrival may be a ZOA. In another example, the second measurement result may include a first RTT, where the first RTT is an RTT corresponding to the target signal and the first signal. For example, the first RTT may be obtained by using [(arrival time of the first signal - transmission time of the target signal) - (transmission time of the first signal - arrival time of the first path of the target signal)]. When the second measurement result includes information about the angle of arrival and the first RTT, the first device may be positioned by using one third device. In this way, single-point positioning may be implemented, and the accuracy of the single-point positioning may be improved. The second measurement may further include other information, for example, relative time of arrival (RTOA) or reference signal received power (RSRP), to improve positioning accuracy.

[0240] In an embodiment of the present application, the third device may send a second measurement result to the location management device, so that the location management device positions the first device with reference to the second measurement result. In another possible implementation, the third device may alternatively position the first device with reference to the second measurement result, in other words, may not send the second measurement result. In FIG. 5, an example in which the third device sends the second measurement result to the location management device is used for illustration. For a solution in which the third device positions the first device based on the second measurement result, please refer to the later-described scheme in which the location management device positions the first device based on the second measurement result. Details will not be described herein.

[0241] Step 508: The third device sends the second measurement result.

[0242] In response, the location management device receives the second measurement result.

[0243] In a possible implementation, the second measurement result sent by the third device further includes information about the first path, 2 In this way, the third device may notify the location management device of the association relationship between the second measurement result and the first route, so that the device for positioning the first device can perform positioning based on more information and improve the positioning accuracy.

[0244] In the embodiment of the present application, there are several ways in which the third device determines that the second measurement result is associated with the first path. For example, the third device may receive information from the first device indicating that the first signal is associated with the spatial relationship of the first path, and then determine that the second measurement result corresponds to the first path. Alternatively, the third device may obtain configuration information of the first signal, which may include resource information of the first signal and information about the path associated with the spatial relationship of the first signal. Thus, the third device may determine information about the path corresponding to the resource information based on the received resource information of the signal, and then determine information about the path associated with the spatial relationship of the received first signal.

[0245] Step 509: The location management device determines location information of the first device based on the second measurement result.

[0246] In step 509, the location management device may position the first device based on the second measurement result. For example, in the solution described in FIG. 4, the location management device may position the first device based on the angle of arrival positioning technology and the RTT positioning technology. For the specific positioning principle, please refer to the related description in FIG. 4. The details will not be described again.

[0247] From the solution shown in Figure 5, it can be seen that the spatial relationship configured for the first device by the second device is at the level of the signal path. For example, the third device configures the spatial relationship of the first signal as the path of the target signal. In this case, the beam of the first signal sent by the first device faces the path of the target signal, and the probability that an obstacle will be encountered on the transmission path of the first signal is low. Therefore, the accuracy of the measurement result obtained by the third device measuring the received first signal can be high, and thus the accuracy of positioning can be improved.

[0248] Based on the embodiments shown in Figures 1, 2A, 2B, 2C, 2D, 2E, 3, 4, 5, 6, and 7, as well as other contents described above, Figure 8 is a schematic flowchart example of a communication method according to an embodiment of the present application. For ease of understanding the present application, interactions between a first device, a second device, a third device, and a location management device are described in Figure 8. For a description of the devices in Figure 8, please refer to the related description in Figure 5. Details will not be described again.

[0249] As shown in FIG. 8, the method includes the following steps:

[0250] Step 801: A second device sends first configuration information in a first signal.

[0251] In response, the first device receives the first configuration information in the first signal.

[0252] For the relevant content of step 801, please refer to the relevant content of step 501. Details will not be described again.

[0253] Step 802: A second device sends second configuration information in a first signal.

[0254] In response, the first device receives second configuration information, the second configuration information indicating that the first signal is associated with a spatial relationship of the path of the target signal.

[0255] For the relevant content of step 802, please refer to the relevant content of step 502. Details will not be described again.

[0256] Step 803: The second device sends the third configuration information in the second signal.

[0257] In response, the first device receives third configuration information of the second signal, the third configuration information indicating that the second signal is associated with a spatial relationship of the target signal.

[0258] In the embodiment of the present application, the third configuration information is similar to the first configuration information. The difference is that the first configuration information indicates that the first signal is associated with the spatial relationship of the target signal, and the third configuration information indicates that the second signal is associated with the spatial relationship of the target signal. For the relevant content of the third configuration information, please refer to the relevant description of the first configuration information. The details will not be described again in this specification.

[0259] Step 804: The second device sends the fourth configuration information in the second signal.

[0260] In response, the first device receives fourth configuration information of the second signal, the fourth configuration information indicating that the second signal is associated with a spatial relationship of the path of the target signal.

[0261] In the embodiment of the present application, the fourth configuration information is similar to the second configuration information. The difference is that the second configuration information indicates that the first signal is associated with the spatial relationship of the paths of the target signal, and the fourth configuration information indicates that the second signal is associated with the spatial relationship of the paths of the target signal. For implementation of the fourth configuration information, please refer to the descriptions of Implementations A1 and A2. In a possible implementation, when Implementation A2 is used, the fourth configuration information and the second configuration information may be two pieces of information or may be the same piece of information. For example, the second device configures one piece of path switch information for the first signal and the second signal. For related content of the fourth configuration information, please refer to the related description of the second configuration information. Details will not be described again in this specification.

[0262] Step 805: A third device sends a target signal.

[0263] In response, the first device receives the target signal.

[0264] For the relevant content of step 805, please refer to the relevant content of step 503. Details will not be described again.

[0265] Step 806: The first device sends the first measurement result.

[0266] For the relevant content of step 806, please refer to the relevant content of step 504. Details will not be described again.

[0267] Step 807: The first device sends a first signal.

[0268] In response, the third device receives the first signal.

[0269] For the relevant content of step 807, please refer to the relevant content of step 505. Details will not be described again.

[0270] Step 808: The first device sends information indicating that the first signal is associated with a spatial relationship of the first path.

[0271] In response, the third device receives information indicating that the first signal is associated with a spatial relationship of the first path.

[0272] For the relevant content of step 808, please refer to the relevant content of step 506. Details will not be described again.

[0273] Step 809: The first device sends the fourth measurement result.

