Wireless communication node, terminal, and wireless communication method

Abstract

This wireless communication node comprises: a reception unit that acquires at least one of the position of an airborne wireless relay device at the time of signal transmission or reception by a terminal, the position of the wireless relay device at the time of signal transmission or reception by the wireless relay device, and the position of the wireless relay device at the time of signal transmission or reception by a wireless communication node; and a control unit that calculates the propagation delay of the signal on the basis of at least one of the three positions that is transmitted and received between the terminal and the wireless communication node via the wireless relay device.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present disclosure relates to a wireless communication node, a terminal, and a wireless communication method.

Background Art

[0002] The 3rd Generation Partnership Project (3GPP: registered trademark) has standardized the 5th generation mobile communication system (also called 5G, New Radio (NR), or Next Generation (NG)), and is also proceeding with the standardization of the next generation called Beyond 5G, 5G Evolution, or 6G.

[0003] In 3GPP, techniques for estimating the location information of a terminal (hereinafter, UE; User Equipment) using methods such as Multi-RTT (Round Trip Time), DL-TDOA (Downlink Time Difference of Arrival), and UL-TDOA (Uplink Time Difference of Arrival) are defined (for example, Non-Patent Document 1). [[ID=I7]]

[0004] Furthermore, in 3GPP, NTN (Non-Terrestrial Network) is being studied. In NTN, services are provided to areas that cannot be covered by a terrestrial network due to costs or the like by using satellites or the like as wireless relay devices in the sky.

Prior Art Documents

Non-Patent Documents

[0005]

Non-Patent Document 1

Summary of the Invention

[0006] For NTN, knowing the location of a terminal is crucial. When a satellite moves, the location of the wireless relay device, i.e., the satellite's position, which serves as the reference for calculating the terminal's location, also changes. However, conventional technology calculates the terminal's location without considering the satellite's movement; that is, it calculates the terminal's location at an arbitrary satellite position. Therefore, when the satellite moves, the satellite's position, which serves as the reference for calculating the terminal's location, changes, which can lead to significant errors in the propagation delay of radio waves transmitted between the terminal and the wireless communication node via the satellite.

[0007] Therefore, the following disclosure is made in light of these circumstances and aims to provide a wireless communication node, terminal, and wireless communication method that can achieve appropriate calculation of propagation delay even when the wireless relay equipment in the air is moving.

[0008] One aspect of the present disclosure is a wireless communication node comprising: a receiving unit that acquires at least one of the following: the position of an aerial wireless relay device at the time of transmission or reception of a signal by a terminal; the position of the wireless relay device at the time of transmission or reception of a signal by the wireless relay device; and the position of the wireless relay device at the time of transmission or reception of a signal by a wireless communication node; and a control unit that calculates the propagation delay of a signal transmitted and received between the terminal and the wireless communication node via the wireless relay device based on at least one of the three positions.

[0009] One aspect of the present disclosure is a wireless communication method comprising the steps of: a wireless communication node obtaining at least one of the following: the position of an aerial radio relay device at the time of transmission or reception of a signal by a terminal; the position of the radio relay device at the time of transmission or reception of a signal by the radio relay device; and the position of the radio relay device at the time of transmission or reception of a signal by the wireless communication node; and the wireless communication node calculating the propagation delay of a signal transmitted and received between the terminal and the wireless communication node via the radio relay device based on at least one of the three positions. [Brief explanation of the drawing]

[0010] [Figure 1] Figure 1 is a schematic diagram of the overall configuration of the wireless communication system 10. [Figure 2] Figure 2 shows the frequency range used in the wireless communication system 10. [Figure 3] Figure 3 shows an example of the configuration of wireless frames, subframes, and slots used in the wireless communication system 10. [Figure 4] Figure 4 is a functional block diagram of the UE200. [Figure 5] Figure 5 is a functional block diagram of the gNB100. [Figure 6] Figure 6 is a functional block diagram of the LMF300. [Figure 7] Figure 7 is a diagram illustrating the protocol. [Figure 8] Figure 8 illustrates the challenges that arise when a satellite is in motion. [Figure 9] Figure 9 is a diagram illustrating the basic operation of the wireless communication system 10 that calculates propagation delay. [Figure 10] Figure 10 is a diagram illustrating the method for calculating position P1. [Figure 11] Figure 11 is a diagram illustrating the basic operation of the wireless communication system 10 that calculates propagation delay. [Figure 12] Figure 12 is a diagram illustrating the method for calculating position P1. [Figure 13] Figure 13 is a diagram illustrating the basic operation of the wireless communication system 10 that calculates propagation delay. [Figure 14] Figure 14 is a diagram illustrating the method for calculating satellite positions. [Figure 15] Figure 15 shows an example of the hardware configuration of the gNB100 and UE200. [Figure 16] Figure 16 shows an example of the configuration of vehicle 2001. [Modes for carrying out the invention]

[0011] Hereinafter, embodiments will be described based on the drawings. Note that the same reference numerals are given to the same functions and configurations, and the description thereof will be omitted as appropriate. [Embodiment] (1) Overall schematic configuration of wireless communication system 10 FIG. 1 is an overall schematic configuration diagram of a wireless communication system 10 according to an embodiment. The wireless communication system 10 is a wireless communication system according to 5G New Radio (NR), and includes a Next Generation-Radio Access Network 20 (hereinafter, NG-RAN 20) and a terminal 200 (hereinafter, UE (User Equipment) 200).

[0012] Note that the wireless communication system 10 may also be a wireless communication system according to a scheme called Beyond 5G, 5G Evolution, or 6G.

[0013] NG-RAN 20 includes a base station 100 (hereinafter, gNB 100). Note that the specific configuration of the wireless communication system 10 including the number of gNB 100 and UE 200 is not limited to the example shown in FIG. 1.

[0014] NG-RAN 20 actually includes a plurality of NG-RAN Nodes, specifically, gNB (or ng-eNB), and is connected to a core network 30 (for example, 5GC) according to 5G. Note that NG-RAN 20 and the core network 30 may also be simply expressed as "network".

[0015] The gNB100 is a 5G-compliant radio base station that performs 5G-compliant wireless communication with the UE200. The gNB100 and UE200 can support Massive MIMO (Multiple-Input Multiple-Output), which generates a more directional beamband by controlling radio signals transmitted from multiple antenna elements; carrier aggregation (CA), which uses multiple component carriers (CCs) bundled together; and dual connectivity (DC), which enables simultaneous communication with two or more transport blocks between the UE and each of the two NG-RAN Nodes.

[0016] The core network 30 includes network equipment. The network equipment may include an LMF (Location Management Function) 300. The network equipment may also include an AMF (Access and Mobility Management Function). The network equipment may also be an E-SMLC (Evolved Serving Mobile Location Centre). In the following, the case in which the network equipment is an LMF 300 will be mainly described. The gNB 100 and LMF 300 constitute the wireless communication node 40.

[0017] In this embodiment, a non-terrestrial network (hereinafter referred to as NTN) is assumed. NTN utilizes a non-terrestrial network such as satellite 150 (hereinafter referred to as satellite 150) to provide services to areas that cannot be covered by terrestrial networks (hereinafter referred to as TN) due to cost and other reasons. NTN enables the provision of more reliable services. For example, NTN is envisioned to be applied to IoT (Inter-of-Things), ships, buses, trains, and critical communications. Furthermore, NTN has scalability through efficient multicast or broadcast.

[0018] Furthermore, a network that includes gNB100 and UE200 but does not include satellite 150 may be referred to as a terrestrial network (TN) in contrast to NTN.

[0019] gNB100 has an NTN gateway 100X. The NTN gateway 100X transmits downlink signals to satellite 150. The NTN gateway 100X receives uplink signals from satellite 150. gNB100 has cell C1 as its coverage area.

[0020] Satellite 150 relays the downlink signal received from NTN Gateway 100X to UE200. Satellite 150 also relays the uplink signal received from UE200 to NTN Gateway 100X. Satellite 150 has cell C2 as its coverage area. Satellite 150 can also be considered a TRP (Transmission-Reception Point).

[0021] Furthermore, the wireless communication system 10 supports multiple frequency ranges (FR). Figure 2 shows the frequency ranges used in the wireless communication system 10.

[0022] As shown in Figure 2, the wireless communication system 10 corresponds to FR1 and FR2. The frequency bands of each FR are as follows:

[0023] • FR1: 410 MHz ~ 7.125 GHz • FR2: 24.25 GHz ~ 52.6 GHz In FR1, a Sub-Carrier Spacing (SCS) of 15, 30, or 60 kHz may be used, and a bandwidth (BW) of 5 to 100 MHz may be used. FR2 is a higher frequency than FR1, and a 60 or 120 kHz (240 kHz may be included) SCS may be used, and a bandwidth (BW) of 50 to 400 MHz may be used.

[0024] Note that SCS may also be interpreted as numerology. Numerology is defined in 3GPP TS38.300 and corresponds to a single subcarrier interval in the frequency domain.

[0025] Furthermore, the wireless communication system 10 also supports higher frequency bands than the FR2 frequency band. Specifically, the wireless communication system 10 supports frequency bands exceeding 52.6 GHz up to 71 GHz or 114.25 GHz. Such high frequency bands may be conveniently referred to as "FR2x".

[0026] To address the problem of increased phase noise in high-frequency bands, when using bandwidths exceeding 52.6 GHz, Cyclic Prefix-Orthogonal Frequency Division Multiplexing (CP-OFDM) / Discrete Fourier Transform - Spread (DFT-S-OFDM) with a larger Sub-Carrier Spacing (SCS) may be applied.

[0027] Figure 3 shows an example of the configuration of wireless frames, subframes, and slots used in the wireless communication system 10.

[0028] As shown in Figure 3, one slot consists of 14 symbols, and the larger (wider) the SCS, the shorter the symbol period (and slot period). The SCS is not limited to the interval (frequency) shown in Figure 3. For example, 480 kHz, 960 kHz, etc., may be used.

[0029] Furthermore, the number of symbols constituting one slot does not necessarily have to be 14 (for example, 28 symbols, 56 symbols). In addition, the number of slots per subframe may differ depending on the SCS.

[0030] The time direction (t) shown in Figure 3 may also be called the time domain, symbol period, or symbol time. The frequency direction may also be called the frequency domain, resource block, subcarrier, or bandwidth part (BWP).

[0031] DMRS is a type of reference signal, prepared for various channels. Here, unless otherwise specified, it may refer to the DMRS for the downlink data channel, specifically the PDSCH (Physical Downlink Shared Channel). However, the DMRS for the uplink data channel, specifically the PUSCH (Physical Uplink Shared Channel), may be interpreted as being the same as the DMRS for the PDSCH.

