Information Transmission Method and Related Devices

Abstract

The present embodiment provides an information transmission method and a related device, in which the method includes a location management network element obtaining parameters of a PRS transmitted aperiodically and transmitting the parameters to a terminal, which can improve resource utilization and flexibility of location determination.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] This application relates to the field of communication technologies, and more specifically, to an information transmission method and related devices.

Background Art

[0002] With the development of communication technologies, the requirements for positioning, such as accuracy requirements and latency requirements, are also increasing. However, the inventor has recognized that current positioning technologies have low resource utilization and poor positioning flexibility. Therefore, how to achieve positioning for improving resource utilization has become an issue.

Summary of the Invention

[0003] Embodiments of this application provide an information transmission method and related devices, which are helpful for improving resource utilization rate and positioning flexibility.

[0004] In one aspect, embodiments of this application provide an information transmission method, wherein a location management network element obtains first positioning reference signal (PRS) parameters, and the location management network element transmits the first PRS parameters to a terminal, wherein the first PRS parameters are parameters of aperiodically transmitted PRS.

[0005] In another aspect, embodiments of this application also provide an information transmission method, wherein a base station receives a request message from a location management network element, the request message requests first PRS parameters, and the first PRS parameters are parameters of aperiodically transmitted PRS, and the base station transmits a request response message for instructing the location management network element to provide the first PRS parameters based on the request message.

[0006] In another aspect, embodiments of this application also provide an information transmission method, The terminal receives a first PRS parameter from a location management network element, and the first PRS parameter is a parameter of a PRS that is transmitted aperiodically.

[0007] In other aspects, embodiments of the present application also provide an information transmission method, The location management network element transmits at least one PRS trigger instruction to the base station for instructing the base station to transmit a positioning reference signal PRS.

[0008] In other aspects, embodiments of the present application also provide an information transmission method, receiving a positioning reference signal PRS trigger message for triggering the base station to transmit a PRS, and the base station transmitting a PRS based on the PRS trigger message.

[0009] In other aspects, embodiments of the present application also provide an information transmission method The terminal transmits a positioning reference signal PRS trigger request for requesting the location management network element to transmit a PRS.

[0010] In other aspects, embodiments of the present application provide a location management network element having some or all of the functions for realizing the operations of the location management network element in the above method. Optionally, this function may be realized by hardware or by executing corresponding software by the hardware. This hardware or software can include one or more units or modules corresponding to the above functions.

[0011] For example, in a possible design, a location management network element includes a processing unit and a communication unit. The processing unit supports the location management network element in performing the corresponding functions in the above-described method, and the communication unit supports communication between the location management network element and other devices. Optionally, the location management network element can also include a storage unit that stores program instructions, data, etc. required for the location management network element and can be coupled to the processing unit. Optionally, the processing unit may be a processor, the communication unit may be a transceiver, and the storage unit may be a memory.

[0012] In other aspects, embodiments of the present application provide a base station having some or all of the functions for implementing the operation of the base station in the above-described method. Optionally, this function may be implemented by hardware or by executing corresponding software by the hardware. The hardware or software can include one or more units or modules corresponding to the above-described functions. For example, in a possible design, a base station includes a processing unit and a communication unit. The processing unit supports the base station in performing the corresponding functions in the above-described method, and the communication unit supports communication between the base station and other devices. Optionally, the base station can also include a storage unit that stores program instructions, data, etc. required for the location management network element and can be coupled to the processing unit. Optionally, the processing unit may be a processor, the communication unit may be a transceiver, and the storage unit may be a memory.

[0013] In other aspects, embodiments of the present application provide a terminal having some or all of the functions for implementing the operation of the terminal in the above-described method. Optionally, this function may be implemented by hardware or by executing corresponding software by the hardware. The hardware or software can include one or more units or modules corresponding to the above-described functions. For example, in a possible design, the terminal includes a processing unit and a communication unit. The processing unit supports the terminal in executing the corresponding functions in the above-described method, and the communication unit supports communication between the terminal and other devices. Optionally, the terminal can also include a storage unit that stores program instructions, data, etc. required by the terminal and can be coupled to the processing unit. Optionally, the processing unit may be a processor, the communication unit may be a transceiver, and the storage unit may be a memory.

[0014] In other aspects, embodiments of the present application provide a location management network element including a processor, a memory, a communication interface, and one or more programs. Here, the one or more programs are stored in the memory and executed by the processor, and these programs include instructions for executing the execution steps of the location management network element in any of the methods of the embodiments of the present application.

[0015] In other aspects, embodiments of the present application provide a base station including a processor, a memory, a communication interface, and one or more programs. Here, the one or more programs are stored in the memory and executed by the processor, and these programs include instructions for executing the execution steps of the base station in any of the methods of the embodiments of the present application.

[0016] In other aspects, embodiments of the present application provide a terminal including a processor, a memory, a communication interface, and one or more programs. Here, the one or more programs are stored in the memory and executed by the processor, and these programs include instructions for executing the execution steps of the terminal in any of the methods of the embodiments of the present application.

[0017] In other aspects, embodiments of the present application provide a communication system including the location management network element, base station, and / or terminal of the above aspects. Optionally, this system can also include other devices that interact with the location management network element, base station, or terminal.

[0018] In another aspect, an embodiment of the present application provides a computer-readable storage medium storing a computer program for causing a computer to execute some or all of the steps as described in the method of the embodiment of the present application. For example, cause the computer to execute some or all of the steps executed by a location management network element, some or all of the steps executed by a base station, and / or some or all of the steps executed by a terminal as described in the method of the embodiment of the present application. Optionally, this computer-readable storage medium may be volatile or non-volatile, and the present application does not limit it.

[0019] In another aspect, an embodiment of the present application provides a computer program product including a non-transitory computer-readable storage medium storing a computer program operable to cause a computer to execute some or all of the steps as described in the method of the embodiment of the present application. For example, cause the computer to execute some or all of the steps executed by a location management network element, some or all of the steps executed by a base station, and / or some or all of the steps executed by a terminal as described in the method of the embodiment of the present application. Optionally, this computer program product is a software installation package.

[0020] In the scheme provided by the embodiment of the present application, PRS transmission can be triggered based on requirements, thereby improving resource utilization rate and improving the flexibility of positioning.

Brief Description of the Drawings

[0021] Hereinafter, the drawings necessary for use in the description of the embodiments or the prior art will be described.

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Embodiments for Carrying Out the Invention

[0022] Hereinafter, the technical aspects in the embodiments of the present application will be described with reference to the drawings.

[0023] Note that the technical solution of this application can be specifically applied to various communication systems such as the 5G system of the NR (New Radio) system, the Long Term Evolution (abbreviation: LTE) system, or future communication systems, etc., and this application is not limited.

[0024] Referring to FIG. 1, it is an architecture diagram of the communication system in this application. As shown in FIG. 1, the communication system can include one or more base stations 101, one or more terminals 102, and one or more location management network elements 103. Only two base stations 101, one terminal 102, and one location management network element 103 are shown in FIG. 1. Information transmission is possible between the base station 101, the terminal 102, and the location management network element 103.

[0025] In this application, the location management network element can be used for location management including acquisition of PRS parameters and / or transmission of PRS parameters, etc. For example, this location management network element may be a Location Management Function (LMF), or may be other network elements for location management, and this application does not limit.

[0026] In this application, the base station may be used to communicate with one or more terminals, may be used to communicate with a location management network element, or may be used to communicate with one or more base stations having some terminal functions, such as communication between a macro base station and a micro base station. The base station may be an evolved Node B (eNB) in a Long Term Evolution (LTE) system, may be a base station gNB in a 5G system or an NR system, etc., which will not be listed one by one here. Alternatively, the base station 101 may also refer to a transmission point (TP), an access point (AP), a transmission and receiver point (TRP), a relay device, a central unit (CU), or other devices equipped with base station functions.

[0027] In this application, the terminal may be a device having a communication function, for example, an in-vehicle device, a wearable device, a handheld device (such as a smartphone), etc. The terminal may also be referred to by other names such as user equipment (UE), user unit, mobile station, mobile unit, terminal device, communication device, etc., and this application is not limited.

[0028] In communication systems, scenarios that require the positioning of terminals and other devices often exist, and positioning technologies are also developing rapidly. For example, positioning technologies include positioning technologies that provide location information in outdoor scenarios based on GNSS, positioning technologies based on wireless technologies (e.g., in LTE networks, various options are provided for positioning users, wireless networks, terrestrial beacon systems, etc.), positioning technologies based on inertial measurement units (IMUs), positioning technologies based on sensors (e.g., user position tracking based on accelerometers, vertical positioning using gyroscopes, magnetometers, barometric pressure sensors), positioning technologies based on OTDOA, UTDOA, Cell-ID (with cell portion ID) or E-Cell-ID, RAT-independent positioning technologies based on LPP, positioning technologies based on NR standalone RAT-dependent, positioning technologies based on DL-TDOA, DL-AoD, UL-TDOA, UL-AoA, RTT, and E-CID, etc. For example, 3GPP NR can utilize wide bandwidths (low band and high band) to perform time measurements based on positioning technologies such as OTDOA and UTDOA, Cell-ID or E-Cell-ID, realize user positioning, improve positioning performance, and also utilize massive MIMO to combine time measurements with the spatial and angular domains of the propagation channel to achieve more accurate user positioning.

