Terminal, base station, and communication method
Patent Information
- Application Number
- PCT/JP2023/035489
- Authority / Receiving Office
- WO · WO
- Patent Type
- Applications
- Current Assignee / Owner
- Filing Date
- 2023-09-28
- Publication Date
- 2025-04-03
AI Technical Summary
The prior art is difficult to perform high-precision positioning with unspecified reference signals because the terminal or base station does not assume that the positioning is performed using a non-specified reference signal.
By receiving network settings or instructions, the terminal or base station uses an existing unspecified reference signal for positioning measurements. Specifically, after receiving a setting instructing to use existing reference signals for positioning, the terminal or base station will use these signals for positioning measurement.
The positioning is achieved using unspecified reference signals, which improves the accuracy and reliability of positioning.
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Figure JP2023035489_03042025_PF_FP_ABST
Abstract
Description
Terminal, base station, and communication method
[0001] The present invention relates to positioning techniques in wireless communication systems.
[0002] 3GPP (registered trademark) (3rd Generation Partnership Project) is currently studying a wireless communication method called 5G or NR (New Radio) (hereinafter, this wireless communication method will be referred to as "NR") in order to achieve a larger system capacity, a higher data transmission speed, and a lower latency in wireless sections. 5G is studying various wireless technologies and network architectures to meet the requirements of achieving a throughput of 10 Gbps or more while reducing latency in wireless sections to 1 ms or less.
[0003] Furthermore, NR positioning, which performs positioning using a reference signal (RS), is being studied. In conventional NR positioning, measurements for positioning are performed using reference signals specified for positioning, such as DL-PRS and SRS for positioning (Non-Patent Documents 1 and 2, etc.).
[0004] 3GPP TS 38.331 V17.4.0 (2023-03)3GPP TS 37.355 V17.5.0 (2023-06)
[0005] In 3GPP (registered trademark) Rel-19 NR positioning, it may be considered to perform positioning using existing reference signals (e.g., SSB, TRS, etc.) that are not specified for positioning, instead of reference signals specified for positioning, such as DL-PRS and SRS for positioning.
[0006] However, in the conventional technology, it is not assumed that a terminal or a base station will perform positioning using a reference signal that is not specified for positioning. Therefore, in the conventional technology, a terminal or a base station cannot appropriately perform measurements for positioning using a reference signal that is not specified for positioning, making it difficult to perform highly accurate positioning.
[0007] The present invention has been made in view of the above points, and aims to provide a technique for realizing positioning using a reference signal that is not specified for positioning.
[0008] According to the disclosed technology, a terminal is provided that includes: a receiving unit that receives, from a network, a setting or instruction indicating that measurements for positioning should be performed using existing reference signals; and a control unit that performs measurements for positioning using the existing reference signals.
[0009] The disclosed technology provides a technology for realizing positioning using a reference signal that is not specified for positioning.
[0010] FIG. 1 is a diagram for explaining a wireless communication system in an embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 1 is a diagram for explaining a wireless communication system in an embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 1 is a diagram for explaining a configuration in which a plurality of base stations are present. FIG. 2 is a diagram for explaining embodiment 0. FIG. 3 is a diagram for explaining embodiment 1. FIG. 4 is a diagram for explaining embodiment 1. FIG. 5 is a diagram for explaining embodiment 1. FIG. 6 is a diagram for explaining embodiment 6. FIG. 7 is a diagram for explaining embodiment 7. FIG. 8 is a diagram for explaining embodiment 8. FIG. 9 is a diagram for explaining embodiment 9. FIG. 10 is a diagram for explaining embodiment 10. FIG. 11 is a diagram for explaining embodiment 11. FIG. 12 is a diagram for explaining embodiment 12. FIG. 13 is a diagram for explaining embodiment 13. FIG. 14 is a diagram for explaining embodiment 14.
[0011] Hereinafter, an embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. Note that the embodiment described below is an example, and the embodiment to which the present invention is applied is not limited to the following embodiment. In the following description, " / " means "or" unless it is clear from the context that it has a different meaning.
[0012] In the following, a reference signal specified for positioning (e.g., DL-PRS and SRS for positioning) is referred to as a positioning reference signal (or positioning RS), and a reference signal not specified for positioning is referred to as an existing reference signal (or existing RS). When simply referred to as a reference signal (or RS), it means that either a positioning reference signal or an existing reference signal is acceptable.
[0013] (System Configuration) Fig. 1 is a diagram for explaining a wireless communication system according to an embodiment of the present invention. As shown in Fig. 1, the wireless communication system according to the embodiment of the present invention includes a base station 10 and a terminal 20. The core network is also provided with an LMF 30, which is capable of communicating with the base station 10. The LMF 30 may communicate with the base station 10 via an AMF. The LMF 30 is an example of a network device (which may also be called a network node). The base station 10 is also an example of a network device. The LMF 30 may also be called a management device.