[0274] In response, the third device receives the fourth measurement.

[0275] Step 809 is an optional step. The first device may measure the target signal to obtain a fourth measurement result. The fourth measurement result includes a measurement result of a second path of the target signal. The fourth measurement result may be used to position the first device. The first device may report the fourth measurement result to a third device or a location management device. FIG. 8 is a diagram using an example in which the first device reports the fourth measurement result to the third device.

[0276] For example, the fourth measurement result may include an arrival time of the second path of the target signal at the first device. The fourth measurement result may further include a transmission time of the second signal. The arrival time of the second path at the first device and the transmission time of the second signal may be used to determine a second RTT between the third device and the second device. The second RTT is used to determine the location of the first device. The fourth measurement result is similar to the first measurement result. The difference is that the fourth measurement result is obtained based on the measurement result of the second path of the target signal, and the first measurement result is obtained based on the measurement result of the first path of the target signal. For other contents of the fourth measurement result, please refer to the related description of the first measurement result.

[0277] Steps 808 is an optional step. Alternatively, the first device may not report information about the route, and the third device may not determine information about the route corresponding to the received signal. In an embodiment of the present application, when the first device does not report information about the route, the third device may alternatively determine information about the route corresponding to the received signal according to a preset rule. For example, the third device may obtain configuration information of the second signal. The configuration information of the second signal may include resource information of the second signal and information about the route associated with the spatial relationship of the second signal. Then, the third device may determine information about the route corresponding to the resource information based on the received resource information of the second signal, and then determine the route associated with the spatial relationship of the received signal.

[0278] Step 810: The first device sends a second signal.

[0279] In response, the third device receives the second signal.

[0280] In step 810, the first device may send a second signal based on the third configuration information and the fourth configuration information. For example, the first device may determine a second path and send a second signal based on the second path, where the second signal is associated with a spatial relationship of the second path.

[0281] If the second device sets the fourth configuration information in the manner of Implementation A1, the first device may determine the second route based on information related to the second route and indicated by using the fourth configuration information. If the second device sets the fourth configuration information in the manner of Implementation A2, the first device may use the route of the target signal as the route associated with the spatial relationship of the second signal. In other words, the first device may determine to select the route of the target signal as the second route. For example, the first device may determine multiple signals (e.g., a first signal and a second signal) that have a spatial relationship with the route of the target signal, and then associate at least two of the multiple routes of the target signal with the spatial relationship of the multiple signals. Two routes of the target signal associated with the spatial relationship of at least two of the multiple signals may be understood to be different, or two routes of the target signal associated with the spatial relationship of any two of the multiple signals may be understood to be different. In this way, the first device may be positioned with reference to signals having more different routes, thereby improving the accuracy of positioning.

[0282] Step 811: The first device sends information indicating that the second signal is associated with a spatial relationship of a second path.

[0283] In response, the third device receives information indicating that the second signal is associated with a spatial relationship of the second path.

[0284] Step 811 is an optional step. The first device may send information to the third device indicating that the second signal is associated with the spatial relationship of the second path (this is used as an example for illustration in FIG. 8), or may send information to the location management device indicating that the second signal is associated with the spatial relationship of the second path.

[0285] In the present application, the implementation of the information indicating that the second signal is associated with the spatial relationship of the second path is similar to that of the information indicating that the first signal is associated with the spatial relationship of the first path, and will not be described in detail again.

[0286] Step 812: A third device obtains a second measurement result.

[0287] For the relevant content of step 812, please refer to the relevant content of step 507. Details will not be described again.

[0288] Step 813: The third device sends the second measurement result.

[0289] In response, the location management device receives the second measurement result.

[0290] For the relevant content of step 813, please refer to the relevant content of step 508. Details will not be described again.

[0291] Step 814: A third device acquires a third measurement result.

[0292] In step 814, the third device may measure the second signal and determine a third measurement result based on the measurement result of the second signal. The third measurement result is used to determine the location of the first device.

[0293] For example, the third measurement result may include information regarding the angle of arrival, where the information regarding the angle of arrival may include a horizontal angle of arrival of the second signal and / or a vertical angle of arrival of the second signal. In another example, the third measurement result may include a second RTT, where the second RTT is an RTT corresponding to the target signal and the second signal. For example, the second RTT may be obtained by using [(arrival time of the second signal−transmission time of the target signal)−(transmission time of the second signal−arrival time of the second path of the target signal)]. The third measurement result may further include other information, such as phase difference information, to improve positioning accuracy.

[0294] In an embodiment of the present application, the third device may send a third measurement result to the location management device, so that the location management device positions the first device with reference to the third measurement result. In another possible implementation, the third device may alternatively position the first device with reference to the third measurement result, in other words, may not send the third measurement result. In FIG. 8, an example in which the third device sends the third measurement result to the location management device is used for illustration. For a solution in which the third device positions the first device based on the third measurement result, please refer to the later-described scheme in which the location management device positions the first device based on the third measurement result. Details will not be described herein.

[0295] Step 815: The third device sends the third measurement result.

[0296] In response, the location management device receives a third measurement result.

[0297] In a possible implementation, the third measurement result sent by the third device may further include information about the second path, indicating information about the path corresponding to the third measurement result. The third device may acquire information about the second path in multiple ways. For example, the third device may receive information from the first device indicating that the second signal is associated with the spatial relationship of the second path, and then determine that the third measurement result corresponds to the second path. Alternatively, the third device may acquire configuration information of the second signal, which may include resource information of the second signal and information about the path associated with the spatial relationship of the second signal. The third device may then determine information about the path corresponding to the resource information based on the received resource information of the signal, and then determine information about the path associated with the spatial relationship of the received second signal.

[0298] Step 816: The location management device determines location information of the first device based on the second measurement result and the third measurement result.

[0299] In a possible implementation, the location management device may position the first device based on the second measurement result and the third measurement result. For example, in the solution described in Fig. 4, the location management device may position the first device based on the angle of arrival positioning technique and the RTT positioning technique. In addition, since the second measurement result may include the first RTT and the third measurement result may include the second RTT, when the positioning is performed with reference to these two RTTs, the positioning accuracy may be further improved.

