Positioning method and device

Abstract

The present application provides a positioning method and apparatus for improving UE positioning accuracy of UL-TDOA / DL-TDOA positioning technical solution means by eliminating clock offsets between base stations. The method provided in the present application includes determining positioning reference signal setting information; in the case of a downlink time-to-reach (DL-TDOA) positioning technical solution means, receiving and measuring downlink positioning reference signals coming from different base stations based on the positioning reference signal setting information to determine downlink positioning measurement amount information, and reporting said downlink positioning measurement amount information and location information of a reference terminal; in the case of an uplink time-to-reach (UL-TDOA) positioning technical solution means, transmitting an uplink positioning reference signal based on the positioning reference signal setting information and transmitting location information of a reference terminal.

Description

Technology Field

[0001] <Cross-reference to related applications>

[0002] This application claims priority to a Chinese patent application filed with the Chinese Intellectual Property Office on June 29, 2020, application number 202010606012.4, titled "Positioning method and apparatus," the entire contents of which are incorporated by reference into this application.

[0003] This application relates to the field of communication technology, and in particular to a positioning method and apparatus. Background Technology

[0004] The 3rd Generation Partnership Project (3GPP) has defined various User Equipment (UE) positioning methods based on measurements of the Positioning Reference Signal (PRS) of the 3GPP wireless communication system itself, such as Downlink Time Difference Of Arrival (DL-TDOA) and Uplink Time Difference Of Arrival (UL-TDOA). The characteristic of these methods is that they are based on the PRS positioning of the wireless communication system itself and can operate in environments where the Positioning Reference Signal from outside the network cannot be received. The problem to be solved

[0005] Embodiments of the present application aim to provide a positioning method and apparatus for improving the UE positioning accuracy of a UL-TDOA / DL-TDOA positioning technical solution by eliminating clock offsets between base stations. means of solving the problem

[0006] At the reference terminal side, the positioning method provided by the embodiment of the present application is,

[0007] Determining positioning reference signal setting information;

[0008] In the case of a technical solution for Downlink Time to Arrival Difference (DL-TDOA) positioning, based on the positioning reference signal setting information, receiving and measuring downlink positioning reference signals coming from different base stations to determine downlink positioning measurement information, and reporting the downlink positioning measurement information and the location information of the reference terminal, thereby enabling a Location Management Function (LMF) entity to perform positioning for a target terminal based on the downlink positioning measurement information and the location information of the reference terminal; and / or

[0009] In the case of a technical solution for Uplink Time to Delay in Arrival (UL-TDOA) positioning, it includes transmitting an uplink positioning reference signal based on the positioning reference signal setting information and transmitting location information of the reference terminal, thereby enabling an LMF entity to perform positioning for a target terminal based on the uplink positioning reference signal and the location information of the reference terminal.

[0010] Through this method, in the case of a technical solution for Downlink Time of Arrival (DL-TDOA) positioning, based on positioning reference signal setting information, a Downlink positioning reference signal coming from a different base station is received and measured to determine Downlink positioning measurement information and report Downlink positioning measurement information and location information of the reference terminal; and in the case of a technical solution for Uplink Time of Arrival (UL-TDOA) positioning, based on positioning reference signal setting information, an Uplink positioning reference signal is transmitted and location information of the reference terminal is transmitted, thereby enabling the LMF entity to calculate the clock offset between each base station based on the reference UE location information and / or Uplink / Downlink positioning measurement information reported by the reference UE and then remove the clock offset between base stations, thereby improving the UE positioning accuracy of the UL-TDOA / DL-TDOA positioning technical solution.

[0011] Optionally, the downlink positioning measurement information comprises a downlink positioning measurement and / or a reliability indicator of the downlink positioning measurement, wherein the reliability indicator is configured to indicate the reliability of the downlink positioning measurement as the standard difference and / or variance of the error estimate of the downlink positioning measurement.

[0012] Optionally, the location information of the reference terminal is determined by the reference terminal based on preset location information or through an independent radio access technology (RAT-independent) positioning solution means.

[0013] Optionally, the positioning reference signal setting information is provided by the LMF entity or base station.

[0014] On the side of the LMF entity, the positioning method provided by the embodiment of the present application is,

[0015] In the case of a technical solution for Downlink Time to Delay in Arrival (DL-TDOA) positioning, receiving downlink positioning measurement information reported by a reference terminal and location information of said reference terminal, and receiving downlink positioning measurement information reported by a target terminal; performing positioning for said target terminal based on said downlink positioning measurement information reported by said reference terminal, said location information of said reference terminal, and said downlink positioning measurement information reported by said target terminal; and / or

[0016] A technical solution for uplink time-to-reach (UL-TDOA) positioning comprises receiving location information of a reference terminal reported by a reference terminal, receiving uplink positioning measurement information of the reference terminal reported by a base station and uplink positioning measurement information of a target terminal reported by the base station; and performing positioning for the target terminal based on the uplink positioning measurement information of the reference terminal, the location information of the reference terminal, and the uplink positioning measurement information of the target terminal.

[0017] Optionally, performing positioning for the target terminal based on downlink positioning measurement information reported by the reference terminal, location information of the reference terminal, and downlink positioning measurement information reported by the target terminal, is

[0018] Determining the clock offset between each base station based on the acquired location information of the reference terminal and downlink positioning measurement information;

[0019] Modifying the downlink positioning measurement information of the target terminal according to the clock offset to determine the modified downlink positioning measurement information regarding the target terminal; and

[0020] It includes determining the location information of the target terminal according to the modified downlink positioning measurement information of the target terminal.

[0021] Optionally, performing positioning for the target terminal based on uplink positioning measurement information regarding the reference terminal reported by the base station, location information of the reference terminal, and uplink positioning measurement information regarding the target terminal reported by the base station,

[0022] Determining the clock offset between each base station based on the acquired location information of the reference terminal and uplink positioning measurement information;

[0023] Modifying the uplink positioning measurement information of the target terminal according to the above clock offset to determine the modified uplink positioning measurement information regarding the target terminal; and

[0024] It includes determining the location information of the target terminal according to the modified uplink positioning measurement information of the target terminal.

[0025] Optionally, the modified downlink positioning measurement information includes a downlink reference signal time difference (RSTD) measurement.

[0026] Optionally, before obtaining the location information of the reference terminal and the downlink positioning measurement information, the method also,

[0027] It further includes transmitting downlink positioning reference signal setting information to a terminal; or transmitting downlink positioning reference signal setting information to the base station so that the downlink positioning reference signal setting information is transmitted to the terminal by the base station.

[0028] Optionally, determining the modified downlink positioning measurement information for the target terminal by modifying the downlink positioning measurement information according to the clock offset is specifically:

[0029] Notifying the base station of the clock offset above so that the base station corrects the clock offset between base stations and then transmits a downlink positioning reference signal to the target terminal or receives a downlink sounding reference signal coming from the target terminal; performing direct value assignment on the modified RSTD based on the downlink RSTD reported by the target terminal, or based on the difference in downlink Time of Arrival (TOA) from a plurality of base stations reported by the target terminal; or

[0030] In the position calculation process, the difference value between the RSTD value reported by the target terminal and the clock offset is determined as the modified downlink positioning measurement information.

[0031] Optionally, the modified uplink positioning measurement information includes uplink Relative Time of Arrival (RTOA) measurements.

[0032] Optionally, before obtaining the location information and uplink positioning measurement information of the reference terminal, the method also,

[0033] Transmitting uplink positioning reference signal setting information to a terminal; or further including transmitting uplink positioning reference signal setting information to the base station so that the uplink positioning reference signal setting information is transmitted to the terminal by the base station.

[0034] Optionally, modifying the uplink positioning measurement information of the target terminal according to the clock offset to determine the modified uplink positioning measurement information regarding the target terminal is specifically,

[0035] Notifying the base station of the above clock offset so that the base station corrects the clock offset between base stations and receives an uplink sounding reference signal coming from the target terminal; performing direct value assignment to the modified RTOA with the uplink RTOA reported by the base station; or

[0036] In the position calculation process, the difference between the uplink RTOA value reported for the target terminal by the base station and the clock offset is determined as the modified uplink positioning measurement information.

[0037] At the target terminal side, the positioning method provided by the embodiment of the present application is,

[0038] Determining positioning reference signal setting information;

[0039] In the case of a technical solution for Downlink Time-to-Date-of-Age (DL-TDOA) positioning, based on the positioning reference signal setting information, receiving and measuring downlink positioning reference signals coming from different base stations to determine downlink positioning measurement amount information, and reporting the downlink positioning measurement amount information; and / or

[0040] In the case of a technical solution for uplink time-to-reach (UL-TDOA) positioning, it includes transmitting an uplink positioning reference signal based on the positioning reference signal setting information.

[0041] Optionally, the downlink positioning measurement information comprises a downlink positioning measurement and / or a reliability indicator of the downlink positioning measurement, wherein the reliability indicator is configured to indicate the reliability of the downlink positioning measurement as the standard difference and / or variance of the error estimate of the downlink positioning measurement.

[0042] Optionally, the positioning reference signal setting information is provided by a location management function (LMF) entity or a base station.

[0043] At the base station side, the positioning method provided by the embodiment of the present application is,

[0044] Transmitting positioning reference signal setting information to a terminal;

[0045] In the case of a technical solution for Downlink Time to Delay in Arrival (DL-TDOA) positioning, transmitting a downlink positioning reference signal to a reference terminal, receiving downlink positioning measurement information reported by the reference terminal and location information of the reference terminal, and transmitting them to a Location Management Function (LMF) entity; and / or

[0046] In the case of a technical solution for Uplink Time to Delay in Arrival (UL-TDOA) positioning, it includes receiving and measuring an uplink positioning reference signal transmitted by a reference terminal to obtain uplink positioning measurement amount information, reporting the uplink positioning measurement amount information to an LMF entity, and transmitting the location information of the reference terminal reported by the reference terminal.

[0047] Optionally, the method also,

[0048] Upon receiving a clock offset between base stations notified by the above LMF entity, correcting the clock offset of the local base station according to the clock offset;

[0049] In the case of a technical solution for Downlink Time to Delay in Arrival (DL-TDOA) positioning, the method comprises transmitting the downlink positioning reference signal to a target terminal, receiving downlink positioning measurement information reported by the target terminal, and transmitting it to the LMF entity; and

[0050] In the case of a technical solution for Uplink Time to Delay in Arrival (UL-TDOA) positioning, it further includes receiving and measuring an uplink positioning reference signal transmitted by a target terminal to obtain uplink positioning measurement information of the target terminal, and reporting the uplink positioning measurement information of the target terminal to the LMF entity.

[0051] At the reference terminal side, the positioning device provided by the embodiment of the present application includes a memory and a processor, wherein

[0052] The above memory is configured to store program instructions, and the processor calls the program instructions stored in the memory, and according to the acquired program,

[0053] Operation to determine positioning reference signal setting information;

[0054] In the case of a technical solution for Downlink Time to Arrival Difference (DL-TDOA) positioning, based on the positioning reference signal setting information, an operation of receiving and measuring downlink positioning reference signals coming from different base stations to determine downlink positioning measurement amount information, and reporting the downlink positioning measurement amount information and the location information of the reference terminal to enable an LMF entity to perform positioning for a target terminal based on the downlink positioning measurement amount information and the location information of the reference terminal; and / or

[0055] In the case of a technical solution for Uplink Time to Delay in Arrival (UL-TDOA) positioning, the method is configured to transmit an uplink positioning reference signal based on the positioning reference signal setting information and transmit location information of the reference terminal, thereby enabling an LMF entity to perform positioning for a target terminal based on the uplink positioning reference signal and the location information of the reference terminal.

[0056] Optionally, the downlink positioning measurement information comprises a downlink positioning measurement and / or a reliability indicator of the downlink positioning measurement, wherein the reliability indicator is configured to indicate the reliability of the downlink positioning measurement as the standard difference and / or variance of the error estimate of the downlink positioning measurement.

[0057] Optionally, the location information of the reference terminal is determined by the reference terminal based on preset location information or through an independent radio access technology (RAT-independent) positioning solution means.

[0058] Optionally, the positioning reference signal setting information is provided by the LMF entity or base station.

[0059] On the side of the LMF entity, the positioning device provided by the embodiment of the present application includes a memory and a processor, wherein

[0060] The above memory is configured to store program instructions, and the processor calls the program instructions stored in the memory, and according to the acquired program,

[0061] In the case of a technical solution for Downlink Time to Delay in Arrival (DL-TDOA) positioning, the operation of receiving downlink positioning measurement information reported by a reference terminal and location information of said reference terminal, and receiving downlink positioning measurement information reported by a target terminal; the operation of performing positioning for said target terminal based on said downlink positioning measurement information reported by said reference terminal, said location information of said reference terminal, and said downlink positioning measurement information reported by said target terminal; and / or

[0062] In the case of a technical solution for uplink time-to-reach (UL-TDOA) positioning, the method is configured to perform the operation of receiving location information of the reference terminal reported by the reference terminal, receiving uplink positioning measurement information of the reference terminal reported by the base station and uplink positioning measurement information of the target terminal reported by the base station; and performing positioning for the target terminal based on the uplink positioning measurement information of the reference terminal, the location information of the reference terminal, and the uplink positioning measurement information of the target terminal.

[0063] Optionally, in an operation of performing positioning for the target terminal based on downlink positioning measurement information reported by the reference terminal, location information of the reference terminal, and downlink positioning measurement information reported by the target terminal, the processor specifically calls the program instruction stored in the memory, and according to the acquired program,

[0064] Operation of determining a clock offset between each base station based on the acquired location information of the reference terminal and downlink positioning measurement information;

[0065] An operation to modify downlink positioning measurement information of the target terminal according to the clock offset and determine modified downlink positioning measurement information regarding the target terminal; and

[0066] It is configured to execute an operation to determine the location information of the target terminal according to the modified downlink positioning measurement information of the target terminal.

[0067] Optionally, in an operation to determine modified uplink positioning measurement information regarding the target terminal by modifying the uplink positioning measurement information of the target terminal according to the clock offset, the processor specifically calls the program instruction stored in the memory and, according to the acquired program,

[0068] An operation to determine a clock offset between each base station based on the acquired location information of the reference terminal and uplink positioning measurement information;

[0069] An operation to modify the uplink positioning measurement information of the target terminal according to the above clock offset and to determine the modified uplink positioning measurement information regarding the target terminal; and

[0070] It is configured to execute an operation to determine the location information of the target terminal according to the modified uplink positioning measurement information of the target terminal.

[0071] Optionally, the modified downlink positioning measurement information includes a downlink reference signal time difference (RSTD) measurement.

[0072] Optionally, before acquiring the location information of the reference terminal and the downlink positioning measurement information, the processor also calls the program instruction stored in the memory, and according to the acquired program,

[0073] The method is configured to perform an operation of transmitting downlink positioning reference signal setting information to a terminal; or an operation of transmitting downlink positioning reference signal setting information to the base station so that the downlink positioning reference signal setting information is transmitted to the terminal by the base station.

[0074] Optionally, in an operation of determining modified downlink positioning measurement information regarding the target terminal according to the clock offset, the processor specifically,

[0075] An operation of notifying the base station of the clock offset above so that the base station corrects the clock offset between base stations and then transmits a downlink positioning reference signal to the target terminal or receives a downlink sounding reference signal coming from the target terminal; an operation of performing direct value assignment on a modified RSTD based on the downlink RSTD reported by the target terminal, or based on the difference in downlink arrival times (TOA) from a plurality of base stations reported by the target terminal; or

[0076] In the position calculation process, the method is configured to execute an operation of determining the difference value between the RSTD value reported by the target terminal and the clock offset as the modified downlink positioning measurement information.