[0014] 1 illustrates one base station 10 and one terminal 20, this is an example, and there may be a plurality of each. For example, there may be a plurality of base stations 10 that transmit reference signals received by the terminal 20. One, some, or all of the plurality of base stations 10 may be airborne devices (e.g., satellites, HAPS).
[0015] The source of the reference signal may be called a transmission reception point (TRP). A TRP may be called a transmission point or a reception point. A TRP may be called a base station.
[0016] The base station 10 is a communication device that provides one or more cells and performs wireless communication with the terminal 20. The physical resources of a wireless signal are defined in the time domain and the frequency domain, and the time domain may be defined by the number of OFDM symbols, and the frequency domain may be defined by the number of subcarriers or the number of resource blocks. Furthermore, a TTI (Transmission Time Interval) in the time domain may be a slot, or a TTI may be a subframe. Note that a cell and a CC may be considered synonymous.
[0017] The base station 10 is capable of performing carrier aggregation, which aggregates multiple cells (multiple CCs (component carriers)) to communicate with the terminal 20. In carrier aggregation, one PCell (primary cell) and one or more SCells (secondary cells) are used.
[0018] The base station 10 transmits synchronization signals, system information, and the like to the terminal 20. The synchronization signals are, for example, NR-PSS and NR-SSS. The system information is transmitted, for example, via NR-PBCH or PDSCH, and is also referred to as broadcast information. As shown in FIG. 1, the base station 10 transmits control signals or data to the terminal 20 via DL (Downlink) and receives control signals or data from the terminal 20 via UL (Uplink). Note that, here, signals transmitted via control channels such as PUCCH and PDCCH are referred to as control signals, and signals transmitted via shared channels such as PUSCH and PDSCH are referred to as data, but these nomenclatures are merely examples. In addition, UCI (Uplink Control Information) is transmitted via PUCCH or PUSCH.
[0019] The terminal 20 is a communication device equipped with a wireless communication function, such as a smartphone, a mobile phone, a tablet, a wearable terminal, or an M2M (Machine-to-Machine) communication module. As shown in FIG. 1, the terminal 20 receives control signals or data from the base station 10 via DL and transmits control signals or data to the base station 10 via UL, thereby utilizing various communication services provided by the wireless communication system. The terminal 20 may be referred to as a UE, and the base station 10 may be referred to as a gNB.
[0020] The terminal 20 is capable of performing carrier aggregation, which aggregates multiple cells (multiple CCs (component carriers)) to communicate with the base station 10. In carrier aggregation, one PCell (primary cell) and one or more SCells (secondary cells) are used. Also, a PUCCH-SCell having a PUCCH may be used.
[0021] The LMF (Location Management Function) 30 is a function (device) responsible for communication control related to location information services defined in 5GC. The LMF 30 may also be called a location management server, a location management device, or a management device. The LMF 30 can receive, for example, measurement results (phase, received power, time difference, angle, etc.) of a reference signal from the terminal 20 or the base station 10 and calculate the position of the terminal 20. The LMF 30 can also provide setting information or control information related to positioning to the terminal 20 and the base station 10.
[0022] Fig. 2 shows an example of the configuration of a wireless communication system when DC (Dual Connectivity) is implemented. As shown in Fig. 2, a base station 10A serving as a Master Node (MN) and a base station 10B serving as a Secondary Node (SN) are provided. The base station 10A and the base station 10B are each connected to a core network 40. A terminal 20 can communicate with both the base station 10A and the base station 10B.
[0023] The cell group provided by the base station 10A, which is an MN, is called an MCG (Master Cell Group), and the cell group provided by the base station 10B, which is an SN, is called an SCG (Secondary Cell Group). In addition, in DC, the MCG is composed of one PCell and one or more SCells, and the SCG is composed of one PSCell (Primary SCell) and one or more SCells.
[0024] The processing operations in this embodiment may be performed in the system configuration shown in Fig. 1, the system configuration shown in Fig. 2, or other system configurations. Fig. 3 shows an example in which terminal 20 performs positioning by receiving reference signals from multiple base stations 10A to 10C. For example, the position of terminal 20 can be determined by determining the distances (or angles) between terminal 20 and multiple base stations.
[0025] The distance between the terminal 20 and the base station can be calculated, for example, from the arrival time of the signal or the wave number of the carrier wave of the signal (wave number x wavelength).
[0026] (Regarding Issues) As described above, in the Rel-19 NR positioning of 3GPP (registered trademark), it may be considered to perform positioning using existing reference signals (e.g., SSB, TRS, etc.) that are not specified for positioning, instead of positioning reference signals.
[0027] However, in the conventional technology, it is not assumed that a terminal or a base station will perform positioning using an existing reference signal, and therefore, in the conventional technology, the terminal or the base station cannot appropriately perform measurements for positioning using an existing reference signal, making it difficult to perform highly accurate positioning.
[0028] Hereinafter, a technique for solving the above problem and realizing positioning using existing reference signals that are not specified for positioning will be described.