[0300] In an embodiment of the present application, the third device sends a target signal to the first device, and the first device measures the target signal in multiple beam directions. For example, the first device obtains signal strengths of the first and second paths through measurements using beam 1, and obtains signal strengths of the first and second paths through measurements using beam 2. Since the directions of the two beams are different, two signal strengths measured in the two beam directions of the same path may be different.

[0301] In a possible implementation, for a first path of the target signal, the first device sends a first signal having strong energy (large signal strength value) and associated with the spatial relationship of the first path by using a beam corresponding to the first path, thereby associating the spatial relationship of the first signal with the first path of the target signal.

[0302] For example, among the multiple signal strength values ​​obtained by measuring the second path by the first device, the signal strength value obtained by measuring the second path by the first device using Beam 2 is the largest. In this case, when the first device sends the second signal by using Beam 2, the beam of the second signal facing the second path may also be understood as the first device sending the second signal by using Beam 2 and relating the spatial relationship of the second signal to the second path of the target signal.

[0303] In an embodiment of the present application, the first device sends at least two signals to the third device, and the spatial relationship of the two signals is respectively related to the spatial relationship of two paths of the same signal. In this way, the positioning accuracy can be improved.

[0304] In a possible implementation, the first signal and the second signal may be from the same panel. For example, the phases of the first signal and the second signal transmitted by antenna elements on the antenna panel are controlled so that the radio waves are concentrated in a specific direction 1 and a specific direction 2. Direction 1 is close to or coincides with the direction of the first path of the target signal (or direction 1 corresponds to beam 1), and direction 2 is close to or coincides with the direction of the second path of the target signal (or direction 2 corresponds to beam 2). Because the first signal and the second signal from the same panel have the same clock drift, after differential calculation is used, the effect caused by the clock drift can be reduced, the group delay error can be reduced, and therefore the positioning accuracy can be improved.

[0305] In another possible implementation, the first signal and the second signal may be from different panels. In this case, the third device may perform some operations such as calibration and compensation. Furthermore, with reference to the solutions provided in the embodiments of the present application, the positioning accuracy can be further improved.

[0306] FIG. 9 is an example diagram of the principle of determining location information of a first device based on a first signal and a second signal according to an embodiment of the present application. As shown in FIG. 9, the spatial relationship of the first signal sent by the first device is associated with the first path of the target signal, and the spatial relationship of the second signal sent by the first device is associated with the second path of the target signal. The first path is a direct path, and the second path is a reflected path. The second path can be a reflected path created by using the ground, a wall, or any reflective panel. In FIG. 9, an example in which the second path is a reflected path reflected by using the ground is used for presentation. FIG. 9(a) shows a diagram of two paths of the first device in a three-dimensional coordinate system, and FIG. 9(b) shows a diagram of the geometric relationship of the plane created by the two paths. Referring to (a) and (b) of FIG. 9, the identifier of the height from the first device to the ground is h, the identifier of the length of the projection of the second device and the third device onto the horizontal plane (the plane formed by the x-axis and the y-axis) is d, the arrival angle of the first signal includes a horizontal arrival angle and a vertical arrival angle, and the identifier of the horizontal arrival angle is

[0307]

number

[0308] and the identifier of the vertical arrival angle is θ. The identifier of the first RTT determined based on the first signal and the target signal is RTT1, and the identifier of the second RTT determined based on the second signal and the target signal is RTT2. By using the geometric relationships in (a) and (b) of Figure 9, the following equation (3) can be obtained.

[0309]

number

[0310] In equation (3), p is the product of the speed of light and the difference between the second RTT and the first RTT, and the values ​​of d and h can be obtained by using the above equation (3). Furthermore, coordinate information of the first device can be obtained, and the coordinate information of the first device can be determined by using the following equation (4).

[0311]

number

[0312] Referring to equation (3),

[0313]

number

[0314] The value of is equal to the transmission path distance of the second path, and in equation (3)

[0315]

number

[0316] It can be seen that the value of is equal to the transmission path distance of the first path. Since p is the product of the speed of light and the difference between the second RTT and the first RTT,

[0317]

number

[0318] is between the distance of the transmission path of the second path and the distance of the transmission path of the first path, and can be regarded as the difference calculated based on the RTTs of the two and the speed of light. It can be seen that in the solving process by using Equation (3), a subtraction operation between the first RTT and the second RTT is performed. The first RTT may be affected by a transmission delay, and the second RTT may also be affected by a transmission delay. Therefore, the subtraction operation between the first RTT and the second RTT may reduce the effect of the transmission delay, and thus the positioning accuracy may be improved.

[0319] Based on the embodiments shown in Figures 1, 2A, 2B, 2C, 2D, 2E, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, and 8, as well as other contents described above, Figure 10 is a schematic flowchart example of a communication method according to an embodiment of the present application. For a description of the devices in Figure 10, please refer to the related description in Figure 5. Details will not be described again. In the example shown in Figure 10, the first device is a terminal device or a chip (system) in the terminal device, the second device and the third device are the same device, and each of the second device and the third device is an access network device or a chip (system) in the access network device.

[0320] As shown in FIG. 10, the method includes the following steps:

[0321] Step 1001: The location management device sends a positioning information request to the access network device.

[0322] The positioning information request may be a message used to request configuring a reference signal resource for a terminal device. The positioning information request may be a new radio positioning protocol annex (NRPPa) message, such as a positioning information request message.

[0323] In a possible implementation, before step 1001, the location management device may acquire some information about the access network devices involved in the positioning and the access network devices of the neighboring access network devices of the access network devices, for example, information included in the access network devices. transmission reception point (TRP) and the corresponding TRP information type for use in subsequent positioning. Before step 1001, the location management device may also inquire of the terminal device about the capabilities of the terminal device, for example, information about the positioning technologies supported by the terminal device.

[0324] Step 1002: The access network device configures, for the terminal device, a signal used for positioning.

[0325] Step 1003: The access network device sends configuration information of a signal used for positioning to the terminal device.

[0326] Correspondingly, the terminal device receives configuration information of the signal used for positioning. The configuration information of the signal used for positioning may include first configuration information and second configuration information, and may further include third configuration information and fourth configuration information.