[0029] The Positioning Reference Signal (PRS) is a reference signal for realizing positioning. The terminal can measure information such as the time of arrival, signal strength, and angle of arrival slope based on the PRS transmitted by the network side, and can identify the position of the terminal based on this information to realize positioning. For example, the terminal can determine its own position based on this information and report it to the network. Also, for example, the terminal can report this information to the network so that the network side can determine the position of the terminal based on this information and thereby realize the position. Here, the transmission of the PRS can be configured by the LMF, such as adopting a periodic configuration. However, the periodically transmitted PRS may have problems such as low resource utilization rate and high resource consumption. The PRS transmission of the present application can be performed as needed, and can realize rapid and immediate PRS transmission compared with periodic transmission, which helps to improve the resource utilization rate, improve the flexibility of positioning, and reduce the network power consumption. For example, the present application can obtain the first PRS parameter, that is, the parameter of the aperiodically transmitted PRS, through a position management network element such as the LMF, and further transmit the first PRS parameter to the terminal to realize positioning based on the parameter of the aperiodically transmitted PRS. Also, for example, the present application can also transmit a PRS trigger instruction to at least one base station through a position management network element such as the LMF to trigger the base station to transmit the PRS to enable positioning. Also, for example, the present application can obtain the first PRS parameter through the position management network element, and by transmitting a PRS trigger instruction to at least one base station to achieve positioning, the base station can also be triggered to transmit the PRS according to the first PRS parameter.

[0030] In the present application, the PRS parameter can also be referred to by other names such as PRS information, PRS trigger parameter, etc., and the present application is not limited. The PRS trigger instruction can also be referred to as a PRS instruction, a trigger instruction, a PRS transmission instruction, a transmission instruction, etc., and the present application is not limited.

[0031] Note that, different from the PRS transmitted periodically and the PRS transmitted aperiodically, that is, the parameters of the PRS transmitted aperiodically are different from the parameters of the PRS transmitted periodically. For example, compared with the PRS transmitted periodically, the PRS transmitted aperiodically has different time resource attributes. Optionally, the PRS transmitted aperiodically can also be referred to as an aperiodic PRS, an aperiodic PRS, or other names. Therefore, the PRS transmitted periodically can also be referred to as a periodic PRS, a periodic PRS, or other names. The parameters of the PRS transmitted aperiodically can also be referred to as aperiodic PRS parameters, parameters of the aperiodic PRS, PRS flexible trigger parameters, etc., and the parameters of the PRS transmitted periodically can also be referred to as periodic PRS parameters, parameters of the periodic PRS, PRS periodic trigger parameters, etc., and the present application is not limited.

[0032] In this application, when positioning a terminal or other device, it is also possible to achieve positioning by combining periodic PRS and aperiodic PRS. For example, a location management network element can obtain aperiodic PRS parameters and periodic PRS parameters, and further transmit the aperiodic PRS parameters and periodic PRS parameters to the terminal in order to achieve positioning based on the aperiodic PRS parameters and periodic PRS parameters. Also, for example, this application can also transmit a PRS trigger instruction to at least one base station via a location management network element to trigger the base station to transmit PRS. The base station can also transmit periodic PRS, and the terminal can achieve positioning based on this triggered PRS and periodic PRS. Here, the parameters of the aperiodic PRS can be obtained in advance, such as being defined by a protocol and transmitted to the terminal by a location management network element. By combining periodic PRS and aperiodic PRS to achieve positioning, it helps to improve the reliability of positioning, reduce the power consumption of the network, and increase the resource utilization rate. For example, in a scenario where positioning is achieved by combining periodic PRS and aperiodic PRS, the interval (period) of the periodic PRS is larger than the interval of the periodic PRS in a scenario where positioning is achieved by using only periodic PRS, significantly reducing the transmission overhead of PRS, saving network resources, and contributing to the improvement of resource utilization rate. Optionally, multiple positioning techniques can be combined and implemented. For example, the positioning technique of this application can be combined with one or more of the above-mentioned positioning techniques to implement positioning and improve positioning performance.

[0033] Optionally, the interval of the periodic PRS can be determined based on the frequency of the aperiodic PRS within a preset period. For example, the higher the frequency of the aperiodic PRS, the larger the interval of the periodic PRS can be set. Further optionally, the interval of the periodic PRS can be changed / switched when a scenario for realizing positioning based on the aperiodic PRS is triggered. For example, the location management network element determines to receive a PRS trigger request for the aperiodic PRS and send a PRS trigger instruction, and when the first PRS parameter is obtained, a process of switching the interval of the periodic PRS can be started, such as increasing the interval of the periodic PRS by a specified interval. Note that the process of switching the interval of the periodic PRS may also be triggered by a terminal or a base station, and the present application does not limit this.

[0034] Note that the communication system shown in FIG. 1 is only an example and does not constitute a limitation to the present application. A person skilled in the art can understand that with the evolution of the network architecture and the emergence of new business scenarios, the technical solutions provided by the present application can also be similarly applied to similar technical problems.

[0035] Referring to FIG. 2, FIG. 2 is a flowchart of the information transmission method in an embodiment of the present application. The method of this embodiment can be applied to the communication system described above and can be specifically applied to the location management network element described above. As shown in FIG. 2, this method can include the following steps.

[0036] In 201, the location management network element obtains a first PRS parameter, and the first PRS parameter is a parameter of the PRS transmitted aperiodically.

[0037] Optionally, the first PRS parameter can include at least one of a PRS frequency resource parameter and a PRS time resource parameter. For example, the PRS time resource parameter can include valid time information. This valid time information can be used to indicate the specific time of a PRS transmission that is different from the time interval information corresponding to a periodically transmitted PRS. Further, optionally, this valid time information can include, for example, the start time, end time, valid period (transmission period), and / or the valid period of a PRS transmission. Further, optionally, as PRS resource configuration information, the time-frequency domain resource parameters as described above can include at least one of the frequency domain position for transmitting a PRS, a resource transmission combo, a transmission cyclic shift, the start position of a transmission resource, the number of symbols occupied by the resource, a repetition factor, and the like.

[0038] Further, optionally, the first PRS parameter can also include at least one of a PRS resource type and PRS spatial relationship information. For example, the PRS resource type can include a periodic PRS, a semi-static PRS, or an aperiodic PRS (for example, the PRS resource type of the first PRS parameter indicates an aperiodic PRS), and the PRS spatial relationship information can include beam information of a terminal. For example, it can also include at least one of the index of the synchronization signal and the physical broadcast channel block of a serving cell (serving base station), the index of the synchronization signal and the physical broadcast channel block of an adjacent cell (adjacent base station), the reference signal index of channel state information, the reference signal index of non-zero power channel state information, a channel sounding reference signal resource identifier, and a channel detection reference signal positioning resource identifier.

[0039] At 202, a location management network element transmits the first PRS parameter to the terminal.

[0040] The location management network element can obtain an aperiodic PRS parameter, i.e., the first PRS parameter, and then transmit (indicate) the first PRS parameter to the terminal. The terminal receives the first PRS parameter from the location management network element, and thereby receives the PRS based on the first PRS parameter.

[0041] When the location management network element transmits the first PRS parameter to the terminal, it may transmit the first PRS parameter to the terminal via the serving base station, i.e., transmit the first PRS parameter to the serving base station, and the serving base station transmits the first PRS parameter to the terminal, or the location management network element may directly transmit the first PRS parameter to the terminal, but it is not limited to this application.

[0042] Optionally, when the location management network element obtains the first PRS parameter, it may agree with the base station and decide, or directly request the base station, or obtain the first PRS parameter by other methods, but it is not limited to this application.

[0043] For example, in a possible embodiment, the location management network element may transmit a first message to a base station (at least one base station), and the first message includes a second PRS parameter, for example, the parameters of the proposed aperiodic PRS. Further, the location management network element may receive the first PRS parameter transmitted by the base station, for example, receive the first PRS parameter transmitted by a request response message to obtain the first PRS parameter. Further, the location management network element may transmit the first PRS parameter obtained by the terminal. Optionally, the first PRS parameter and the second PRS parameter may be the same or different.

[0044] Also, for example, in a possible embodiment, the location management network element may send a second message to a base station (at least one base station), and the second message includes first PRS parameters. Further, when the location management network element receives a confirmation message sent by the base station, it can send the first PRS parameters obtained by the terminal.

[0045] Also, for example, in a possible embodiment, the location management network element may send a third message to a base station (at least one base station), and the third message is used to request the first PRS parameters. Further, the location management network element receives the first PRS parameters sent by the base station and obtains the first PRS parameters. Further, the location management network element may send the first PRS parameters obtained by the terminal.

[0046] Optionally, the first PRS parameters include one or more sets of aperiodic PRS parameters, and / or the second PRS parameters include one or more sets of aperiodic PRS parameters. For example, each set of aperiodic PRS parameters corresponds to one PRS. Here, each set of aperiodic PRS parameters includes, for example, PRS frequency resource parameters and / or PRS time resource parameters, etc.