[0077] Optionally, the modified uplink positioning measurement information includes uplink relative time of arrival (RTOA) measurements.

[0078] Optionally, before acquiring the location information of the reference terminal and the uplink positioning measurement information, the processor also calls the program instruction stored in the memory, and according to the acquired program,

[0079] The method is configured to perform an operation of transmitting uplink positioning reference signal setting information to a terminal; or an operation of transmitting uplink positioning reference signal setting information to the base station so that the base station transmits the uplink positioning reference signal setting information to the terminal.

[0080] Optionally, in an operation to determine modified uplink positioning measurement information regarding the target terminal by modifying the uplink positioning measurement information of the target terminal according to the clock offset, the processor specifically calls the program instruction stored in the memory and, according to the acquired program,

[0081] An operation of notifying the base station of the above clock offset so that the base station corrects the clock offset between base stations and receives an uplink sounding reference signal coming from the target terminal; an operation of performing a direct value assignment to the modified RTOA with the uplink RTOA reported by the base station; or

[0082] In the position calculation process, the method is configured to execute an operation of determining the difference between the uplink RTOA value reported to the target terminal by the base station and the clock offset as the modified uplink positioning measurement information.

[0083] At the target terminal side, the positioning device provided by the embodiment of the present application includes a memory and a processor, wherein

[0084] The above memory is configured to store program instructions, and the processor calls the program instructions stored in the memory, and according to the acquired program,

[0085] Operation to determine positioning reference signal setting information;

[0086] In the case of a technical solution for Downlink Time-to-Destination Observation (DL-TDOA) positioning, based on the positioning reference signal setting information, the operation of receiving and measuring a downlink positioning reference signal coming from a different base station to determine downlink positioning measurement amount information and reporting the downlink positioning measurement amount information; and / or

[0087] In the case of a technical solution for Uplink Time to Delay in Arrival (UL-TDOA) positioning, it is configured to execute an operation of transmitting an Uplink positioning reference signal based on the positioning reference signal setting information.

[0088] Optionally, the downlink positioning measurement information comprises a downlink positioning measurement and / or a reliability indicator of the downlink positioning measurement, wherein the reliability indicator is configured to indicate the reliability of the downlink positioning measurement as the standard difference and / or variance of the error estimate of the downlink positioning measurement.

[0089] Optionally, the positioning reference signal setting information is provided by a location management function (LMF) entity or a base station.

[0090] Optionally, the processor is also configured to call the program instruction stored in the memory and, according to the acquired program, execute an operation to determine and report the location information of the reference terminal.

[0091] At the base station side, the positioning device provided by the embodiment of the present application includes a memory and a processor, wherein

[0092] The above memory is configured to store program instructions, and the processor calls the program instructions stored in the memory, and according to the acquired program,

[0093] The operation of transmitting positioning reference signal setting information to a terminal;

[0094] In the case of a technical solution for Downlink Time to Delay in Arrival (DL-TDOA) positioning, the operation of transmitting a downlink positioning reference signal to a reference terminal, receiving downlink positioning measurement information reported by the reference terminal and location information of the reference terminal, and transmitting them to an LMF entity; and / or

[0095] In the case of a technical solution for Uplink Time to Delay in Arrival (UL-TDOA) positioning, it is configured to receive and measure an uplink positioning reference signal transmitted by a reference terminal to obtain uplink positioning measurement amount information, report the uplink positioning measurement amount information to an LMF entity, and transmit the location information of the reference terminal reported by the reference terminal.

[0096] Optionally, the processor also calls the program instruction stored in the memory, according to the acquired program,

[0097] When receiving a clock offset between base stations notified by the above LMF entity, an operation to correct the clock offset of a local base station according to the clock offset;

[0098] In the case of a technical solution for Downlink Time to Delay in Arrival (DL-TDOA) positioning, the operation of transmitting the downlink positioning reference signal to a target terminal, receiving downlink positioning measurement information reported by the target terminal, and transmitting it to the LMF entity; and

[0099] In the case of a technical solution for Uplink Time-to-Degree of Arrival (UL-TDOA) positioning, it is configured to receive and measure an uplink positioning reference signal transmitted by a target terminal to obtain uplink positioning measurement information of the target terminal, and to execute an operation of transmitting the uplink positioning measurement information of the target terminal to the LMF entity.

[0100] At the reference terminal side, another positioning device provided by an embodiment of the present application is,

[0101] A setting information determination unit configured to determine positioning reference signal setting information;

[0102] In the case of a technical solution for Downlink Time-to-Degree of Arrival (DL-TDOA) positioning, a first downlink unit configured to receive and measure downlink positioning reference signals coming from different base stations based on the positioning reference signal setting information to determine downlink positioning measurement amount information, and to report the downlink positioning measurement amount information and the location information of the reference terminal, thereby enabling a Location Management Function (LMF) entity to perform positioning for a target terminal based on the downlink positioning measurement amount information and the location information of the reference terminal; and / or

[0103] In the case of a technical solution for uplink time-to-reach (UL-TDOA) positioning, it includes a first uplink unit configured to transmit an uplink positioning reference signal based on the positioning reference signal setting information and transmit location information of the reference terminal, thereby enabling an LMF entity to perform positioning for a target terminal based on the uplink positioning reference signal and the location information of the reference terminal.

[0104] Optionally, the downlink positioning measurement information comprises a downlink positioning measurement and / or a reliability indicator of the downlink positioning measurement, wherein the reliability indicator is configured to indicate the reliability of the downlink positioning measurement as the standard difference and / or variance of the error estimate of the downlink positioning measurement.

[0105] Optionally, the location information of the reference terminal is determined by the reference terminal based on preset location information or through an independent radio access technology (RAT-independent) positioning solution means.

[0106] Optionally, the positioning reference signal setting information is provided by the LMF entity or base station.

[0107] On the side of the LMF entity, another positioning device provided by an embodiment of the present application is,

[0108] In the case of a technical solution for Downlink Time to Delay in Arrival (DL-TDOA) positioning, the first downlink processing unit configured to execute the operation of receiving downlink positioning measurement information reported by a reference terminal and location information of the reference terminal, and receiving downlink positioning measurement information reported by a target terminal; and the operation of performing positioning for the target terminal based on the downlink positioning measurement information reported by the reference terminal, the location information of the reference terminal, and the downlink positioning measurement information reported by the target terminal; and / or

[0109] A technical solution for uplink time-to-reach (UL-TDOA) positioning includes: an operation of receiving location information of the reference terminal reported by the reference terminal, and receiving uplink positioning measurement information of the reference terminal reported by the base station and uplink positioning measurement information of the target terminal reported by the base station; and a first uplink processing unit configured to perform positioning for the target terminal based on the uplink positioning measurement information of the reference terminal, the location information of the reference terminal, and the uplink positioning measurement information of the target terminal.

[0110] Optionally, the first downlink processing unit specifically,

[0111] Operation of determining a clock offset between each base station based on the acquired location information of the reference terminal and downlink positioning measurement information;

[0112] An operation to modify downlink positioning measurement information of the target terminal according to the clock offset and determine modified downlink positioning measurement information regarding the target terminal; and

[0113] It is configured to execute an operation to determine the location information of the target terminal according to the modified downlink positioning measurement information of the target terminal.

[0114] Optionally, the first uplink processing unit specifically,

[0115] An operation to determine a clock offset between each base station based on the acquired location information of the reference terminal and uplink positioning measurement information;

[0116] An operation to modify the uplink positioning measurement information of the target terminal according to the above clock offset and to determine the modified uplink positioning measurement information regarding the target terminal; and

[0117] It is configured to execute an operation to determine the location information of the target terminal according to the modified uplink positioning measurement information of the target terminal.

[0118] Optionally, the modified downlink positioning measurement information includes a downlink reference signal time difference (RSTD) measurement.

[0119] Optionally, the first transmitting unit is further included, wherein before acquiring the location information of the reference terminal and the downlink positioning measurement amount information, the first transmitting unit,

[0120] The method is configured to perform an operation of transmitting downlink positioning reference signal setting information to a terminal; or an operation of transmitting downlink positioning reference signal setting information to the base station so that the downlink positioning reference signal setting information is transmitted to the terminal by the base station.

[0121] Optionally, the first downlink processing unit specifically,

[0122] An operation of notifying the base station of the clock offset above so that the base station corrects the clock offset between base stations and then transmits a downlink positioning reference signal to the target terminal; and an operation of performing direct value assignment on the modified RSTD based on the downlink RSTD reported by the target terminal, or based on the downlink TOA difference from a plurality of base stations reported by the target terminal; or

[0123] In the position calculation process, the method is configured to execute an operation of determining the difference value between the RSTD value reported by the target terminal and the clock offset as the modified downlink positioning measurement information.

[0124] Optionally, the modified uplink positioning measurement information includes uplink relative time of arrival (RTOA) measurements.

[0125] Optionally, a second transmitting unit is further included, wherein before acquiring the location information of the reference terminal and the uplink positioning measurement amount information, the second transmitting unit,

[0126] The method is configured to perform an operation of transmitting uplink positioning reference signal setting information to a terminal; or an operation of transmitting uplink positioning reference signal setting information to the base station so that the base station transmits the uplink positioning reference signal setting information to the terminal.

[0127] Optionally, the first uplink processing unit specifically,

[0128] An operation of notifying the base station of the above clock offset so that the base station corrects the clock offset between base stations and receives an uplink sounding reference signal coming from the target terminal; and an operation of performing direct value assignment to the modified RTOA with the uplink RTOA reported by the base station; or

[0129] In the position calculation process, the method is configured to execute an operation of determining the difference between the uplink RTOA value reported to the target terminal by the base station and the clock offset as the modified uplink positioning measurement information.

[0130] At the target terminal side, another positioning device provided by an embodiment of the present application is,

[0131] A setting information determination unit configured to determine positioning reference signal setting information;

[0132] In the case of a technical solution for Downlink Time-to-Date-of-Age (DL-TDOA) positioning, a second downlink unit configured to receive and measure a downlink positioning reference signal coming from a different base station based on the positioning reference signal setting information to determine downlink positioning measurement amount information and to report the downlink positioning measurement amount information; and / or

[0133] In the case of a technical solution for uplink time-to-reach (UL-TDOA) positioning, it includes a second uplink unit configured to transmit an uplink positioning reference signal based on the positioning reference signal setting information.

[0134] Optionally, the downlink positioning measurement information comprises a downlink positioning measurement and / or a reliability indicator of the downlink positioning measurement, wherein the reliability indicator is configured to indicate the reliability of the downlink positioning measurement as the standard difference and / or variance of the error estimate of the downlink positioning measurement.

[0135] Optionally, the positioning reference signal setting information is provided by a location management function (LMF) entity or a base station.

[0136] At the base station side, another positioning device provided by an embodiment of the present application is,

[0137] A setting information transmission unit configured to transmit positioning reference signal setting information to a terminal;

[0138] In the case of a technical solution for Downlink Time to Delay in Arrival (DL-TDOA) positioning, a second downlink processing unit configured to transmit a downlink positioning reference signal to a reference terminal, receive downlink positioning measurement information reported by the reference terminal and location information of the reference terminal, and transmit to a Location Management Function (LMF) entity; and / or

[0139] In the case of a technical solution for Uplink Time to Delay in Arrival (UL-TDOA) positioning, it includes a second uplink processing unit configured to receive and measure an uplink positioning reference signal transmitted by a reference terminal to obtain uplink positioning measurement amount information, report the uplink positioning measurement amount information to an LMF entity, and transmit the location information of the reference terminal reported by the reference terminal.

[0140] Optionally, upon receiving a clock offset between base stations notified by the LMF entity, a correction unit is further included,

[0141] The above correction unit is configured to correct the clock offset of a local base station according to the above clock offset, and

[0142] Specifically, in the case of a Downlink Time to Delay in Arrival (DL-TDOA) positioning technical solution, the second downlink processing unit is configured to transmit the downlink positioning reference signal to a target terminal, receive downlink positioning measurement information reported by the target terminal, and transmit it to the LMF entity.

[0143] Specifically, in the case of an uplink time-to-difference-of-arrival (UL-TDOA) positioning technical solution, the second uplink processing unit is configured to receive and measure an uplink positioning reference signal transmitted by a target terminal to obtain uplink positioning measurement information of the target terminal, and to report the uplink positioning measurement information of the target terminal to the LMF entity.

[0144] Another embodiment of the present application provides a computing device comprising a memory and a processor, wherein the memory is configured to store program instructions, and the processor is configured to call the program instructions stored in the memory and execute any one of the methods described above according to the acquired program.

[0145] Another embodiment of the present application provides a computer storage medium in which a computer executable instruction is stored, wherein the computer executable instruction is configured to allow any one of the aforementioned methods to be executed by the said computer. Brief explanation of the drawing

[0146] In order to more clearly explain the technical solution means in the embodiments of the present application, drawings necessary for describing the embodiments are briefly introduced below. It is obvious that the drawings in the following description are merely some embodiments of the present application, and a person skilled in the art can obtain other drawings from these drawings by exercising ordinary creative ability. FIG. 1 is an exemplary diagram of a signal interaction between a base station, a terminal, and an LMF entity provided by an embodiment of the present application. FIG. 2 is an exemplary diagram of another signal interaction between a base station, a terminal, and an LMF entity provided by an embodiment of the present application. FIG. 3 is an exemplary diagram of a third signal interaction between a base station, a terminal, and an LMF entity provided by an embodiment of the present application. FIG. 4 is an exemplary flowchart of a positioning method for a reference terminal side provided by an embodiment of the present application. FIG. 5 is an exemplary flowchart of a positioning method on the LMF entity side provided by an embodiment of the present application. FIG. 6 is an exemplary flowchart of a positioning method for a target terminal side provided by an embodiment of the present application. FIG. 7 is an exemplary flowchart of a positioning method on the base station side provided by an embodiment of the present application. FIG. 8 is an exemplary structural diagram of a terminal-side positioning device provided by an embodiment of the present application. FIG. 9 is an exemplary structural diagram of a network-side positioning device provided by an embodiment of the present application. FIG. 10 is an exemplary structural diagram of a positioning device on the reference terminal side provided by an embodiment of the present application. FIG. 11 is an exemplary structural diagram of a positioning device on the LMF entity side provided by an embodiment of the present application. FIG. 12 is an exemplary structural diagram of a positioning device on the target terminal side provided by an embodiment of the present application. FIG. 13 is an exemplary structural diagram of a base station-side positioning device provided by an embodiment of the present application. Specific details for implementing the invention

[0147] Hereinafter, with reference to the drawings in the embodiments of the present application, a clear and complete description of the technical solution means in the embodiments of the present application will be provided. It is obvious that the described embodiments are merely some embodiments, not all embodiments of the present application. Based on the embodiments of the present application, all other embodiments that a person skilled in the art could obtain by exercising ordinary creative ability also fall within the scope of protection of the present application.

[0148] In a wireless communication user terminal positioning system, clock offset between base stations (i.e., time synchronization error) is one of the key issues that directly affects positioning performance. Embodiments of the present application provide a positioning method and apparatus for improving the UE positioning accuracy of a UL-TDOA / DL-TDOA positioning technical solution by eliminating clock offset between base stations based on a reference UE.