[0032] DMRS can be used for channel estimation in a device, for example, as part of coherent demodulation in the UE200. DMRS may only be present in the resource block (RB) used for PDSCH transmission.

[0033] A DMRS may have multiple mapping types. Specifically, a DMRS may have mapping type A and mapping type B. In mapping type A, the first DMRS is placed on the second or third symbol of the slot. In mapping type A, the DMRS may be mapped relative to the slot boundary, regardless of where in the slot the actual data transmission begins. The reason the first DMRS is placed on the second or third symbol of the slot may be interpreted as being placed after the control resource sets (CORESET).

[0034] In mapping type B, the first DMRS may be placed on the first symbol of the data allocation. That is, the position of the DMRS may be given relative to where the data is located, rather than relative to the slot boundary.

[0035] Furthermore, DMRS may have multiple types. Specifically, DMRS may have Type 1 and Type 2. Type 1 and Type 2 differ in their frequency domain mapping and the maximum number of orthogonal reference signals. Type 1 is a single-symbol DMRS that can output up to four orthogonal signals, while Type 2 is a double-symbol DMRS that can output up to eight orthogonal signals.

[0036] (2) Functional block configuration of the wireless communication system 10 Next, the functional block configuration of the wireless communication system 10 will be described.

[0037] First, we will describe the functional block configuration of the UE200.

[0038] Figure 4 is a functional block diagram of the UE200. As shown in Figure 4, the UE200 comprises a wireless signal transmission / reception unit 210, an amplifier unit 220, a modulation / demodulation unit 230, a control signal / reference signal processing unit 240, an encoding / decoding unit 250, a data transmission / reception unit 260, and a control unit 270.

[0039] The wireless signal transceiver unit 210 transmits and receives wireless signals in accordance with NR. The wireless signal transceiver unit 210 supports Massive MIMO, CA which uses multiple CCs bundled together, and DC which communicates simultaneously between the UE and each of the two NG-RAN Nodes.

[0040] The amplifier section 220 consists of components such as a PA (Power Amplifier) ​​and an LNA (Low Noise Amplifier). The amplifier section 220 amplifies the signal output from the modulation / demodulation section 230 to a predetermined power level. The amplifier section 220 also amplifies the RF signal output from the wireless signal transmission / reception section 210.

[0041] The modulation / demodulation unit 230 performs data modulation / demodulation, transmit power setting, and resource block allocation for each predetermined communication destination (gNB100 or other gNB). The modulation / demodulation unit 230 may apply Cyclic Prefix-Orthogonal Frequency Division Multiplexing (CP-OFDM) / Discrete Fourier Transform - Spread (DFT-S-OFDM). Furthermore, DFT-S-OFDM may be used not only for the uplink (UL) but also for the downlink (DL).

[0042] The control signal / reference signal processing unit 240 performs processing related to various control signals transmitted and received by the UE200, and processing related to various reference signals transmitted and received by the UE200.

[0043] Specifically, the control signal / reference signal processing unit 240 receives various control signals transmitted from the gNB100 via a predetermined control channel, such as control signals for the radio resource control layer (RRC). The control signal / reference signal processing unit 240 also transmits various control signals to the gNB100 via a predetermined control channel.

[0044] The control signal / reference signal processing unit 240 performs processing using reference signals (RS) such as the Demodulation Reference Signal (DMRS) and the Phase Tracking Reference Signal (PTRS).

[0045] DMRS is a known reference signal (pilot signal) between each UE200 base station and the UE200 for estimating the fading channel used for data demodulation. PTRS is a reference signal for each UE200 aimed at estimating phase noise, which is a challenge in the high-frequency band.

[0046] In addition to DMRS and PTRS, the reference signals may also include Channel State Information-Reference Signal (CSI-RS), Sounding Reference Signal (SRS), and Positioning Reference Signal (PRS) for location information.

[0047] Furthermore, channels include control channels and data channels. Control channels include PDCCH (Physical Downlink Control Channel), PUCCH (Physical Uplink Control Channel), RACH (Random Access Channel), Downlink Control Information (DCI) including Random Access Radio Network Temporary Identifier (RA-RNTI), and Physical Broadcast Channel (PBCH), among others.

[0048] Furthermore, data channels include PDSCH (Physical Downlink Shared Channel) and PUSCH (Physical Uplink Shared Channel), among others. "Data" refers to data transmitted through a data channel. A data channel can also be interpreted as a shared channel.

[0049] Here, the control signal / reference signal processing unit 240 may receive downlink control information (DCI). The DCI includes fields that store existing fields such as DCI Formats, Carrier indicator (CI), BWP indicator, FDRA (Frequency Domain Resource Assignment), TDRA (Time Domain Resource Assignment), MCS (Modulation and Coding Scheme), HPN (HARQ Process Number), NDI (New Data Indicator), and RV (Redundancy Version).

[0050] The value stored in the DCI Format field is an information element that specifies the DCI format. The value stored in the CI field is an information element that specifies the CC to which the DCI applies. The value stored in the BWP indicator field is an information element that specifies the BWP to which the DCI applies. The BWP that can be specified by the BWP indicator is set by an information element (BandwidthPart-Config) included in the RRC message. The value stored in the FDRA field is an information element that specifies the frequency domain resource to which the DCI applies. The frequency domain resource is identified by the value stored in the FDRA field and an information element (RA Type) included in the RRC message. The value stored in the TDRA field is an information element that specifies the time domain resource to which the DCI applies. The time domain resource is identified by the value stored in the TDRA field and an information element (pdsch-TimeDomainAllocationList, push-TimeDomainAllocationList) included in the RRC message. The time domain resource may also be identified by the value stored in the TDRA field and the default table. The value stored in the MCS field is an information element that specifies the MCS to which the DCI applies. The MCS is identified by the value stored in MCS and the MCS table. The MCS table may be specified by the RRC message or identified by RNTI scrambling. The value stored in the HPN field is an information element that specifies the HARQ Process to which DCI is applied. The value stored in NDI is an information element that determines whether the data to which DCI is applied is initial transmission data. The value stored in the RV field is an information element that specifies the redundancy of the data to which DCI is applied.

[0051] In this embodiment, the control signal / reference signal processing unit 240 constitutes a transmitting unit that transmits the position of the wireless relay device (satellite 150) at the time of transmission and reception of the signal by the UE200 (transmission time or reception time) to the wireless communication node 40. The wireless relay device has the function of relaying signals transmitted and received between the gNB100 and the UE200. Specifically, the wireless relay device has the function of receiving a signal (downlink signal) transmitted from the gNB100 and transmitting it to the UE200, and the function of receiving a signal (uplink signal) transmitted from the UE200 and transmitting it to the gNB100. The control signal / reference signal processing unit 240 may transmit two or more uplink reference signals at different timings on the time axis via NTN. The uplink reference signal may be called UL-SRS (Sounding Reference Signal). The wireless relay device is not limited to the satellite 150, but may be an airborne object equipped with wireless relay. Airborne objects include balloons, airships, High Altitude Platform Stations (HAPS), etc. Wireless relay equipment is located in the orbit above the Earth's surface at a predetermined distance. Generally, "above the Earth" refers to a position within the orbit of satellite 150 where radio waves can be transmitted and received between it and UE200, wireless communication node 40, etc.

[0052] The encoding / decoding unit 250 performs data splitting / concatenation and channel coding / decoding for each predetermined communication destination (gNB100 or other gNB).

[0053] Specifically, the encoding / decoding unit 250 divides the data output from the data transmission / reception unit 260 into predetermined sizes and performs channel coding on the divided data. The encoding / decoding unit 250 also decodes the data output from the modulation / demodulation unit 230 and concatenates the decoded data.

[0054] The data transmission / reception unit 260 performs the transmission and reception of Protocol Data Units (PDUs) and Service Data Units (SDUs). Specifically, the data transmission / reception unit 260 performs assembly / decomposition of PDUs / SDUs at multiple layers (such as the Media Access Control Layer (MAC), Radio Link Control Layer (RLC), and Packet Data Convergence Protocol Layer (PDCP)). In addition, the data transmission / reception unit 260 performs error correction and retransmission control of data based on HARQ (Hybrid Automatic Repeat Request).

[0055] The control unit 270 controls each functional block that makes up the UE200.

[0056] Secondly, the functional block configuration of the gNB100 will be described.

[0057] Figure 5 is a functional block diagram of the gNB100. As shown in Figure 5, the gNB100 has a receiving unit 110, a transmitting unit 120, and a control unit 130.

[0058] The receiving unit 110 receives various signals from the UE200. The receiving unit 110 may also receive UL signals via PUCCH or PUSCH. In this embodiment, the receiving unit 110 is configured to acquire at least one of the following: the position of satellite 150 (satellite position P0 or P2) at the time of transmission and reception of signals by the UE200 (transmission time or reception time), the position of satellite 150 (satellite position P1) at the time of transmission and reception of signals by the satellite 150 (transmission time or reception time), and the position of satellite 150 (satellite position P0 or P2) at the time of transmission and reception of signals by the wireless communication node 40 (transmission time or reception time). The receiving unit 110 is configured to receive information (DL-RSTD, timestamp, etc.) transmitted from the UE200.

[0059] The transmitter 120 transmits various signals to the UE200. The transmitter 120 may transmit DL signals via PDCCH or PDSCH. The transmitter 120 may transmit two or more DL-PRS (Downlink Positioning Reference Signals) at different timings on the time axis via NTN. The transmitter 120 may transmit assistance information and report information to the LMF300. The assistance information and report information may be transmitted via NRPPa messages (NR Positioning Protocol A). The assistance information may include geographic coordinate information of the TRP's DL-PRS resources, TRP's PCI, GCI, TRP ID, TRP's DL-PRS configuration, TRP's SSB information (SSB time / frequency occupancy), and spatial direction information of the TRP's DL-PRS resources, provided by gNB100. The report information may include UL-RTOA (Relative Time of Arrival), a timestamp corresponding to time t0, a timestamp corresponding to time t2, and so on. Details of time t0 and time t2 will be described later.

[0060] The control unit 130 controls the gNB 100. In this embodiment, the control unit 130 is configured to calculate the propagation delay of a signal transmitted or received between the UE 200 and the wireless communication node 40 via the satellite 150, based on at least one of three locations acquired by the receiving unit 110. The control unit 130 may also be configured to calculate the propagation delay of a signal based on all three locations acquired by the receiving unit 110. The control unit 130 may also be configured to calculate the RTT (Round Trip Time) between the UE 200 and the wireless communication node 40 as the propagation delay. The control unit 130 may also be configured to calculate the propagation delay of a signal based on one or two of the three locations acquired by the receiving unit 110.