[0047] In a possible embodiment, the location management network element can further obtain periodic PRS parameters and send (indicate) the periodic PRS parameters to the terminal, so that the terminal can perform positioning based on the aperiodic PRS parameters and the periodic PRS parameters. Optionally, the periodic PRS parameters include at least one of a PRS resource type, e.g., periodic PRS, PRS spatial relationship information, and PRS resource configuration information, e.g., time-frequency domain resource parameters. The PRS resource configuration information includes at least one of PRS transmission period information, frequency domain position, etc. Note that the periodic PRS parameters are different from the first PRS parameters, that is, the periodic PRS parameters are different from the aperiodic PRS parameters, and the terminal can determine whether they are periodic PRS parameters or aperiodic PRS parameters based on specific parameter contents. For example, the resource configuration information of the periodic PRS parameters is different from that of the aperiodic PRS parameters. For example, the periodic PRS parameters include PRS transmission period information (e.g., time interval), that is, the time resource parameters of the periodic PRS parameters and the aperiodic PRS parameters are different. Also, for example, the spatial relationship information of the periodic PRS parameters is different from that of the aperiodic PRS parameters. Optionally, the periodic PRS parameters and the aperiodic PRS parameters may be sent to the terminal by different signaling or the same signaling.

[0048] In this embodiment, the location management network element obtains aperiodic PRS parameters and sends them to the terminal, so that the terminal can receive PRS based on the aperiodic PRS parameters, realize positioning, and trigger PRS transmission as needed, thereby improving resource utilization and the flexibility of positioning.

[0049] Referring to FIG. 3, FIG. 3 is a flowchart of an information transmission method in an embodiment of the present application. The method of this embodiment can be applied to the communication system described above and can be specifically applied to the base station described above. As shown in FIG. 3, this method can include the following steps.

[0050] At 301, the base station receives a request message from the location management network element, and the request message is used to request the first PRS parameter, where the first PRS parameter is a parameter of the PRS transmitted periodically.

[0051] Here, the first PRS parameter refers to the above embodiments and the description thereof is omitted herein.

[0052] At 302, the base station transmits a request response message to the location management network element based on the request message, and the request response message is used to indicate the first PRS parameter.

[0053] That is, the location management network element requests the parameter of the PRS transmitted periodically to the base station, that is, requests the information of the first PRS parameter. The base station receives the request message from the location management network element, and thereby indicates the location management network element of the information of the first PRS parameter. Further, the location management network element acquires the first PRS parameter, and thereby realizes positioning based on the first PRS parameter. Optionally, the request response message may indicate or carry one or more sets of aperiodic PRS parameters.

[0054] In a possible embodiment, the request message may be a first message, and the first message may include a second PRS parameter. The base station may transmit the first PRS parameter to the location management network element based on the first message. For example, a request response message is transmitted via the location management network element, and the first PRS parameter is included in the request response message. Optionally, the first PRS parameter and the second PRS parameter may be the same or different.

[0055] In a possible embodiment, the request message is a second message, the second message includes the first PRS parameter, and the request response message may be an acknowledgement message. That is, the location management network element sends a second message to the base station, the base station receives the second message, and if it confirms that it will use the PRS parameter included in the second message, it may send an acknowledgement message back to the location management network element.

[0056] In a possible embodiment, the request message is a third message, that is, the base station sends a request response message to the location management network element based on the third message, and the first PRS parameter is included in the request response message.

[0057] In this embodiment, the base station instructs the location management network element about the information of the aperiodic PRS parameter based on a request message for requesting the aperiodic PRS parameter sent by the location management network element, so that the location management network element can obtain the aperiodic PRS parameter, and positioning can be realized based on this aperiodic PRS parameter, thereby realizing triggering of PRS transmission as needed, thereby improving resource utilization rate and improving the flexibility of location identification.

[0058] Referring to FIG. 4a above FIGS. 2 and 3, FIG. 4a is a schematic diagram of a sequence of an information transmission method in an embodiment of the present application. In this embodiment, the location management network element is taken as the LMF, the base station includes a serving base station and one adjacent base station, the terminal is taken as an example of the UE, and the LMF can send the proposed PRS parameter to each base station, so that the base station returns an aperiodic PRS parameter, that is, the first PRS parameter, based on the proposed PRS parameter, and further, the UE can be instructed about the first PRS parameter. As shown in FIG. 4a, the method may include the following steps.

[0059] At 4101, the LMF sends a first message to the serving base station, and the first message includes PRS parameter 1.

[0060] At 4102, the LMF sends a first message to an adjacent base station, and the first message includes PRS parameter 2.

[0061] The serving base station can receive the first message sent by the LMF, and the adjacent base station can also receive the first message sent by the LMF. The PRS parameter 1 and the PRS parameter 2 are the above-mentioned second PRS parameters. For example, the PRS parameter 1 and the PRS parameter 2 may be parameters of aperiodically transmitted PRS, for example, parameters of aperiodically transmitted PRS proposed by the LMF, or are called proposed PRS flexible trigger parameters.

[0062] Optionally, the first message may be NRPPa signaling. That is, the LMF sends NRPPa signaling to each base station respectively to indicate the PRS parameters proposed for the corresponding base station.

[0063] Note that the execution order of step 4101 and step 4102 is not limited. For example, step 4102 may be executed first and then step 4101, or step 4101 and step 4102 may be executed simultaneously, but it is not limited to the present application.

[0064] At 4103, the serving base station sends a request response message to the LMF, and the request response message includes PRS parameter 3.

[0065] At 4104, the adjacent base station sends a request response message to the LMF, and the request response message includes PRS parameter 4.

[0066] The LMF can receive the PRS parameter 3 transmitted by the serving base station and the PRS parameter 4 transmitted by the adjacent base station. The PRS parameter 3 and the PRS parameter 4 are the above-mentioned first PRS parameters. The PRS parameter 3 and the PRS parameter 4 are parameters of the aperiodically transmitted PRS. For example, based on the PRS proposed by the LMF, the parameters flexibly trigger the parameters of the aperiodically transmitted PRS determined by the parameters.

[0067] Optionally, the PRS parameters corresponding to different base stations may be the same or different. For example, the PRS parameter 1 and the PRS parameter 2 may be different, and the PRS parameter 3 and the PRS parameter 4 may also be different.

[0068] Note that the execution order of step 4102 and step 4103 is not limited. For example, step 4102 may be executed after step 4103, but it is not limited to the present application.

[0069] In 4105, the LMF instructs the UE with the PRS parameter 3 and the PRS parameter 4.

[0070] For example, the first message transmitted from the LMF to the serving base station is on-demand PRS request for serving, the first message transmitted to the adjacent base station is on-demand PRS request for neighbor, the request response message transmitted from the serving base station to the LMF is on-demand PRS response for serving, the request response message transmitted from the adjacent base station to the LMF is on-demand PRS response for neighbor, and the LMF transmits an on-demand PRS indication message to the UE to instruct the PRS parameter 3 and the PRS parameter 4.

[0071] In a possible embodiment, the LMF sends a PRS indication message to the UE, and the PRS indication message is used to indicate the PRS parameter 3 and the PRS parameter 4. For example, according to the correspondence relationship between the predefined PRS parameter and the identifier, the identifier corresponding to the PRS parameter (for example, the identifier corresponding to the PRS parameter 3 and the identifier corresponding to the PRS parameter 4, and also, for example, including the identifier corresponding to both the PRS parameter 3 and the PRS parameter 4) is included in the PRS indication message to indicate to the UE. The UE receives the PRS indication message, and thereby, the UE determines the PRS parameter 3 and the PRS parameter 4 based on the identifier. Or, the LMF may directly send the PRS parameter 3 and the PRS parameter 4 themselves to the UE, and the UE receives the PRS parameter 3 and the PRS parameter 4. Further, positioning can be performed based on the PRS parameter 3 and the PRS parameter 4. The manner in which the LMF indicates the PRS parameter to the UE is not limited to this application.

[0072] In a possible embodiment, the LMF respectively indicates the PRS parameter 3 and the PRS parameter 4 to the UE. For example, after obtaining the PRS parameter 3, the LMF indicates the PRS parameter 3 to the UE, and after obtaining the PRS parameter 4, the LMF indicates the PRS parameter 4 to the UE. Or, in a possible embodiment, after obtaining the PRS parameters returned from each base station, for example, in this embodiment, after obtaining the PRS parameter 3 and the PRS parameter 4, the LMF indicates the PRS parameter 3 and the PRS parameter 4 to the UE via one message.

[0073] Optionally, the serving base station transmits the PRS based on the PRS parameter 3, and the adjacent base station transmits the PRS based on the PRS parameter 4, thereby performing positioning based on the PRS.

[0074] In this embodiment, the LMF transmits the proposed PRS parameters to each base station, and each base station returns the aperiodic PRS parameters based on the proposed PRS parameters, that is, returns the first PRS parameters, and further instructs the UE with the first PRS parameters. Thereby, the terminal receives the PRS based on the aperiodic PRS parameters, realizes positioning, and can trigger PRS transmission as needed, which improves the resource utilization rate, improves the flexibility of positioning, and helps reduce the network power consumption.

[0075] Referring to FIG. 4b above FIGS. 2 and 3, FIG. 4b is a schematic diagram of a sequence of another information transmission method in the embodiment of the present application. In this embodiment, the location management network element is the LMF, the base stations include the serving base station and one adjacent base station, the terminal is the UE, the LMF transmits the aperiodic PRS parameters via each base station, and after receiving the confirmation message from the base station, instructs the UE with the aperiodic PRS parameters. As shown in FIG. 4b, the method includes the following steps.