[0149] A positioning method and apparatus are provided to improve the UE positioning accuracy of a technical solution for UL-TDOA / DL-TDOA positioning by eliminating clock offsets between base stations.

[0150] Here, since the method and the device are based on the same application concept and the problem-solving principles by the method and the device are similar, the embodiments of the device and the method may be mutually referenced, and the description of overlapping parts will not be repeated.

[0151] The technical solution provided by the embodiments of the present application is applicable to various systems, particularly 5G systems. For example, applicable systems may include the Global System of Mobile Communication (GSM), Code Division Multiple Access (CDMA) system, Wideband Code Division Multiple Access (WCDMA) system, General Packet Radio Service (GPRS) system, Long Term Evolution (LTE) system, LTE Frequency Division Duplex (FDD) system, LTE Time Division Duplex (TDD) system, Universal Mobile Telecommunication System (UMTS), Worldwide Interoperability for Microwave Access (WiMAX) system, 5G system, and 5G NR system. All of these various systems include terminal devices and network devices.

[0152] The terminal device mentioned in the embodiments of the present application may refer to a device that provides voice and / or data connectivity to a user, a handheld device equipped with wireless connectivity capabilities, or other processing device connected to a wireless modem. In different systems, the name of the terminal device may also differ. For example, in a 5G system, the terminal device may be referred to as a user device. The wireless terminal device may communicate with at least one core network through a Radio Access Network (RAN), and the wireless terminal device may be a mobile terminal device such as a mobile phone (or referred to as a "cellular" phone), and a computer equipped with a mobile terminal device (e.g., a portable, pocket-sized, handheld, computer-embedded, or vehicle-mounted mobile device), and these exchange voice and / or data with the Radio Access Network. For example, it may be a device such as a Personal Communication Service (PCS) phone, a cordless phone, a Session Initiated Protocol (SIP) phone, a Wireless Local Loop (WLL) station, or a Personal Digital Assistant (PDA). A wireless terminal device may be referred to as a system, a subscriber unit, a subscriber station, a mobile station, a mobile station, a remote station, an access point, a remote terminal, an access terminal, a user terminal, a user agent, or a user device, and the embodiments of the present application are not limited thereto.

[0153] The network device mentioned in the embodiments of the present application may be a base station that may include a plurality of cells. Depending on the specific application scenario, the base station may be referred to as an access point, or may refer to a device that performs communication with a wireless terminal device through one or more sectors on a wireless interface in an access network, or may be referred to by another name. The network device may be configured to perform mutual conversion between a received wireless frame and an Internet Protocol (IP) packet as a router between the wireless terminal device and the rest of the access network, wherein the rest of the access network may include an Internet Protocol (IP) communication network. The network device may also coordinate attribute management for the wireless interface. For example, the network device mentioned in the embodiments of the present application may be a network device (Base Transceiver Station, BTS) in a Global System of Mobile Communication (GSM) or Code Division Multiple Access (CDMA) system, a network device (NodeB) in a Wideband Code Division Multiple Access (WCDMA) system, an evolutionary network device (Evolutionary Node B, eNB or e-NodeB) in a Long Term Evolution (LTE) system, a 5G base station in a 5G network architecture (next generation system), a home evolved node B (HeNB), a relay node, a femtocell, a picocell, etc., and the embodiments of the present application are not limited thereto.

[0154] Hereinafter, each embodiment of the present application will be described in detail with reference to the attached drawings. It should be noted that the exemplary order of the embodiments of the present application merely indicates the order of the embodiments and does not imply superiority or inferiority of the technical solutions provided in the embodiments.

[0155] For convenience of explanation, the PRS mentioned in the embodiments of this application represents any reference signal that can be used for TOA measurement, and includes, for example, the PRS that can be used for conventional DL-TDOA / UL-TDOA positioning, the Channel State Indication Reference Signal (CSI-RS), the System Synchronization / Physical Broadcast Channel Block (SS / PBCH Block), the Sounding Reference Signal (SRS), and the Physical Random Access Channel (PRACH). In the embodiments of this application, these reference signals may be collectively referred to as positioning reference signals.

[0156] The technical solution provided in the embodiments of the present application is,

[0157] The reference UE first calculates the UE position based on a preset UE position or through a RAT-independent positioning solution means, such as an Assisted-Global Navigation Satellite System (A-GNSS), and then processes it by classifying it into the following two cases.

[0158] 1) In the case of a DL-TDOA positioning technical solution, the reference UE receives and measures a downlink positioning reference signal (PRS) coming from a different base station to determine downlink positioning measurement information (including, but not limited to, downlink RSTD measurement values ​​and downlink TOA measurement values), and then reports the location information of the reference UE and the downlink positioning measurement information to an LMF entity or base station.

[0159] 2) In the case of a technical solution for UL-TDOA positioning, the reference UE reports the location information of the reference UE to an LMF entity or a base station and transmits an uplink PRS to the base station, causing the base station to receive the uplink PRS transmitted by the reference UE, obtain uplink positioning measurement information (i.e., uplink RTOA value), and then report the uplink positioning measurement information and the location information of the reference UE to the LMF entity.

[0160] The reference UE according to an embodiment of the present application is a UE that assists in positioning relative to a target UE.

[0161] The LMF entity calculates the clock offset between each base station based on the location information of the reference UE reported by the reference UE and the uplink / downlink positioning measurement information. Subsequently, the LMF entity has two processing methods for terminal cooperation (UE-assisted, i.e., auxiliary positioning by the reference UE) positioning as follows.

[0162] 1) The LMF entity notifies each base station of the corresponding clock offset, so that each base station performs clock offset correction and then transmits a PRS to the target UE or receives an uplink PRS from the target UE.

[0163] 2) The LMF entity does not notify each base station of the corresponding clock offset, and each base station does not perform clock offset correction, and the LMF entity removes the effect of the corresponding clock offset from the RSTD value reported by the target UE when calculating the position.

[0164] In the embodiment of the present application, since the influence of the clock offset has already been removed from the positioning measurement information of the target UE processed (downlink RSTD measurement value, or uplink RTOA measurement value), the UE positioning accuracy of the DL-TDOA or UL-TDOA positioning technical solution can be guaranteed.

[0165] The technical solution provided by the embodiments of the present application in terms of different devices is described in detail below.

[0166] The processing process on the side of the reference UE (which may also be referred to as the first UE) includes the following steps.

[0167] Step 1: The reference UE calculates the location information of the reference UE based on a preset location or through an independent radio access technology (RAT-independent) positioning solution (e.g., A-GNSS).

[0168] Step 2: Receive downlink PRS configuration information or uplink PRS configuration information provided by the LMF entity or base station.

[0169] Here, the downlink PRS configuration information includes the time frequency position of the downlink PRS, reference base station number information, etc., and the uplink PRS configuration information includes the time frequency position of the uplink PRS, reference base station number information, etc., and the configuration information is transmitted via LTE Positioning Protocol (LPP) signaling or Radio Resource Control (RRC) signaling.

[0170] Here, the downlink PRS includes a New Radio (NR) PRS, a Channel State Indication Reference Signal (CSI-RS), a System Synchronization / Physical Broadcast Channel Block (SS / PBCH Block), etc., and the uplink PRS includes a Sounding Reference Signal (SRS) and a Physical Random Access Channel (PRACH), etc.

[0171] The above reference base station refers to the base station primarily used when calculating RSTD.

[0172] Step 3: The reference UE classifies the DL-TDOA and UL-TDOA positioning technical solutions into two cases and performs processing; in the case of the DL-TDOA positioning technical solution, it enters Step 4, and in the case of the UL-TDOA positioning technical solution, it enters Step 5.

[0173] Step 4: Handling of DL-TDOA Positioning Technical Solutions:

[0174] Step 4.1, the reference UE receives and measures a downlink positioning reference signal (PRS) coming from a different base station to obtain a downlink positioning measurement (including but not limited to downlink RSTD and downlink TOA), and / or a reliability indicator of the downlink positioning measurement, wherein the reliability indicator is configured to indicate the reliability of the downlink positioning measurement as the standard difference and / or variance of the error estimate of the downlink positioning measurement, and the reliability is lower as the standard difference and / or variance is larger, and the reliability is higher as the standard difference and / or variance is smaller.

[0175] Step 4.2, the reference UE reports the downlink positioning measurement obtained in Step 4.1, and / or the reliability indicator of the downlink positioning measurement, and the location information of the reference UE obtained in Step 1 to the LMF entity or base station.

[0176] Step 5: Handling of UL-TDOA Positioning Technical Solutions:

[0177] Step 5.1, Reference: The UE transmits the uplink PRS to the base station.

[0178] Step 5.2, the reference UE reports the location information of the reference UE obtained in Step 1 to the LMF entity or base station.

[0179] The processing process on the LMF entity side includes the following steps.

[0180] Step 1: The LMF entity transmits downlink PRS configuration information or uplink PRS configuration information to the UE, or the LMF entity transmits downlink PRS configuration information or uplink PRS configuration information to the base station so that the base station transmits it to the UE.

[0181] Step 2: The LMF entity receives location information of the reference UE reported by the reference UE, and downlink positioning measurement information reported by the reference UE (including, but not limited to, downlink RSTD measurements and downlink TOA measurements) or uplink positioning measurement information reported by the base station (i.e., uplink RTOA values).

[0182] Step 3: The LMF entity calculates the clock offset between each base station based on the location information of the reference UE reported by the reference UE, received in Step 2, and the downlink positioning measurement information reported by the reference UE or the uplink positioning measurement information reported by the base station.

[0183] Without loss of universality, it is assumed that Base Station 1 is the reference base station, Base Station 2 is the non-reference base station, UE_ref represents the reference UE, T1 represents the clock offset between Base Station 2 and Base Station 1, RSTD(Base Station 2, Base Station 1->UE_ref) represents the RSTD between Base Station 2 and Base Station 1 reported by the reference UE, d(Base Station 2->UE_ref) and d(Base Station 1->UE_ref) represent the optimal distance between Base Station 2 and the reference UE and the optimal distance between Base Station 1 and the reference UE, respectively, with units in meters, and c represents the speed of light with units in meters / second. Below, a method for calculating the clock offset between base stations by the LMF entity is introduced, classified into three cases (CASE) based on the difference in positioning measurement information reported by the reference terminal or base station.

[0184] CASE 1: If the downlink positioning measurement information reported by the reference terminal is a downlink RSTD measurement value, the following two calculation formulas can be obtained.

[0185] RSTD(base station 2, base station 1->UE_ref)=RSTD_perfect(base station 2, base station 1->UE_ref)+T1 (1)

[0186] RSTD_perfect(base station 2, base station 1->UE_ref)=d(base station 2->UE_ref) / cd(base station 1->UE_ref) / c (2)

[0187] By combining formulas (1) and (2), the clock offset T1 between base station 2 and base station 1 can be obtained.

[0188] In CASE 1, when two or more reference UEs are reporting simultaneously, if the same reference base station is selected during RSTD reporting (either the reference base station is selected autonomously by the reference UE or the reference base station is set by the LMF entity), the LMF entity obtains a processed clock offset through processing for each clock offset (e.g., an arithmetic mean, or a weighted average based on a reliability indicator of the positioning measure).

[0189] If the reference base station selected by multiple reference UEs is not the same single base station, the LMF entity obtains the clock offset value between any two base stations through algorithmic processing, provided that the fundamental principle is that a linear relationship exists between the clock offsets of any two base stations.

[0190] CASE 2: In the case where the downlink positioning measurement information reported by the reference terminal is the downlink TOA reaching the reference UE from a different base station,

[0191] TOA(base station 1->UE_ref)=TOA_perfect(base station 1->UE_ref)+0 (3)

[0192] TOA(base station 2->UE_ref)=TOA_perfect(base station 2->UE_ref)+T1 (4)

[0193] Equation (1) can be obtained through Equation (4) - Equation (3). Here, RSTD(base station 2, base station 1->UE_ref)=TOA(base station 2->UE_ref)-TOA(base station 1->UE_ref); RSTD_perfect=TOA_perfect(base station 2->UE_ref)-TOA_perfect(base station 1->UE_ref).

[0194] Next, the clock offset value T1 between base station 2 and base station 1 can be obtained using the same method as in CASE 1.

[0195] In CASE 2, since what is reported by the reference terminal is the downlink TOA rather than the downlink RSTD measurement, when two or more reference UEs report simultaneously, the same single reference base station is selected when calculating RSTD for multiple reference UEs.

[0196] CASE 3: In the case where the uplink positioning measurement information reported by the base station is an uplink RTOA acquired by a different base station based on uplink PRS measurement information,

[0197] RTOA(base station 1->UE_ref)=RTOA_perfect(base station 1->UE_ref)+0 (5)

[0198] RTOA(base station 2->UE_ref)=RTOA_perfect(base station 2->UE_ref)+T1 (6)

[0199] Equation (1) can be obtained through Equation (6) - Equation (5). Here, RSTD(UE_ref->Base Station 2, Base Station 1)=RTOA(UE_ref->Base Station 2)-RTOA(UE_ref->Base Station 1); RSTD_perfect=RTOA_perfect(UE_ref->Base Station 2)-RTOA_perfect(UE_ref->Base Station 1).

[0200] Next, the clock offset value T1 between base station 2 and base station 1 can be obtained using the same method as in CASE 1.

[0201] In CASE 3, since the value reported by the base station to the target terminal is the uplink RTOA rather than the downlink RSTD measurement, when the base station reports to two or more reference UEs simultaneously, the same single reference base station is selected when calculating the modified uplink RSTD for multiple reference UEs.

[0202] Step 4: Based on the clock offset T1 calculated by the LMF entity in Step 3, the LMF entity performs processing through one of the following two methods.

[0203] Method 1), for terminal cooperation (UE-assisted) positioning, the LMF entity notifies each base station of the corresponding clock offset T1, and each base station can correct the clock offset between them, and then the base station transmits a downlink PRS to the target UE or receives an uplink PRS coming from the target UE.

[0204] Method 2), for UE-assisted positioning, the LMF entity does not notify each base station of the clock offset T1, and each base station does not correct the clock offset between them, and when the LMF entity calculates the position, it subtracts the corresponding clock offset from the RSTD value reported by the target UE or the uplink RTOA value reported by the base station for the target UE.

[0205] That is, the difference between the RSTD value reported by the target UE and the corresponding clock offset is set as the modified downlink positioning measurement information, or the difference between the uplink RSTD value reported by the base station for the target UE and the corresponding clock offset is set as the modified downlink positioning measurement information.

[0206] Step 5: The LMF entity receives downlink positioning measurement information (including, but not limited to, downlink RSTD measurements and downlink TOA measurements) reported by the target UE or uplink positioning measurement information (RTOA values) reported by the base station, and performs the following processing for each of the two methods in Step 4.

[0207] In the case of Method 1, a value assignment for the modified RSTD measurement is performed directly based on the downlink RSTD measurement reported by the target UE, or based on the difference between the downlink TOA measurements from two base stations reported by the target UE, or a value assignment for the modified RTOA measurement is performed directly based on the uplink positioning measurement information (RTOA value) reported by the base station.

[0208] In the case of Method 2, the LMF entity obtains a modified downlink RSTD measurement or uplink RTOA measurement by performing a clock offset removal operation by referencing the inter-base station clock offset T1 obtained in Step 4. The following explanation uses the downlink as an example. Assuming that Base Station 1 is the reference base station, Base Station 2 is the non-reference base station, UE_target represents the target UE, T1 represents the clock offset between Base Station 2 and Base Station 1 calculated in Step 3, and RSTD(Base Station 2, Base Station 1->UE_target) represents the downlink RSTD measurement between Base Station 2 and Base Station 1 reported by the UE, the clock offset removal operation is as shown in Equation (7) below.