[0029] (Outline of the embodiments) Hereinafter, embodiments 0 to 4 will be described as embodiments for solving the above problems. The outline of embodiments 0 to 4 is as follows. Embodiments 0 to 4 can be implemented in any combination.
[0030] Embodiment 0 (high-level proposal): It is assumed that the terminal 20 and the base station 10 perform measurements for positioning using existing reference signals.
[0031] Embodiment 1: A terminal 20 reports to a network (NW) based on the measurement values of existing reference signals.
[0032] Second Embodiment: The terminal 20 performs measurements for positioning using two or more types of reference signals.
[0033] Third Embodiment: The terminal 20 performs measurements for positioning using one or more reference signals that satisfy a condition from among a plurality of types of reference signals.
[0034] Fourth embodiment: The capability (capability information) of the terminal 20 for positioning using existing reference signals is defined, and the terminal 20 transmits the capability to the NW.
[0035] Each embodiment will be described in detail below. Embodiment 0 is a basic example, and its detailed examples correspond to embodiments 1 to 4. It is possible to implement a combination of any two or all of embodiments 0 to 4. However, it is also possible to implement each of embodiments 1 to 4 without considering embodiment 0. In the following description, the "network" to which the terminal 20 makes a report or request is specifically the base station 10 or the LMF 30. Therefore, the "network" to which the terminal 20 makes a report or request may be replaced with the base station 10 or the LMF 30.
[0036] (Embodiment 0) First, a description will be given of embodiment 0. In embodiment 0, it is assumed that the terminal 20 and the base station 10 perform measurements for positioning using existing reference signals.
[0037] Examples of legacy reference signals include SSB, CSI-RS, TRS, DM-RS, PT-RS, and SRS. SSB, CSI-RS, TRS, (DL) DM-RS, and PT-RS are legacy reference signals transmitted from the base station 10 to the terminal 20. (UL) DM-RS and SRS are legacy reference signals transmitted from the terminal 20 to the base station 10.
[0038] The positioning reference signal is a reference signal configured in the terminal 20 for positioning, and in this embodiment, the positioning reference signal includes DL-PRS and UL SRS for positioning.
[0039] Although the specifications prescribe SRS for MIMO, this is only applicable to UL TDOA. In this embodiment, the SRS as an existing reference signal is applicable not only to UL TDOA but also to positioning methods other than UL TDOA (Multi-RTT, UL-AoA).
[0040] The terminal 20 is configured (or instructed) by the NW to perform measurements for positioning using an existing reference signal. That is, the terminal 20 receives a configuration or instruction from the NW indicating that measurements for positioning are to be performed using an existing reference signal. Alternatively, the terminal 20 may request the NW to perform measurements for positioning using an existing reference signal.
[0041] Furthermore, the base station 10 may receive a configuration or instruction from a network node (for example, the LMF 30) indicating that measurements for positioning are to be performed using existing reference signals.
[0042] The content (metric) of the above "measurement" may be, for example, any one or more of the following: The content (metric) of the above "measurement" may be other than those shown below.
[0043] ・RSTD (Reference Signal Time Difference) ・UE Rx-Tx time difference ・DL-AoD / UL-AoA (RSRP) ・RSCP / RSCPD (Reference Signal Carrier Phase / RSCP difference) ・RSRPP (Reference Signal Received Path Power = RSRP for each path) For the above "UE Rx-Tx time difference," existing reference signals may be used for both DL and UL, or only one of DL or UL.
[0044] <Measurement Operation> An example of the measurement operation when the above settings / instructions / requests are made will be described with reference to FIG.
[0045] In S101, the base station 10 transmits the existing reference signal that is the subject of the setting / instruction / request, and the terminal 20 receives the existing reference signal. In S102, the terminal 20 measures the existing reference signal. The measurement provides the time difference, received power, phase difference, etc.
[0046] S111 and S112 show measurements in the UL. In S111, the terminal 20 transmits the existing reference signal that is the subject of the above-mentioned setting / instruction / request, and the base station 10 receives the existing reference signal. In S112, the base station 10 measures the existing reference signal. The measurement provides the time difference, received power, phase difference, etc.
[0047] The terminal 20 may perform measurements for positioning periodically (periodic), or may perform measurements semi-persistently / aperiodic based on an instruction from the NW or a request from the terminal 20 to the NW.
[0048] In addition, the base station 10 may perform measurements for positioning periodically (periodic), or may perform measurements semi-persistently / aperiodic based on an instruction from the LMF 30 / terminal 20 or a request to the LMF 30 / terminal 20.
[0049] The measurement cycle of the terminal 20 may be set / instructed by the NW. Also, the measurement cycle of the base station 20 may be set / instructed by the LMF 30.
[0050] Furthermore, for example, when any one of the following multiple events is used as a trigger, the terminal 20 may assume that a period update is set or instructed by the NW, or may request a period update from the NW. Furthermore, for example, when any one of the following multiple events is used as a trigger, the base station 10 may assume that a period update is set or instructed by the LMF 30 / terminal 20, or may request a period update from the LMF 30 / terminal 20.