[0327] Step 1004: The access network device sends a positioning information response to the location management device.

[0328] The positioning information response is a response message to the positioning information request. The positioning information response may be, for example, an NRPPa message, or may be, for example, a positioning information response message.

[0329] Step 1005: The location management device sends an activation request to the access network device.

[0330] The activation request is used to request activation of a signal used for positioning on the terminal device side. The activation request may be an NRPPa message, for example, a terminal device SRS activation request (request UE SRS activation).

[0331] Step 1006: The access network device sends an activation request to the terminal device.

[0332] The activation request is used to request activation of a signal used for positioning on the terminal device side, and the activation request may be a terminal device SRS transmission activation message (activate UE SRS transmission).

[0333] Step 1007: The location management device sends a measurement request to the access network device and at least one of the neighboring access network devices of the access network device.

[0334] In response, the access network device and at least one of the neighboring access network devices receive a measurement request.

[0335] Step 1008: The access network device sends a target signal to the terminal device.

[0336] Step 1009: The terminal device sends a first signal and a second signal.

[0337] For the related content of the first signal and the second signal, please refer to the above content, and the details will not be described again.

[0338] After receiving the target signal, the terminal device may further send the measurement result obtained by measuring the target signal to the access network device (this step is not shown in the figure).

[0339] Step 1010: The access network device and an access network device of a neighboring access network device of the access network device measure the received first signal and the received second signal.

[0340] Step 1011: The access network device and the access network devices of the neighboring access network devices of the access network device send measurement responses to the location management device.

[0341] In response, the location management device receives a measurement response.

[0342] The measurement response may include a second measurement result and a third measurement result, whereby the location management device determines whether the terminal is located based on the second measurement result and the third measurement result. device Determine location information for

[0343] In an embodiment of the present application, the second measurement result and the third measurement result may include path information, so that the location management device knows that the two signals corresponding to the two measurement results are associated with the spatial relationship of two paths of the same signal. Therefore, when determining the location information of the second device based on these two measurement results, the location management device can determine that the determined location information is accurate, and thus the positioning performance is improved. For example, the location management device may discard any location information with low positioning accuracy or set a low weight value for any location information with low positioning accuracy to improve the positioning accuracy of the first device.

[0344] Please note that the names of the above messages are used as examples only. With the development of communication technology, the names of any of the above messages may be changed. However, no matter how the name of the message is changed, as long as the meaning of the message is the same as that of the above messages in this application, the message falls within the protection scope of this application.

[0345] In an embodiment of the present application, sending information to a terminal device may be understood as the destination of the information being the terminal device. For example, module A sending information to a terminal includes the following: module A sends information to the terminal via an air interface. Optionally, module A may perform baseband and / or intermediate radio frequency operations on the information, or module A may submit the information to module B, which then sends the information to the terminal. When sending information to the terminal, module B may transparently transmit the information, segment the information and then send the information, or multiplex the information and other information and then send the information. Optionally, module B may perform baseband and / or intermediate radio frequency operations on the information and then send the information. Optionally, module B may encapsulate the information into a data packet. Optionally, module B may further add a header, padding bits, etc. to the data packet.

[0346] In the embodiment of the present application, receiving information from a terminal device may be understood as the source of the information being the terminal device. For example, module A receiving information from a terminal device includes: module A receives information from a terminal device through an air interface; deviceOptionally, module A may perform baseband and / or intermediate radio frequency operations on the information, or module B receives information from a terminal via the air interface and delivers the information to module A. Module B delivering information to module A includes transparently delivering the received information to module A, combining multiple received segments into information and then delivering the information to module A, or extracting information from multiplexed information and then delivering the information to module A. Optionally, module B may perform baseband and / or intermediate radio frequency operations on the received information and then send the information. Optionally, the information received by module B is encapsulated in a data packet. Optionally, the data packet includes a header, padding bits, etc.

[0347] Module B may be one module or multiple modules coupled in series. This is not limited. For example, module A is a DU module and module B is an RU module. In another example, module A is a CU-CP module and module B is a DU module and an RU module.

[0348] The above mainly describes the solutions provided in the present application from the perspective of interactions between network elements. To implement the above functions, the above network elements may be understood to include corresponding hardware structures and / or software modules for performing the functions. Those skilled in the art will easily recognize that the present invention can be implemented by using hardware or a combination of hardware and computer software, in combination with the example units and algorithm steps described in the embodiments disclosed herein. Whether the functions are implemented by hardware or by hardware driven by computer software depends on the specific application and design constraints of the technical solution. Those skilled in the art may use different methods to implement the described functions for each specific application, but such implementation should not be considered to go beyond the scope of the present invention.

[0349] According to the above method, FIG. 11 is a diagram of the structure of the device according to an embodiment of the present application.

[0350] 11 is a simplified diagram of an apparatus 1301. The apparatus 1301 is configured to implement the functions of a network element in an embodiment of the present application. For example, the network element may be a base station, a terminal, a DU, a CU, a CU-CP, a CU-UP, or an RU. The apparatus 1301 may be a network element, a device that can be mounted on a network element, or a device that can be used with a network element. This is not limited to this. For example, the apparatus may be a chip or a chip system. The apparatus 1301 includes an interface 1303 and a processor 1302. Optionally, the processor 1302 is configured to execute a program 1305. The processor 1302 may store the program 1305 or obtain the program 1305 from another component or another device (e.g., from the memory 1304 or from a third-party website via download). Optionally, the apparatus 1301 includes a memory 1304. The memory 1304 is configured to store a program 1306. The program 1306 may be pre-stored or loaded later. Optionally, the memory 1304 may further be configured to store necessary data. These components work together to provide various functions described in the embodiments of the present application.

[0351] The processor 1302 may include one or more processors for operating as a combination of computing devices. The processor 1302 may include one or more of a microprocessor, a microcontroller, a digital signal processor (DSP), a digital signal processor device (DSPD), an application-specific integrated circuit (ASIC), a field programmable gate array (FPGA), a programmable logic device (PLD), gating logic, transistor logic, a discrete hardware circuit, a processing circuit, or another suitable hardware or firmware, and / or a combination of hardware and software configured to perform various functions described in the embodiments of the present application. The processor 1302 may be a general-purpose processor or a special-purpose processor. For example, the processor 1302 may be a baseband processor or a central processing unit. The baseband processor may be configured to process communication protocols and communication data. The central processing unit may be configured to execute software programs and process data in the software programs.