[0061] Thirdly, the functional block configuration of the LMF300 will be described.

[0062] Figure 6 is a functional block diagram of the LMF300. As shown in Figure 6, the LMF300 has a receiving unit 310, a transmitting unit 320, and a control unit 330.

[0063] The receiving unit 310 receives various signals from the UE200 and gNB100. The receiving unit 310 may also receive assistance information and report information transmitted from the gNB100 via NRPPa messages (NR Positioning Protocol A). The receiving unit 310 is configured to acquire at least one of the following: the position of satellite 150 (satellite position P0 or P2) at the time of transmission and reception of signals by the UE200 (transmission time or reception time), the position of satellite 150 (satellite position P1) at the time of transmission and reception of signals by the satellite 150 (transmission time or reception time), and the position of satellite 150 (satellite position P0 or P2) at the time of transmission and reception of signals by the wireless communication node 40 (transmission time or reception time). The receiving unit 310 is configured to receive information (DL-RSTD, timestamp, etc.) transmitted from the UE200.

[0064] The transmitter 320 transmits various signals to the UE200. The transmitter 320 may also transmit assistance information to the UE200. The assistance information may be transmitted via NRPPa messages (NR Positioning Protocol A).

[0065] The control unit 330 controls the LMF 300. In this embodiment, the control unit 330 may be a control unit that calculates the propagation delay of a signal transmitted or received between the UE 200 and the radio communication node 40 via the satellite 150, based on at least one of three locations acquired by the receiving unit 310. The control unit 330 may be a control unit that calculates the propagation delay of a signal based on all three locations acquired by the receiving unit 310. The control unit 330 may be a control unit that calculates the RTT (Round Trip Time) between the UE 200 and the radio communication node 40 as the propagation delay. The control unit 330 may be a control unit that calculates the propagation delay of a signal based on one or two of the three locations acquired by the receiving unit 310.

[0066] The protocol will be described with reference to Figure 7. Figure 7 is a diagram illustrating the protocol. As shown in Figure 7, gNB100 has a protocol stack including PHY, MAC, RLC, PDCP, and RRC / SDAP. Similarly, UE200 has a protocol stack including PHY, MAC, RLC, PDCP, and RRC / SDAP. Satellite 150 relays communication between gNB100 and UE200.

[0067] Here, the link between gNB100 (NTN Gateway 100X) and satellite 150 may be referred to as the Feeder link. The link between satellite 150 and UE200 may be referred to as the Service link. The interface between gNB100 and UE200 may be referred to as the NR Uu.

[0068] Furthermore, NTN's network architecture may employ either FDD or TTD. Ground cells may be fixed or mobile. The UE200 may have the capability to support GNSS (Global Navigation Satellite System). For FR1, the UE200 may be a power class 3 handheld device, and at least for FR2, a VSAT (Very Small Aperture Terminal) may be assumed.

[0069] NTN's network architecture may assume a regenerative payload. For example, the functions of the gNB100 may be mounted on a satellite or aircraft. Alternatively, the gNB-DU (Distributed Unit) may be mounted on a satellite or aircraft, and the gNB-CU (Central Unit) may be deployed as a ground station.

[0070] NTN-RSTD is the difference between the time the UE200 receives the reference signal (hereinafter referred to as the reference PRS) and the time the UE200 receives the target reference signal (hereinafter referred to as the target PRS). For example, consider the case where DL-PRS(t0) transmitted at time t0 is the reference PRS, and DL-PRS(t1) transmitted at time t1 and DL-PRS(t2) transmitted at time t2 are the target PRS.

[0071] The UE200 can measure NTN-RSTD (Reference Signal Time Difference) at time t1, which is NTN-RSTD(t1, t0). NTN-RSTD(t1, t0) may also be expressed as (Service link propagation delay(t1) + Feeder link propagation delay(t1)) - (Service link propagation delay(t0) + Feeder link propagation delay(t0)). Similarly, the UE200 can measure NTN-RSTD(t2, t0) at time t2, which is NTN-RSTD. NTN-RSTD(t2, t0) may also be expressed as (Service link propagation delay(t2) + Feeder link propagation delay(t2)) - (Service link propagation delay(t0) + Feeder link propagation delay(t0)).

[0072] Service link propagation delay (tx) is the service link propagation delay at time tx. Feeder link propagation delay (ty) is the feeder link propagation delay at time ty. Feeder link propagation delay (t0) may also be called reference propagation delay (t0).

[0073] While not particularly limited, the Feeder link propagation delay (ty) may also be reported by gNB100. For example, the Feeder link propagation delay (ty) may include the one-way propagation delay, distance-related reports, sum of K_mac, and common TA(N) reported via NRPPa messages between gNB100 and satellite 150. TA,common ) may be identified using methods such as ). K_mac may be a parameter for determining the timing of applying the settings received by MAC-CE. Alternatively, gNB100 may report the geographical location of NTN Gateway 100X to LMF300. LMF300 may determine the Feeder link propagation delay (ty) based on the distance between NTN Gateway 100X and satellite 150. The location of satellite 150 may be reported from gNB100 to LMF300. The location of satellite 150 may be identified based on the location / orbit information of satellite 150 reported from gNB100 to LMF300.

[0074] Here, we have illustrated a specific control method for estimating the UE200's position based on two or more DL-PRS systems, but the same applies to specific control methods for estimating the UE200's position based on two or more UL-SRS systems. In other words, the specific control methods described above can be applied to OTDOA Positioning using DL-PRS, OTDOA Positioning using UL-SRS, and Multi-RTT Positioning.

[0075] In this embodiment, the wireless communication system 10 calculates the propagation delay based on any one of positions P0, P1, or P2. However, the wireless communication system 10 may calculate the propagation delay based on all of positions P0, P1, and P2. However, it is more preferable to calculate based on all of positions P0, P1, and P2. This makes it possible to further improve the accuracy of position estimation of the UE200.

[0076] (3) Operation of the wireless communication system 10 Next, the operation of the wireless communication system 10 will be described. Specifically, an example of the operation of the wireless communication system 10 that enables appropriate calculation of propagation delay even when satellite 150 is moving will be described.

[0077] (3.1) Prerequisites and Issues This section explains the challenges in determining the position of UE200 using NTN. Figure 8 illustrates the challenges when satellite 150 is moving. As shown in Figure 8, when satellite 150 moves relative to the Earth's surface (ES), the propagation delay calculated by the wireless communication node 40 may change depending on the satellite's position.

[0078] Specifically, when information transmitted from the wireless communication node 40 is received by the UE200 via satellite 150, the position P of satellite 150 at the time the wireless communication node 40 transmitted the information is... A This refers to the satellite position P at the time satellite 150 received the information. b It may differ from that.

[0079] When UE200's response to the information is received by the wireless communication node 40 via satellite 150, the satellite position at the time UE200 transmitted the response may differ from the satellite position at the time satellite 150 received the response. Thus, when the satellite position changes, the propagation delay of radio waves (signals) propagating on the feeder link (FL) and the service link (SL) may differ.

[0080] However, in conventional technology, the propagation delay calculated by the wireless communication node 40 was not taken into account the movement of satellite 150. Therefore, the movement of satellite 150 can cause a large error in the propagation delay calculated by the wireless communication node 40.

[0081] To address these challenges, it is possible to accurately calculate the propagation delay even when satellite 150 is moving by considering the movement of satellite 150, specifically by considering the satellite's position and the time corresponding to that position. Several operational examples can be considered to achieve this. These operational examples may be used individually or in combination of two or more.

[0082] (3.2) Example of operation In the following section, we will describe an example of operation that can achieve appropriate calculation of propagation delay even when satellite 150 is moving, taking into consideration the issues mentioned above.

[0083] (3.2.1) Example of operation 1 In Operation Example 1, propagation delay is calculated based on DL-TDOA (Downlink-Time Difference of Arrival).

[0084] Figure 9 is a diagram illustrating the basic operation of the wireless communication system 10 for calculating propagation delay. The vertical axis represents time, and the horizontal axis represents satellite position.

[0085] The processing procedure in the wireless communication system 10 is as follows: (Step 1) gNB100 transmits a PRS (Positioning Reference Signal) to UE200 via satellite 150. (Step 2) The gNB100 reports the PRS transmission time (time t0) and assistance information to the LMF300. The LMF300 forwards the received assistance information to the UE200. (Step 3) UE200 transmits the DL-RSTD (Down Link-Received Signal Time Difference) measured by UE200 and a timestamp corresponding to time t2 to gNB100 and / or LMF300 via satellite 150. Details of time t2 will be described later. (Step 4) gNB100 receives information transmitted from UE200 (DL-RSTD, timestamp, etc.). Based on the information transmitted from UE200, gNB100 calculates the propagation delay. This propagation delay may include the propagation delay between TRP and / or GW and satellite 150, the propagation delay between RP and TRP, etc. (Step 5) gNB100 transmits information such as the time t2 sent from UE200, along with information based on the calculated propagation delay, to LMF300. (Step 6) Upon receiving information based on the propagation delay, LMF300 calculates the propagation delay between itself and satellite 150 of UE200.

[0086] The time t0 shown in Figure 9 is the time when the wireless communication node 40 transmits the PRS.

[0087] Time t1 is the time when satellite 150 relays the PRS transmitted from radio communication node 40 to UE200, that is, the time when it transmits the PRS to UE200.

[0088] Time t2 is the time when UE200 received the PRS. UE200 transmits the measurement result (DL-RSTD) to the radio communication node 40 via satellite 150. The measurement result may include time t1, time t2 (the timestamp mentioned above), and the measurement result.

[0089] Time t3 is the time when gNB100 begins calculating the propagation delay based on measurement results transmitted from UE200, etc. This propagation delay may include the propagation delay between TRP and / or GW and satellite 150, the propagation delay between RP and TRP, etc.

[0090] If only time t3 is used to calculate the propagation delay, a large error in the propagation delay may occur. This is because, if satellite 150 moves, the satellite position at time t2, when the position of UE200 is measured, may differ from the satellite position at time t3, when the propagation delay calculation is started. Therefore, it is preferable to use the reference position of satellite 150 and the time corresponding to that reference position in the calculation of the propagation delay.

[0091] In the following, the reference position of satellite 150 may be simply referred to as "position," "satellite position," or "reference position." Similarly, the time corresponding to the satellite position may be simply referred to as "time" or "reference time." The calculation methods for these will be described later.

[0092] Time t4 is the time when LMF300 receives information based on the propagation delay calculated by gNB100, or the time when LMF300, having received the information based on the propagation delay calculated by gNB100, begins calculating the propagation delay between UE200 and satellite 150.