[0051] ・When a timer for performing periodic measurements expires ・When the terminal 20 or the NW determines that the positioning requirement conditions can no longer be met based on any one or more of the indicators for the positioning metrics, such as uncertainty, quality indicator, and integrity ・When the positioning requirement conditions are changed ・When it is detected that the surrounding propagation environment has changed by a certain value or more based on the measurement results, etc., of the terminal 20 / base station 10 ・When the terminal 20 moves or when the moving speed of the terminal 20 changes <Measurement method using existing reference signals: option 1> Each existing reference signal has a specified use (referred to as a specified use). The terminal 20 / base station 10 may simultaneously perform measurements for the specified use using existing reference signals and measurements for positioning, or may perform measurements for the specified use using existing reference signals and measurements for positioning sequentially (in order).
[0052] Furthermore, each existing reference signal has multiple configurations (resources, cycles, etc.), but the terminal 20 / base station 10 may use only a specific configuration among the multiple configurations for positioning measurements. The above "configuration" includes resource mapping.
[0053] For example, if a terminal 20 is configured with setting 1 (resource A, period B), setting 2 (resource B, period B), and setting 3 (resource C, period C) for a certain existing reference signal, only setting 1 (resource A, period B) for the existing reference signal is used for positioning measurements.
[0054] The above-mentioned specific configuration (which configuration to use for positioning measurements) may be set in advance in the terminal 20 from the NW, or may be set in advance in the base station 10 from the LMF 30.
[0055] <Measurement method using existing reference signals: Option 2> A positioning-dedicated reference signal may be defined based on one, several, or all of multiple types of existing reference signals. Positioning-dedicated reference signals based on existing reference signals already exist, including SRS for MIMO and SRS for positioning. The positioning-dedicated reference signal in this Option 2 is a reference signal other than these.
[0056] For example, a positioning-dedicated reference signal based on an existing reference signal may have a sequence design different from that of the existing reference signal. Note that the "sequence design" may also be called a "sequence."
[0057] Furthermore, the resource mapping or configuration of a positioning-dedicated reference signal based on an existing reference signal may be different from the resource mapping or configuration of the existing reference signal.
[0058] 5 to 7 show examples 1 to 3 of resource mapping of a positioning-dedicated reference signal based on an existing reference signal when the existing reference signal is a DM-RS. This DM-RS may be a UL DM-RS or a DL DM-RS. Similarly, for other existing reference signals (e.g., SSB, CSI-RS), the resource mapping or configuration may be different between the existing reference signal on which the positioning-dedicated reference signal is based and the existing reference signal.
[0059] In Example 1 shown in FIG. 5, the DM-RS resource has a symbol length of double symbols or more (three symbols in the example of FIG. 5).
[0060] In Example 2 shown in FIG. 6, the comb size is set to 0 so that the DM-RS resources can cover the entire band.
[0061] 7, a symbol size of double symbols or more and a comb size are set so that DM-RS resources can cover the entire band. Also, in Example 3, there is an offset in the frequency direction between a DM-RS located earlier in time and a DM-RS located later in time.
[0062] <Effects of the 0th embodiment> According to the 0th embodiment, positioning using existing reference signals can be realized.
[0063] (First embodiment) Next, a first embodiment will be described. In the first embodiment, the terminal 20 reports to the NW based on the measurement values of existing reference signals.
[0064] An example of operation of the first embodiment will be described with reference to Fig. 8. In this example of operation, the settings / instructions / requests described in the first embodiment will be performed as needed.
[0065] In S201 of Fig. 8, the terminal 20 transmits capability information to the base station 10 / LMF 30. A specific example of the capability information will be described in embodiment 4. The capability information enables the base station 10 / LMF 30 to transmit a reference signal according to the capability of the terminal 20. Note that S201 may not be performed.
[0066] In S202, the base station 10 / LMF 30 transmits assistance data to the terminal 20. The assistance data may be, for example, a LOS-NLOS-Indicator.
[0067] In S203, the base station 10 transmits an existing reference signal, and the terminal 20 receives the existing reference signal. In S204, the terminal 20 measures the existing reference signal. In S205, the terminal 20 reports the measurement result (or positioning result) to the base station 10 / LMF 30.
[0068] Regarding the contents of the above report, when UE-based positioning is performed in which the terminal 20 performs positioning calculations, the terminal 20 estimates the location information (latitude, longitude, altitude, uncertainty, etc.) of the terminal 20 using the assistance data notified from the NW and the measurement values of existing reference signals, and reports the estimated location information to the NW.
[0069] When UE-assisted positioning is performed, in which positioning calculations are performed on the network side, the terminal 20 uses the assistance data notified from the network to measure one or more metrics described in embodiment 0 from existing reference signals and reports the measurement values to the network.
[0070] The metric measurement results are reported from the terminal 20 to the NW by, for example, LPP signaling or RRC signaling.