[0209] RSTD_modify(base station 2, base station 1->UE_target)=RSTD(base station 2, base station 1->UE_target)-T1 (7)

[0210] Step 6: The LMF entity obtains location information of the target UE by performing a location calculation operation of the target UE (based on the existing Chan algorithm, etc.) based on the modified downlink RSTD measurement or uplink RTOA measurement obtained in Step 5.

[0211] The processing process on the target UE (which may also be referred to as the second UE) side includes the following steps.

[0212] Step 1: A target UE receives downlink PRS configuration information or uplink PRS configuration information provided by an LMF entity or a base station, wherein the downlink PRS configuration information includes the time frequency location of the downlink PRS, reference base station number information, etc., and the uplink PRS configuration information includes the time frequency location of the uplink PRS, reference base station number information, etc., and the configuration information is transmitted via LPP signaling or RRC signaling.

[0213] Step 2: The target UE performs processing by classifying DL-TDOA and UL-TDOA positioning technical solutions into two cases; in the case of DL-TDOA positioning technical solutions, it enters Step 3, and in the case of UL-TDOA positioning technical solutions, it enters Step 4.

[0214] Step 3: Handling of DL-TDOA Positioning Technical Solutions:

[0215] Step 3.1, the target UE receives and measures downlink positioning reference signals (PRS) coming from different base stations to obtain downlink positioning measurements (including, but not limited to, downlink RSTD and downlink TOA), and / or reliability indicators of downlink positioning measurements.

[0216] Step 3.2, the target UE reports the downlink positioning measure obtained in Step 3.1, and / or the reliability indicator of the downlink positioning measure to the LMF entity.

[0217] Step 4: Handling of UL-TDOA Positioning Technical Solutions:

[0218] Step 4.1, the target UE transmits the uplink PRS to the base station.

[0219] The processing process on the base station side (applicable to all base stations) includes the following steps.

[0220] Step 1: The base station receives downlink PRS configuration information or uplink PRS configuration information transmitted by the LMF entity, and then transmits the configuration information to the UE.

[0221] Step 2: Processing is performed by classifying DL-TDOA and UL-TDOA positioning technical solutions into two cases; in the case of DL-TDOA positioning technical solutions, proceed to Step 3, and in the case of UL-TDOA positioning technical solutions, proceed to Step 4.

[0222] Step 3: Handling of DL-TDOA Positioning Technical Solutions:

[0223] Step 3.1: The base station transmits the downlink PRS to the reference UE.

[0224] Step 3.2: The base station receives downlink positioning measurement information transmitted by the reference UE and the location information of the reference UE and transmits it to the LMF entity, wherein the downlink positioning measurement information includes, but is not limited to, downlink RSTD measurements and downlink TOA measurements.

[0225] Step 4: Handling of UL-TDOA Positioning Technical Solutions:

[0226] Step 4.1: The base station receives and measures the uplink PRS transmitted by the reference UE to obtain uplink positioning measurement information (i.e., uplink RTOA value).

[0227] Step 4.2: The base station reports uplink positioning measurement information to the LMF entity and transmits the location information of the reference UE reported by the reference UE.

[0228] Step 5: Based on Method 1 in Step 4 of the LMF entity, when a base station receives the clock offset T1 notified by the LMF entity, each base station individually corrects each clock offset and then performs processing by classifying the DL-TDOA and UL-TDOA positioning technical solution into two cases, entering Step 6 in the case of the DL-TDOA positioning technical solution and entering Step 7 in the case of the UL-TDOA positioning technical solution.

[0229] Step 6: Handling of DL-TDOA Positioning Technical Solutions:

[0230] Step 6.1: The base station transmits the downlink PRS to the target UE.

[0231] Step 6.2: The base station receives downlink positioning measurement information reported by the target UE and transmits it to the LMF entity, wherein the downlink positioning measurement information includes, but is not limited to, downlink RSTD measurements and downlink TOA measurements.

[0232] Step 7: Handling of UL-TDOA Positioning Technical Solutions:

[0233] Step 7.1: The base station receives and measures the uplink PRS transmitted by the target UE to obtain uplink positioning measurement information (i.e., uplink RTOA value).

[0234] Step 7.2: The base station reports uplink positioning measurement information to the LMF entity.

[0235] It is to be explained that, in an embodiment of the present application, the method of determining the processing of the DL-TDOA positioning technical solution or the processing of the UL-TDOA positioning technical solution at the reference UE, target UE, and base station sides may be that an LMF entity notifies the reference UE, target UE, and base station through positioning signaling. The positioning signaling may be a signaling that includes positioning reference signal setting information, or it may be a separate signaling. In the case of a separate signaling, the positioning signaling is transmitted before the positioning reference signal setting information is transmitted to notify the reference UE, target UE, and base station that processing of the DL-TDOA positioning technical solution or processing of the UL-TDOA positioning technical solution is required.

[0236] Several specific examples will be described below.

[0237] Example 1: Single-reference UE, DL-TDOA positioning

[0238] In Example 1, for a single reference UE, DL-TDOA positioning, and UE-assisted positioning, the downlink positioning measurement information reported by the reference terminal is the RSTD value and / or TOA value between different base stations. The LMF entity utilizes processing method 1 in Step 4, wherein the LMF entity notifies each base station of the corresponding clock offset T1, each base station can correct the clock offset between them, and then the base station transmits a PRS.

[0239] As shown in FIG. 1, base station 1 is a reference base station and base station 2 is a non-reference base station. The first UE#a is a reference UE for positioning only, and the second UE#c is a target UE.

[0240] The processing process of the first UE#a (referenced UE) includes the following steps.

[0241] Step 1: The reference UE obtains the position information of the reference UE based on a preset, or calculates the position information of the reference UE through a RAT-independent positioning solution (e.g., A-GNSS).

[0242] Step 2: Receive downlink PRS configuration information provided by an LMF entity or base station, wherein the downlink PRS configuration information includes the time frequency location of the downlink PRS, reference base station number information, etc., and the configuration information is transmitted via LPP signaling or RRC signaling.

[0243] Step 3: The reference UE must proceed to Step 4 by determining that it is a DL-TDOA positioning technical solution.

[0244] Step 4: Handling of DL-TDOA Positioning Technical Solutions:

[0245] Step 4.1, the reference UE receives and measures a downlink positioning reference signal (PRS) coming from a different base station to obtain a downlink positioning measurement (including, but not limited to, RSTD values ​​between different base stations and TOA values ​​of different base stations), and / or a reliability indicator of the downlink positioning measurement.

[0246] Step 4.2, the reference UE reports the downlink positioning measurement obtained in Step 4.1, and / or the reliability indicator of the downlink positioning measurement, and the location information of the reference UE obtained in Step 1 to the LMF entity or base station.

[0247] The processing process for LMF entities includes the following steps.

[0248] Step 1: The LMF entity transmits downlink PRS configuration information or uplink PRS configuration information to the UE, or the LMF entity transmits downlink PRS configuration information or uplink PRS configuration information to the base station so that the base station transmits it to the UE.

[0249] Step 2: The LMF entity receives location information of the reference UE and downlink positioning measurement information reported by the reference UE (including, but not limited to, RSTD values ​​between different base stations and individual TOA values ​​of different base stations).

[0250] Step 3: The LMF entity calculates the clock offset between each base station based on the location information of the reference UE reported by the reference UE, received in Step 2, and the downlink positioning measurement information reported by the reference UE.

[0251] Without loss of universality, it is assumed that Base Station 1 is the reference base station, Base Station 2 is the non-reference base station, UE_ref represents the reference UE, T1 represents the clock offset between Base Station 2 and Base Station 1, RSTD(Base Station 2, Base Station 1->UE_ref) represents the RSTD value between Base Station 2 and Base Station 1 reported by the reference UE, d(Base Station 2->UE_ref) and d(Base Station 1->UE_ref) represent the optimal distance between Base Station 2 and Base Station 1 and the reference UE, respectively, with units in meters, and c represents the speed of light with units in meters / second. Below, a method for calculating the clock offset between base stations by the LMF entity is introduced, classified into two cases based on the difference in positioning measurement information reported by the reference terminal or base station.

[0252] CASE 1: If the downlink positioning measurement information reported by the reference terminal is an RSTD value between different base stations, the following two calculation formulas can be obtained.

[0253] RSTD(base station 2, base station 1->UE_ref)=RSTD_perfect(base station 2, base station 1->UE_ref)+T1 (8)

[0254] RSTD_perfect(base station 2, base station 1->UE_ref)=d(base station 2->UE_ref) / cd(base station 1->UE_ref) / c (9)

[0255] By combining formulas (8) and (9), the clock offset T1 between base station 2 and base station 1 can be obtained.

[0256] CASE 2: In the case where the downlink positioning measurement information reported by the reference terminal is a TOA reaching the reference UE from a different base station,

[0257] TOA(base station 1->UE_ref)=TOA_perfect(base station 1->UE_ref)+0 (10)

[0258] TOA(base station 2->UE_ref)=TOA_perfect(base station 2->UE_ref)+T1 (11)

[0259] Equation (8) can be obtained through Equation (11) - Equation (10). Here, RSTD(base station 2, base station 1->UE_ref)=TOA(base station 2->UE_ref)-TOA(base station 1->UE_ref); RSTD_perfect=TOA_perfect(base station 2->UE_ref)-TOA_perfect(base station 1->UE_ref).

[0260] Next, the clock offset value T1 between base station 2 and base station 1 can be obtained using the same method as in CASE 1.

[0261] Step 4: Based on the clock offset T1 calculated by the LMF entity in Step 3, the LMF entity performs processing through the following method.

[0262] For UE-assisted positioning, the LMF entity notifies each base station of the corresponding clock offset T1, and each base station can correct the clock offset between them, and then the base station transmits a downlink PRS to the target UE or receives an uplink PRS coming from the target UE.

[0263] Step 5: The LMF entity receives downlink positioning measurement information reported by the target UE (including, but not limited to, downlink RSTD measurements and downlink TOA measurements) and performs the following processing.

[0264] Directly perform value assignment for the modified RSTD measurement based on the downlink RSTD measurement reported by the target UE, or based on the difference between the downlink TOA measurements from two base stations reported by the target UE.

[0265] RSTD_modify(base station 2, base station 1->UE_target)=RSTD(base station 2, base station 1->UE_target) (12)

[0266] Step 6: The LMF entity obtains location information of the target UE by performing a location calculation operation of the target UE (based on existing algorithms, etc.) based on the modified downlink RSTD measurement obtained in Step 5.

[0267] The processing process of the second UE#c (target UE) includes the following steps.

[0268] Step 1: The target UE receives downlink PRS configuration information provided by an LMF entity or a base station, wherein the downlink PRS configuration information includes the time frequency location of the downlink PRS, reference base station number information, etc., and the configuration information is transmitted via LPP signaling or RRC signaling.

[0269] Step 2: Determine that the target UE is a DL-TDOA positioning technical solution and proceed to Step 3.

[0270] Step 3: Handling of DL-TDOA Positioning Technical Solutions:

[0271] Step 3.1, the target UE receives and measures downlink positioning reference signals (PRS) coming from different base stations to obtain downlink positioning measurements (including, but not limited to, RSTD values ​​between different base stations and TOA values ​​of different base stations), and / or reliability indicators of downlink positioning measurements.

[0272] Step 3.2, the target UE reports the downlink positioning measurement information obtained in Step 3 to the LMF entity.

[0273] The processing process of the base station (applied to reference base station #1 and non-reference base station #2) includes the following steps.

[0274] Step 1: The reference base station receives downlink PRS configuration information or uplink PRS configuration information transmitted by the LMF entity, and then transmits the configuration information to the UE.

[0275] Step 2: Determine that DL-TDOA positioning is a technical solution and proceed to Step 3.

[0276] Step 3: Handling of DL-TDOA Positioning Technical Solutions:

[0277] Step 3.1: The base station transmits the downlink PRS to the reference UE.

[0278] Step 3.2: The base station receives downlink positioning measurement information reported by the reference UE and the location information of the reference UE and transmits it to the LMF entity, wherein the downlink positioning measurement information includes, but is not limited to, RSTD values ​​between different base stations and individual TOA values ​​of different base stations.

[0279] Step 5: Based on Step 4 of the LMF entity, when the base station receives the clock offset T1 notified by the LMF entity, each base station individually corrects its respective clock offset and then proceeds to Step 6 for the DL-TDOA positioning technical solution.

[0280] Step 6: Handling of DL-TDOA Positioning Technical Solutions:

[0281] Step 6.1: The base station transmits the downlink PRS to the target UE.

[0282] Step 6.2: The base station receives downlink positioning measurement information reported by the target UE and transmits it to the LMF entity, wherein the downlink positioning measurement information includes, but is not limited to, RSTD values ​​between different base stations and individual TOA of different base stations.

[0283] Example 2: Multiple reference UEs, DL-TDOA positioning

[0284] In Example 2, the downlink positioning measurement information reported by the reference terminal is the RSTD value between different base stations. The LMF entity uses processing method 2 in Step 4, that is, the LMF entity does not notify each base station of the clock offset T1, each base station does not correct the clock offset between them, and the LMF entity subtracts the corresponding clock offset from the RSTD value reported by the target UE when calculating the position.

[0285] As shown in FIG. 2, the first UE#a and the first UE#b are positioning-only reference UEs, and the second UE#c is a target UE.

[0286] The processing process of the first UE (reference UE) includes the following steps.

[0287] Step 1: The reference UE calculates the position information of the reference UE based on preset position information or through a RAT-independent positioning solution (e.g., A-GNSS).

[0288] Step 2: Receive downlink PRS configuration information provided by an LMF entity or base station, wherein the downlink PRS configuration information includes the time frequency location of the downlink PRS, reference base station number information, etc., and the configuration information is transmitted via LPP signaling or RRC signaling.

[0289] Step 3: The reference UE is determined to be a DL-TDOA positioning technical solution and proceeds to Step 4.

[0290] Step 4: Handling of DL-TDOA Positioning Technical Solutions:

[0291] Step 4.1, the reference UE receives and measures a downlink positioning reference signal (PRS) coming from a different base station to obtain a downlink positioning measure (including, but not limited to, downlink RSTD and downlink TOA), and / or a reliability indicator of the downlink positioning measure.

[0292] Step 4.2, the reference UE reports the downlink positioning measurement information obtained in Step 4.1 and the location information of the reference UE obtained in Step 1 to the LMF entity or base station.

[0293] The processing process for LMF entities includes the following steps.

[0294] Step 1: The LMF entity transmits downlink PRS configuration information to the UE, or the LMF entity transmits downlink PRS configuration information to the base station so that it is transmitted to the UE by the base station.

[0295] Step 2: The LMF entity receives location information of the reference UE reported by the reference UE and downlink positioning measurement information reported by the reference UE (including, but not limited to, downlink RSTD measurements and downlink TOA measurements).

[0296] Step 3: The LMF entity calculates the clock offset between each base station based on the location information of the reference UE reported by the reference UE, received in Step 2, and the downlink positioning measurement information reported by the reference UE.