[0076] At 4201, the LMF transmits a second message to the serving base station, and the first message includes PRS parameter 1.

[0077] At 4202, the LMF transmits a second message to the adjacent base station, and the first message includes PRS parameter 2.

[0078] The serving base station can receive the second message transmitted by the LMF, and the adjacent base station can also receive the second message transmitted by the LMF. Note that the PRS parameter 1 and the PRS parameter 2 are the above-mentioned first PRS parameters, or the PRS parameter 1 and the PRS parameter 2 are the above-mentioned second PRS parameters, the second PRS parameter and the first PRS parameter are the same, or the second PRS parameter is used as the first PRS parameter. The PRS parameter 1 and the PRS parameter 2 are the parameters of the aperiodically transmitted PRS.

[0079] Optionally, the second message may be NRPPa signaling, i.e., the LMF transmits NRPPa signaling to each base station respectively to instruct the PRS parameters proposed for the corresponding base station. Further optionally, the PRS parameters corresponding to different base stations may be the same or different. For example, the PRS parameter 1 and the PRS parameter 2 may be different.

[0080] Note that the execution order of step 4201 and step 4202 is not limited. For example, step 4202 may be executed first and then step 4201, or step 4201 and step 4202 may be executed simultaneously, but it is not limited to the present application.

[0081] In 4203, the serving base station sends a confirmation message to the LMF.

[0082] In 4204, the adjacent base station sends a confirmation message to the LMF.

[0083] When the base station confirmation uses the PRS parameters instructed by the LMF, it may return a confirmation message, such as an ACK. In this embodiment, it is assumed that both the serving base station and the adjacent base station have returned a confirmation message to the LMF. The LMF can receive the confirmation message sent by the serving base station and the confirmation message sent by the adjacent base station.

[0084] Note that the execution order of step 4202 and step 4203 is not limited. For example, step 4203 may be executed first and then step 4202, but it is not limited to the present application.

[0085] In 4205, the LMF instructs the UE with the PRS parameter 1 and the PRS parameter 2.

[0086] In a possible embodiment, the LMF may respectively instruct the UE with PRS parameter 1 and PRS parameter 2, and after obtaining PRS parameter 1 and PRS parameter 2, may instruct the UE with the PRS parameter 1 and PRS parameter 2 via one message. Optionally, the LMF may send a PRS indication message to the UE to instruct the PRS parameter 1 and / or PRS parameter 2. The manner in which the LMF instructs the UE with the PRS parameter refers to the above embodiments and the description is omitted here.

[0087] Note that in some embodiments, some base stations may send a confirmation message to the LMF, and some base stations may send the finally determined PRS parameters to the LMF, but it is not limited to this application. For example, the serving base station sends a confirmation message to the LMF, and the adjacent base station sends the finally determined PRS parameters to the LMF. The LMF may use the PRS parameters sent to the serving base station as the PRS parameters to be instructed to the UE based on the confirmation message returned from the serving base station, and may also use the PRS parameters returned from the adjacent base station as the PRS parameters to be instructed to the UE.

[0088] In a possible embodiment, if the base station (serving base station or adjacent base station) confirms that it will not use the PRS parameters instructed by the LMF, it may return a negative message, for example, NACK, to the LMF, or may not return anything. Optionally, if the LMF receives the negative message sent by the base station or does not receive any reply within the scheduled period, it may retransmit new PRS parameters to the base station. The new PRS parameters are also the parameters of the PRS transmitted aperiodically, thereby determining the PRS parameters used by the base station. Or, if the base station confirms that it will not use the PRS parameters instructed by the LMF, it may instruct the LMF with other PRS parameters transmitted aperiodically, and the LMF may send the instructed PRS parameters to the UE.

[0089] Optionally, the serving base station transmits PRS based on PRS parameter 1, and the neighboring base stations transmit PRS based on PRS parameter 2, thereby realizing positioning based on PRS.

[0090] In this embodiment, the LMF transmits the aperiodic PRS parameter to each base station, and each base station confirms and, when receiving the confirmation message returned based on the aperiodic PRS parameter, instructs the UE of the aperiodic PRS parameter, so that the terminal receives PRS based on the aperiodic PRS parameter to realize positioning, thereby triggering PRS transmission as needed, improving the resource utilization rate, improving the flexibility of positioning, and helping to reduce the network power consumption.

[0091] Referring to FIG. 4c above FIGS. 2 and 3, FIG. 4c is a schematic diagram of a sequence of another information transmission method in the embodiment of the present application. In this embodiment, the location management network element is the LMF, the base stations include a serving base station and one neighboring base station, the terminal is the UE, the LMF requests the aperiodic PRS parameter by transmitting a message to each base station, the base station can return the aperiodic PRS parameter, and further can instruct the UE of the aperiodic PRS parameter. As shown in FIG. 4c, the method can include the following steps.

[0092] At 4301, the LMF transmits a third message to the serving base station, and the third message is used to request the aperiodic PRS parameter.

[0093] At 4302, the LMF transmits a third message to the neighboring base station, and the third message is used to request the aperiodic PRS parameter.

[0094] The LMF instructs the flexible trigger of the PRS in the third message or requests the PRS flexible trigger parameter. The serving base station receives the third message sent by the LMF, or the adjacent base station receives the third message sent by the LMF.

[0095] Optionally, the third message may be NRPPa signaling, that is, the LMF sends NRPPa signaling to each base station respectively to request the aperiodic PRS parameters for the corresponding base station.

[0096] Note that the execution order of step 4301 and step 4302 is not limited. For example, step 4302 may be executed first and then step 4301, or step 4301 and step 4302 may be executed simultaneously, but it is not limited to this application.

[0097] In 4303, the serving base station sends a request response message to the LMF, and the request response message includes PRS parameter 1.

[0098] In 4304, the adjacent base station sends a request response message to the LMF, and the request response message includes PRS parameter 2.

[0099] The LMF may receive PRS parameter 1 sent by the serving base station and PRS parameter 2 sent by the adjacent base station. The PRS parameter 1 and the PRS parameter 2 are the above-mentioned first PRS parameters. The PRS parameter 1 and the PRS parameter 2 are aperiodic PRS parameters.

[0100] Furthermore, optionally, the PRS parameters corresponding to different base stations may be the same or different. For example, the PRS parameter 1 and the PRS parameter are different.

[0101] Note that the execution order of step 4302 and step 4303 is not limited. For example, step 4302 may be executed after step 4303, but it is not limited to the present application.

[0102] In 4305, the LMF instructs the UE with PRS parameter 1 and PRS parameter 2.

[0103] Optionally, the LMF may respectively instruct the UE with PRS parameter 1 and PRS parameter 2, or may instruct the UE with the PRS parameter 1 and PRS parameter 2 via one message after obtaining the PRS parameter 1 and PRS parameter 2. The LMF may send a PRS indication message to the UE to instruct the PRS parameter 1 and / or PRS parameter 2. The manner in which the LMF instructs the UE with the PRS parameter refers to the above embodiments and the description is omitted here.

[0104] Optionally, the serving base station may transmit PRS based on PRS parameter 1, and the adjacent base station may transmit PRS based on PRS parameter 2, thereby realizing positioning based on PRS.

[0105] In this embodiment, the LMF sends a message to each base station to request the aperiodic PRS parameter, receives the aperiodic PRS parameter from the base station, and further instructs the UE with the aperiodic PRS parameter. Thereby, the terminal receives PRS based on the aperiodic PRS parameter to realize positioning, and thereby can trigger PRS transmission as needed, which improves the resource utilization rate, improves the flexibility of positioning, and helps reduce the network power consumption.

[0106] Referring to FIG. 5, FIG. 5 is a schematic diagram of the sequence of another information transmission method in the embodiment of the present application. The method of this embodiment is applied to the above communication system. As shown in FIG. 5, the method includes the following steps: In 501, the location management network element transmits a PRS trigger instruction to at least one base station.

[0107] Here, the PRS trigger instruction instructs the base station to transmit PRS, or the PRS trigger instruction is used to trigger the transmission of PRS, or the PRS trigger instruction triggers the base station to transmit PRS. Optionally, the PRS may be aperiodically transmitted PRS.

[0108] Optionally, the PRS trigger instruction can include any one or more of PRS resource type, PRS spatial relationship information, and PRS resource configuration information. For example, the PRS resource type can include periodic PRS, semi-static PRS, or aperiodic PRS, the PRS spatial relationship information can include UE beam information, for example, the index of the synchronization signal and physical broadcast channel block of the serving cell (serving base station) (e.g., SSB-index serving), the index of the synchronization signal and physical broadcast channel block of the adjacent cell (adjacent base station) (SSB-index), the reference signal index of the channel state information (channel state reference signal resource index serving, csi-RS-index serving), the reference signal index of the non-zero power channel state information (non-zero power channel state reference signal resource Id, NZP-CSI-RS-resource Id), the channel detection reference signal resource identifier (SRS-resource Id), the channel detection reference signal positioning resource identifier (SRS-positioning resource Id), and can include any one or more of them, and the PRS resource configuration information can include any one or more of the periodic information for transmitting PRS, frequency domain position, resource transmission combo, transmission cycle shift, start position of the transmission resource, number of symbols occupied by the resource, repetition factor, etc.