[0071] For example, in the case of DL-TDOA, the terminal 20 may report the measurement result by "ProvideLocationInformation>NR-DL-TDOA-SignalMeasurementInformation". Regarding the existing reference signals used in the measurement, the terminal 20 may report the measurement result without distinguishing the existing reference signals, or may report the measurement result by distinguishing the existing reference signals. When reporting the measurement result by distinguishing the existing reference signals, the report information may include which existing reference signal (and which resource) was used for the measurement result.
[0072] Figures 9 and 10 show examples of information elements (IEs) for reporting in the case of DL-TDOA. In Figures 9 and 10, the underlined parts are parts added to existing information elements. Measurements other than DL-TDOA (e.g., DL-AoD, Multi-RTT, UL positioning, etc.) can also be reported using similar IEs.
[0073] <Effects of First Embodiment> According to the first embodiment, it is possible to realize positioning using existing reference signals. In particular, the first embodiment makes it possible to appropriately report measurement results.
[0074] (Embodiment 2) Next, embodiment 2 will be described. In embodiment 2, the terminal 20 performs measurements for positioning using two or more types of reference signals. The two or more types of reference signals may all be existing reference signals, or may include both existing reference signals and positioning reference signals. Note that embodiment 2 will be described taking as an example a case where the terminal 20 performs measurements for positioning using two or more types of reference signals, but this is not limiting, and the base station 10 may also perform measurements for positioning using two or more types of reference signals.
[0075] In addition, the terminal 20 may be notified (or instructed) by the network via system information (broadcast information) or individual signaling (e.g., RRC, MAC, DCI) that "positioning using multiple reference signals is valid."
[0076] Regarding which "two or more types of reference signals" the terminal 20 will use for positioning, for example, the two or more types of reference signals to be used for positioning are set or instructed by the NW to the terminal 20. In addition, the terminal 20 may make a measurement request to the NW by notifying the NW of the two or more types of reference signals that the terminal 20 wishes to use.
[0077] Furthermore, regarding which "two or more types of reference signals" the terminal 20 uses for positioning, two or more types of reference signals to be used by default may be defined in the specifications, or two or more types of reference signals to be used may be set for each terminal 20 (or each network). In this case, the terminal 20 may assume that two or more types of reference signals are set by default from the network.
[0078] A plurality of reference signals are configured in the terminal 20 from the NW. At this time, configuration information (configuration) of each reference signal may include information (option) indicating whether the reference signal is available for measurement for positioning. As a result, for example, when the terminal 20 performs measurement for positioning using two or more types of reference signals, the terminal 20 can select two or more types of reference signals from among the plurality of reference signals available for measurement for positioning.
[0079] When terminal 20 performs measurements using two or more types of reference signals, terminal 20 may assume that it can measure two or more types of reference signals simultaneously, or that there may be a restriction on the number of reference signals that can be processed simultaneously, or that it may assume that it measures only some of the "two or more types of reference signals" based on priority.
[0080] By using two or more types of reference signals, the terminal 20 may simultaneously perform measurements for positioning using a measurement reference signal (or an existing reference signal) and general measurements (e.g., RRM measurements) that are not for positioning using an existing reference signal (e.g., SSB).
[0081] The above priority may be defined in the specifications or may be set from the network to the terminal 20. In addition, regarding an operation using priority, for example, if RS1, RS2, and RS3 are set to the terminal 20 and the order of priority is RS1 > RS2 > RS3, and the number of RSs that can be measured simultaneously is two, the terminal 20 can simultaneously measure RS1 and RS2.
[0082] In addition, when a positioning reference signal (DL-PRS, SRS for positioning, etc.) is set from the network to the terminal 20, the terminal 20 may assume that an existing reference signal to be used for positioning is additionally set from the network.
[0083] For example, when DL-PRS is configured in the terminal 20 from the NW, an existing reference signal (e.g., SSB or CSI-RS) is additionally configured in the terminal 20 from the NW. In this case, the terminal 20 may perform positioning measurements using both the DL-PRS and the existing reference signal, or may perform positioning measurements using the existing reference signal instead of the DL-PRS only when the reception quality of the DL-PRS has deteriorated. Furthermore, when the terminal 20 is performing positioning measurements using the existing reference signal and the reception quality of the existing reference signal has deteriorated, the terminal 20 may perform positioning measurements using the DL-PRS instead of the existing reference signal.
[0084] <Regarding timing for adding / deleting reference signals to be used> It is assumed that reference signals for "two or more types of reference signals" used for positioning are added or deleted from the NW to the terminal 20. Furthermore, the terminal 20 may autonomously add or delete reference signals for "two or more types of reference signals" used for positioning.
[0085] The timing at which the reference signal used by the terminal 20 can be added / deleted from the NW (or autonomously by the terminal 20) is, for example, as shown below. The NW / terminal 20 can add / delete the reference signal to be used at the timing at which the NW / terminal 20 detects the following events (the arrival of a period in the case of "periodic"):
[0086] Any one of the following (1) to (7) may be applied, or a combination of any two or more of them may be applied.