[0297] Without loss of universality, UE_ref represents reference UEs a and b, T1 represents the clock offset between Base Station 2 and Base Station 1, RSTD(Base Station 2, Base Station 1->UE_ref) represents the RSTD between Base Station 2 and Base Station 1 reported by the reference UE, d(Base Station 2->UE_ref) and d(Base Station 1->UE_ref) represent the optimal distance between Base Station 2, Base Station 1 and the reference UE, respectively, with units in meters, and c represents the speed of light with units in meters / second. Below, a method for calculating the clock offset between base stations by the LMF entity is introduced, classified into three cases based on the difference in positioning measurement information reported by the reference terminal or base station.

[0298] CASE 1: When the reference base station selected by multiple reference UEs is the same single base station (assuming both reference UEs use base station 1 as the reference base station and base station 2 as the non-reference base station), if the downlink positioning measurement information reported by reference terminal a and reference terminal b is a downlink RSTD measurement value, the following four equations can be obtained.

[0299] RSTD(base station 2, base station 1->UE a)=RSTD_perfect(base station 2, base station 1->UE a)+T1(a) (13)

[0300] RSTD_perfect(Base Station 2, Base Station 1->UE a)=d(Base Station 2->UE a) / cd(Base Station 1->UE a) / c (14)

[0301] RSTD(base station 2, base station 1->UE b)=RSTD_perfect(base station 2, base station 1->UE b)+T1(b) (15)

[0302] RSTD_perfect(Base Station 2, Base Station 1->UE b)=d(Base Station 2->UE b) / cd(Base Station 1->UE b) / c (16)

[0303] When the same reference base station is selected during RSTD reporting (either the reference base station is selected autonomously by the reference UE or the reference base station is set by an LMF entity),

[0304] By combining equations (13) and (14), a clock offset T1(a) between base station 2 and base station 1 estimated based on reference UE a can be obtained, and by combining equations (15) and (16), a clock offset T1(b) between base station 2 and base station 1 estimated based on reference UE b can be obtained. The LMF entity obtains a processed clock offset T1 through processing of the two clock offsets T1(a) and T1(b) (e.g., arithmetic mean, or a weighted average based on a reliability indicator of the positioning measure). For example, T1=(T1(a)+T1(b)) / 2, or T1=(w1*T1(a)+(1-w1)*T1(b)) / 2, where w1 is a weighting factor and has a value between 0 and 1.

[0305] CASE 2: When the reference base station selected by multiple reference UEs is not the same single base station, the LMF entity obtains the clock offset value between any two base stations through processing by an algorithm, and the basic principle is that there is a linear relationship between the clock offsets of any two base stations.

[0306] Two reference UEs, a and b, assume base station 1 and base station 2, respectively, as reference base stations, and in addition to base station 1 and base station 2, there is also base station 3.

[0307] For reference UE a, downlink RSTD measurements of Base Station 2 and Base Station 3 relative to Base Station 1 can be obtained. It is assumed that T1(Base Station 2, Base Station 1) represents the clock offset of Base Station 2 relative to reference Base Station 1, and T1(Base Station 3, Base Station 1) represents the clock offset of Base Station 3 relative to reference Base Station 1.

[0308] RSTD(Base Station 2, Base Station 1->UE a)=RSTD_perfect(Base Station 2, Base Station 1->UE a)+T1(Base Station 2, Base Station 1) (17)

[0309] RSTD_perfect(Base Station 2, Base Station 1->UE a)=d(Base Station 2->UE a) / cd(Base Station 1->UE a) / c (18)

[0310] RSTD(Base Station 3, Base Station 1->UE a)=RSTD_perfect(Base Station 3, Base Station 1->UE a)+T1(Base Station 3, Base Station 1) (19)

[0311] RSTD_perfect(Base Station 3, Base Station 1->UE a)=d(Base Station 3->UE a) / cd(Base Station 1->UE a) / c (20)

[0312] By combining equations (17) to (20), T1 (base station 2, base station 1) and T1 (base station 3, base station 1) can be obtained.

[0313] For reference UE b, downlink RSTD measurements of Base Station 1 and Base Station 3 for Base Station 2 can be obtained. It is assumed that T2(Base Station 1, Base Station 2) represents the clock offset of Base Station 1 for reference Base Station 2, and T2(Base Station 3, Base Station 2) represents the clock offset of Base Station 3 for reference Base Station 2.

[0314] RSTD(Base Station 1, Base Station 2->UE a)=RSTD_perfect(Base Station 1, Base Station 2->UE a)+T2(Base Station 1, Base Station 2) (21)

[0315] RSTD_perfect(Base Station 1, Base Station 2->UE a)=d(Base Station 1->UE a) / cd(Base Station 2->UE a) / c (22)

[0316] RSTD(Base Station 3, Base Station 2->UE a)=RSTD_perfect(Base Station 3, Base Station 2->UE a)+T2(Base Station 3, Base Station 2) (23)

[0317] RSTD_perfect(Base Station 3, Base Station 2->UE a)=d(Base Station 3->UE a) / cd(Base Station 2->UE a) / c (24)

[0318] By combining equations (21) to (24), T2 (base station 1, base station 2) and T2 (base station 3, base station 2) can be obtained.

[0319] Accordingly, by comprehensively considering the clock offset measurements obtained based on reference UE a and reference UE b, the clock offsets of base station 2 and base station 3 relative to base station 1 are adjusted based on base station 1, for example as follows.

[0320] The clock offset of Base Station 2 relative to Base Station 1 is equal to (T1(Base Station 2, Base Station 1)-T2(Base Station 1, Base Station 2)) / 2.

[0321] The clock offset of Base Station 3 relative to Base Station 1 is equal to (T1(Base Station 3, Base Station 1)+(T2(Base Station 3, Base Station 2)-T2(Base Station 1, Base Station 2)) / 2) / 2.

[0322] In addition to using the above method, weighted processing can also be performed by combining quality indicators of positioning measurement information, for example as follows.

[0323] The clock offset of Base Station 2 relative to Base Station 1 is equal to (w1*T1(Base Station 2, Base Station 1)-(1-w1)*T2(Base Station 1, Base Station 2)) / 2.

[0324] The clock offset of Base Station 3 relative to Base Station 1 is equal to (w1*T1(Base Station 3, Base Station 1)+(1- w1)*(T2(Base Station 3, Base Station 2)-T2(Base Station 1, Base Station 2)) / 2) / 2.

[0325] Here, w1 is a weighting factor and has a value between 0 and 1.

[0326] Step 4: Based on the clock offset T1 calculated by the LMF entity in Step 3, the LMF entity performs processing through Method 2).

[0327] Method 2), for UE-assisted positioning, the LMF entity does not notify each base station of the clock offset T1, and each base station does not correct the clock offset between them, and when the LMF entity calculates the position, it subtracts the corresponding clock offset from the RSTD value reported by the target UE.

[0328] Step 5: The LMF entity receives downlink positioning measurement information reported by the target UE (including, but not limited to, downlink RSTD measurements and downlink TOA measurements), and the LMF entity obtains a modified downlink RSTD measurement by performing a clock offset removal operation by referring to the inter-base station clock offset T1 obtained in Step 4.

[0329] Assuming that without loss of universality, Base Station 1 is a reference base station, Base Station 2 is a non-reference base station, UE_target represents a target UE, T1 represents the clock offset between Base Station 2 and Base Station 1 calculated in Step 3, and RSTD(Base Station 2, Base Station 1->UE_target) represents the downlink RSTD measurement between Base Station 2 and Base Station 1 reported by the UE, the clock offset removal operation is as follows (25).

[0330] RSTD_modify(base station 2, base station 1->UE_target)=RSTD(base station 2, base station 1->UE_target)-T1 (25)

[0331] Step 6: The LMF entity obtains location information of the target UE by performing a location calculation operation of the target UE (based on the existing Chan algorithm, etc.) based on the modified downlink RSTD measurement obtained in Step 5.

[0332] The processing process of the second UE (target UE) includes the following steps.

[0333] Step 1: The target UE receives downlink PRS configuration information provided by an LMF entity or a base station, wherein the downlink PRS configuration information includes the time frequency location of the downlink PRS, reference base station number information, etc., and the configuration information is transmitted via LPP signaling or RRC signaling.

[0334] Step 2: Determine that the target UE is a DL-TDOA positioning technical solution and proceed to Step 3.

[0335] Step 3: Handling of DL-TDOA Positioning Technical Solutions:

[0336] Step 3.1, the target UE receives and measures downlink positioning reference signals (PRS) coming from different base stations to obtain downlink positioning measurements (including, but not limited to, downlink RSTD and downlink TOA), and / or reliability indicators of downlink positioning measurements.

[0337] Step 3.2, the target UE reports the downlink positioning measure obtained in Step 3.1, and / or the reliability indicator of the downlink positioning measure to the LMF entity.

[0338] The processing process of a base station (applied to reference base stations and non-reference base stations) includes the following steps.

[0339] Step 1: The reference base station receives downlink PRS configuration information transmitted by the LMF entity and then transmits the configuration information to the UE.

[0340] Step 2: Determine that DL-TDOA positioning is a technical solution and proceed to Step 3.

[0341] Step 3: Handling of DL-TDOA Positioning Technical Solutions:

[0342] Step 3.1: The base station transmits the downlink PRS to the reference UE.

[0343] Step 3.2: The base station receives downlink positioning measurement information reported by the reference UE and the location information of the reference UE and transmits it to the LMF entity, wherein the downlink positioning measurement information includes, but is not limited to, downlink RSTD measurements and downlink TOA measurements.

[0344] Step 5: Based on Step 4 of the LMF entity, when the base station receives the clock offset T1 notified by the LMF entity, each base station individually corrects its respective clock offset and then proceeds to Step 6 for the DL-TDOA positioning technical solution.

[0345] Step 6: Handling of DL-TDOA Positioning Technical Solutions:

[0346] Step 6.1: The base station transmits the downlink PRS to the target UE.

[0347] Step 6.2: The base station receives downlink positioning measurement information reported by the target UE and transmits it to the LMF entity, wherein the downlink positioning measurement information includes, but is not limited to, downlink RSTD measurements and downlink TOA measurements.

[0348] Example 3: Single-reference UE, UL-TDOA positioning

[0349] In Example 1, for a single reference UE, UL-TDOA positioning, and UE-assisted positioning, the base station receives the uplink PRS transmitted by the reference UE to obtain uplink positioning measurement information (uplink RTOA value) and reports it to the LMF entity. The LMF entity uses processing method 1 in Step 4, that is, the LMF entity notifies each base station of the clock offset T1, and each base station can correct the clock offset between them, and then the base station receives the uplink PRS.

[0350] As shown in FIG. 3, base station 1 is a reference base station and base station 2 is a non-reference base station. The first UE a is a reference UE for positioning only, and the second UE c is a target UE.

[0351] The processing process of the first UE (reference UE) includes the following steps.

[0352] Step 1: The reference UE calculates the position information of the reference UE based on pre-set position information or through a RAT-independent positioning solution (e.g., A-GNSS).

[0353] Step 2: Receive uplink PRS configuration information provided by an LMF entity or base station, wherein the uplink PRS configuration information includes the time frequency position of the uplink PRS, reference base station number information, etc., and the configuration information is transmitted via LPP signaling or RRC signaling.

[0354] Step 3: The reference UE decides to proceed with the processing of the UL-TDOA positioning technical solution and enters Step 5.

[0355] Step 5: Handling of UL-TDOA Positioning Technical Solutions:

[0356] Step 5.1, Reference: The UE transmits the uplink PRS to the base station.

[0357] Step 5.2, the reference UE reports the location information of the reference UE obtained in Step 1 to the LMF entity or base station.

[0358] The processing process for LMF entities includes the following steps.

[0359] Step 1: The LMF entity transmits uplink PRS configuration information to the UE, or the LMF entity transmits uplink PRS configuration information to the base station so that the base station transmits it to the UE.

[0360] Step 2: The LMF entity receives the location information of the reference UE reported by the reference UE and the uplink positioning measurement information (i.e., uplink RTOA value) reported by the base station.

[0361] Step 3: The LMF entity calculates the clock offset between each base station based on the location information of the reference UE reported by the reference UE, received in Step 2, and the uplink positioning measurement information reported by the base station.

[0362] Without loss of universality, it is assumed that Base Station 1 is a reference base station, Base Station 2 is a non-reference base station, UE_ref represents a reference UE, T1 represents the clock offset between Base Station 2 and Base Station 1, RSTD(Base Station 2, Base Station 1->UE_ref) represents the RSTD value between Base Station 2 and Base Station 1 reported by the reference UE, d(Base Station 2->UE_ref) and d(Base Station 1->UE_ref) represent the optimal distance between Base Station 2 and Base Station 1 and the reference UE, respectively, with units in meters, and c represents the speed of light with units in meters / second. Below, a method for calculating the clock offset between base stations by the LMF entity is introduced for the case where the positioning measurement information reported by the reference terminal or base station is an uplink RTO obtained by different base stations through uplink PRS-based measurement.

[0363] If the uplink positioning measurement information reported by the base station is an uplink RTOA value obtained by a different base station based on uplink PRS measurement information,

[0364] RTOA(UE_ref->Base Station 1)=RTOA_perfect(Base Station 1->UE_ref)+0 (26)

[0365] RTOA(UE_ref->Base Station 2)=RTOA_perfect(UE_ref->Base Station 2)+T1 (27)

[0366] RTOA_perfect(UE_ref->Base Station 1)=d(UE_ref->Base Station 1) / c-TOA_reference (28)

[0367] RTOA_perfect(UE_ref->base station 2)=d(UE_ref->base station 2) / c-TOA_reference (29)

[0368] By combining and solving equations (26) to (29), the clock offset T1 between base station 2 and base station 1 can be obtained.

[0369] When two or more reference UEs report simultaneously, the same single reference base station is selected when calculating the clock offset for multiple reference UEs.

[0370] Step 4: Based on the clock offset T1 calculated by the LMF entity in Step 3, the LMF entity performs processing through Method 1).

[0371] Method 1), for UE-assisted positioning, the LMF entity notifies each base station of the corresponding clock offset T1, and each base station can correct the clock offset between them, and then the base station transmits a downlink PRS to the target UE or receives an uplink PRS coming from the target UE.

[0372] Step 5: The LMF entity receives uplink positioning measurement information (RTOA value) reported by the target UE and performs the following processing for the method in Step 4.

[0373] In the case of Method 1, the LMF entity directly performs value assignment for the modified RSTD measurement using uplink positioning measurement information (RTOA value) reported by the base station.

[0374] Step 6: The LMF entity obtains location information of the target UE by performing a location calculation operation of the target UE (based on the existing Chan algorithm, etc.) based on the modified uplink RTOA measurement obtained in Step 5.

[0375] The processing process of the second UE (target UE) includes the following steps.

[0376] Step 1: The target UE receives uplink PRS configuration information provided by an LMF entity or a base station, wherein the uplink PRS configuration information includes the time frequency position of the uplink PRS, reference base station number information, etc., and the configuration information is transmitted via LPP signaling or RRC signaling.

[0377] Step 2: Determine that the target UE is a case of processing the UL-TDOA positioning technical solution and proceed to Step 4.

[0378] Step 4: Handling of UL-TDOA Positioning Technical Solutions:

[0379] Step 4.1, the target UE transmits the uplink PRS to the base station.

[0380] The processing process of base stations (reference base stations and non-reference base stations) includes the following steps.

[0381] Step 1: The reference base station receives uplink PRS configuration information transmitted by the LMF entity and then transmits the configuration information to the UE.

[0382] Step 2: Determine that this is a case of handling UL-TDOA positioning technical solutions and proceed to Step 4.