[0352] The interface 1303 may include any suitable hardware or software configured to enable communication with one or more computing devices (e.g., network elements in embodiments of the present application). For example, in some embodiments, the interface 1303 may include terminals and / or pins configured to couple with wires for a wired connection or a wireless interface for a wireless connection. In some embodiments, the interface 1303 may include a transmitter, a receiver, an interface, and / or an antenna. The interface may be configured to enable communication between computing devices (e.g., network elements in embodiments of the present application) by using any available protocol (e.g., a 3GPP standard protocol).

[0353] The program in the embodiments of the present application is software in a broad sense. The software may be program code, a program, a subprogram, an instruction set, code, a code segment, a software module, an application program, a software application program, etc. The program may be executed in a processor and / or a computer to perform various functions and / or processes described in the embodiments of the present application.

[0354] The memory 1304 may store necessary data needed when the processor 1302 executes the software. The memory 1304 may be implemented using any suitable storage technology. For example, the memory 1304 may be any available storage medium that can be accessed by the processor and / or computer. Non-limiting examples of storage media are random access memory (RAM), read-only memory (ROM), electrically erasable programmable read-only memory (EEPROM), compact disc read-only memory (CD-ROM), removable media, optical disk memory, magnetic disk storage media, magnetic storage devices, flash memory, registers, state memory, remotely located memory, local or remote storage components, or any other medium that can carry or store software, data, or information and that can be accessed by the processor / computer.

[0355] The memory 1304 and the processor 1302 may be disposed separately or integrated together. The processor 1302 may read information from, store, and / or write information to the memory 1304. The memory 1304 may be integrated into the processor 1302. The processor 1302 and the memory 1304 may be disposed in an integrated circuit (e.g., an application-specific integrated circuit (ASIC)). The integrated circuit may be disposed in a network element or another network node in embodiments of the present application. In the figure, the memory 1304 is dashed, which further specifies that the memory is optional.

[0356] Furthermore, the communication device 1301 may further include a bus system. The processor 1302, the memory 1304, and the interface 1303 may be connected via the bus system.

[0357] As shown in FIG. 11, device 1301 may be a first device, a second device, a third device, or a location management device, or may be a chip or circuit, for example, a chip or circuit that may be disposed in a first device, a chip or circuit that may be disposed in a second device, a chip or circuit that may be disposed in a third device, or a chip or circuit that may be disposed in a location management device.

[0358] When device 1301 is configured to implement the functionality of a first device, in one possible implementation, processor 1302 is configured to perform the following operations via interface 1303: receive first configuration information for a first signal; receive second configuration information for the first signal; and send the first signal based on the first and second configuration information. The first configuration information indicates that the first signal is associated with a spatial relationship of a target signal. The second configuration information indicates that the first signal is associated with a spatial relationship of a path of the target signal.

[0359] In a possible implementation, the processor 1302 is configured to perform the following operations via the interface 1303: receive third configuration information for the second signal, receive fourth configuration information for the second signal, and send the second signal based on the third configuration information and the fourth configuration information. The third configuration information indicates that the second signal is associated with a spatial relationship of the target signal, and the fourth configuration information indicates that the second signal is associated with a spatial relationship of a path of the target signal.

[0360] In a possible implementation, the processor 1302 is configured to perform the following operations via the interface 1303: receive a target signal, determine a first path of the target signal, and send a first signal based on the first path. The first signal is associated with the spatial relationship of the first path.

[0361] In a possible implementation, the processor 1302 is configured to send, via the interface 1303, information indicating that the first signal is associated with a spatial relationship of the first path.

[0362] In a possible implementation, the processor 1302 is configured to perform the operations of obtaining a first measurement result based on a measurement result of the target signal and sending the first measurement result via the interface 1303. The first measurement result includes a measurement result of a first path of the target signal.

[0363] When device 1301 is configured to implement the functionality of a second device, in a possible implementation, processor 1302 is configured to perform the operations of sending first configuration information for a first signal and sending second configuration information for the first signal via interface 1303. The first configuration information indicates that the first signal is associated with a spatial relationship of a target signal, and the second configuration information indicates that the first signal is associated with a spatial relationship of a path of the target signal.

[0364] In a possible implementation, the processor 1302 is configured to perform the operations of sending third configuration information of the second signal and sending fourth configuration information of the second signal via the interface 1303. The third configuration information indicates that the second signal is associated with a spatial relationship of the target signal, and the fourth configuration information indicates that the second signal is associated with a spatial relationship of a path of the target signal.

[0365] When device 1301 is configured to implement the functionality of a third device, in one possible implementation, processor 1302 is configured to perform the operations of sending a target signal to the first device and receiving a first signal from the first device via interface 1303. Processor 1302 is configured to determine a second measurement result based on a measurement result of the first signal, where the first signal is associated with a spatial relationship of a first path of the target signal, and the second measurement result is used to determine the location of the first device.

[0366] In a possible implementation, the processor 1302 is configured to receive, via the interface 1303, information indicating that the first signal is associated with a spatial relationship of the first path.

[0367] In a possible implementation, the processor 1302 is configured to receive a first measurement result via the interface 1303, the first measurement result including a measurement result of a first path of the target signal.

[0368] In a possible implementation, the processor 1302 is configured to send a second measurement result via the interface 1303, the second measurement result including information about the first path.

[0369] In a possible implementation, the processor 1302 is configured to receive a second signal from the first device via the interface 1303 and determine a third measurement based on a measurement of the second signal, the second signal being related to the spatial relationship of the second path of the target signal, and the third measurement being used to determine the location of the first device.

[0370] In a possible implementation, the processor 1302 is configured to send the third measurement result via the interface 1303. The third measurement result includes information about the second path.

[0371] When the device 1301 is configured to implement the functionality of a location management device, in a possible implementation, the processor 1302 is configured to receive a second measurement result via the interface 1303. The second measurement result is determined based on a measurement result of a first signal, the first signal being associated with a spatial relationship of a first path of the target signal. The processor 1302 is configured to determine a location of the first device based on the second measurement result.