[0087] (1) Periodic Addition / deletion may be always performed periodically, or may be performed periodically only during a period when a positioning command is issued from the network to the terminal 20. The period to be used may be specified in the specifications, or may be set (or instructed) to the terminal 20 from the network.
[0088] (2) When the terminal 20 makes an initial access. (3) When the NW issues a positioning measurement instruction to the terminal 20, or when the terminal 20 issues a measurement request to the NW. (4) When the terminal 20 or the NW determines that the positioning requirement conditions can no longer be met based on indicators such as uncertainty, quality indicator, or integrity of the positioning metric. (5) When the terminal 20 or the NW detects that the positioning requirement conditions have changed. (6) When the terminal 20 or the NW detects that the surrounding propagation environment has changed by more than a certain value based on measurement results, etc. (7) When the terminal 20 or the NW detects that the terminal 20 has moved, or when the terminal 20 or the NW detects that the speed of movement of the terminal 20 has changed. <Regarding reporting method> When the terminal 20 performs positioning measurements using two or more types of reference signals, the terminal 20 may report the measurement values of the two or more types of reference signals to the NW separately for each reference signal, or may report the measurement values of the two or more types of reference signals to the NW as a single metric for each terminal.
[0089] In addition, the terminal 20 may report to the NW the measurement values of some of the two or more types of reference signals (for example, one of the two measurement values), or may report to the NW all the measurement values of the two or more types of reference signals simultaneously.
[0090] In addition, the terminal 20 may report to the network, together with the measurement results, information about the reference signal used to obtain the measurement results (e.g., information indicating which reference signal it is and information about the resources of the reference signal).
[0091] <Effects of Second Embodiment> According to the second embodiment, it is possible to increase the amount of resources available for positioning, thereby improving the positioning accuracy.
[0092] (Embodiment 3) Next, embodiment 3 will be described. In embodiment 3, the terminal 20 performs measurement for positioning using one or more reference signals (e.g., a combination of two or more reference signals) that satisfy a condition among multiple types of reference signals. The multiple types of reference signals may all be existing reference signals, or may include both existing reference signals and positioning reference signals. Note that embodiment 3 will be described taking as an example a case where the terminal 20 performs measurement for positioning using one or more reference signals that satisfy a condition among multiple types of reference signals, but this is not limiting, and the base station 10 may perform measurement for positioning using one or more reference signals that satisfy a condition among multiple types of reference signals.
[0093] In addition, when the terminal 20 is notified (or instructed) by the network through system information (broadcast information) or individual signaling (e.g., RRC, MAC, DCI) that "positioning using multiple reference signals is valid," the terminal 20 may assume that the combinations of multiple reference signals used for positioning measurements are limited to specific combinations (e.g., combinations of reference signals that satisfy certain conditions).
[0094] As specific examples of the conditions, Examples 1 and 2 will be described below. Although the conditions between two reference signals are described below as examples, the same applies to conditions between three or more reference signals. In other words, when the conditions are satisfied for each combination of two reference signals between three or more reference signals, it can be determined that the conditions are satisfied between the three or more reference signals.
[0095] <Example 1: Proximity Condition> It is assumed that when the time relative position / frequency relative position between two reference signals is closer than a certain threshold, the terminal 20 can perform measurement for positioning by combining the two reference signals. Note that the time relative position and frequency relative position may also be called the time distance and frequency distance, respectively.
[0096] The above thresholds may be specified for each of time and frequency in the specifications, or may be set from the network to the terminal 20 depending on the capabilities of the terminal 20 / network, or may be set from the network to the terminal 20 depending on the surrounding propagation environment.
[0097] For example, only two reference signals in the same slot / same subframe / same radio frame may be combined, or only two reference signals in N slots / N subframes / N radio frames (N≧1) may be combined.
[0098] Also, for example, only two reference signals within the same RE / same RB / same CC / same PFL may be combined, or N≧1 may be set and only two reference signals within N REs / N RBs / N CCs / N PFLs may be combined.
[0099] A specific example of Example 1 is shown in Fig. 11. The example shown in Fig. 11 shows a case where SSB and TRS within a predetermined range in the frequency direction can be used in combination within two slots.
[0100] <Example 2: QCL Condition> It is assumed that the terminal 20 can perform measurements for positioning by combining two reference signals that are in a QCL relationship.
[0101] "Having a QCL relationship" may be rephrased as "having a common TCI state" or "having a common spatial relation."
[0102] Regarding the above "having a QCL relationship," the QCL type is not limited to a specific type. When setting TCI state information (which may also be called a QCL relationship) for a reference signal from the network to the terminal 20, it is mandatory to include qcl-type1, and type A / B / C can be set using qcl-type1. To set Beam information (i.e., type D) in the reference signal, it is necessary to set qcl-Type2 as an option.