[0109] At 502, the base station transmits the PRS based on the PRS trigger instruction.

[0110] Optionally, the base station can receive a PRS trigger instruction sent by a location management network element and can further transmit the PRS based on this PRS trigger instruction. Further, optionally, the transmission of the PRS may be immediate, and the PRS can be transmitted upon receiving the PRS trigger instruction, or the base station may wait for a predetermined time (e.g., 10 seconds) after receiving the PRS trigger instruction and then transmit the PRS according to a set rule.

[0111] Note that in some embodiments, the base station may not transmit the PRS after receiving the PRS trigger instruction. For example, when the base station detects that the time interval of periodic PRS transmission is less than a time threshold (e.g., 5 seconds), it can ignore this PRS trigger instruction and wait for the arrival of the periodic PRS transmission time before transmitting the PRS, thereby saving system overhead.

[0112] Optionally, when transmitting the PRS, the base station may transmit one PRS or may transmit a plurality of (two or more) PRSs. The PRS parameters corresponding to the plurality of PRSs may be the same or different.

[0113] In a possible embodiment, the terminal may send a PRS trigger request to the location management network element, and the location management network element receives the PRS trigger request from the terminal, and the PRS trigger request is used to request the transmission of PRS. Then, based on the PRS trigger request, the location management network element sends a PRS trigger instruction to at least one base station. For example, after receiving the PRS trigger request, it may send a PRS trigger instruction to at least one base station. Optionally, the terminal may report a PRS trigger request when there is a positioning request, or the terminal may report a PRS trigger request when it determines that the quality of the periodic PRS is poor (lower than the quality threshold), but it is not limited to this application.

[0114] In a possible embodiment, the location management network element may receive a PRS trigger request from the base station. Based on the PRS trigger request, the location management network element can send a PRS trigger instruction to at least one base station. Optionally, the base station is a serving base station, the PRS trigger request is sent from the terminal to the serving base station and then from the serving base station to the location management network element, or the PRS trigger request is initiated by the base station and directly sent from the base station to the location management network element, but it is not limited to this application.

[0115] Optionally, the PRS trigger request includes at least one of a PRS resource type, PRS spatial relationship information, and PRS resource configuration information. Details of the PRS resource type, PRS spatial relationship information, and PRS resource configuration information refer to the above content and will not be described here.

[0116] In a possible embodiment, the at least one base station does not include a serving base station. For example, the serving base station receives a PRS trigger request from a terminal, and further directly transmits a PRS based on the PRS trigger request. The location management network element transmits a PRS trigger instruction to another base station, such as an adjacent base station, thereby triggering the adjacent base station to transmit a PRS, and does not transmit a PRS trigger instruction to the serving base station. Also, for example, the serving base station receives a PRS trigger request from a terminal and transmits a PRS based on the PRS trigger request. The location management network element may transmit a PRS trigger instruction to all base stations including the serving base station (for example, the serving base station and adjacent base stations). After other base stations other than the serving base station receive the PRS trigger instruction, they may transmit a PRS. When the serving base station transmits a PRS based on a PRS trigger request, it may not retransmit the PRS.

[0117] In a possible embodiment, after transmitting a PRS, the base station returns a response message to the location management network element to indicate the transmission of the PRS.

[0118] In a possible embodiment, the location management network element transmits a notification message to the terminal, and the terminal receives the notification message from the location management network element. The notification message is used to indicate the transmission of a PRS. For example, after receiving a response message returned from a base station, the location management network element transmits a notification message to the terminal, thereby enabling the terminal to receive a PRS in real time. This improves the reliability of PRS reception. Optionally, the notification message may include an aperiodic PRS parameter. For example, the aperiodic PRS parameter may be some or all of the parameters included in a PRS trigger instruction or a PRS trigger request, or the aperiodic PRS parameter may be determined in other ways. Specifically, refer to the embodiments of the present application, and the description is omitted here.

[0119] In a possible embodiment, the base station transmits periodic PRS according to periodic PRS parameters, and the terminal receives the periodic PRS and the aperiodic PRS triggered by the above-mentioned location management network element respectively. Thereby, the terminal realizes positioning based on the periodic PRS and the aperiodic PRS. Here, the periodic PRS parameters and the aperiodic PRS parameters may be different. For example, the periodic PRS parameters and the parameters included in the above-mentioned PRS trigger instruction are different. Also, for example, the periodic PRS parameters and the parameters included in the above-mentioned PRS trigger request are different. Specifically, resource configuration information, for example, time resource parameters are different and / or spatial relationship information is different, which will not be elaborated here. Optionally, the periodic PRS parameters may be transmitted from the location management network element to the base station, may be defined by a protocol, agreed upon by the base station and the location management network element, or determined in other ways, and is not limited to this application.

[0120] In this embodiment, the location management network element can realize flexibly triggering the base station to transmit PRS by transmitting a PRS trigger instruction to at least one base station, and further realize flexibly triggering PRS transmission as needed by realizing positioning based on this PRS, thereby improving resource utilization rate and improving the flexibility of positioning.

[0121] Referring to FIG. 6, FIG. 6 is a flowchart of an information transmission method in an embodiment of this application. The method of this embodiment can be applied to the above-mentioned communication system and specifically applied to the above-mentioned location management network element. As shown in FIG. 6, this method can include the following steps.

[0122] In 601, the base station receives a PRS trigger message.

[0123] Here, the PRS trigger message can be used to trigger the transmission of the PRS, or can be used to instruct the base station to transmit the PRS, or the PRS trigger instruction can be used to trigger the base station to transmit the PRS. Optionally, the PRS may be a PRS transmitted periodically, i.e., an aperiodic PRS.

[0124] In 602, the base station transmits the PRS based on the PRS trigger message.

[0125] Optionally, when transmitting the PRS, the base station may transmit one PRS or may transmit a plurality of (two or more) PRSs. The PRS parameters corresponding to the plurality of PRSs may be the same or different, and are not limited to the present application.

[0126] In a possible embodiment, the PRS trigger message may be a PRS trigger instruction. For example, the base station receives a PRS trigger instruction from a location management network element and further transmits the PRS based on the PRS trigger instruction. Specifically, refer to the embodiment of FIG. 5, and the description is omitted here.

[0127] In a possible embodiment, the PRS trigger message may be a PRS trigger request. For example, the base station transmits a PRS trigger request to a location management network element, and the base station can receive a PRS trigger request from the terminal. For example, the terminal transmits a PRS trigger request to the base station, the base station receives a PRS trigger request from the terminal, and further transmits the PRS based on the PRS trigger request.

[0128] In a possible embodiment, the PRS trigger message may include a PRS trigger instruction and a PRS trigger request. For example, the terminal sends a PRS trigger request to the base station, the base station receives the PRS trigger request from the terminal, sends it to the location management network element, the location management network element sends a PRS trigger instruction to the base station, and further, a PRS is sent based on the PRS trigger instruction.

[0129] In a possible embodiment, the base station sends a periodic PRS according to the periodic PRS parameters, the terminal receives the periodic PRS and the aperiodic PRS triggered by the above-mentioned location management network element respectively, and realizes positioning based on the periodic PRS and the aperiodic PRS, and the description is omitted here.

[0130] In this embodiment, the base station can send a PRS based on the received PRS trigger message, realizes flexible triggering of the base station to send a PRS, further realizes positioning based on this PRS, and can realize flexible triggering of PRS transmission as needed, thereby improving resource utilization and improving the flexibility of positioning.

[0131] Referring to FIG. 7a on FIGS. 5 and 6, FIG. 7a is a schematic diagram of a sequence of another information transmission method in the embodiment of the present application. In this embodiment, the location management network element is taken as the LMF, the base station includes a serving base station and one adjacent base station, the terminal is taken as the UE, and the UE can trigger the LMF to send a PRS trigger instruction to each base station and the base station to send a PRS by sending a PRS trigger request to the LMF. As shown in FIG. 7a, the method may include the following steps.

[0132] 7101. The UE sends a PRS trigger request to the LMF.

[0133] In a possible embodiment, the UE directly sends a PRS trigger request to the LMF, or the UE sends a PRS trigger request to a base station, e.g., a serving base station, and the serving base station sends the PRS trigger request to the LMF. The LMF may receive the PRS trigger request sent by the UE, or may receive the PRS trigger request sent by a base station, e.g., a serving base station.

[0134] Optionally, the PRS trigger request includes at least one of a PRS resource type, PRS spatial relation information, and PRS resource configuration information. For example, in a scenario where the UE directly sends a PRS trigger request to the LMF, the above information can be included in the PRS trigger request. Also, for example, in a scenario where the UE sends a PRS trigger request to a base station and the base station sends the PRS trigger request to the LMF, the above information is included in the PRS trigger request sent from the UE to the base station and the PRS trigger request sent from the base station to the LMF, or the information is included only in the PRS trigger request sent from the base station to the LMF, which is not limited to this application. Here, for details of the PRS resource type, PRS spatial relation information, and PRS resource configuration information, refer to the above embodiments and the description is omitted here.

[0135] In a possible embodiment, the terminal can send a PRS trigger request when there is a positioning requirement, or the terminal can send a PRS trigger request when it detects that the quality of the periodic PRS is poor (e.g., lower than a quality threshold).