[0372] In a possible implementation, the processor 1302 is configured to receive a third measurement result via the interface 1303 and determine a location of the first device based on the second measurement result and the third measurement result, the third measurement result being determined based on a second signal, the second signal being related to the spatial relationship of the second path of the target signal.

[0373] For the concepts, explanations, detailed descriptions and other steps of the communication device related to the technical solutions provided in the embodiments of the present application, please refer to the content descriptions in the above methods or other embodiments, and the details will not be described again in this specification.

[0374] According to the above method, FIG. 12 shows a communication device according to an embodiment of the present application. 140112 is a diagram of the structure of the device 1401. As shown in FIG. 12, the device 1401 may include a transceiver 1403 and a processor 1402. Furthermore, the device 1401 may include a memory 1404. In the figure, the memory 1404 is dashed, which further specifies that the memory is optional. The transceiver 1403 is configured to input and / or output information. The processor 1402 is configured to execute computer programs or instructions, thereby causing the device 1401 to implement the method of the first device, second device, third device, or location management device in the related solutions of FIG. 5, FIG. 8, or FIG. 10. In this embodiment of the present application, the transceiver 1403 may implement the solution implemented by using the interface 1303 of FIG. 11, the processor 1402 may implement the solution implemented by using the processor 1302 of FIG. 11, and the memory 1404 may implement the solution implemented by using the memory 1304 of FIG. 11. The details will not be described again here.

[0375] Based on the above embodiment and the same concept, FIG. 13 shows a communication device according to an embodiment of the present application. 1501 13, device 1501 may be a first device, a second device, a third device, or a location management device, or may be a chip or circuit, for example, a chip or circuit that may be disposed in a first device, a chip or circuit that may be disposed in a second device, a chip or circuit that may be disposed in a third device, or a chip or circuit that may be disposed in a location management device.

[0376] The device 1501 includes a processing unit 1502 and a communication unit 1503. Furthermore, the device 1501 may or may not include a storage unit 1504. In the figure, the storage unit 1504 is dashed, which further specifies that the storage unit is optional.

[0377] When device 1301 is configured to implement the functionality of a first device, in one possible implementation, processor 1302 is configured to perform the following operations via interface 1303: receive first configuration information for a first signal; receive second configuration information for the first signal; and send the first signal based on the first and second configuration information. The first configuration information indicates that the first signal is associated with a spatial relationship of a target signal. The second configuration information indicates that the first signal is associated with a spatial relationship of a path of the target signal.

[0378] When device 1301 is configured to implement the functionality of a second device, in a possible implementation, processor 1302 is configured to perform the operations of sending first configuration information for a first signal and sending second configuration information for the first signal via interface 1303. The first configuration information indicates that the first signal is associated with a spatial relationship of a target signal, and the second configuration information indicates that the first signal is associated with a spatial relationship of a path of the target signal.

[0379] When device 1301 is configured to implement the functionality of a third device, in one possible implementation, processor 1302 is configured to perform the operations of sending a target signal to the first device and receiving a first signal from the first device via interface 1303. Processor 1302 is configured to determine a second measurement result based on a measurement result of the first signal, where the first signal is associated with a spatial relationship of a first path of the target signal, and the second measurement result is used to determine the location of the first device.

[0380] When the device 1301 is configured to implement the functionality of a location management device, in a possible implementation, the processor 1302 is configured to receive a second measurement result via the interface 1303. The second measurement result is determined based on a measurement result of a first signal, the first signal being associated with a spatial relationship of a first path of the target signal. The processor 1302 is configured to determine a location of the first device based on the second measurement result.

[0381] For the concepts, explanations, detailed descriptions and other steps of the communication device related to the technical solutions provided in the embodiments of the present application, please refer to the content descriptions in the above methods or other embodiments, and the details will not be described again in this specification.

[0382] It may be understood that the functions of each unit in the device 1501 may be referred to the implementation of the corresponding method embodiment, and the details will not be described again in this specification.

[0383] It should be understood that the division of the communication device into units is merely a logical functional division. In actual implementation, all or some of the units may be integrated into a physical entity or may be physically separated. In this embodiment of the present application, the communication unit 1503 may be implemented by using the interface 1303 of FIG. 11, and the processing unit 1502 may be implemented by using the processor 1302 of FIG. 11.

[0384] According to the method provided in the embodiments of the present application, the present application further provides a computer program product, which includes computer program code or instructions, which, when executed on a computer, enables the computer to perform the method in any one of the embodiments shown in Figure 5, Figure 8, or Figure 10.

[0385] According to the method provided in the embodiments of the present application, the present application further provides a computer-readable storage medium, which stores program code, which, when executed on a computer, enables the computer to perform the method in any one of the embodiments shown in Figure 5, Figure 8, or Figure 10.

[0386] According to the method provided in the embodiments of the present application, the present application further provides a chip system. The chip system may include a processor. The processor may be coupled to a memory and configured to perform the method in any one of the embodiments shown in FIG. 5, FIG. 8, or FIG. 10. Optionally, the chip system further includes a memory. The memory is configured to store a computer program (also referred to as code or instructions). The processor is configured to call the computer program from the memory and execute the computer program, thereby causing a device equipped with the chip system to perform the method in any one of the embodiments shown in FIG. 5, FIG. 8, or FIG. 10.

[0387] According to the method provided in the embodiment of the present application, the present application further provides a system including one or more second devices described above.

[0388] In a possible implementation, the system may further include one or more first devices.

[0389] In another possible implementation, the system may further include one or more third devices.

[0390] In yet another possible implementation, the system may further include a location management device.