[0103] For example, the terminal 20 may refer to qcl-Type1 in the set TCI state information and assume that if one QCL (QCL type) is set between two reference signals, the terminal 20 can perform measurement by combining the two reference signals. Note that it is possible to set multiple identities from among Doppler shift, Doppler spread, average delay, and delay spread in Type A / B / C.
[0104] Furthermore, for example, the terminal 20 may refer to qcl-Type1 and qcl-Type2 in the TCI state information and assume that, when multiple QCLs (QCL types) are configured, measurements can be performed by combining the two reference signals. Note that, in addition to qcl-Type1, qcl-Type2 allows the identity of Spatial Rx parameters between two reference signals to be set in Type D.
[0105] An example is shown in Fig. 12. Fig. 12 shows that a QCL relationship between a Source RS (e.g., SSB) and a Target RS (e.g., CSI-RS) is type A and type D. It is assumed that the terminal 20 can perform measurements for positioning using these two reference signals.
[0106] <Effects of the Third Embodiment> According to the third embodiment, it is possible to perform positioning by selecting only a plurality of reference signals suitable for positioning, thereby improving the positioning accuracy.
[0107] (Fourth embodiment) Next, a fourth embodiment will be described. In the fourth embodiment, the capability (capability information) of the terminal 20 for positioning using existing reference signals is defined, and the terminal 20 reports the capability to the NW.
[0108] The capability may be, for example, any one, any plurality, or all of the following (1) to (6). The capability may be information other than the following (1) to (6). Note that (2) to (4) may each be information for each existing reference signal, or may be information common to multiple existing reference signals.
[0109] (1) Support / non-support of using each existing reference signal for positioning (2) Configuration that can be set for positioning (including resource mapping) (3) Offset value that can be set for positioning (e.g., offset value in the frequency direction shown in Figure 7) (4) Supported positioning method(s) (metric(s)) (5) Combination of multiple reference signals that can be used for positioning (6) Conditions for reference signals that can be used for positioning Regarding (6) above, for example, a threshold value for the relative positional relationship (time distance, frequency distance) of multiple reference signals that can be combined may be reported as a capability.
[0110] Furthermore, applicable devices that use existing reference signals for positioning may be limited. For example, a capability for using existing reference signals for positioning may be a capability that can only be supported by RedCap UEs.
[0111] Furthermore, capabilities may be defined for each terminal state. For example, capabilities may be defined such that existing reference signals can be used for positioning in RRC_CONNECTED / INACTIVE, but existing reference signals cannot be used for positioning in RRC_IDLE.
[0112] Furthermore, the capability may be defined for each measurement period. For example, the capability may be defined such that existing reference signals can be used for positioning in periodic measurement, but existing reference signals cannot be used for positioning in aperiodic / semi-persistent measurement.
[0113] Furthermore, multiple capabilities may be defined (or set) according to conditions, etc. For example, different capabilities may be defined (or set) for a high-precision positioning mode and a power-saving / resource-reduced mode according to required conditions.
[0114] <Effects of the Fourth Embodiment> According to the fourth embodiment, it becomes possible to set a capability for positioning using existing reference signals. As a result, for example, the terminal 20 and the NW can perform appropriate operations according to the capability.
[0115] (Other Examples) Examples applicable to any of the first to fourth embodiments will be described below.
[0116] "PRS (Positioning Reference Signal)" may be interpreted as "DL-PRS", "UL-PRS (e.g., SRS for positioning, SRS)", etc.
[0117] "SRS" may be replaced with "SRS for MIMO", "SRS for positioning", etc. "PFL" may be replaced with "CC", etc. "NW" may be replaced with "gNB", "TRP", "LMF", etc.
[0118] "QCL" may be replaced with "TCI state", "spatial relation info", etc. "Configured / instructed from the NW" may be replaced with "configured / activated / indicated from the NW by RRC / MAC-CE / DCI".
[0119] (Device Configuration) Next, a description will be given of an example of the functional configuration of the base station 10 / LMF 30 and the terminal 20 that execute the processes and operations described above. The base station 10 / LMF 30 and the terminal 20 include functions for implementing all of the above-described embodiments. However, the base station 10, the LMF 30, and the terminal 20 may each be provided with only the functions of any of the embodiments.
[0120] <Base Station 10> Fig. 13 is a diagram showing an example of the functional configuration of the base station 10. As shown in Fig. 13, the base station 10 has a transmitting unit 110, a receiving unit 120, a setting unit 130, and a control unit 140. The functional configuration shown in Fig. 13 is merely an example. As long as the operations related to the embodiment of the present invention can be performed, the names of the functional divisions and functional units may be any. Furthermore, the transmitting unit 110 and the receiving unit 120 may be collectively referred to as a communication unit. The transmitting unit 110 and the receiving unit 120 may be referred to as a transmitter and a receiver, respectively.