[0136] In 7102, the LMF sends a PRS trigger instruction to the serving base station.

[0137] In 7103, the LMF sends a PRS trigger instruction to an adjacent base station.

[0138] After receiving the PRS trigger request, the LMF can send a PRS trigger instruction to each base station corresponding to the UE. For example, the PRS trigger instruction may be NRPPa signaling, and the LMF can send NRPPa signaling to each base station respectively to instruct the corresponding base station to send PRS.

[0139] Optionally, the PRS trigger instruction includes at least one of a PRS resource type, PRS spatial relationship information, PRS resource configuration information, etc., which will be omitted here. Note that the parameters included in the PRS trigger instructions sent from the LMF to each base station may be different. For example, the information included in the PRS trigger instruction sent to the serving base station may be different from the information included in the PRS trigger instruction sent to the adjacent base station. For example, both pieces of PRS resource configuration information are different.

[0140] In a possible embodiment, after receiving the PRS trigger instruction, the base station may return a response message to the LMF. For example, the serving base station sends a response message to the LMF, and the adjacent base station sends a response message to the LMF.

[0141] Note that the execution order of step 7102 and step 7103 is not limited. For example, step 7103 may be executed first and then step 7102, or step 7102 and step 7103 may be executed simultaneously, but it is not limited to the present application.

[0142] In 7104, the serving base station sends PRS.

[0143] In 7105, the adjacent base station sends PRS.

[0144] Optionally, after receiving the PRS trigger instruction, the serving base station may send PRS, and after receiving the PRS trigger instruction, the adjacent base station may also send PRS. The PRS may be an aperiodic PRS.

[0145] In a possible embodiment, when the UE reports a PRS trigger request to the serving base station, the LMF does not send a PRS trigger instruction to the serving base station, but sends a PRS trigger instruction to another base station, for example, an adjacent base station, to trigger the adjacent base station to send a PRS. The serving base station may directly send a PRS based on the PRS trigger request from the UE.

[0146] In a possible embodiment, when the base station sends a PRS, it may send a preset PRS, or may determine the PRS based on the information included in the PRS trigger instruction and then send the PRS, which is not limited to the present application. For example, the serving base station and the adjacent base station may each determine the PRS based on the information included in the received PRS trigger instruction and send the PRS.

[0147] Optionally, the LMF may send one PRS trigger instruction to each base station, or may send multiple PRS trigger instructions, and the parameters included in each PRS trigger instruction may be different. Further, the base station may send one or more PRSs based on the PRS trigger instruction sent by the LMF. For example, when the LMF sends one PRS trigger instruction to the serving base station, the serving base station sends one PRS based on the PRS trigger instruction. For example, when the LMF sends multiple PRS trigger instructions to the adjacent base station, the adjacent base station may send one or more PRSs based on the multiple PRS trigger instructions.

[0148] In a possible embodiment, after the serving base station and the adjacent base station send a PRS, they may return a response message to the LMF to indicate the transmission of the PRS.

[0149] Note that the execution order of step 7103 and step 7104 is not limited. For example, step 7104 may be executed first and then step 7103, which is not limited to the present application.

[0150] In this embodiment, the UE can trigger the base stations to transmit PRS by sending a PRS trigger request to the LMF, so that each LMF sends a PRS trigger instruction to each base station, thereby enabling the base stations to transmit PRS, enabling positioning based on the PRS, and flexibly triggering PRS transmission as needed, thereby improving resource utilization and positioning flexibility.

[0151] Referring to FIG. 7b, FIG. 7b is a schematic diagram of the sequence of another information transmission method in the embodiment of the present application. In this embodiment, the location management network element is the LMF, the base stations include the serving base station and one adjacent base station, the terminal is the UE, and the LMF sends a PRS trigger instruction to each base station to instruct the base stations to transmit PRS, and sends a notification message to the UE to instruct the UE to transmit the PRS. As shown in FIG. 7b, the method includes the following steps.

[0152] 7201. The LMF sends a PRS trigger instruction to the serving base station.

[0153] 7202. The LMF sends a PRS trigger instruction to the adjacent base station.

[0154] The LMF sends a PRS trigger instruction to each base station respectively to instruct each base station to transmit PRS. Optionally, the LMF may send a trigger instruction to each base station when the UE needs to perform positioning. For example, the LMF may send a trigger instruction to each base station when receiving a UE location acquisition request from a third party.

[0155] Optionally, the PRS trigger instruction includes at least one of a PRS resource type, PRS spatial relationship information, PRS resource configuration information, etc., which will not be elaborated here.

[0156] Furthermore, optionally, the LMF may send one PRS trigger instruction to each base station, or may send multiple PRS trigger instructions, which will not be elaborated here.

[0157] Note that the execution order of step 7201 and step 7202 is not limited. For example, step 7201 may be executed after step 7202, or step 7201 and step 7202 may be executed simultaneously, but it is not limited to the present application.

[0158] In 7203, the serving base station transmits a PRS.

[0159] In 7204, the adjacent base station transmits a PRS.

[0160] Optionally, after receiving a PRS trigger instruction, the serving base station may transmit a PRS, and the adjacent base station may also transmit a PRS after receiving the PRS trigger instruction. The PRS may be an aperiodic PRS.

[0161] In a possible embodiment, when the base station transmits a PRS, it may transmit a preset PRS, or it may transmit a PRS after determining the PRS based on the information included in the PRS trigger instruction, but the description is omitted here.

[0162] In 7205, the serving base station transmits a response message to the LMF.

[0163] In 7206, the adjacent base station transmits a response message to the LMF.

[0164] Optionally, after transmitting a PRS, the serving base station and the adjacent base station return a response message to the LMF to indicate the transmission of the PRS. Or, after receiving a PRS trigger instruction, the serving base station and the adjacent base station may return a response message to the LMF.

[0165] Note that the magnitudes of the numbers of the above-described processes do not mean to limit the priority of the execution order. For example, step 7203 may be executed after step 7202, and for another example, step 7203 may be executed after step 7205, which are not listed here.

[0166] In 7207, the LMF sends a notification message to the UE.

[0167] For example, the PRS trigger instruction sent from the LMF to the serving base station is on-demand PRS trigger for serving, the first message sent to the adjacent base station is on-demand PRS trigger for neighbor, the response message sent from the serving base station to the LMF is on-demand PRS trigger response for serving, the request response message sent from the adjacent base station to the LMF is on-demand PRS trigger response for neighbor, and the notification message sent from the LMF to the UE is on-demand PRS indication.

[0168] For example, after sending the PRS trigger instruction to the serving base station and the adjacent base station, the serving base station may send a notification message to the UE. Also, for another example, after receiving the response messages returned from the serving base station and the adjacent base station, the LMF may send a notification message to the UE to instruct the transmission of the PRS. Thereby, the UE can receive the PRS in real time and further improve the reliability of the PRS reception.

[0169] In this embodiment, the LMF sends a PRS trigger instruction to each base station so that the base station transmits a PRS, and after receiving the response message returned from the base station, it sends a notification message to notify the UE to transmit the PRS. The UE can receive the PRS in a timely manner and perform positioning based on this PRS, so that the PRS transmission can be flexibly triggered based on demand. This can improve the resource utilization rate, improve the positioning flexibility, and also help reduce the power consumption of the system.

[0170] Note that the schemes shown in FIGS. 5 to 7b may be combined with the schemes shown in FIGS. 2 to 4c. For example, after the location management network element obtains the first PRS parameter, in order to trigger the base station to transmit the PRS according to the first PRS parameter, a PRS trigger instruction can be sent to at least one base station, and the description is omitted here.

[0171] Note that all the above-described method embodiments are examples of the information transmission method of the present application. Each embodiment description focuses on its own aspects. If there are no detailed parts in a certain embodiment, the related descriptions of other embodiments can be referred to.

[0172] Referring to FIG. 8, it is a schematic diagram of the configuration of the location management network element in the embodiment of the present application. As shown in FIG. 8, the location management network element 800 may include a processor 810, a memory 820, a communication interface 830, and one or more programs 821 stored in the memory 820 and executed by the processor 810. For example, the program may include instructions for performing the following steps.

[0173] Obtain the first positioning reference signal PRS parameter, where the first PRS parameter is the parameter of the PRS transmitted periodically. Transmit the first PRS parameter to the terminal via the communication interface 830.

[0174] Optionally, the program includes instructions to perform the following steps: Transmit a first message to a base station via a communication interface 830, the first message including second PRS parameters; When acquiring the first PRS parameters, the instructions of the program perform the following operations: Receive the first PRS parameters transmitted by the base station via the communication interface 830.

[0175] Optionally, the program includes instructions to perform the following steps: Transmit a second message to a base station via a communication interface 830, the second message including first PRS parameters; Receive an acknowledgment message transmitted by the base station via the communication interface 830.

[0176] Optionally, the program includes instructions to perform the following steps: Transmit a third message to a base station via a communication interface 830, the third message being used to request first PRS parameters; When acquiring the first PRS parameters, the instructions of the program specifically perform the following operations: Receive the first PRS parameters transmitted by the base station via the communication interface 830.

[0177] Optionally, the first PRS parameters are different from the parameters of the PRS transmitted periodically.

[0178] Optionally, the first PRS parameters include at least one of a PRS frequency resource parameter and a PRS time resource parameter including the active time of the PRS.