[0391] All or part of the above embodiments may be implemented using software, hardware, firmware, or any combination thereof. When software is used to implement the embodiments, all or part of the embodiments may be implemented in the form of a computer program product. The computer program product includes one or more computer instructions. When the computer instructions are loaded and executed on a computer, all or part of the procedures or functions according to the embodiments of the present application are generated. The computer may be a general-purpose computer, a special-purpose computer, a computer network, or another programmable device. The computer instructions may be stored on a computer-readable storage medium or transmitted from a computer-readable storage medium to another computer-readable storage medium. For example, the computer instructions may be transmitted from a website, computer, server, or data center to another website, computer, server, or data center via wired (e.g., coaxial cable, fiber optics, or digital subscriber line (DSL)) or wireless (e.g., infrared, radio, or microwave) transmission. The computer-readable storage medium may be any available medium accessible by a computer or a data storage device, such as a server or data center, incorporating one or more available media. The available media may be magnetic media (e.g., floppy disks, hard disks, or magnetic tapes), optical media (e.g., high-density digital video discs (DVDs)), semiconductor media (e.g., solid-state drives (SSDs)), and the like.

[0392] Please note that parts of this patent application document contain copyrighted material. The copyright owner reserves the copyright in all copies except for those made for the patent document or the contents of the patent document at the State Intellectual Property Office of China.

[0393] The first device, the second device, the third device, and the location management device in the device embodiments correspond to the first device, the second device, the third device, and the location management device in the method embodiments, and corresponding modules or units perform corresponding steps. For example, a communication unit (transceiver) performs the receiving or transmitting step in the method embodiments, and steps other than transmitting and receiving may be performed by a processing unit (processor). For the functions of specific units, please refer to the corresponding method embodiments. There may be one or more processors.

[0394] As used herein, terms such as “component,” “module,” and “system” refer to computer-related entities, hardware, firmware, a combination of hardware and software, software, or software in execution. For example, a component may be, but is not limited to, a process running on a processor, a processor, an object, an executable, a thread of execution, a program, and / or a computer. As illustrated through the use of figures, both computing devices and applications running on computing devices may be components. One or more components may reside within a process and / or thread of execution, and components may be located on one computer and / or distributed among two or more computers. Additionally, these components may execute from various computer-readable media that store various data structures. For example, components may communicate by using local and / or remote processing and based on signals having, for example, one or more data packets (e.g., data from two components interacting with another component in a local system, a distributed system, and / or over a network such as the Internet that interacts with other systems through the use of signals).

[0395] Those skilled in the art may recognize that, in combination with the illustrative logical blocks described in the embodiments disclosed herein, steps may be implemented by using electronic hardware or a combination of computer software and electronic hardware. Whether a function is implemented by hardware or software depends on the specific application and design constraints of the technical solution. Those skilled in the art may use different methods to implement the described functions for each specific application, but the implementation should not be considered to go beyond the scope of this application.

[0396] Those skilled in the art can clearly understand that for the sake of convenient and brief description, the detailed operation processes of the above systems, devices and units can be referred to the corresponding processes in the above method embodiments, and the details will not be described again in this specification.

[0397] In some embodiments provided in the present application, it should be understood that the disclosed systems, devices, and methods may be implemented in other manners. For example, the described device embodiments are merely examples. For example, the division into units is merely a logical functional division, and other divisions may be used in actual implementation. For example, multiple units or components may be combined or integrated into another system, or some features may be ignored or not implemented. In addition, the shown or discussed mutual couplings or direct couplings or communication connections may be implemented by using some interfaces. Indirect couplings or communication connections between devices or units may be implemented in electronic, mechanical, or other forms.

[0398] The units described as separate parts may or may not be physically separate, and the parts shown as units may or may not be physical units, in other words, may be located in one location or distributed over multiple network units. Some or all of the units may be selected based on actual requirements to achieve the objectives of the solutions in the embodiments.

[0399] In addition, the functional units in the embodiments of the present application may be integrated into one processing unit, and each of the units may exist physically independent, or two or more units may be integrated into one unit. When the functions are implemented in the form of software functional units and sold or used as independent products, the functions may be stored in a computer-readable storage medium.

[0400] The above description is merely a specific implementation of the present application and is not intended to limit the scope of protection of the present application. Any modifications or replacements that are easily understood by those skilled in the art within the technical scope disclosed in the present application shall fall within the scope of protection of the present application. Therefore, the scope of protection of the present application shall be subject to the scope of protection of the claims.

[0401] In this application, "at least one" means one or more, and "multiple" means two or more. "And / or" describes an association relationship between associated objects and indicates that three relationships may exist. For example, A and / or B may indicate three cases: only A is present, both A and B are present, and only B is present, where A and B may each be singular or plural. In the text description of this application, the character " / " represents an "or" relationship between associated objects. In formulas of this application, the character " / " represents a "divide by" relationship between associated objects. "Comprising at least one of A, B, and C" may represent including A, including B, including C, including A and B, including A and C, including B and C, and including A, B, and C.

[0402] It may be understood that various numbers in the embodiments of the present application are used only for distinction purposes for ease of description, and are not used to limit the scope of the embodiments of the present application. The sequence numbers of the above processes do not mean the execution sequence, and the execution sequence of the processes should be determined based on the functions and internal logic of the processes.

Claims

1. 1. A communication method, the method being applied to a first device, the method comprising: receiving first configuration information for a first signal, the first configuration information indicating that the first signal is associated with a spatial relationship of a target signal; receiving second configuration information for the first signal, the second configuration information indicating that the first signal is associated with a spatial relationship of a path of the target signal; sending the first signal based on the first configuration information and the second configuration information; A communication method, including:

2. The method comprises: receiving third configuration information of a second signal, the third configuration information indicating that the second signal is associated with the spatial relationship of the target signal; receiving fourth configuration information of the second signal, the fourth configuration information indicating that the second signal is associated with a spatial relationship of a path of the target signal; sending the second signal based on the third configuration information and the fourth configuration information; The method of claim 1 further comprising:

3. The method of claim 1 or 2, wherein the second configuration information indicates that the first signal is associated with a spatial relationship of a first path of the target signal.

4. The method of claim 3 , wherein the first path is a first path or the first path is an alternative path.

5. 3. The method of claim 1, wherein the second configuration information includes one or more of first preset information in a message carrying the first configuration information, a first preset bit value carried on a first preset bit, or second preset information on a second preset bit.