[0383] Step 4: Handling of UL-TDOA Positioning Technical Solutions:

[0384] Step 4.1: The base station receives and measures the uplink PRS transmitted by the reference UE to obtain uplink positioning measurement information (i.e., uplink RTOA value).

[0385] Step 4.2: The base station reports uplink positioning measurement information to the LMF entity and transmits the location information of the reference UE reported by the reference UE.

[0386] Step 5: Based on Step 4 of the LMF entity, when the base station receives the clock offset T1 notified by the LMF entity, each base station individually corrects its respective clock offset and then proceeds to Step 7 for the UL-TDOA positioning technical solution.

[0387] Step 7: Handling of UL-TDOA Positioning Technical Solutions:

[0388] Step 7.1: The base station receives and measures the uplink PRS transmitted by the target UE to obtain uplink positioning measurement information (i.e., uplink RTOA value).

[0389] Step 7.2: The base station reports uplink positioning measurement information to the LMF entity.

[0390] In summary, the embodiments of the present application provide a means for removing inter-base station clock offsets based on a reference UE. By removing the influence of clock offsets from the RSTD measurement information of a target UE processed by an LMF entity, the UE positioning accuracy of the DL-TDOA positioning technical solution is improved.

[0391] With reference to FIG. 4, on the reference terminal side, the positioning method provided by an embodiment of the present application includes the following steps.

[0392] S401: Determines positioning reference signal setting information.

[0393] For example, the reference UE receives downlink PRS configuration information or uplink PRS configuration information provided by an LMF entity or base station.

[0394] S402: In the case of a technical solution for Downlink Time to Arrival (DL-TDOA) positioning, based on positioning reference signal setting information, a Downlink positioning reference signal (e.g., Downlink PRS) coming from a different base station is received and measured to determine Downlink positioning measurement amount information, and the Downlink positioning measurement amount information and the location information of the reference terminal are reported so that the LMF entity performs positioning for the target terminal based on the Downlink positioning measurement amount information and the location information of the reference terminal.

[0395] The reference UE reports the downlink positioning measurement information and the location information of the reference terminal to the base station, causing the base station to transmit it to the LMF entity, thereby enabling the LMF entity to perform positioning for the target terminal based on the downlink positioning measurement information and the location information of the reference terminal.

[0396] S403: In the case of a technical solution for uplink time-to-reach (UL-TDOA) positioning, an uplink positioning reference signal (e.g., uplink PRS) is transmitted based on positioning reference signal setting information, and location information of a reference terminal is transmitted, thereby enabling an LMF entity to perform positioning for a target terminal based on the uplink positioning reference signal and the location information of the reference terminal.

[0397] The reference UE can transmit an uplink positioning reference signal to a base station and transmit location information of the reference terminal to an LMF entity or a base station; if transmitted to a base station, the location information of the reference terminal can be transmitted to the LMF entity by the base station. The base station can receive the uplink positioning reference signal, determine the corresponding uplink positioning measurement information, and then transmit it to the LMF entity. The LMF entity receives the uplink positioning measurement information and the location information of the reference terminal, and can determine a clock offset between base stations based on the uplink positioning measurement information and the location information of the reference terminal, and can modify the uplink positioning measurement information of the target terminal according to the clock offset to determine the modified uplink positioning measurement information of the target terminal, and can determine the location information of the target terminal according to the modified uplink positioning measurement information of the target terminal.

[0398] Here, the positioning reference signal setting information includes uplink / downlink positioning reference signal setting information, and in the case of a downlink time-to-delay-of-arrival (DL-TDOA) positioning technical solution, a downlink positioning reference signal coming from a different base station is received and measured based on the downlink positioning reference signal setting information, and in the case of an uplink time-to-delay-of-arrival (UL-TDOA) positioning technical solution, an uplink positioning reference signal is transmitted based on the uplink positioning reference signal setting information.

[0399] The positioning reference signal according to the embodiment of the present application may be a PRS, CSI-RS, SS / PBCH Block, SRS, and PRACH, etc., and is not limited to a PRS.

[0400] Through this method, in the case of a technical solution for Downlink Time of Arrival (DL-TDOA) positioning, based on positioning reference signal setting information, downlink positioning reference signals coming from different base stations are received and measured to determine downlink positioning measurement information, and downlink positioning measurement information and location information of the reference terminal are reported; and in the case of a technical solution for Uplink Time of Arrival (UL-TDOA) positioning, based on positioning reference signal setting information, an uplink positioning reference signal is transmitted and location information of the reference terminal is transmitted, thereby enabling the LMF entity to calculate the clock offset between each base station based on the reference UE location information reported by the reference UE and the uplink / downlink positioning measurement information, and subsequently remove the clock offset between base stations, thereby improving the UE positioning accuracy of the technical solution for UL-TDOA / DL-TDOA positioning.

[0401] A reference terminal according to an embodiment of the present application is a reference terminal used for positioning a target terminal, and may be any terminal.

[0402] The target terminal according to the embodiment of the present application is a terminal requiring positioning, and likewise may be any terminal.

[0403] Optionally, the downlink positioning measurement information comprises a downlink positioning measurement and / or a reliability indicator of the downlink positioning measurement, wherein the reliability indicator is configured to indicate the reliability of the downlink positioning measurement as the standard difference and / or variance of the error estimate of the downlink positioning measurement.

[0404] Optionally, the location information of the reference terminal is determined by the reference terminal based on preset location information or through an independent radio access technology (RAT-independent) positioning solution means.

[0405] Optionally, the positioning reference signal setting information is provided by the LMF entity or base station.

[0406] Referring to FIG. 5, on the side of the LMF entity, the positioning method provided by an embodiment of the present application is,

[0407] S501: In the case of a technical solution for Downlink Time to Delay in Arrival (DL-TDOA) positioning, receiving downlink positioning measurement information reported by a reference terminal and location information of said reference terminal, and receiving downlink positioning measurement information reported by a target terminal; performing positioning for said target terminal based on said downlink positioning measurement information reported by said reference terminal, said location information of said reference terminal, and said downlink positioning measurement information reported by said target terminal; and / or

[0408] S502: In the case of a technical solution for uplink time-to-reach (UL-TDOA) positioning, the method comprises receiving location information of the reference terminal reported by the reference terminal, receiving uplink positioning measurement information of the reference terminal reported by the base station and uplink positioning measurement information of the target terminal reported by the base station; and performing positioning for the target terminal based on the uplink positioning measurement information of the reference terminal, the location information of the reference terminal, and the uplink positioning measurement information of the target terminal.

[0409] Optionally, performing positioning for the target terminal based on downlink positioning measurement information reported by the reference terminal, location information of the reference terminal, and downlink positioning measurement information reported by the target terminal, is

[0410] Determining the clock offset between each base station based on the acquired location information of the reference terminal and downlink positioning measurement information;

[0411] Modifying the downlink positioning measurement information of the target terminal according to the clock offset to determine the modified downlink positioning measurement information regarding the target terminal; and

[0412] It includes determining the location information of the target terminal according to the modified downlink positioning measurement information of the target terminal.

[0413] Optionally, performing positioning for the target terminal based on uplink positioning measurement information of the reference terminal reported by the base station, location information of the reference terminal, and uplink positioning measurement information of the target terminal reported by the base station,

[0414] Determining the clock offset between each base station based on the acquired location information of the reference terminal and uplink positioning measurement information;

[0415] Modifying the uplink positioning measurement information of the target terminal according to the above clock offset to determine the modified uplink positioning measurement information regarding the target terminal; and

[0416] It includes determining the location information of the target terminal according to the modified uplink positioning measurement information of the target terminal.

[0417] Optionally, the modified downlink positioning measurement information includes downlink RSTD measurements.

[0418] Optionally, before obtaining the location information of the reference terminal and the downlink positioning measurement information, the method also,

[0419] It further includes transmitting downlink positioning reference signal setting information to a terminal; or transmitting downlink positioning reference signal setting information to the base station so that the downlink positioning reference signal setting information is transmitted to the terminal by the base station.

[0420] Optionally, the location information of the reference terminal is reported by the reference terminal, and the downlink positioning measurement information is the downlink positioning measurement information reported by the reference terminal.

[0421] Optionally, determining the modified downlink positioning measurement information for the target terminal by modifying the downlink positioning measurement information according to the clock offset is specifically:

[0422] Notifying the base station of the clock offset above so that the base station corrects the clock offset between base stations and then transmits a downlink positioning reference signal to the target terminal; performing direct value assignment on the modified RSTD value based on the downlink RSTD reported by the target terminal, or based on the difference of downlink TOA values ​​from multiple base stations reported by the target terminal; or

[0423] In the position calculation process, the difference value between the RSTD value reported by the target terminal and the clock offset is determined as the modified downlink positioning measurement information.

[0424] Optionally, the modified uplink positioning measurement information includes uplink relative time of arrival (RTOA) measurements.

[0425] Optionally, before obtaining the location information and uplink positioning measurement information of the reference terminal, the method also,

[0426] Transmitting uplink positioning reference signal setting information to a terminal; or further including transmitting uplink positioning reference signal setting information to the base station so that the uplink positioning reference signal setting information is transmitted to the terminal by the base station.

[0427] Optionally, modifying the uplink positioning measurement information of the target terminal according to the clock offset to determine the modified uplink positioning measurement information regarding the target terminal is specifically,

[0428] Notifying the base station of the above clock offset so that the base station corrects the clock offset between base stations and receives an uplink sounding reference signal coming from the target terminal; performing direct value assignment to the modified RTOA with the uplink RTOA reported by the base station; or

[0429] In the position calculation process, the difference between the uplink RTOA value reported for the target terminal by the base station and the clock offset is determined as the modified uplink positioning measurement information.

[0430] Referring to FIG. 6, at the target terminal side, the positioning method provided by an embodiment of the present application is,

[0431] S601: Determining positioning reference signal setting information;

[0432] Here, the positioning reference signal setting information includes the positioning reference signal setting information of the uplink / downlink.

[0433] For example, the target UE receives downlink PRS configuration information or uplink PRS configuration information provided by an LMF entity or base station.

[0434] S602: In the case of a technical solution for Downlink Time-to-Destination-Amount (DL-TDOA) positioning, based on the positioning reference signal setting information, receiving and measuring a downlink positioning reference signal coming from a different base station to determine downlink positioning measurement amount information, and reporting the downlink positioning measurement amount information; and / or

[0435] S603: In the case of a technical solution for uplink time-to-reach (UL-TDOA) positioning, it includes transmitting an uplink positioning reference signal based on the positioning reference signal setting information.

[0436] Optionally, the downlink positioning measurement information comprises a downlink positioning measurement and / or a reliability indicator of the downlink positioning measurement, wherein the reliability indicator is configured to indicate the reliability of the downlink positioning measurement as the standard difference and / or variance of the error estimate of the downlink positioning measurement.

[0437] Optionally, the positioning reference signal setting information is provided by an LMF entity or a base station.

[0438] Referring to FIG. 7, at the base station side, the positioning method provided by an embodiment of the present application is,

[0439] S701: Transmitting positioning reference signal setting information to a terminal;

[0440] Here, the positioning reference signal setting information includes the positioning reference signal setting information of the uplink / downlink.

[0441] For example, a base station receives downlink PRS configuration information or uplink PRS configuration information transmitted by an LMF entity, and then transmits the configuration information to the UE.

[0442] S702: In the case of a technical solution for Downlink Time to Arrival Difference (DL-TDOA) positioning, transmitting a downlink positioning reference signal to a reference terminal, receiving downlink positioning measurement information reported by the reference terminal and location information of the reference terminal, and transmitting them to an LMF entity;

[0443] S703: In the case of a technical solution for uplink time-to-reach (UL-TDOA) positioning, the method comprises receiving and measuring an uplink positioning reference signal transmitted by a reference terminal to obtain uplink positioning measurement amount information, reporting the uplink positioning measurement amount information to an LMF entity, and transmitting the location information of the reference terminal reported by the reference terminal.

[0444] Optionally, the method also,

[0445] Upon receiving a clock offset between base stations notified by the above LMF entity, correcting the clock offset of the local base station according to the clock offset;

[0446] In the case of a technical solution for Downlink Time to Delay in Arrival (DL-TDOA) positioning, the method comprises transmitting the downlink positioning reference signal to a target terminal, receiving downlink positioning measurement information reported by the target terminal, and transmitting it to the LMF entity; and

[0447] In the case of a technical solution for Uplink Time-to-Degree of Arrival (UL-TDOA) positioning, it further comprises receiving and measuring an uplink positioning reference signal transmitted by a target terminal to obtain uplink positioning measurement information of the target terminal, and transmitting the uplink positioning measurement information of the target terminal to the LMF entity.

[0448] With reference to FIG. 8, on the side of the reference terminal, the positioning device (which may be any type of terminal) provided by an embodiment of the present application includes a memory (820) and a processor (800), wherein

[0449] The memory (820) is configured to store program instructions, and the processor (800) calls the program instructions stored in the memory (820) and, according to the acquired program,

[0450] Operation to determine positioning reference signal setting information;

[0451] In the case of a technical solution for Downlink Time to Arrival Difference (DL-TDOA) positioning, based on the positioning reference signal setting information, an operation of receiving and measuring downlink positioning reference signals coming from different base stations to determine downlink positioning measurement amount information, and reporting the downlink positioning measurement amount information and the location information of the reference terminal to enable an LMF entity to perform positioning for a target terminal based on the downlink positioning measurement amount information and the location information of the reference terminal; and / or

[0452] In the case of a technical solution for Uplink Time to Delay in Arrival (UL-TDOA) positioning, the method is configured to transmit an uplink positioning reference signal based on the positioning reference signal setting information and transmit location information of the reference terminal, thereby enabling an LMF entity to perform positioning for a target terminal based on the uplink positioning reference signal and the location information of the reference terminal.

[0453] Optionally, the downlink positioning measurement information comprises a downlink positioning measurement and / or a reliability indicator of the downlink positioning measurement, wherein the reliability indicator is configured to indicate the reliability of the downlink positioning measurement as the standard difference and / or variance of the error estimate of the downlink positioning measurement.

[0454] Optionally, the location information of the reference terminal is determined by the reference terminal based on preset location information or through an independent radio access technology (RAT-independent) positioning solution means.

[0455] Optionally, the positioning reference signal setting information is provided by the LMF entity or base station.

[0456] The transceiver (810) is configured to perform data reception and transmission under the control of the processor (800).

[0457] Here, in FIG. 8, the bus architecture may include any number of interconnected buses and bridges, specifically, various circuits of one or more processors represented by the processor (800) and memory represented by the memory (820) are interconnected. The bus architecture may also interconnect various other circuits, such as peripheral devices, voltage regulators, and power management circuits, for example, all of which are well known in the art and will not be further described in this specification. The bus interface provides an interface. The transceiver (810) may be a plurality of elements, that is, may include a transmitter and a receiver, and provides a unit configured to perform communication with various other devices through a transmission medium. For different user devices, the user interface (830) may also be an interface capable of connecting necessary devices externally or internally, and the connected devices include, but are not limited to, keypads, displays, speakers, microphones, joysticks, etc.

[0458] The processor (800) is responsible for bus architecture management and normal processing, and the memory (820) can store data used when executing operations by the processor (800).

[0459] Optionally, the processor (800) may be a Central Processing Unit (CPU), an Application Specific Integrated Circuit (ASIC), a Field-Programmable Gate Array (FPGA), or a Complex Programmable Logic Device (CPLD).