[0093] Time t5 is the time when the LMF300 completes its propagation delay calculation. At time t5, the LMF300 obtains the propagation delay between, for example, satellite 150 and UE200.

[0094] Time T1 is the propagation delay of the PRS on the feeder link. Specifically, time T1 is the time from when radio communication node 40 transmits the PRS until satellite 150 receives it.

[0095] Time T2 is the propagation delay of the PRS on the service link. Specifically, time T2 is the time from when satellite 150 transmits the PRS until UE200 receives it.

[0096] Time T3 is the time from when UE200 receives the PRS until the wireless communication node 40 receives the measurement results from UE200. Specifically, time T3 is the sum of the processing time required for UE200 to measure its position after receiving the PRS, and the transmission time until the measurement results reach the wireless communication node 40.

[0097] Time T4 is the sum of the time it takes for gNB100 to calculate the propagation delay and the time it takes for LMF300 to receive the report information including that propagation delay.

[0098] Time T5 is the time it takes for LMF300, which has received the report information, to calculate the propagation delay between UE200 and satellite 150.

[0099] <Method for calculating the reference position> At time t3 shown in Figure 9, when calculating the propagation delay, gNB100 may set the satellite positions shown in Alt(Alternative)1 and 2 below as the reference position.

[0100] <alt1> The gNB100 can set the position P0 of satellite 150 corresponding to time t0, or the position P2 of satellite 150 corresponding to time t2, as its reference position. These reference positions can be obtained, for example, from satellite ephemeris. This allows for accurate calculation of propagation delay while reducing the complexity of calculations, even when satellite 150 is moving.

[0101] <alt2> Figure 10 is a diagram illustrating how position P1 is calculated. As shown in Figure 10, satellite 150 is moving in the direction of movement D indicated by the arrow, in the order of position P0, position P1, and position P2. In this case, gNB100 can set a reference position corresponding to time t1 by the following two options.

[0102] <Option 1> As mentioned above, positions P0 and P2 can be obtained from the satellite ephemeris. gNB100 sets position P1 based on positions P0, P2, and orbital parameters. Specifically, gNB100 uses orbital parameters to set position P1 at the midpoint of the orbit connecting position P0 corresponding to time t0 and position P2 corresponding to time t2. In other words, by using orbital parameters, the satellite position at the midpoint of the orbit connecting two known satellite positions can be approximately determined.

[0103] Orbital parameters are parameters that specify the transfer orbit of satellite 150 and may include orbital altitude, orbital inclination, and inclination angle. Orbital parameters may be included in the satellite ephemeris transmitted from satellite 150.

[0104] According to Option 1, the accuracy of the reference position P1 can be improved by utilizing orbital parameters.

[0105] <Option 2> As mentioned above, the reference position P0 and reference time t0 can be obtained from the satellite ephemeris. In addition, the orbit and velocity of satellite 150 can be predicted from the satellite ephemeris. gNB100 calculates the distance ΔPt traveled by satellite 150 from time t0 until the propagation delay tp has elapsed. The propagation delay tp is the time from when gNB100 transmits the PRS until satellite 150 receives the PRS.

[0106] The travel distance ΔPt is calculated based on the orbit and velocity of satellite 150 obtained from the satellite ephemeris, and the propagation delay tp. gNB100 sets the reference position P1 to a position that is a travel distance ΔPt away from position P0.

[0107] According to Option 2, the accuracy of the reference position P1 can be improved by utilizing the orbit and velocity of satellite 150 and the propagation delay tp.

[0108] <Method for calculating the reference time> When calculating propagation delay, the gNB100 can set the times shown in Alt1 and Alt2 below as the reference time.

[0109] <alt1> The gNB100 may set the time t0 when the gNB100 transmits the PRS, or the time t2 when the UE200 receives the PRS, as the reference time.

[0110] <alt2> The gNB100 can set the time t1, when satellite 150 transmits and receives PRS, as the reference time.

[0111] Furthermore, in order to improve the accuracy of UE200's position estimation, it is preferable to set time t1 as the reference time.

[0112] Note that the wireless communication node 40 that calculates the reference time t1 is not limited to gNB100 but may also be LMF300. The following four options are possible for the processing operation in gNB100 or LMF300. <Option 1> The gNB100 calculates a reference time t1 and sends this reference time t1 to the LMF300 as assistance information via an NRPPa (NR Positioning Protocol A) message. <Option 2> The gNB100 calculates a reference time t1, obtains a reference position P1 corresponding to the reference time t1, and sends it to the LMF300 as assistance information via an NRPPa message. <Option 3> The LMF300 calculates the reference time t1, transmits the reference time t1 to the gNB100, and causes the gNB100 to calculate the propagation delay. <Option 4> The LMF300 calculates a reference time t1, obtains a reference position P1 corresponding to the reference time t1, and uses it directly for position estimation of the UE200.

[0113] (3.2.2) Example of operation 2 In example 2, propagation delay is calculated based on UL-TDOA (Uplink-Time Difference of Arrival).

[0114] Figure 11 is a diagram illustrating the basic operation of the wireless communication system 10 for calculating propagation delay. The vertical axis represents time, and the horizontal axis represents satellite position.

[0115] The processing procedure in the wireless communication system 10 is as follows: (Step 1) UE200 transmits an UL-SRS (Up Link-Sounding Reference Signal) to the radio communication node 40 via satellite 150. Along with the UL-SRS, UE200 transmits a timestamp corresponding to the time t0 when the UL-SRS was transmitted. (Step 2) The gNB100 transmits assistance information to the LMF300. The gNB100 also reports the UL-RTOA (Relative Time of Arrival) and the timestamp of time t0, along with the time t2 when the UL-SRS was received. (Step 3) gNB100 calculates the propagation delay based on the information transmitted from UE200. This propagation delay may include the propagation delay between TRP and / or GW and satellite 150, the propagation delay between RP and TRP, and so on. (Step 4) The gNB100 transmits information based on the calculated propagation delay to the LMF300. (Step 5) Upon receiving the information based on the propagation delay, the LMF300 calculates the propagation delay between itself and satellite 150 of UE200.

[0116] The time t1 shown in Figure 11 is the time when satellite 150 relays the UL-SRS to radio communication node 40, that is, the time when it transmits the received UL-SRS to radio communication node 40.

[0117] Time t2 is the time when gNB100 received the UL-SRS. Time t2 is a time stamp included in the information transferred from gNB100 to LMN (see 3GPP TS 38.305 V17.0.0). Time t2 is transferred from gNB100 to LMF300 along with UL-RTOA (Relative Time of Arrival).

[0118] Time t3 is the time when gNB100 begins calculating the propagation delay. This propagation delay may include the propagation delay between TRP and / or GW and satellite 150, the propagation delay between RP and TRP, and so on.

[0119] If only time t3 is used to calculate the propagation delay, a large error in the propagation delay may occur. This is because, if satellite 150 moves, the satellite position at time t0, when the position of UE200 is measured, may differ from the satellite position at time t3, when the propagation delay calculation is started. Therefore, it is preferable to use the reference position of satellite 150 and the time corresponding to that reference position in the calculation of the propagation delay.

[0120] Time t4 is the time when LMF300 receives information based on the propagation delay calculated by gNB100, or the time when LMF300, having received the information based on the propagation delay calculated by gNB100, begins calculating the propagation delay between UE200 and satellite 150.

[0121] Time t5 is the time when the LMF300 completes its propagation delay calculation. At time t5, the LMF300 obtains the propagation delay between, for example, satellite 150 and UE200.

[0122] Time T1 is the propagation delay of the UL-SRS on the service link. Specifically, time T1 is the time from when UE200 transmits the UL-SRS until satellite 150 receives it.

[0123] Time T2 is the propagation delay of the UL-SRS on the feeder link. Specifically, time T2 is the time from when satellite 150 transmits the UL-SRS until when radio communication node 40 receives the UL-SRS.

[0124] Time T3 is the time it takes for the radio communication node 40 (e.g., gNB100) that received the UL-SRS to calculate the propagation delay.

[0125] Time T4 is the time it takes for the propagation delay calculation result from gNB100 to be transmitted to LMF300.

[0126] Time T5 is the time it takes for LMF300 to calculate the propagation delay between UE200 and satellite 150.

[0127] <Method for calculating the reference position> At time t3 shown in Figure 11, when calculating the propagation delay, gNB100 may set the satellite positions shown in Alt(Alternative)1 and 2 below as the reference position.

[0128] <alt1> The gNB100 can set the position P0 of satellite 150 corresponding to time t0, or the position P2 of satellite 150 corresponding to time t2, as its reference position. These reference positions can be obtained, for example, from satellite ephemeris. This allows for accurate calculation of propagation delay while reducing the complexity of calculations, even when satellite 150 is moving.

[0129] <alt2> Figure 12 is a diagram illustrating how position P1 is calculated. As shown in Figure 12, satellite 150 is moving in the direction of movement D indicated by the arrow, in the order of position P0, position P1, and position P2. In this case, gNB100 can set a reference position corresponding to time t1 by the following two options.

[0130] <Option 1> As mentioned above, positions P0 and P2 can be obtained from the satellite ephemeris. gNB100 sets position P1 based on positions P0, P2, and orbital parameters. Specifically, gNB100 uses orbital parameters to set position P1 at the midpoint of the orbit connecting position P0 corresponding to time t0 and position P2 corresponding to time t2.

[0131] Orbital parameters are parameters that specify the transfer orbit of satellite 150 and may include orbital altitude, orbital inclination, and inclination angle. Orbital parameters may be included in the satellite ephemeris transmitted from satellite 150.

[0132] According to Option 1, the accuracy of the reference position P1 can be improved by utilizing orbital parameters.

[0133] <Option 2> As mentioned above, the reference position P2 and reference time t2 can be obtained from the satellite ephemeris. In addition, the orbit and velocity of satellite 150 can be predicted from the satellite ephemeris. gNB100 calculates the distance ΔPt traveled by satellite 150 from time t2-tp until the propagation delay tp has elapsed, where tp is the propagation delay. The propagation delay tp is the time from when satellite 150 transmits the SRS until gNB100 receives the SRS. The distance ΔPt is calculated based on the orbit and velocity of satellite 150 obtained from the satellite ephemeris and the propagation delay tp. gNB100 sets the reference position P1 to a position that is a distance ΔPt away from position P2.

[0134] According to Option 2, the accuracy of the reference position P1 can be improved by utilizing the orbit and velocity of satellite 150 and the propagation delay tp.