6. The method comprises: sending information indicating that the first signal is associated with the spatial relationship of the first path; The method of claim 1 , further comprising:

7. 1. A communication method, the method being applied to a second device, the method comprising: sending first configuration information of a first signal, the first configuration information indicating that the first signal is associated with a spatial relationship of a target signal; sending second configuration information of the first signal, the second configuration information indicating that the first signal is associated with a spatial relationship of a path of the target signal; A communication method, including:

8. The method comprises: sending third configuration information of a second signal, the third configuration information indicating that the second signal is associated with the spatial relationship of the target signal; sending fourth configuration information of the second signal, the fourth configuration information indicating that the second signal is associated with a spatial relationship of a path of the target signal; The method of claim 7 further comprising:

9. The method of claim 7 or 8, wherein the second configuration information indicates that the first signal is associated with a spatial relationship of a first path of the target signal.

10. The method of claim 9 , wherein the first path is a first path or the first path is an alternative path.

11. 9. The method of claim 7, wherein the second configuration information includes one or more of first preset information in a message carrying the first configuration information, a first preset bit value carried on a first preset bit, or second preset information on a second preset bit.

12. 1. A communication method, the method being applied to a third device, the method comprising: sending a target signal to a first device; receiving a first signal from the first device; determining a second measurement based on a measurement of the first signal, the first signal being related to a spatial relationship of a first path of the target signal, the second measurement being used to determine a location of the first device; A communication method, including:

13. A communication method, the method being applied to a location management device, the method comprising: receiving a second measurement, the second measurement being determined based on a measurement of a first signal, the first signal being related to a spatial relationship of a first path of a target signal; determining a location of the first device based on the second measurement; A communication method, including:

14. 1. An apparatus, the apparatus being a first apparatus, the apparatus comprising a processor and an interface, the processor comprising: receiving first configuration information for a first signal, the first configuration information indicating that the first signal is associated with a spatial relationship of a target signal; receiving second configuration information for the first signal, the second configuration information indicating that the first signal is associated with a spatial relationship of a path of the target signal; sending the first signal based on the first configuration information and the second configuration information; and a device configured to perform the following operations via the interface:

15. The processor: receiving third configuration information of a second signal, the third configuration information indicating that the second signal is associated with the spatial relationship of the target signal; receiving fourth configuration information of the second signal, the fourth configuration information indicating that the second signal is associated with a spatial relationship of a path of the target signal; sending the second signal based on the third configuration information and the fourth configuration information; The apparatus of claim 14 , further configured to perform, via the interface:

16. 16. The apparatus of claim 14 or 15, wherein the second configuration information indicates that the first signal is associated with a spatial relationship of a first path of the target signal.

17. 17. The apparatus of claim 16, wherein the first path is a first path or the first path is an alternative path.

18. 16. The apparatus of claim 14, wherein the second configuration information includes one or more of first preset information in a message carrying the first configuration information, a first preset bit value carried on a first preset bit, or second preset information on a second preset bit.

19. The processor: sending information indicating that the first signal is associated with the spatial relationship of the first path; 19. The apparatus of claim 14, further configured to perform the following actions via the interface:

20. 1. An apparatus, the apparatus being a second apparatus, the apparatus comprising a processor and an interface, the processor comprising: sending first configuration information of a first signal, the first configuration information indicating that the first signal is associated with a spatial relationship of a target signal; sending second configuration information of the first signal, the second configuration information indicating that the first signal is associated with a spatial relationship of a path of the target signal; and a device configured to perform the following operations via the interface:

21. The processor: sending third configuration information of a second signal, the third configuration information indicating that the second signal is associated with the spatial relationship of the target signal; sending fourth configuration information of the second signal, the fourth configuration information indicating that the second signal is associated with a spatial relationship of a path of the target signal; 21. The apparatus of claim 20, further configured to perform, via the interface:

22. 22. The apparatus of claim 20 or 21, wherein the second configuration information indicates that the first signal is associated with a spatial relationship of a first path of the target signal.

23. 23. The apparatus of claim 22, wherein the first path is a first path or the first path is an alternative path.

24. 24. The apparatus of claim 22 or 23, wherein the second configuration information includes one or more of first preset information in a message carrying the first configuration information, a first preset bit value carried on a first preset bit, or second preset information on a second preset bit.

25. 1. An apparatus, the apparatus being a third apparatus, the apparatus comprising a processor and an interface, the processor comprising: sending a target signal to a first device via the interface and receiving a first signal from the first device via the interface; determining a second measurement based on a measurement of the first signal, the first signal being related to a spatial relationship of a first path of the target signal, the second measurement being used to determine a location of the first device; An apparatus configured to:

26. 1. An apparatus, the apparatus being a location management apparatus, the apparatus comprising a processor and an interface, the processor comprising: receiving a second measurement via the interface, the second measurement determined based on a measurement of a first signal, the first signal being related to a spatial relationship of a first path of a target signal; determining a location of the first device based on the second measurement; and An apparatus configured to:

27. 1. A communication device comprising a processor and a memory, the memory is configured to store computer programs or instructions; The processor is configured to execute the computer program or the instructions in the memory to enable the method of any one of claims 1 to 6 to be performed, the method of any one of claims 7 to 11 to be performed, the method of claim 12 to be performed, or the method of claim 13 to be performed. Communication equipment.

28. A communication device comprising a processing unit and a communication unit, wherein the processing unit is configured to perform the method of any one of claims 1 to 6, the method of any one of claims 7 to 11, the method of claim 12 or the method of claim 13 via the communication unit.

29. 13. A computer-readable storage medium having stored thereon computer-executable instructions that, when invoked by a computer, cause the method of any one of claims 1 to 6 to be performed, the method of any one of claims 7 to 11 to be performed, the method of claim 12 to be performed, or the method of claim 13 to be performed.

30. A chip system, the chip system comprising at least one processor and an interface circuit, the interface circuit and the at least one processor being interconnected via lines, the processor running instructions to perform the method of any one of claims 1 to 6, to perform the method of any one of claims 7 to 11, to perform the method of claim 12, or to perform the method of claim 13.

31. 12. A computer program product, the computer program product storing a computer program, the computer program comprising program instructions which, when executed by a computer, cause the method of any one of claims 1 to 6 to be performed, the method of any one of claims 7 to 11 to be performed, the method of claim 12 to be performed, or the method of claim 13 to be performed.

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