[0179] And / or, the program includes instructions to perform the following steps: Send a positioning reference signal PRS trigger instruction to at least one base station, and the PRS trigger instruction is used to instruct the base station to transmit PRS.

[0180] Optionally, the program includes instructions to perform the following steps. Receive a PRS trigger request from a terminal via a communication interface 830, and the PRS trigger request is used to request the transmission of PRS. When sending the PRS trigger instruction to the at least one base station, the instructions of the program specifically perform the following operations. Based on the PRS trigger request, send the PRS trigger instruction to the at least one base station via the communication interface 830. Optionally, the program includes instructions to perform the following steps. Receive a PRS trigger request sent by a base station via a communication interface 830. When sending the PRS trigger instruction to the at least one base station, the instructions of the program specifically perform the following operations. Based on the PRS trigger request, send the PRS trigger instruction to the at least one base station via the communication interface 830.

[0181] Optionally, the base station is the serving base station of the terminal, and the PRS trigger request is sent from the terminal to the serving base station.

[0182] Optionally, the at least one base station does not include the serving base station.

[0183] Optionally, the PRS trigger request includes at least one of a PRS resource type, PRS spatial relationship information, and PRS resource configuration information.

[0184] Optionally, the PRS trigger indication includes at least one of a PRS resource type, PRS spatial relationship information, and PRS resource configuration information.

[0185] Optionally, the program includes instructions to perform the following steps: Send a notification message to the terminal via the communication interface 830, where the notification message is used to instruct the terminal to transmit the PRS.

[0186] Optionally, the program includes instructions to perform the following steps: Receive a response message sent by the at least one base station via the communication interface 830, where the response message is used to instruct the transmission of the PRS. When sending a notification message to the terminal, the instructions of the program specifically perform the following operations: Based on the response message, send a notification message to the terminal via the communication interface 830.

[0187] Optionally, the PRS is a PRS that is transmitted aperiodically.

[0188] Optionally, the aperiodically transmitted PRS is different from the periodically transmitted PRS.

[0189] Referring to FIG. 9, it is a configuration diagram of a base station in an embodiment of the present application. As shown in FIG. 9, the base station 900 may include a processor 910, a memory 920, a communication interface 930, and one or more programs 921 stored in the memory 920 and executed by the processor 910. For example, the program includes instructions for performing the following steps: Receive a request message from a location management network element via the communication interface 930, where the request message is used to request a first PRS parameter, and the first PRS parameter is a parameter of a PRS transmitted aperiodically. Based on the request message, a request response message is sent to the location management network element via the communication interface 930, and the request response message is used to indicate the first PRS parameter.

[0190] Optionally, when the request message is a first message, the first message includes a second PRS parameter, and when sending a request response message to the location management network element based on the request message, the instructions of the program specifically perform the following operations: Based on the first message, a request response message is sent to the location management network element via the communication interface 930, and the request response message includes the first PRS parameter.

[0191] Optionally, the request message is a second message, the second message includes the first PRS parameter, and the request response message is a confirmation message.

[0192] Optionally, when the request message is a third message, and when sending a request response message to the location management network element based on the request message, the instructions of the program specifically perform the following operations: Based on the third message, a request response message is sent to the location management network element via the communication interface 930, and the request response message includes the first PRS parameter.

[0193] Optionally, the first PRS parameter is different from the parameters of the PRS transmitted periodically.

[0194] Optionally, the first PRS parameter includes at least one of a PRS frequency resource parameter and a PRS time resource parameter including the PRS expiration time.

[0195] and / or, including instructions for the program to execute the following steps: Receive a positioning reference signal (PRS) trigger message via communication interface 930, where the PRS trigger message is used to trigger the transmission of the PRS. Transmit the PRS via communication interface 930 based on the PRS trigger message.

[0196] Optionally, if the PRS trigger message is a PRS trigger instruction, when receiving the PRS trigger message, the instructions of the program specifically perform the following operations: Receive a PRS trigger instruction from a location management network element via communication interface 930.

[0197] Optionally, if the PRS trigger message is a PRS trigger request, and the base station is the serving base station of the terminal, when receiving the PRS trigger message, the instructions of the program specifically perform the following operations: Receive a PRS trigger request from the terminal via communication interface 930.

[0198] Optionally, the program includes instructions for performing the following steps: Transmit a response message to the location management network element via communication interface 930, where the response message is used to instruct the transmission of the PRS.

[0199] Optionally, the PRS is aperiodically transmitted PRS.

[0200] Optionally, the aperiodically transmitted PRS is different from the periodically transmitted PRS.

[0201] Optionally, the PRS trigger message includes at least one of PRS resource type, PRS spatial relationship information, and PRS resource configuration information.

[0202] Referring to FIG. 10, it is a configuration diagram of a terminal in an embodiment of the present application. As shown in FIG. 10, the terminal 1000 can include a processor 1010, a memory 1020, a communication interface 1030, and one or more programs 1021 stored in the memory 1020 and executed by the processor 1010. For example, the program can include instructions for performing the following steps.

[0203] Receive a first PRS parameter from a location management network element via the communication interface 1030, where the first PRS parameter is a parameter of a PRS transmitted aperiodically.

[0204] Optionally, the first PRS parameter is different from the parameter of a PRS transmitted periodically.

[0205] Optionally, the first PRS parameter includes at least one of a frequency resource parameter of the PRS and a time resource parameter of the PRS including the valid time of the PRS.

[0206] And / or, the program includes instructions for performing the following steps, Send a positioning reference signal PRS trigger request to a location management network element via the communication interface 1030, where the PRS trigger request is used to request the transmission of a PRS.

[0207] Optionally, the PRS is a PRS transmitted aperiodically.

[0208] Optionally, the PRS transmitted aperiodically is different from the PRS transmitted periodically.

[0209] Optionally, the PRS trigger request includes at least one of a PRS resource type, PRS spatial relationship information, and PRS resource configuration information.

[0210] And / or, the program includes instructions for performing the following steps: Receiving a notification message from the location management network element via the communication interface 1030, the notification message being used to instruct the transmission of the PRS.

[0211] Optionally, the PRS is a PRS that is transmitted periodically.

[0212] Optionally, the periodically transmitted PRS is different from the periodically transmitted PRS.

[0213] Optionally, the PRS trigger request includes at least one of a PRS resource type, PRS spatial relationship information, and PRS resource configuration information.

[0214] In this application, the processor may be a central processing unit (abbreviation: CPU), a general-purpose processor, a digital signal processor (abbreviation: DSP), an application-specific integrated circuit (abbreviation: ASIC), a field programmable gate array (abbreviation: FPGA), or other programmable logic devices, transistor logic devices, hardware components, or any combination thereof. The processor may be a combination that implements a computing function, including a combination of one or more microprocessors, a combination of a DSP and a microprocessor, etc. The communication interface can include an independent receiver and transmitter for receiving signals via the receiver and transmitting signals via the transmitter, or, although the present application is not limited, the receiver and transmitter may be integrated to receive and transmit signals via the communication interface. It can be understood that the processor can be used to control and manage the operations of devices such as core network elements, base stations, and terminals, and the communication interface can execute a communication function to support communication with other devices.

[0215] In the above, mainly, the embodiments of this application were introduced from the interaction of each network element. The terminal and the network device include a hardware structure and / or software module for executing their respective functions to realize the above functions. The embodiments of this application can perform a classification of functional elements for the location management network element, the base station, and the terminal according to the examples of the above methods. For example, each functional element may be classified corresponding to each function, or two or more functions may be integrated into one processing element. The above integrated unit may be realized in the form of hardware or in the form of a software program module. It should be noted that the cell division in the embodiments of this application is schematic and is merely a logical function division, and there may be other division methods when actually realized.

[0216] Referring to FIG. 11, FIG. 11 shows another possible configuration diagram of the location management network element according to the above-described embodiment. Referring to FIG. 11, the location management network element 1100 can include a processing unit 1101 and a communication unit 1102. Here, these units can perform the corresponding functions of the terminal in the above-described method example. For example, the processing unit 1101 can be used to control and manage the operation of the location management network element. The communication unit 1102 can be used to support communication between the location management network element and other devices, such as communication with the terminal and the base station. Optionally, the location management network element can also include a storage unit 1103 for storing the program code and data of the network device.

[0217] Here, the processing unit 1101 can be, for example, a Central Processing Unit (CPU), a general-purpose processor, a Digital Signal Processor (DSP), an Application-Specific Integrated Circuit (ASIC), a Field Programmable Gate Array (FPGA), or other programmable logic devices, transistor logic devices, hardware components, or any combination thereof. This can implement or execute various exemplary logic blocks, modules, and circuits described in connection with the disclosure of this specification. The processor can be a combination implementing a computing function, including a combination of one or more microprocessors, a combination of a DSP and a microprocessor, etc. The communication unit 1102 can be a communication interface, a transceiver, a transceiver circuit, a radio frequency chip, etc., and the storage unit 1103 can be a memory.

[0218] When the processing unit 1101 is a processor, the communication unit 1102 is a communication interface, and the storage unit 1103 is a memory, the location management network element according to the embodiment of the present application may be the location management network element shown in FIG. 8.