[0135] <Method for calculating the reference time> When calculating propagation delay, the gNB100 can set the times shown in Alt1 and Alt2 below as the reference time.

[0136] <alt1> The gNB100 can set the reference time to the time t0 when the UE200 transmits the UL-SRS, or the time t2 when the gNB100 receives the UL-SRS.

[0137] <alt2> The gNB100 can set the time t1, when satellite 150 transmits and receives PRS, as the reference time.

[0138] Furthermore, in order to improve the accuracy of UE200's position estimation, it is preferable to set time t1 as the reference time.

[0139] In operation example 2, the wireless communication node 40 that calculates the reference time t1 is not limited to gNB100, but may also be LMF300.

[0140] (3.2.3) Example of operation 3 Example 3 describes how to calculate RTT (Round Trip Time). Note that, in the following, "propagation delay" may be based on RTT information and may include the Rx-Tx time difference.

[0141] Figure 13 is a diagram illustrating the basic operation of the wireless communication system 10 for calculating propagation delay. The processing procedure in the wireless communication system 10 is as follows: (Step 1) gNB100 transmits PRS to UE200 via satellite 150. (Step 2) The gNB100 reports the PRS transmission time (time t0) and assistance information to the LMF300. The LMF300 forwards the received assistance information to the UE200. (Step 3) UE200 transmits the Rx-Tx time difference and / or assistance information of UE200 to gNB100 and / or LMF300 via satellite 150. UE200 appends the Rx-Tx time difference to a timestamp corresponding to time t2. The Rx-Tx time difference is equal to the time from time t2 to time t0'. Details of time t2 and time t0' will be described later. (Step 4) gNB100 and / or LMF300 receive information transmitted from UE200 (Rx-Tx time difference, timestamp, etc.). gNB100 calculates propagation delays based on the information transmitted from UE200. These propagation delays may include RTT between TRP / GW and satellite 150, RTT between TRP / GW and RP, RTT between RP and satellite 150, etc. (Step 5) The gNB100 reports to the LMF300 information based on the calculated propagation delay, the Rx-Tx time difference transmitted from the UE200, and the timestamp transmitted from the UE200. (Step 6) Upon receiving information based on the propagation delay, the LMF300 calculates the Round-Trip Time (RTT) between UE200 and satellite 150.

[0142] The time t0 shown in Figure 13 is the time when the wireless communication node 40 transmits the PRS.

[0143] Time t2 is the time when UE200 received the PRS. UE200 transmits the measurement results to the radio communication node 40 via satellite 150. The measurement results may include time t1, the Rx-Tx time difference, time t2 (timestamp), and the measurement result.

[0144] Time t0' is the time when UE200 transmits UL-SRS to radio communication node 40 via satellite 150.

[0145] Time t1' is the time when satellite 150 relays the UL-SRS to radio communication node 40, that is, the time when it transmits the received UL-SRS to radio communication node 40.

[0146] Time t2' is the time when gNB100 received the UL-SRS. Time t2' is a timestamp included in the information transferred from gNB100 to LMN (see 3GPP TS 38.305 V17.0.0). gNB100 transfers time t2', along with the Rx-Tx time difference, to LMF300.

[0147] Time t3 is the time when gNB100 begins calculating the propagation delay. This propagation delay may include the propagation delay between TRP and / or GW and satellite 150, the propagation delay between RP and TRP, and so on.

[0148] Here, if only time t3 is used in calculating the propagation delay, a large error in RTT may occur. This is because, as mentioned above, if satellite 150 moves, the satellite position at the time the position of UE200 is measured may differ from the satellite position at the time the propagation delay calculation is started. Therefore, it is preferable to apply the reference position of satellite 150 and the time corresponding to that reference position in calculating the propagation delay.

[0149] Time t4 is the time when LMF300 receives information based on the propagation delay calculated by gNB100, or the time when LMF300, having received the information based on the propagation delay calculated by gNB100, begins calculating the propagation delay between UE200 and satellite 150.

[0150] Time t5 is the time when the LMF300 completes its propagation delay calculation. At time t5, the LMF300 obtains the propagation delay between, for example, satellite 150 and UE200.

[0151] The time T1 shown in Figure 13 is the propagation delay of the PRS on the feeder link.

[0152] Time T2 is the propagation delay of the PRS on the service link.

[0153] Time T3 is the time (Rx-Tx time difference) between when UE200 receives a PRS and when UE200 transmits a UL-SRS.

[0154] Time T4 is the propagation delay of UL-SRS on the service link.

[0155] Time T5 is the propagation delay of UL-SRS on the feeder link.

[0156] Time T6 is the time when gNB100 that has received UL-SRS calculates the propagation delay.

[0157] Time T7 is the time when the calculation result of the propagation delay by gNB100 is transmitted to LMF300.

[0158] Time T8 is the time when LMF300 calculates the propagation delay between UE200 and satellite 150.

[0159] <Method for calculating the reference position by gNB100> When calculating the propagation delay, gNB100 can set the reference position of satellite 150 according to the following two options.

[0160] <Option 1> gNB100 can set the reference position for both UL and DL.

[0161] <alt1> (a) gNB100 may set the satellite position at time t0 (the time when gNB100 transmits PRS) and the satellite position at time t0' (the time when UE200 transmits UL-SRS) as the reference position. (b) gNB100 may set the satellite position at time t2 (the time when UE200 receives PRS) and the satellite position at time t2' (the time when gNB100 receives UL-SRS) as the reference position.

[0162] According to Alt1, even when satellite 150 is in motion, it is possible to accurately calculate the propagation delay while reducing the complexity of the calculations.

[0163] <alt2> The gNB100 can set the satellite position at time t1 and the satellite position at time t1' as its reference position.

[0164] According to Alt2, even if satellite 150 moves, the accuracy of satellite 150's position can be improved.

[0165] <Option 2> The gNB100 can be set to a reference position in either UL or DL.

[0166] <alt1> The gNB100 can set the satellite position at time t0 and time t2, or the satellite position at time t0' and time t2', as its reference position.

[0167] According to Alt1, even when satellite 150 is in motion, it is possible to accurately calculate propagation delay while further reducing the complexity of the calculations.

[0168] <alt2> The gNB 100 can set the satellite position at time t1 or the satellite position at time t1' as the reference position.

[0169] According to Alt2, even when the satellite 150 moves, the accuracy of the position of the satellite 150 can be improved.

[0170] <Method for calculating the reference position by the LMF 300> When calculating the propagation delay, the LMF 300 can set the reference position of the satellite 150 according to the following two options.

[0171] <Option 1> As described above, when the gNB 100 sets the reference position for both UL and DL, the LMF 300 can set the reference position as follows to improve the accuracy of the reference position.

[0172] <alt1> The LMF300 sets the satellite position corresponding to time t1, or the satellite position corresponding to time t1', as the reference position P1. The reference position P1 is the satellite position at the time when satellite 150 transmits and receives PRS, or the satellite position at the time when satellite 150 transmits and receives UL-SRS.

[0173] <alt2> The LMF300 sets the satellite position corresponding to any time between time t1 and time t1' as the reference position P1.

[0174] <Option 2> As mentioned above, if the satellite position at time t1 or time t1' is set as the reference position, the LMF300 can set the reference position as follows.

[0175] <alt1> Like the gNB100, the LMF300 can set the satellite position at time t0 and time t2, or the satellite position at time t0' and time t2', as the reference position.

[0176] <alt2> Like the gNB100, the LMF300 can set the satellite position at time t1 or time t1' as the reference position.

[0177] <Method for calculating the reference position> Figure 14 is a diagram illustrating how to calculate the satellite position. As shown in Figure 14, the satellite position corresponding to time t1 when satellite 150 transmits and receives PRS, and the satellite position corresponding to time t1' when satellite 150 transmits and receives SRS, can be calculated using the following two options.

[0178] <Option 1> The satellite position P0 corresponding to time t0 and the satellite position P2 corresponding to time t2 can be obtained from the satellite ephemeris. Similarly, the satellite position P0' corresponding to time t0' and the satellite position P2' corresponding to time t2' can be obtained from the satellite ephemeris.

[0179] Based on these satellite positions and orbital parameters, the gNB100 and / or LFM set satellite position P1 corresponding to time t1 and satellite position P1' corresponding to time t1'.

[0180] Specifically, gNB100 and / or LFM use orbital parameters to set satellite position P1 at the midpoint of the orbit connecting satellite position P0 and satellite position P2. Furthermore, gNB100 and / or LFM use orbital parameters to set satellite position P1' at the midpoint of the orbit connecting satellite position P0' and satellite position P2'. In other words, by using orbital parameters, the satellite position at the midpoint of the orbit connecting two known satellite positions can be approximately determined.

[0181] According to Option 1, the accuracy of the reference position P1 and satellite position P1' can be improved by utilizing orbital parameters.

[0182] <Option 2> gNB100 and / or LFM calculate the distance ΔPt traveled by satellite 150 from time t0 until the propagation delay tp has elapsed. The distance ΔPt is calculated based on the orbit and velocity of satellite 150 obtained from the satellite ephemeris and the propagation delay tp. The propagation delay tp is the time from when gNB100 transmits the PRS until satellite 150 receives the PRS.

[0183] gNB100 and / or LFM set the reference position P1 to a position located at a distance ΔPt away from position P0. Similarly, gNB100 and / or LFM set the reference position P1' to a position located at a distance ΔPt away from position P2', based on the propagation delay tp'. The propagation delay tp' is the time from when satellite 150 transmits the SRS until gNB100 receives it.

[0184] According to Option 2, the accuracy of reference position P1 and reference position P1' can be improved by utilizing the orbit and velocity of satellite 150, as well as the propagation delay tp and propagation delay tp'.

[0185] <Method for calculating the reference time> When calculating propagation delay, gNB100 and / or LFM may set the times shown in Alt1 and Alt2 below as the reference time.

[0186] <alt1> The gNB100 may set the time t0 when the gNB100 transmits the PRS, the time t2 when the UE200 receives the PRS, the time t0' when the UE200 transmits the UL-SRS, or the time t2' when the gNB100 receives the UL-SRS as the reference time.

[0187] <alt2> The gNB100 can set the reference time to the time t1 when satellite 150 transmits or receives PRS, or the time t1' when satellite 150 transmits or receives UL-SRS.

[0188] Furthermore, in order to improve the accuracy of the UE200's position estimation, it is preferable to set time t1 and time t1' to the reference time.