[0460] Referring to FIG. 9, on the network side, the positioning device (which may be an LMF entity) provided by an embodiment of the present application includes a memory (920) and a processor (900),

[0461] The memory (920) is configured to store program instructions, and the processor (900) calls the program instructions stored in the memory (920) and, according to the acquired program,

[0462] In the case of a technical solution for Downlink Time to Delay in Arrival (DL-TDOA) positioning, the operation of receiving downlink positioning measurement information reported by a reference terminal and location information of said reference terminal, and receiving downlink positioning measurement information reported by a target terminal; the operation of performing positioning for said target terminal based on said downlink positioning measurement information reported by said reference terminal, said location information of said reference terminal, and said downlink positioning measurement information reported by said target terminal; and / or

[0463] In the case of a technical solution for uplink time-to-reach (UL-TDOA) positioning, the method is configured to perform the operation of receiving location information of the reference terminal reported by the reference terminal, receiving uplink positioning measurement information of the reference terminal reported by the base station and uplink positioning measurement information of the target terminal reported by the base station; and performing positioning for the target terminal based on the uplink positioning measurement information of the reference terminal, the location information of the reference terminal, and the uplink positioning measurement information of the target terminal.

[0464] Optionally, the processor (900) specifically,

[0465] Operation of determining a clock offset between each base station based on the acquired location information of the reference terminal and downlink positioning measurement information;

[0466] An operation to modify downlink positioning measurement information of the target terminal according to the clock offset and determine modified downlink positioning measurement information regarding the target terminal; and

[0467] It is configured to execute an operation to determine the location information of the target terminal according to the modified downlink positioning measurement information of the target terminal.

[0468] Optionally, the modified downlink positioning measurement information includes a downlink reference signal time difference (RSTD) measurement.

[0469] Optionally, before obtaining the location information of the reference terminal and the downlink positioning measurement amount information, the processor (900) also calls the program instruction stored in the memory, and according to the obtained program,

[0470] The method is configured to perform an operation of transmitting downlink positioning reference signal setting information to a terminal; or an operation of transmitting downlink positioning reference signal setting information to the base station so that the downlink positioning reference signal setting information is transmitted to the terminal by the base station.

[0471] Optionally, depending on the clock offset, the processor (900) specifically,

[0472] The operation of notifying the base station of the clock offset through the transceiver (910), so that the base station corrects the clock offset between base stations and then transmits a downlink positioning reference signal to the target terminal or receives a sounding reference signal coming from the target terminal; the operation of performing direct value assignment on the modified RSTD based on the RSTD reported by the target terminal, or based on the downlink TOA difference from a plurality of base stations reported by the target terminal; or

[0473] In the position calculation process, the method is configured to execute an operation of determining the difference value between the RSTD value reported by the target terminal and the clock offset as the modified downlink positioning measurement information.

[0474] Optionally, the modified uplink positioning measurement information includes uplink relative time of arrival (RTOA) measurements.

[0475] Optionally, before obtaining the location information of the reference terminal and the uplink positioning measurement information, the processor (900) also calls the program instruction stored in the memory (920) and, according to the obtained program,

[0476] The method is configured to perform an operation of transmitting uplink positioning reference signal setting information to a terminal; or an operation of transmitting uplink positioning reference signal setting information to the base station so that the base station transmits the uplink positioning reference signal setting information to the terminal.

[0477] Optionally, in an operation to determine modified uplink positioning measurement information regarding the target terminal by modifying the uplink positioning measurement information of the target terminal according to the clock offset, the processor (900) specifically calls the program instruction stored in the memory (920) and, according to the acquired program,

[0478] An operation of notifying the base station of the above clock offset so that the base station corrects the clock offset between base stations and receives an uplink sounding reference signal coming from the target terminal; an operation of performing a direct value assignment to the modified RTOA with the uplink RTOA reported by the base station; or

[0479] In the position calculation process, the method is configured to execute an operation of determining the difference between the uplink RTOA value reported to the target terminal by the base station and the clock offset as the modified uplink positioning measurement information.

[0480] The transceiver (910) is configured to perform data reception and transmission under the control of the processor (900).

[0481] Here, in FIG. 9, the bus architecture may include any number of interconnected buses and bridges, specifically, various circuits of one or more processors represented by the processor (900) and memory represented by the memory (920) are interconnected. The bus architecture may also interconnect various other circuits, such as peripheral devices, voltage regulators, and power management circuits, for example, all of which are well known in the art and will not be further described in this specification. The bus interface provides an interface. The transceiver (910) may be a plurality of elements, namely, it may include a transmitter and a receiver, and provides a unit configured to perform communication with various other devices through a transmission medium. The processor (900) is responsible for managing the bus architecture and performing normal processing, and the memory (920) may store data used when executing operations by the processor (900).

[0482] Optionally, the processor (900) may be a CPU, ASIC, FPGA, or CPLD.

[0483] At the target terminal side, the positioning device (which may be any type of terminal) provided by an embodiment of the present application may also refer to FIG. 8 for its structure and includes a memory and a processor,

[0484] The above memory is configured to store program instructions, and the processor calls the program instructions stored in the memory, and according to the acquired program,

[0485] Operation to determine positioning reference signal setting information;

[0486] In the case of a technical solution for Downlink Time-to-Destination Observation (DL-TDOA) positioning, based on the positioning reference signal setting information, the operation of receiving and measuring a downlink positioning reference signal coming from a different base station to determine downlink positioning measurement amount information and reporting the downlink positioning measurement amount information; and / or

[0487] In the case of a technical solution for Uplink Time to Delay in Arrival (UL-TDOA) positioning, it is configured to execute an operation of transmitting an Uplink positioning reference signal based on the positioning reference signal setting information.

[0488] Optionally, the downlink positioning measurement information comprises a downlink positioning measurement and / or a reliability indicator of the downlink positioning measurement, wherein the reliability indicator is configured to indicate the reliability of the downlink positioning measurement as the standard difference and / or variance of the error estimate of the downlink positioning measurement.

[0489] Optionally, the positioning reference signal setting information is provided by an LMF entity or a base station.

[0490] Optionally, the processor is also configured to call the program instruction stored in the memory and, according to the acquired program, execute an operation to determine and report the location information of the reference terminal.

[0491] That is, the terminal according to the embodiment of the present application may be a reference terminal or a target terminal, and may simultaneously have the functions of a reference terminal and a target terminal.

[0492] On the network side, another positioning device (which may be a base station) provided by an embodiment of the present application may also refer to FIG. 9 for its structure, and includes a memory and a processor,

[0493] The above memory is configured to store program instructions, and the processor calls the program instructions stored in the memory, and according to the acquired program,

[0494] The operation of transmitting positioning reference signal setting information to a terminal;

[0495] In the case of a technical solution for Downlink Time to Delay in Arrival (DL-TDOA) positioning, the operation of transmitting a downlink positioning reference signal to a reference terminal, receiving downlink positioning measurement information reported by the reference terminal and location information of the reference terminal, and transmitting them to an LMF entity; and / or

[0496] In the case of a technical solution for Uplink Time to Delay in Arrival (UL-TDOA) positioning, it is configured to receive and measure an uplink positioning reference signal transmitted by a reference terminal to obtain uplink positioning measurement amount information, report the uplink positioning measurement amount information to an LMF entity, and transmit the location information of the reference terminal reported by the reference terminal.

[0497] Optionally, the processor also calls the program instruction stored in the memory, according to the acquired program,

[0498] When receiving a clock offset between base stations notified by the above LMF entity, an operation to correct the clock offset of a local base station according to the clock offset;

[0499] In the case of a technical solution for Downlink Time to Delay in Arrival (DL-TDOA) positioning, the operation of transmitting the downlink positioning reference signal to a target terminal, receiving downlink positioning measurement information reported by the target terminal, and transmitting it to the LMF entity; and

[0500] In the case of a technical solution for Uplink Time-to-Degree of Arrival (UL-TDOA) positioning, it is configured to receive and measure an uplink positioning reference signal transmitted by a target terminal to obtain uplink positioning measurement information of the target terminal, and to execute an operation of reporting the uplink positioning measurement information of the target terminal to the LMF entity.

[0501] With reference to FIG. 10, another positioning device provided by an embodiment of the present application, on the reference terminal side, is

[0502] A setting information determination unit (11) configured to determine positioning reference signal setting information;

[0503] In the case of a technical solution for Downlink Time to Arrival Difference (DL-TDOA) positioning, a first downlink unit (12) configured to receive and measure downlink positioning reference signals coming from different base stations based on the positioning reference signal setting information to determine downlink positioning measurement amount information, and to report the downlink positioning measurement amount information and the location information of the reference terminal, thereby enabling an LMF entity to perform positioning for a target terminal based on the downlink positioning measurement amount information and the location information of the reference terminal; and / or

[0504] In the case of a technical solution for uplink time-to-reach (UL-TDOA) positioning, it includes a first uplink unit (13) configured to transmit an uplink positioning reference signal based on the positioning reference signal setting information and transmit location information of the reference terminal, thereby enabling an LMF entity to perform positioning for a target terminal based on the uplink positioning reference signal and the location information of the reference terminal.

[0505] Optionally, the downlink positioning measurement information comprises a downlink positioning measurement and / or a reliability indicator of the downlink positioning measurement, wherein the reliability indicator is configured to indicate the reliability of the downlink positioning measurement as the standard difference and / or variance of the error estimate of the downlink positioning measurement.

[0506] Optionally, the location information of the reference terminal is determined by the reference terminal based on preset location information or through an independent radio access technology (RAT-independent) positioning solution means.

[0507] Optionally, the positioning reference signal setting information is provided by the LMF entity or base station.

[0508] With respect to the LMF entity side, referring to FIG. 11, another positioning device provided by an embodiment of the present application is,

[0509] In the case of a technical solution for Downlink Time to Delay in Arrival (DL-TDOA) positioning, the first downlink processing unit (21) configured to execute the operation of receiving downlink positioning measurement information reported by a reference terminal and location information of the reference terminal, and receiving downlink positioning measurement information reported by a target terminal; and the operation of performing positioning for the target terminal based on the downlink positioning measurement information reported by the reference terminal, the location information of the reference terminal, and the downlink positioning measurement information reported by the target terminal; and / or

[0510] In the case of a technical solution for uplink time-to-reach (UL-TDOA) positioning, the method comprises: a first uplink processing unit (22) configured to perform the operation of receiving location information of the reference terminal reported by the reference terminal, receiving uplink positioning measurement information of the reference terminal reported by the base station and uplink positioning measurement information of the target terminal reported by the base station; and performing positioning for the target terminal based on the uplink positioning measurement information of the reference terminal, the location information of the reference terminal, and the uplink positioning measurement information of the target terminal.

[0511] Optionally, the first downlink processing unit (21) specifically,

[0512] Operation of determining a clock offset between each base station based on the acquired location information of the reference terminal and downlink positioning measurement information;

[0513] An operation to modify downlink positioning measurement information of the target terminal according to the clock offset and determine modified downlink positioning measurement information regarding the target terminal; and

[0514] It is configured to execute an operation to determine the location information of the target terminal according to the modified downlink positioning measurement information of the target terminal.

[0515] Optionally, the first uplink processing unit (22) specifically,

[0516] An operation to determine a clock offset between each base station based on the acquired location information of the reference terminal and uplink positioning measurement information;

[0517] An operation to modify the uplink positioning measurement information of the target terminal according to the above clock offset and to determine the modified uplink positioning measurement information regarding the target terminal; and

[0518] It is configured to execute an operation to determine the location information of the target terminal according to the modified uplink positioning measurement information of the target terminal.

[0519] Optionally, the modified downlink positioning measurement information includes a downlink reference signal time difference (RSTD) measurement.

[0520] Optionally, the first transmitting unit is further included, wherein before acquiring the location information of the reference terminal and the downlink positioning measurement amount information, the first transmitting unit,

[0521] The method is configured to perform an operation of transmitting downlink positioning reference signal setting information to a terminal; or an operation of transmitting downlink positioning reference signal setting information to the base station so that the downlink positioning reference signal setting information is transmitted to the terminal by the base station.

[0522] Optionally, the first downlink processing unit (21) specifically,

[0523] An operation of notifying the base station of the clock offset above so that the base station corrects the clock offset between base stations and then transmits a downlink positioning reference signal to the target terminal; and an operation of performing direct value assignment on the modified RSTD based on the downlink RSTD reported by the target terminal, or based on the downlink TOA difference from a plurality of base stations reported by the target terminal; or

[0524] In the position calculation process, the method is configured to execute an operation of determining the difference value between the RSTD value reported by the target terminal and the clock offset as the modified downlink positioning measurement information.

[0525] Optionally, the modified uplink positioning measurement information includes uplink relative time of arrival (RTOA) measurements.

[0526] Optionally, a second transmitting unit is further included, wherein before acquiring the location information of the reference terminal and the uplink positioning measurement amount information, the second transmitting unit,

[0527] The method is configured to perform an operation of transmitting uplink positioning reference signal setting information to a terminal; or an operation of transmitting uplink positioning reference signal setting information to the base station so that the base station transmits the uplink positioning reference signal setting information to the terminal.

[0528] Optionally, the first uplink processing unit (22) specifically,

[0529] An operation of notifying the base station of the above clock offset so that the base station corrects the clock offset between base stations and receives an uplink sounding reference signal coming from the target terminal; and an operation of performing direct value assignment to the modified RTOA with the uplink RTOA reported by the base station; or

[0530] In the position calculation process, the method is configured to execute an operation of determining the difference between the uplink RTOA value reported to the target terminal by the base station and the clock offset as the modified uplink positioning measurement information.

[0531] At the target terminal side, referring to FIG. 12, another positioning device provided by an embodiment of the present application is,

[0532] A setting information determination unit (31) configured to determine positioning reference signal setting information;

[0533] In the case of a technical solution for downlink time-to-reach (DL-TDOA) positioning, a second downlink unit (32) configured to receive and measure downlink positioning reference signals coming from different base stations based on the positioning reference signal setting information to determine downlink positioning measurement amount information and to report the downlink positioning measurement amount information; and / or

[0534] In the case of a technical solution for uplink time-to-reach (UL-TDOA) positioning, it includes a second uplink unit (33) configured to transmit an uplink positioning reference signal based on the positioning reference signal setting information.

[0535] Optionally, the downlink positioning measurement information comprises a downlink positioning measurement and / or a reliability indicator of the downlink positioning measurement, wherein the reliability indicator is configured to indicate the reliability of the downlink positioning measurement as the standard difference and / or variance of the error estimate of the downlink positioning measurement.

[0536] Optionally, the positioning reference signal setting information is provided by an LMF entity or a base station.

[0537] With reference to FIG. 13, on the base station side, another positioning device provided by an embodiment of the present application is,

[0538] A setting information transmission unit (41) configured to transmit positioning reference signal setting information to a terminal;

[0539] In the case of a technical solution for Downlink Time to Delay in Arrival (DL-TDOA) positioning, a second downlink processing unit (42) configured to transmit a downlink positioning reference signal to a reference terminal, receive downlink positioning measurement information reported by the reference terminal and location information of the reference terminal, and transmit to an LMF entity; and / or

[0540] In the case of a technical solution for uplink time-to-reach (UL-TDOA) positioning, it includes a second uplink processing unit (43) configured to receive and measure an uplink positioning reference signal transmitted by a reference terminal to obtain uplink positioning measurement amount information, report the uplink positioning measurement amount information to an LMF entity, and transmit the location information of the reference terminal reported by the reference terminal.