[0219] Optionally, the location management network element can implement some or all of the steps executed by the location management network element in the method in the embodiments shown in FIGS. 2 to 7b above by the above units. It should be noted that the embodiments of the present application are device embodiments corresponding to the method embodiments, and the description of the method embodiments is also applicable to the embodiments of the present application, and the description is omitted here.

[0220] Referring to FIG. 12, FIG. 12 shows another possible configuration diagram of the base station according to the above embodiment. Referring to FIG. 12, the base station 1200 can include a processing unit 1201 and a communication unit 1202. Here, these units can execute the corresponding functions of the base station in the example of the above method. For example, the processing unit 1201 is used to control and manage the operation of the base station. The communication unit 1202 can be used to support communication between the base station and other devices, such as communication with terminals and location management network elements. The base station can also include a storage unit 1203 that can be used to store the program code and data of the base station.

[0221] Here, the processing unit 1201 may be a processor or a controller, the communication unit 1202 may be a communication interface, a transceiver, a transceiver circuit, a radio frequency chip, etc., and the storage unit 1203 may be a memory.

[0222] When the processing unit 1201 is a processor, the communication unit 1202 is a communication interface, and the storage unit 1203 is a memory, the base station according to the embodiment of the present application may be the base station shown in FIG. 9.

[0223] Optionally, the base station can, via the units described above, implement some or all of the steps performed by the base station in the methods in the embodiments shown in FIGS. 2 to 7b above. It should be noted that the embodiments of the present application are embodiments of apparatuses corresponding to the method embodiments, and the descriptions of the method embodiments are also applicable to the embodiments of the present application, and the descriptions are omitted here.

[0224] Referring to FIG. 13, FIG. 13 shows another possible configuration diagram of the terminal according to the above embodiment. Referring to FIG. 13, the terminal 1300 can include a communication unit 1301 and a processing unit 1302. Here, these units can perform the corresponding functions of a terminal such as a UE in the example of the above method. For example, the processing unit 1302 can be used to control and manage the operation of the terminal. The communication unit 1301 can be used to support the communication between the terminal and other devices, such as the communication with the base station and the location management network element. Optionally, the terminal can also include a storage unit 1303 that can be used to store the program code and data of the terminal.

[0225] Here, the processing unit 1302 may be a processor or a controller, the communication unit 1301 may be a communication interface, a transceiver, a transceiver circuit, a radio frequency chip, etc., and the storage unit 1303 may be a memory.

[0226] When the processing unit 1302 is a processor, the communication unit 1301 is a communication interface, and the storage unit 1303 is a memory, the terminal according to the embodiment of the present application may be the terminal shown in FIG. 10.

[0227] Optionally, the terminal can, by the units described above, implement some or all of the steps performed by the terminal in the methods in the embodiments shown in FIGS. 2 to 7b above. It should be noted that the embodiments of the present application are embodiments of apparatuses corresponding to the method embodiments, and the descriptions of the method embodiments are also applicable to the embodiments of the present application, and the descriptions are omitted here.

[0228] This application also provides a communication system including the above-described location management network elements, terminals, and / or base stations. Optionally, the system may also include other devices that interact with the above-described elements in the schemes of the embodiments of this application. The location management network elements, base stations, and / or terminals can execute some or all of the steps of the methods in the embodiments shown in FIGS. 2 to 7b above. In particular, reference can be made to the descriptions of the above embodiments, which are omitted here.

[0229] Embodiments of this application also provide a computer-readable storage medium storing a computer program for electronic data exchange, where the computer program causes a computer to execute some or all of the steps as described by a location management network element, a terminal, or a base station in the embodiments of the above method.

[0230] Embodiments of this application also provide a computer program product including a non-transitory computer-readable storage medium storing a computer program, where the computer program is operable to cause a computer to execute some or all of the steps described by a location management network element, a terminal, or a base station in the embodiments of the above method. For example, the computer program product is a software installation package.

[0231] It should be noted that in various embodiments of this application, the magnitudes of the numbers of the above processes do not mean the order of execution before and after, and the execution order of each process should not be limited to the implementation process of the embodiments of this application, but should be determined by its function and specific logic.

[0232] The steps of the methods or algorithms described in connection with the present disclosure may be implemented in hardware or implemented such that a processor executes software instructions. The software instructions may be in a random access memory (RAM), flash memory, read only memory (ROM), erasable programmable ROM (EPROM), electrically erasable programmable ROM (EEPROM), registers, hard disk, mobile hard disk, read only optical disc (CD-ROM), or other forms of storage media well known in the art. The exemplary storage media is coupled to the processor such that the processor can read information from and write information to the storage media. Of course, the storage media may be a component of the processor. The processor and the storage media may be present in an ASIC. Further, the ASIC can be present in a communication device such as a terminal, a network device, etc. Of course, the processor and the storage media may be present as separate components in the communication device.

[0233] It should be noted that the first, second, and various numerical numbers in this specification are only for convenience of explanation and are not used to limit the scope of the embodiments of the present application. The term "and / or" in this specification is merely a relationship describing related objects, meaning that three relationships, for example, A and / or B can exist, representing that A exists alone, A and B exist simultaneously, and B exists alone. Also, the character " / " in the text can represent that the related objects before and after are in an "or" relationship.

[0234] Those skilled in the art will recognize that in one or more of the above examples, the functions described in the embodiments of the present application can be implemented in whole or in part by software, hardware, firmware, or any combination thereof. When implemented using software, it can be implemented in whole or in part in the form of a computer program product. The computer program product includes one or more computer instructions. When the computer program instructions are loaded and executed on a computer, all or part of the flows or functions described in the embodiments of the present application are generated. The computer may be a general-purpose computer, a dedicated computer, a computer network, or other programmable devices. The computer instructions may be stored in a computer-readable storage medium, or may be transmitted from one computer-readable storage medium to another computer-readable storage medium. For example, the computer instructions may be transmitted from a certain website, computer, server, or data center to another website, computer, server, or data center by wire (such as coaxial cable, optical fiber, Digital Subscriber Line (DSL)), or wirelessly (such as infrared, wireless, microwave, etc.). The computer-readable storage medium may be any available medium accessible by the computer, or may include a data storage device such as a server, data center, etc. integrated with one or more available media. The available media may be a magnetic medium (such as a floppy disk, hard disk, magnetic tape), an optical medium (such as a Digital Video Disc (DVD)), or a semiconductor medium (such as a Solid State Disk (SSD), etc.).

Claims

1. A location management network element receives first positioning reference signal PRS parameters transmitted by a base station, and the location management network element transmits the first PRS parameters to a terminal, wherein the first PRS parameters are parameters of an aperiodic PRS, the first PRS parameters include a frequency resource parameter of the PRS and a time resource parameter of the PRS, the time resource parameter of the PRS includes a valid time of the PRS, and the valid time of the PRS includes a start time of the PRS and a valid period of the PRS, the frequency resource parameter of the PRS and the time resource parameter of the PRS include a resource transmission comb, and the parameters of the aperiodic PRS are PRS flexible trigger parameters. A method for information transmission is characterized by the above.

2. The method further includes the location management network element transmitting a third message for requesting first PRS parameters to the base station. The information transmission method according to claim 1, characterized by the above.

3. The first PRS parameters are different from the parameters of a periodic PRS. The information transmission method according to claim 1, characterized by the above.

4. A base station receives a request message for requesting first positioning reference signal PRS parameters from a location management network element, and the base station transmits a request response message for instructing the location management network element of the first PRS parameters based on the request message, wherein the first PRS parameters are parameters of an aperiodic PRS, the first PRS parameters include a frequency resource parameter of the PRS and a time resource parameter of the PRS, the time resource parameter of the PRS includes a valid time of the PRS, and the valid time of the PRS includes a start time of the PRS and a valid period of the PRS, the frequency resource parameter of the PRS and the time resource parameter of the PRS include a resource transmission comb, and the parameters of the aperiodic PRS are PRS flexible trigger parameters.

5. The base station transmitting a request response message to the location management network element based on the request message is The base station transmits a request response message including the first PRS parameter to the location management network element based on a third message for requesting the first PRS parameter The information transmission method according to claim 4, characterized in that

6. The first PRS parameter is different from the parameters of the periodic PRS The information transmission method according to claim 4, characterized in that

7. The PRS frequency resource parameter and the PRS time resource parameter further include at least one of the frequency domain position for transmitting the PRS, the number of symbols occupied by the resource, and the repetition factor The information transmission method according to claim 4, characterized in that

8. The method includes a terminal receiving a first positioning reference signal PRS parameter from a location management network element, where the first PRS parameter is a parameter of an aperiodic PRS The first PRS parameter includes a PRS frequency resource parameter and a PRS time resource parameter The PRS time resource parameter includes the effective time of the PRS, and the effective time of the PRS includes the start time of the PRS and the effective period of the PRS The PRS frequency resource parameter and the PRS time resource parameter include a resource transmission comb The parameter of the aperiodic PRS is a PRS flexible trigger parameter The information transmission method is characterized in that

9. The first PRS parameter is different from the parameters of the periodic PRS The information transmission method according to claim 8, characterized in that

10. Including a unit for executing the method according to any one of claims 1 to 3 The location management network element is characterized in that

11. Including a unit for executing the method according to any one of claims 4 to 7 The base station is characterized in that

12. Including a unit for executing the method according to any one of claims 8 to 9 The terminal is characterized in that

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