[0189] (4) Effects According to the embodiments described above, the following effects can be obtained. Specifically, the wireless communication node 40 according to the embodiments of this disclosure includes a receiving unit that acquires at least one of the following: the position of an aerial wireless relay device at the time of transmission or reception of a signal by a terminal; the position of the wireless relay device at the time of transmission or reception of a signal by the wireless relay device; and the position of the wireless relay device at the time of transmission or reception of a signal by a wireless communication node; and a control unit that calculates the propagation delay of a signal transmitted and received between the terminal and the wireless communication node via the wireless relay device based on at least one of the three positions.

[0190] This configuration allows the wireless communication node 40 to calculate the signal propagation delay using at least one reference position out of at least three locations. Therefore, even if the position of the wireless relay device changes, errors in the signal propagation delay can be suppressed.

[0191] Furthermore, the wireless communication node 40 according to the embodiment of this disclosure may be configured such that the control unit calculates the propagation delay based on all three of the locations.

[0192] With this configuration, the wireless communication node 40 can calculate the signal propagation delay, including the position of the wireless relay device at the time of transmission and reception of radio waves by the wireless relay device. Therefore, even if the position of the wireless relay device changes, errors in the signal propagation delay can be further suppressed.

[0193] Furthermore, in the wireless communication node 40 according to the embodiment of this disclosure, the control unit may be configured to calculate the RTT (Round Trip Time) propagation delay between the UE200 and the wireless communication node 40.

[0194] This configuration makes it possible to suppress errors in the propagation delay of the RTT (Round Trip Time) even when the position of the wireless relay device changes.

[0195] (5) Other embodiments Although embodiments have been described above, it will be obvious to those skilled in the art that the invention is not limited to those embodiments described and that various modifications and improvements are possible.

[0196] For example, in the embodiments described above, terms such as neighboring cell and adjacent TA were used, but the terms neighbor and adjacent may be used interchangeably. Also, adjacent may refer to a more limited area, while neighbor may refer to a wider area than adjacent.

[0197] Furthermore, in the above description, configure, activate, update, indicate, enable, specify, and select may be interpreted interchangeably. Similarly, link, associate, correspond, and map may be interpreted interchangeably, as may allocate, assign, monitor, and map.

[0198] Furthermore, "specific," "dedicated," "UE specific," and "UE individual" may be interpreted interchangeably. Similarly, "common," "shared," "group-common," "UE common," and "UE shared" may be interpreted interchangeably.

[0199] Furthermore, the block diagrams (Figures 4-6) used in the description of the embodiments above show functional units. These functional blocks (components) are realized by any combination of at least one of hardware and software. Moreover, the method of realizing each functional block is not particularly limited. That is, each functional block may be realized using one device that is physically or logically coupled, or it may be realized using two or more physically or logically separated devices that are directly or indirectly connected (for example, using wired or wireless connections). A functional block may also be realized by combining the above one device or the above multiple devices with software.

[0200] Functions include, but are not limited to, judgment, decision, judgment, calculation, calculation, processing, derivation, investigation, exploration, confirmation, reception, transmission, output, access, resolution, selection, selection, establishment, comparison, assumption, expectation, assumption, broadcasting, notifying, communicating, forwarding, configuring, reconfiguring, allocating (mapping), and assigning. For example, a functional block (configuration part) that enables transmission is called a transmitting unit or transmitter. In any case, as mentioned above, the method of implementation is not particularly limited.

[0201] Furthermore, the gNB100 and UE200 (the device) described above may function as a computer that processes the wireless communication method of this disclosure. Figure 15 shows an example of the hardware configuration of the gNB100 and UE200. As shown in Figure 15, the device may be configured as a computer device including a processor 1001, memory 1002, storage 1003, communication device 1004, input device 1005, output device 1006, and bus 1007.

[0202] In the following explanation, the term "device" can be replaced with "circuit," "device," "unit," etc. The hardware configuration of the device may include one or more of the devices shown in the diagram, or it may be configured to omit some of the devices.

[0203] Each functional block of the device (see Figures 4-6) is implemented by any hardware element of the computer device, or a combination of such hardware elements.

[0204] Furthermore, each function in the device is realized by loading predetermined software (programs) onto hardware such as the processor 1001 and memory 1002, which allows the processor 1001 to perform calculations, control communication by the communication device 1004, and control at least one of data reading and writing in the memory 1002 and storage 1003.

[0205] The processor 1001 controls the entire computer, for example, by running an operating system. The processor 1001 may consist of a central processing unit (CPU) that includes interfaces with peripheral devices, control units, arithmetic units, registers, and so on.

[0206] Furthermore, the processor 1001 reads programs (program code), software modules, data, etc., from at least one of the storage 1003 and the communication device 1004 into the memory 1002 and executes various processes accordingly. The program used is one that causes the computer to execute at least a part of the operations described in the above embodiment. Moreover, the above-mentioned various processes may be executed by one processor 1001, or by two or more processors 1001 simultaneously or sequentially. The processor 1001 may be implemented by one or more chips. The program may be transmitted from a network via a telecommunications line.

[0207] Memory 1002 is a computer-readable recording medium and may consist of at least one of the following: Read Only Memory (ROM), Erasable Programmable ROM (EPROM), Electrically Erasable Programmable ROM (EEPROM), Random Access Memory (RAM), etc. Memory 1002 may also be called a register, cache, main memory, etc. Memory 1002 can store a program (program code), software modules, etc., that can execute a method according to one embodiment of this disclosure.

[0208] Storage 1003 is a computer-readable recording medium and may consist of at least one of the following: an optical disc such as a Compact Disc ROM (CD-ROM), a hard disk drive, a flexible disk, a magneto-optical disk (e.g., a compact disc, a digital multipurpose disc, a Blu-ray® disc), a smart card, flash memory (e.g., a card, a stick, a key drive), a floppy® disk, a magnetic strip, etc. Storage 1003 may also be called an auxiliary storage device. The recording medium described above may also be, for example, a database, server, or other suitable medium including at least one of memory 1002 and storage 1003.

[0209] The communication device 1004 is hardware (transceiver / receiver device) for communicating between computers via at least one of a wired network and a wireless network, and is also referred to as a network device, network controller, network card, communication module, etc.

[0210] The communication device 1004 may be configured to include, for example, a high-frequency switch, a duplexer, a filter, a frequency synthesizer, etc., in order to implement at least one of frequency division duplex (FDD) and time division duplex (TDD).

[0211] The input device 1005 is an input device that accepts input from an external source (e.g., a keyboard, mouse, microphone, switch, button, sensor, etc.). The output device 1006 is an output device that outputs to an external source (e.g., a display, speaker, LED lamp, etc.). The input device 1005 and the output device 1006 may be configured as an integrated unit (e.g., a touch panel).

[0212] Furthermore, each device, such as the processor 1001 and the memory 1002, is connected by a bus 1007 for communicating information. The bus 1007 may be configured using a single bus, or different buses may be configured for each device.

[0213] Furthermore, the device may include hardware such as a microprocessor, a digital signal processor (DSP), an application-specific integrated circuit (ASIC), a programmable logic device (PLD), and a field-programmable gate array (FPGA), and some or all of each functional block may be implemented by such hardware. For example, processor 1001 may be implemented using at least one of these hardware components.

[0214] Furthermore, notification of information is not limited to the embodiments / models described herein and may be carried out by other means. For example, notification of information may be carried out by physical layer signaling (e.g., Downlink Control Information (DCI), Uplink Control Information (UCI)), upper layer signaling (e.g., RRC signaling, Medium Access Control (MAC) signaling, broadcast information (Master Information Block (MIB), System Information Block (SIB))), other signals, or combinations thereof. RRC signaling may also be called RRC messages, and may be, for example, RRC Connection Setup messages, RRC Connection Reconfiguration messages, etc.

[0215] Each aspect / embodiment described herein may be applied to at least one of systems utilizing Long Term Evolution (LTE), LTE-Advanced (LTE-A), SUPER 3G, IMT-Advanced, 4th generation mobile communication system (4G), 5th generation mobile communication system (5G), 6th generation mobile communication system (6G), xth generation mobile communication system (xG) (where x is, for example, an integer or decimal), Future Radio Access (FRA), New Radio (NR), W-CDMA®, GSM®, CDMA2000, Ultra Mobile Broadband (UMB), IEEE 802.11 (Wi-Fi®), IEEE 802.16 (WiMAX®), IEEE 802.20, Ultra-WideBand (UWB), Bluetooth®, and other appropriate systems, as well as next-generation systems extended based thereon. Furthermore, multiple systems may be applied in combination (for example, a combination of at least one of LTE and LTE-A with 5G).

[0216] The processing procedures, sequences, flowcharts, etc., of each aspect / embodiment described herein may be reordered, provided they are consistent with each other. For example, the methods described herein present various step elements in an exemplary order and are not limited to that specific order.

[0217] The specific operations described in this disclosure as being performed by a base station may, in some cases, be performed by its upper node. In a network consisting of one or more network nodes having a base station, it is clear that various operations performed for communication with a terminal can be performed by the base station and at least one other network node (for example, an MME or S-GW, but not limited to these). Although the above example illustrates the case where there is one other network node besides the base station, it may also be a combination of multiple other network nodes (for example, an MME and an S-GW).

[0218] Information and signals (such as data) can be output from a higher layer (or lower layer) to a lower layer (or higher layer). Input and output may occur via multiple network nodes.

[0219] Input and output information may be stored in a specific location (e.g., memory) or managed using a management table. Input and output information may be overwritten, updated, or appended to. Output information may be deleted. Input information may be sent to other devices.

[0220] The determination may be made by a value represented by 1 bit (0 or 1), by a boolean value (true or false), or by a numerical comparison (for example, a comparison with a predetermined value).

[0221] Each aspect / embodiment described herein may be used individually, in combination, or switched between as needed during implementation. Furthermore, notification of specific information (e.g., notification that "X is") is not limited to explicit notification, but may also be implicit (e.g., by not providing such notification).

[0222] Software should be broadly interpreted to mean instructions, instruction sets, code, code segments, program code, programs, subprograms, software modules, applications, software applications, software packages, routines, subroutines, objects, executable files, execution threads, procedures, functions, and so on, whether they are called software, firmware, middleware, microcode, hardware description languages, or by any other name.

[0223] Furthermore, software, instructions, information, etc., may be transmitted and received via a transmission medium. For example, if software is transmitted from a website, server, or other remote source using at least one of wired technology (such as coaxial cable, fiber optic cable, twisted pair, or Digital Subscriber Line (DSL)) and wireless technology (such as infrared or microwave), then at least one of these wired and wireless technologies is included in the definition of a transmission medium.

[0224] The information, signals, etc. described in this disclosure may be represented using any of the various different technologies. For example, the data, instructions, commands, information, signals, bits, symbols, chips, etc. that may be referred to throughout the above description may be represented by voltage, current, electromagnetic waves, magnetic fields or magnetic particles, optical fields or photons, or any combination thereof.