[0541] Optionally, the device further comprises a clock offset correction unit, configured to correct the clock offset of a local base station according to the clock offset when receiving a clock offset between base stations notified by the LMF entity.

[0542] The second downlink processing unit (42) is also configured to transmit the downlink positioning reference signal to the target terminal and receive downlink positioning measurement information reported by the target terminal and transmit it to the LMF entity in the case of a downlink time-to-delay-of-arrival (DL-TDOA) positioning technical solution.

[0543] The second uplink processing unit (43) is also configured to receive and measure an uplink positioning reference signal transmitted by a target terminal in the case of an uplink time-to-reach (UL-TDOA) positioning technical solution, obtain uplink positioning measurement information of the target terminal, and report the uplink positioning measurement information of the target terminal to the LMF entity.

[0544] It should be noted that the classification of units in the embodiments of this application is exemplary and merely a logical functional classification, and that other classification methods may exist during actual implementation. Furthermore, each functional unit of each embodiment of this application may be integrated into a single processing unit, may exist physically as an independent unit, or may have two or more units integrated within a single unit. The integrated unit may be implemented in the form of hardware or in the form of a software functional unit.

[0545] When the above-mentioned integrated unit is implemented in the form of a software function unit and sold or used as an independent product, it may be stored on a single computer-readable storage medium. Based on this understanding, the technical solution of the present application may be implemented in the form of a software product in which the essential or prior art-contributing part or all or part of the technical solution is implemented, and said computer software product is stored on a single storage medium, and may include a few instructions that cause a computing device (which may be a personal computer, server, or network device, etc.) or processor to perform all or part of the steps of the method according to each embodiment of the present application. The aforementioned storage medium includes various media capable of storing program code, such as USB memory, removable hard disk, Read-Only Memory (ROM), Random Access Memory (RAM), magnetic disk, or optical disk.

[0546] Embodiments of the present application provide a computing device, wherein the computing device may specifically be a desktop computer, a portable computer, a smartphone, a tablet computer, a Personal Digital Assistant (PDA), etc. The computing device may include a Center Processing Unit (CPU), memory, input / output devices, etc., and the input devices may include a keyboard, a mouse, a touch screen, etc., and the output devices may include display devices such as, for example, a Liquid Crystal Display (LCD) or a Cathode Ray Tube (CRT).

[0547] The memory may include read-only memory (ROM) and random access memory (RAM) and provides program instructions and data stored in the memory to the processor. In embodiments of the present application, the memory may be configured to store a program of any method provided in embodiments of the present application.

[0548] The processor is configured to execute any method provided in the embodiments of the present application according to the acquired program instructions by calling program instructions stored in memory.

[0549] An embodiment of the present application provides a computer storage medium configured to store computer program instructions to be used by a device provided in the aforementioned embodiment of the present application, wherein the computer program instructions include a program configured to execute any method provided in the aforementioned embodiment of the present application.

[0550] The above computer storage medium is any usable medium or data storage device accessible by a computer, and includes, but is not limited to, magnetic memory (e.g., floppy disk, hard disk, magnetic tape, magneto-optical disk (MO), etc.), optical memory (e.g., CD, DVD, BD, HVD, etc.), and semiconductor memory (e.g., ROM, EPROM, EEPROM, non-volatile memory (NAND FLASH), solid-state drive (SSD)).

[0551] The method provided in the embodiments of the present application may be applied to a terminal device or to a network device.

[0552] Here, the terminal device may be referred to as User Equipment (abbreviated as "UE"), Mobile Station (abbreviated as "MS"), Mobile Terminal, etc. Optionally, the terminal may have the ability to communicate with one or more core networks via a Radio Access Network (RAN). For example, the terminal may be a mobile phone (or referred to as a "cellular" phone) or a computer with mobile characteristics. For example, the terminal may also be a portable, pocket-sized, handheld, computer-embedded, or vehicle-mounted mobile device.

[0553] A network device may be a base station (e.g., an access point) referring to a device that communicates with a wireless terminal through one or more sectors on a wireless interface in an access network. The base station may be configured to act as a router between the wireless terminal and the rest of the access network to switch between received wireless frames and IP packets, wherein the rest of the access network may include an Internet Protocol (IP) network. The base station may also coordinate attribute management for the wireless interface. For example, the base station may be a Base Transceiver Station (BTS) in GSM or CDMA, a NodeB in WCDMA, an evolutionary NodeB (eNB or e-NodeB) in LTE, or a gNB in ​​a 5G system, etc. The embodiments of this application are not limited thereto.

[0554] The processing process of the above-described method can be implemented as a software program that can be stored on a storage medium, and when the stored software program is called, the steps of the above-described method are executed.

[0555] A person skilled in the art will understand that embodiments of the present application may be provided as a method, system, or computer program product. Accordingly, the present application may be provided in the form of a completely hardware embodiment, a completely software embodiment, or an embodiment combining software and hardware aspects. Additionally, the present application may be provided in the form of a computer program product implemented on one or more computer-usable storage media (including, but not limited to, magnetic disk storage devices and optical memory) containing computer-usable program code.

[0556] The present application is described with reference to flowcharts and / or block diagrams of methods, devices (systems), and computer program products according to embodiments of the present application. It should be understood that computer program instructions can be used to implement each procedure and / or block of a flowchart and / or block diagram, and combinations of procedures and / or blocks of a flowchart and / or block diagram. By providing such computer program instructions to a processor of a general-purpose computer, a dedicated computer, an embedded processor, or other programmable data processing device to create a machine, a device for implementing a function specified in one or more procedures of a flowchart and / or one or more blocks of a block diagram can be created through instructions executed by the processor of the computer or other programmable data processing device.

[0557] These computer program instructions are also stored in computer-readable memory that can guide a computer or other programmable data processing device to operate in a specific manner, thereby enabling the creation of a manufactured product including an instruction device through instructions stored within said computer-readable memory, said instruction device implements a function specified in one or more procedures of a flowchart and / or one or more blocks of a block diagram.

[0558] These computer program instructions may also be loaded into a computer or other programmable data processing device so that a series of operational steps are executed on the computer or other programmable device to generate computerically implemented processing, thereby providing steps for implementing a function specified in one or more procedures of a flowchart and / or one or more blocks of a block diagram.

[0559] It is obvious that a person skilled in the art can make various modifications and variations to this application without departing from the spirit and scope of this application. Accordingly, if such modifications and variations to this application fall within the scope of the claims of this application and the scope of equivalent technology, this application is intended to include such modifications and variations.

Claims

Claim 1 A positioning method applied to a reference terminal, comprising: determining positioning reference signal setting information; receiving and measuring downlink positioning reference signals from different base stations based on the positioning reference signal setting information to determine downlink positioning measurement information, and reporting the downlink positioning measurement information and the location information of the reference terminal - wherein the downlink positioning measurement information and the location information of the reference terminal are used by a position management function (LMF) entity to determine a clock offset between each base station, modify the downlink positioning measurement information of a target terminal according to the clock offset to determine modified downlink positioning measurement information regarding the target terminal, and determine the location information of the target terminal according to the modified downlink positioning measurement information of the target terminal -; wherein the downlink positioning measurement information of the target terminal is used by the LMF entity to cause the base station to transmit the downlink positioning reference signal to the target terminal after correcting the clock offset between base stations. A positioning method characterized by notifying the base station of the offset; performing direct value assignment to the modified RSTD based on the reference signal time difference (RSTD) reported by the target terminal, or based on the difference in downlink arrival times (TOA) from a plurality of base stations reported by the target terminal; or, in the position calculation process, modifying by determining the difference value between the RSTD value reported by the target terminal and the clock offset as the modified downlink positioning measurement information. Claim 2 A positioning method according to claim 1, wherein the downlink positioning measurement information comprises a downlink positioning measurement and / or a reliability indicator of the downlink positioning measurement, wherein the reliability indicator is configured to indicate the reliability of the downlink positioning measurement as a standard difference and / or variance of the error estimate of the downlink positioning measurement. Claim 3 A positioning method according to claim 1, characterized in that the location information of the reference terminal is determined by the reference terminal based on pre-set location information or through an independent wireless access technology (RAT-independent) positioning solution means. Claim 4 A positioning method according to claim 1, characterized in that the positioning reference signal setting information is provided by the LMF entity or base station. Claim 5 A positioning method applied to a position management function (LMF) entity, comprising receiving downlink positioning measurement information reported by a reference terminal and location information of said reference terminal, and receiving downlink positioning measurement information reported by a target terminal; The method includes performing positioning for the target terminal based on downlink positioning measurement information reported by the reference terminal, location information of the reference terminal, and downlink positioning measurement information reported by the target terminal; performing positioning for the target terminal based on downlink positioning measurement information reported by the reference terminal, location information of the reference terminal, and downlink positioning measurement information reported by the target terminal comprises determining a clock offset between each base station according to the acquired location information of the reference terminal and downlink positioning measurement information; modifying the downlink positioning measurement information of the target terminal according to the clock offset to determine modified downlink positioning measurement information regarding the target terminal; and determining the location information of the target terminal according to the modified downlink positioning measurement information of the target terminal, wherein, the downlink positioning measurement information of the target terminal is modified according to the clock offset to determine the modified downlink Determining positioning measurement information specifically involves notifying the base station of the clock offset so that the base station corrects the clock offset between base stations and transmits a downlink positioning reference signal to the target terminal; and performing direct value assignment on the modified RSTD based on the reference signal time difference (RSTD) reported by the target terminal, or based on the difference in downlink arrival times (TOA) from multiple base stations reported by the target terminal.A positioning method characterized by including, in the position calculation process, determining the difference between the RSTD value reported by the target terminal and the clock offset as the modified downlink positioning measurement information. Claim 6 delete Claim 7 delete Claim 8 A positioning method according to claim 5, wherein the modified downlink positioning measurement information includes a downlink reference signal time difference (RSTD) measurement value, or, before obtaining the location information of the reference terminal and the downlink positioning measurement information, the positioning method further comprises: transmitting downlink positioning reference signal setting information to a terminal; or transmitting downlink positioning reference signal setting information to a base station so that the downlink positioning reference signal setting information is transmitted to a terminal by the base station. Claim 9 delete Claim 10 A positioning method applied to a target terminal, comprising: determining positioning reference signal setting information; receiving and measuring downlink positioning reference signals from different base stations based on the positioning reference signal setting information to determine downlink positioning measurement information, and reporting the downlink positioning measurement information - wherein the downlink positioning measurement information of the target terminal is modified by a position management function (LMF) entity according to the clock offset between each base station to determine modified downlink positioning measurement information regarding the target terminal, and the LMF determines the position information of the target terminal according to the modified downlink positioning measurement information of the target terminal, and wherein the clock offset is determined by the LMF entity according to the position information of the reference terminal and the downlink positioning measurement information of the reference terminal -; and wherein the downlink positioning measurement information of the target terminal is, by the LMF entity, caused the base station to correct the clock offset between base stations, and then the downlink A positioning method characterized by notifying the base station of the clock offset to transmit a positioning reference signal to the target terminal; performing direct value assignment to the modified RSTD based on the reference signal time difference (RSTD) reported by the target terminal, or based on the difference in downlink arrival times (TOA) from a plurality of base stations reported by the target terminal; or, in the position calculation process, modifying the value of the difference between the RSTD value reported by the target terminal and the clock offset as the modified downlink positioning measurement information. Claim 11 A positioning method according to claim 10, wherein the downlink positioning measurement information comprises a downlink positioning measurement and / or a reliability indicator of the downlink positioning measurement, wherein the reliability indicator is configured to indicate the reliability of the downlink positioning measurement as a standard difference and / or variance of the error estimate of the downlink positioning measurement. Claim 12 A positioning method according to claim 10, characterized in that the positioning reference signal setting information is provided by the position management function (LMF) entity or base station. Claim 13 A positioning device applied to a reference terminal, comprising: a setting information determination unit configured to determine positioning reference signal setting information; a first downlink unit configured to receive and measure downlink positioning reference signals coming from different base stations based on the positioning reference signal setting information to determine downlink positioning measurement information, and to report the downlink positioning measurement information and the location information of the reference terminal - wherein the downlink positioning measurement information and the location information of the reference terminal are used by a position management function (LMF) entity to determine a clock offset between each base station, modify the downlink positioning measurement information of a target terminal according to the clock offset to determine modified downlink positioning measurement information regarding the target terminal, and determine the location information of the target terminal according to the modified downlink positioning measurement information of the target terminal -; wherein, the downlink positioning measurement information of the target terminal is, by the LMF entity, caused the base station to correct the clock offset between base stations, and then the downlink positioning A positioning device characterized by: notifying the base station of the clock offset to transmit a reference signal to the target terminal; performing direct value assignment to the modified RSTD based on the reference signal time difference (RSTD) reported by the target terminal, or based on the difference in downlink arrival times (TOA) from a plurality of base stations reported by the target terminal; or, in the position calculation process, modifying by determining the difference value between the RSTD value reported by the target terminal and the clock offset as the modified downlink positioning measurement information. Claim 14 A positioning device applied to a position management function (LMF) entity, comprising the operation of receiving downlink positioning measurement information reported by a reference terminal and location information of said reference terminal, and receiving downlink positioning measurement information reported by a target terminal; and includes a first downlink processing unit configured to execute an operation of performing positioning for the target terminal based on downlink positioning measurement information reported by the reference terminal, location information of the reference terminal, and downlink positioning measurement information reported by the target terminal; wherein, specifically, the first downlink processing unit determines a clock offset between each base station according to the acquired location information of the reference terminal and downlink positioning measurement information; modifies the downlink positioning measurement information of the target terminal according to the clock offset to determine modified downlink positioning measurement information regarding the target terminal; determines the location information of the target terminal according to the modified downlink positioning measurement information of the target terminal; and the first downlink processing unit also specifically notifies the base station of the clock offset so that the base station transmits a downlink positioning reference signal to the target terminal after correcting the clock offset between base stations. A positioning device characterized by performing a direct value assignment to a modified RSTD based on the reference signal time difference (RSTD) reported by the target terminal, or based on the difference in downlink arrival times (TOA) from a plurality of base stations reported by the target terminal; or, in the position calculation process, determining the difference value between the RSTD value reported by the target terminal and the clock offset as the modified downlink positioning measurement information. Claim 15 A positioning device applied to a target terminal, comprising: a setting information determination unit configured to determine positioning reference signal setting information; a second downlink unit configured to receive and measure downlink positioning reference signals coming from different base stations based on the positioning reference signal setting information to determine downlink positioning measurement information and to report the downlink positioning measurement information - wherein the downlink positioning measurement information of the target terminal is modified by a position management function (LMF) entity according to a clock offset between each base station to determine modified downlink positioning measurement information regarding the target terminal, and the LMF determines the position information of the target terminal according to the modified downlink positioning measurement information of the target terminal, and wherein the clock offset is determined by the LMF entity according to the position information of the reference terminal and the downlink positioning measurement information of the reference terminal -; wherein the downlink positioning measurement information of the target terminal is determined by the LMF entity to cause the base station to base station A positioning device characterized by: notifying the base station of the clock offset to transmit a downlink positioning reference signal to the target terminal after correcting the clock offset between them; performing direct value assignment on the modified RSTD based on the reference signal time difference (RSTD) reported by the target terminal, or based on the difference in downlink arrival times (TOA) from a plurality of base stations reported by the target terminal; or, in the position calculation process, modifying by determining the difference value between the RSTD value reported by the target terminal and the clock offset as the modified downlink positioning measurement information. 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