[0225] In addition, terms used in this disclosure and terms necessary for understanding this disclosure may be replaced with terms having the same or similar meanings. For example, at least one of the channel and symbol may be a signal (signaling). Also, a signal may be a message. Furthermore, a component carrier (CC) may be called a carrier frequency, cell, frequency carrier, etc.

[0226] The terms “system” and “network” as used in this disclosure are interchangeable.

[0227] Furthermore, the information, parameters, etc., described in this disclosure may be expressed using absolute values, relative values ​​from a given value, or other corresponding information. For example, wireless resources may be indicated by an index.

[0228] The names used for the parameters described above are not restrictive in any way. Furthermore, the formulas and other expressions using these parameters may differ from those expressly disclosed in this disclosure. Since various channels (e.g., PUCCH, PDCCH, etc.) and information elements can be identified by any suitable name, the various names assigned to these various channels and information elements are not restrictive in any way.

[0229] In this disclosure, terms such as "Base Station (BS)," "wireless base station," "fixed station," "NodeB," "eNodeB (eNB)," "gNodeB (gNB)," "access point," "transmission point," "reception point," "transmission / reception point," "cell," "sector," "cell group," "carrier," and "component carrier" may be used interchangeably. Base stations may also be referred to by terms such as macrocell, small cell, femtocell, and picocell.

[0230] A base station can house one or more (e.g., three) cells (also called sectors). If a base station houses multiple cells, the entire coverage area of ​​the base station can be divided into multiple smaller areas, each of which can also be provided with communication services by a base station subsystem (e.g., a small indoor base station (Remote Radio Head: RRH)).

[0231] The terms "cell" or "sector" refer to a portion or all of the coverage area of ​​at least one of the base stations and base station subsystems that provide communication services in this coverage.

[0232] In this disclosure, the transmission of information by a base station to a terminal may be interpreted as the base station instructing the terminal to perform information-based control or operation.

[0233] In this disclosure, terms such as "Mobile Station (MS)," "user terminal," "User Equipment (UE)," and "terminal" may be used interchangeably.

[0234] A mobile station may also be referred to by those skilled in the art as a subscriber station, mobile unit, subscriber unit, wireless unit, remote unit, mobile device, wireless device, wireless communication device, remote device, mobile subscriber station, access terminal, mobile terminal, wireless terminal, remote terminal, handset, user agent, mobile client, client, or some other appropriate term.

[0235] At least one of the base station and the mobile station may be called a transmitting device, a receiving device, a communication device, etc. At least one of the base station and the mobile station may be a device mounted on a mobile body, the mobile body itself, etc. The mobile body may be a vehicle (e.g., a car, an airplane, etc.), an unmanned mobile body (e.g., a drone, an autonomous vehicle, etc.), or a robot (manned or unmanned). At least one of the base station and the mobile station may be a device that does not necessarily move during communication operation. For example, at least one of the base station and the mobile station may be an Internet of Things (IoT) device such as a sensor.

[0236] Furthermore, the term "base station" in this disclosure may be interpreted as "mobile station" (user terminal, hereinafter the same). For example, the various aspects / embodiments of this disclosure may be applied to a configuration in which communication between a base station and a mobile station is replaced with communication between multiple mobile stations (which may be called, for example, Device-to-Device (D2D), Vehicle-to-Everything (V2X), etc.). In this case, the mobile station may have the functions that a base station has. Also, terms such as "uplink" and "downlink" may be interpreted as terms corresponding to terminal-to-terminal communication (for example, "side"). For example, uplink channel, downlink channel, etc. may be interpreted as side channel (or side link).

[0237] Similarly, the term "mobile station" in this disclosure may be interpreted as "base station." In this case, the base station may be configured to have the functions that a mobile station has.

[0238] A wireless frame may consist of one or more frames in the time domain. Each of these one or more frames in the time domain may be called a subframe. A subframe may further consist of one or more slots in the time domain. A subframe may have a fixed time length (e.g., 1 ms) that is independent of numerology.

[0239] Numerology may be communication parameters applied to at least one of the transmission and reception of a signal or channel. Numerology may include, for example, at least one of the following: subcarrier spacing (SCS), bandwidth, symbol length, cyclic prefix length, transmission time interval (TTI), number of symbols per TTI, radio frame configuration, specific filtering processes performed by the transceiver in the frequency domain, and specific windowing processes performed by the transceiver in the time domain.

[0240] A slot may consist of one or more symbols in the time domain (such as Orthogonal Frequency Division Multiplexing (OFDM) symbols or Single Carrier Frequency Division Multiple Access (SC-FDMA) symbols). A slot may also be a time unit based on neurology.

[0241] A slot may include multiple minislots. Each minislot may consist of one or more symbols in the time domain. Minislots may also be called subslots. Minislots may consist of fewer symbols than a slot. A PDSCH (or PUSCH) transmitted in a time unit larger than a minislot may be called a PDSCH (or PUSCH) mapping type A. A PDSCH (or PUSCH) transmitted using a minislot may be called a PDSCH (or PUSCH) mapping type B.

[0242] Wireless frames, subframes, slots, minislots, and symbols all represent units of time when transmitting a signal. Different names may be used for each of these terms.

[0243] For example, one subframe may be called a Transmit Time Interval (TTI), multiple consecutive subframes may be called a TTI, or one slot or one minislot may be called a TTI. In other words, at least one of a subframe and a TTI may be a subframe (1 ms) in existing LTE, a period shorter than 1 ms (e.g., 1-13 symbols), or a period longer than 1 ms. Note that the unit representing the TTI may be called a slot, minislot, etc., instead of a subframe.

[0244] Here, TTI refers to, for example, the smallest unit of time for scheduling in wireless communication. For example, in an LTE system, the base station schedules each user terminal to allocate wireless resources (such as the frequency bandwidth and transmission power available to each user terminal) in TTI units. However, the definition of TTI is not limited to this.

[0245] TTI may be a transmission time unit for channel-encoded data packets (transport blocks), code blocks, code words, etc., or it may be a processing unit for scheduling, link adaptation, etc. Given a TTI, the actual time interval (e.g., number of symbols) to which the transport block, code block, code word, etc. are mapped may be shorter than the given TTI.

[0246] Furthermore, if one slot or one mini-slot is referred to as TTI, then one or more TTIs (i.e., one or more slots or one or more mini-slots) may constitute the minimum time unit of scheduling. In addition, the number of slots (number of mini-slots) that constitute this minimum time unit of scheduling may be controlled.

[0247] A TTI with a time length of 1ms may also be called a normal TTI, long TTI, normal subframe, long subframe, slot, etc. A TTI shorter than a normal TTI may also be called a shortened TTI, short TTI, partial or fractional TTI, shortened subframe, short subframe, mini slot, sub slot, slot, etc.

[0248] Furthermore, long TTIs (e.g., normal TTIs, subframes, etc.) may be interpreted as TTIs with a time length exceeding 1 ms, and short TTIs (e.g., shortened TTIs, etc.) may be interpreted as TTIs with a TTI length less than that of a long TTI but 1 ms or more.

[0249] A resource block (RB) is a resource allocation unit in the time domain and frequency domain, and in the frequency domain, it may contain one or more consecutive subcarriers. The number of subcarriers in an RB may be the same regardless of the neurology, for example, 12. The number of subcarriers in an RB may be determined based on the neurology.

[0250] Furthermore, the time domain of the RB may contain one or more symbols and may be the length of one slot, one minislot, one subframe, or one TTI. One TTI, one subframe, etc., may each consist of one or more resource blocks.

[0251] One or more RBs may also be called a Physical RB (PRB), Sub-Carrier Group (SCG), Resource Element Group (REG), PRB pair, RB pair, etc.

[0252] Furthermore, a resource block may consist of one or more resource elements (REs). For example, one RE may be a radio resource area comprising one subcarrier and one symbol.

[0253] A Bandwidth Part (BWP), also known as a partial bandwidth, may represent a subset of consecutive common resource blocks (RBs) for a given neurology on a given carrier. Here, the common RBs may be identified by an index of the RBs relative to the carrier's common reference point. PRBs may be defined and numbered within a BWP.

[0254] The BWP may include a BWP for UL (UL BWP) and a BWP for DL (DL BWP). One or more BWPs may be configured within one carrier for a UE.

[0255] At least one of the configured BWPs may be active, and the UE may not be assumed to transmit and receive a predetermined signal / channel outside the active BWP. Note that "cell", "carrier", etc. in the present disclosure may be read as "BWP".

[0256] The structures such as the radio frames, subframes, slots, minislots, and symbols described above are merely examples. For example, the number of subframes included in a radio frame, the number of slots per subframe or radio frame, the number of minislots included in a slot, the number of symbols and RBs included in a slot or minislot, the number of subcarriers included in an RB, and the number of symbols within a TTI, symbol length, Cyclic Prefix (CP) length, etc. can be changed variously.

[0257] The terms "connected" and "coupled", or any variations thereof, mean any direct or indirect connection or coupling between two or more elements, and can include the presence of one or more intermediate elements between two elements that are "connected" or "coupled" to each other. The coupling or connection between elements can be physical, logical, or a combination thereof. For example, "connected" may be read as "accessed". As used in the present disclosure, two elements can be considered to be "connected" or "coupled" to each other using at least one of one or more electric wires, cables, and printed electrical connections, and also, as some non-limiting and non-inclusive examples, electromagnetic energy having wavelengths in the radio frequency region, microwave region, and optical (both visible and invisible) region.

[0258] The reference signal can also be abbreviated as Reference Signal (RS) and may be called a Pilot depending on the applicable standard.

[0259] In the present disclosure, the description "based on" does not mean "only based on" unless otherwise specified. In other words, the description "based on" means both "only based on" and "at least based on".

[0260] In the configuration of each of the above devices, the "means" may be replaced with a "section", "circuit", "device", etc.

[0261] Any reference to an element using designations such as "first", "second", etc. used in the present disclosure does not generally limit the quantity or order of those elements. These designations can be used in the present disclosure as a convenient way to distinguish between two or more elements. Therefore, references to the first and second elements do not mean that only two elements can be employed there, or that the first element must precede the second element in some form.

[0262] In the present disclosure, when terms such as "include", "including" and their variants are used, these terms are intended to be inclusive, similar to the term "comprising". Furthermore, the term "or" used in the present disclosure is not intended to be an exclusive disjunction.

[0263] In the present disclosure, for example, when articles are added by translation, such as a, an and the in English, the present disclosure may include that the nouns following these articles are in the plural form.

[0264] The terms “determining” and “determining” as used in this disclosure may encompass a wide variety of actions. “Determining” and “determining” may include, for example, judging, calculating, computing, processing, deriving, investigating, looking up, searching, or inquiring (e.g., searching in a table, database, or other data structure), or ascertaining. “Determining” and “determining” may also include, for example, receiving (e.g., receiving information), transmitting (e.g., sending information), inputting, outputting, or accessing (e.g., accessing data in memory). Furthermore, "judgment" and "decision" can include considering something as having "judgmented" or "decided" after resolving, selecting, choosing, establishing, comparing, etc. In other words, "judgment" and "decision" can include considering something as having "judgmented" or "decided" about some action. Also, "judgment (decision)" can be reinterpreted as "assuming," "expecting," or "considering."

[0265] In this disclosure, the term "A and B are different" may mean "A and B are different from each other." The term may also mean "A and B are each different from C." Terms such as "separate" and "combine" may be interpreted similarly to "different."

[0266] Figure 16 shows an example of the configuration of vehicle 2001. As shown in Figure 16, vehicle 2001 includes a drive unit 2002, a steering unit 2003, an accelerator pedal 2004, a brake pedal 2005, a shift lever 2006, left and right front wheels 2007, left and right rear wheels 2008, an axle 2009, an electronic control unit 2010, various sensors 2021 to 2029, an information service unit 2012, and a communication module 2013.

[0267] The drive unit 2002 consists of, for example, an engine, a motor, or a hybrid of an engine and a motor. The steering unit 2003 includes at least a steering wheel (also called a handle) and is configured to steer at least one of the front wheels and the rear wheels based on the operation of the steering wheel operated by the user. The electronic control unit 2010 consists of a microprocessor 2031, memory (ROM, RAM) 2032, and communication ports (IO ports) 2033. Signals from various sensors 2021 to 2027 installed in the vehicle are input to the electronic control unit 2010. The electronic control unit 2010 may also be called an ECU (Electronic Control Unit).

[0268] Signals from various sensors 2021-2028 include current signals from the current sensor 2021 that senses motor current, front and rear wheel rotation speed signals obtained by the rotation speed sensor 2022, front and rear wheel air pressure signals obtained by the air pressure sensor 2023, vehicle speed signals obtained by the vehicle speed sensor 2024, acceleration signals obtained by the acceleration sensor 2025, accelerator pedal depression signals obtained by the accelerator pedal sensor 2029, brake pedal depression signals obtained by the brake pedal sensor 2026, shift lever operation signals obtained by the shift lever sensor 2027, and detection signals obtained by the object detection sensor 2028 for detecting obstacles, vehicles, pedestrians, etc.

[0269] The Information Services Unit 2012 consists of various devices for providing various types of information, such as driving information, traffic information, and entertainment information, including a car navigation system, audio system, speakers, television, and radio, and one or more ECUs that control these devices. The Information Services Unit 2012 uses information acquired from external devices via a communication module 2013, etc., to provide various multimedia information and multimedia services to the occupants of Vehicle 1.

[0270] The driver assistance system unit 2030 consists of various devices that provide functions to prevent accidents or reduce the driver's workload, such as millimeter-wave radar, LiDAR (Light Detection and Ranging), cameras, positioning locators (e.g., GNSS), map information (e.g., high-definition (HD) maps, autonomous vehicle (AV) maps), gyro systems (e.g., IMU (Inertial Measurement Unit), INS (Inertial Navigation System)), AI (Artificial Intelligence) chips, and AI processors, as well as one or more ECUs that control these devices. The driver assistance system unit 2030 also sends and receives various information via the communication module 2013 to realize driver assistance functions or autonomous driving functions.

[0271] The communication module 2013 can communicate with the microprocessor 2031 and components of the vehicle 1 via its communication port. For example, the communication module 2013 sends and receives data via its communication port 2033 between the drive unit 2002, steering unit 2003, accelerator pedal 2004, brake pedal 2005, shift lever 2006, left and right front wheels 2007, left and right rear wheels 2008, axle 2009, the microprocessor 2031 and memory (ROM, RAM) 2032 in the electronic control unit 2010, and sensors 2021 to 2028.

[0272] The communication module 2013 is a communication device that can be controlled by the microprocessor 2031 of the electronic control unit 2010 and can communicate with external devices. For example, it can send and receive various types of information to and from external devices via wireless communication. The communication module 2013 may be located either inside or outside the electronic control unit 2010. The external device may be, for example, a base station or a mobile station.

[0273] The communication module 2013 transmits current signals from current sensors input to the electronic control unit 2010 to an external device via wireless communication. The communication module 2013 also transmits, via wireless communication, other signals input to the electronic control unit 2010, including front and rear wheel rotation speed signals obtained by the rotation speed sensor 2022, front and rear wheel air pressure signals obtained by the air pressure sensor 2023, vehicle speed signals obtained by the vehicle speed sensor 2024, acceleration signals obtained by the acceleration sensor 2025, accelerator pedal depression signals obtained by the accelerator pedal sensor 2029, brake pedal depression signals obtained by the brake pedal sensor 2026, shift lever operation signals obtained by the shift lever sensor 2027, and detection signals obtained by the object detection sensor 2028 for detecting obstacles, vehicles, pedestrians, etc.

[0274] The communication module 2013 receives various information (traffic information, signal information, distance information, etc.) transmitted from external devices and displays it on the information service unit 2012 installed in the vehicle. The communication module 2013 also stores the various information received from external devices in memory 2032, which is available to the microprocessor 2031. Based on the information stored in memory 2032, the microprocessor 2031 may control the drive unit 2002, steering unit 2003, accelerator pedal 2004, brake pedal 2005, shift lever 2006, left and right front wheels 2007, left and right rear wheels 2008, axles 2009, sensors 2021-2028, etc., installed in the vehicle 2001.

[0275] <Note> The wireless communication node of this embodiment may be configured as a terminal as described in the following sections. Furthermore, the following wireless communication methods may be implemented. (Section 1) A receiving unit that acquires at least one of the following: the position of an aerial wireless relay device at the time of transmission or reception of a signal by a terminal; the position of the wireless relay device at the time of transmission or reception of a signal by the wireless relay device; and the position of the wireless relay device at the time of transmission or reception of a signal by a wireless communication node. A wireless communication node comprising: a control unit that calculates the propagation delay of signals transmitted and received between the terminal and the wireless communication node via the wireless relay device, based on at least one of the three locations. (Section 2) The wireless communication node according to claim 1, wherein the control unit calculates the propagation delay based on all three of the positions. (Section 3) The control unit, A wireless communication node according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the Round Trip Time (RTT) between the terminal and the wireless communication node is calculated as the propagation delay. (Section 4) It includes a transmitting unit that transmits the position of an aerial wireless relay device at the time of transmission or reception of a signal by a terminal to a wireless communication node. A terminal that causes the wireless communication node to calculate the propagation delay of signals transmitted and received between the terminal and the wireless communication node via the wireless relay device, based on at least one of the position transmitted from the transmitting unit, the position of the wireless relay device at the time of transmission or reception of the signal by the wireless relay device, and the position of the wireless relay device at the time of transmission or reception of the signal by the wireless communication node. (Section 5) A step in which a wireless communication node obtains at least one of the following: the position of an aerial wireless relay device at the time of transmission or reception of a signal by a terminal; the position of the wireless relay device at the time of transmission or reception of a signal by the wireless relay device; and the position of the wireless relay device at the time of transmission or reception of a signal by the wireless communication node. A wireless communication method, comprising: a step in which the wireless communication node calculates a propagation delay of a signal transmitted and received between the terminal and the wireless communication node via the wireless relay device based on at least one of the three positions.

[0276] Although the present disclosure has been described in detail above, it is clear to those skilled in the art that the present disclosure is not limited to the embodiments described in the present disclosure. The present disclosure can be implemented as modifications and variations without departing from the spirit and scope of the present disclosure defined by the claims. Therefore, the description of the present disclosure is for the purpose of illustration and has no restrictive meaning for the present disclosure.

Description of Reference Numerals

[0277] 10 Wireless communication system 20 NG-RAN 30 Core network 40 Wireless communication node 100 gNB 100X NTN gateway 110 Receiver 120 Transmitter 130 Control unit 150 Artificial satellite 200 UE 210 Wireless signal transceiver 220 Amplifier unit 230 Modem unit 240 Control signal / reference signal processing unit 250 Encoder / decoder 260 Data transceiver 270 Control unit 300 LMF 310 Receiver 320 Transmitter 330 Control unit 1001 Processor 1002 Memory 1003 Storage 1004 Communication device 1005 Input device 1006 Output device 1007 Bus 2001 Vehicle 2002 Drive Unit 2003 Steering Department 2004 Accelerator pedal 2005 Brake pedal 2006 Shift Lever 2007 Left and right front wheels 2008 Left and right rear wheels 2009 Axle 2010 Electronic Control Unit 2012 Information Services Department 2013 Communication Module 2021 Current Sensor 2022 Rotation speed sensor 2023 Pneumatic Sensor 2024 Vehicle Speed ​​Sensor 2025 Accelerometer 2026 Brake Pedal Sensor 2027 Shift lever sensor 2028 Object Detection Sensor 2029 Accelerator pedal sensor 2030 Driver Support Systems Department 2031 Microprocessor 2032 memory (ROM, RAM) 2033 Communication Port

Claims

1. A receiving unit that acquires at least one of the following: the position of an aerial wireless relay device at the time of transmission or reception of a signal by a terminal; the position of the wireless relay device at the time of transmission or reception of a signal by the wireless relay device; and the position of the wireless relay device at the time of transmission or reception of a signal by a wireless communication node. A control unit that calculates the propagation delay of signals transmitted and received between the terminal and the wireless communication node via the wireless relay device, based on at least one of the three locations, A wireless communication node equipped with this feature.

2. The wireless communication node according to claim 1, wherein the control unit calculates the propagation delay based on all three of the positions.

3. The control unit, The wireless communication node according to claim 1, wherein the Round Trip Time (RTT) between the terminal and the wireless communication node is calculated as the propagation delay.

4. A step in which a wireless communication node obtains at least one of the following: the position of an aerial wireless relay device at the time of transmission or reception of a signal by a terminal; the position of the wireless relay device at the time of transmission or reception of a signal by the wireless relay device; and the position of the wireless relay device at the time of transmission or reception of a signal by the wireless communication node. The steps include: the wireless communication node calculates the propagation delay of signals transmitted and received between the terminal and the wireless communication node via the wireless relay device, based on at least one of the three locations; Wireless communication methods including

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