[0121] The transmitting unit 110 includes a function of generating a signal to be transmitted to the terminal 20 side and transmitting the signal wirelessly. The transmitting unit 110 can also transmit a signal to another network device such as the LMF 30. The receiving unit 120 includes a function of receiving various signals transmitted from the terminal 20 and acquiring, for example, information of a higher layer from the received signal. The receiving unit 120 can also receive signals from a network device such as the LMF 30. The transmitting unit 110 also has a function of transmitting, to the terminal 20, NR-PSS, NR-SSS, NR-PBCH, DL / UL control signals, DCI via PDCCH, data via PDSCH, and the like.
[0122] The setting unit 130 stores preset setting information and various setting information to be transmitted to the terminal 20 in a storage device provided in the setting unit 130, and reads out the information from the storage device as needed.
[0123] The control unit 140 includes a measurement function. The function unit related to signal transmission in the control unit 140 may be included in the transmitting unit 110, and the function unit related to signal reception in the control unit 140 may be included in the receiving unit 120.
[0124] Furthermore, the LMF 30 may also have the configuration shown in Fig. 13. When the configuration shown in Fig. 13 is an LMF, the transmitting unit 110 transmits signals to other network devices (including base stations), and the receiving unit 120 receives signals from other network devices (including base stations).
[0125] <Terminal 20> Fig. 14 is a diagram showing an example of the functional configuration of the terminal 20. As shown in Fig. 14, the terminal 20 has a transmitting unit 210, a receiving unit 220, a setting unit 230, and a control unit 240. The functional configuration shown in Fig. 14 is merely an example. As long as the operations related to the embodiment of the present invention can be performed, the names of the functional divisions and functional units may be any. The transmitting unit 210 and the receiving unit 220 may be collectively referred to as a communication unit.
[0126] The transmitter 210 creates a transmission signal from the transmission data and transmits the transmission signal wirelessly. The receiver 220 receives various signals wirelessly and acquires higher layer signals from the received physical layer signals. The receiver 220 also has the function of receiving NR-PSS, NR-SSS, NR-PBCH, DL / UL / SL control signals, DCI via PDCCH, data via PDSCH, etc. transmitted from the base station 10. Furthermore, for example, the transmitting unit 210 may transmit a PSCCH (Physical Sidelink Control Channel), a PSSCH (Physical Sidelink Shared Channel), a PSDCH (Physical Sidelink Discovery Channel), a PSBCH (Physical Sidelink Broadcast Channel), or the like to another terminal 20 as D2D communication, and the receiving unit 220 may receive the PSCCH, the PSSCH, the PSDCH, the PSBCH, or the like from the other terminal 20.
[0127] The setting unit 230 stores various setting information received from the base station 10 or other terminals by the receiving unit 220 in a storage device provided in the setting unit 230, and reads the information from the storage device as needed. The setting unit 230 also stores setting information that is set in advance.
[0128] The control unit 240 controls the terminal 20. The control unit 240 includes measurement and positioning functions. The functional unit in the control unit 240 related to signal transmission may be included in the transmitting unit 210, and the functional unit in the control unit 240 related to signal reception may be included in the receiving unit 220. Alternatively, the transmitting unit 210 may be called a transmitter, and the receiving unit 220 may be called a receiver.
[0129] This specification discloses at least the matters described in the appendix below.
[0130] <Additional Notes> (Additional Item 1) A terminal comprising: a receiving unit that receives, from a network, a setting or instruction indicating that measurements for positioning will be performed using existing reference signals; and a control unit that performs measurements for positioning using the existing reference signals. (Additional Item 2) The terminal according to Additional Item 1, wherein the control unit performs measurements using the existing reference signals to which positioning-dedicated resources have been mapped. (Additional Item 3) The terminal according to Additional Item 1 or 2, wherein the control unit performs measurements using multiple existing reference signals that satisfy specific conditions. (Additional Item 4) A base station comprising: a receiving unit that receives, from a network node, a setting or instruction indicating that measurements for positioning will be performed using existing reference signals; and a control unit that performs measurements for positioning using the existing reference signals. (Additional Item 5) A communication method executed by a terminal, comprising: receiving, from a network node, a setting or instruction indicating that measurements for positioning will be performed using existing reference signals; and performing measurements for positioning using the existing reference signals.
[0131] Any of the configurations described in the above paragraphs provides a technique for realizing positioning using a reference signal that is not specified for positioning. According to supplementary paragraph 2, even when an existing reference signal is used, measurement can be performed using resources suitable for positioning. According to supplementary paragraph 3, the amount of resources available for positioning measurement can be increased, thereby improving positioning accuracy.
[0132] (Hardware Configuration) The block diagrams (FIGS. 13 and 14) used to explain the above embodiments show functional blocks. These functional blocks (components) are realized by any combination of at least one of hardware and software. Furthermore, the method for realizing each functional block is not particularly limited. That is, each functional block may be realized using a single device that is physically or logically coupled, or may be realized using two or more physically or logically separated devices that are directly or indirectly connected (for example, using wires, wirelessly, etc.) and these multiple devices. The functional block may be realized by combining software with the single device or the multiple devices.
[0133] Functions include, but are not limited to, judgment, determination, assessment, calculation, computation, processing, derivation, investigation, search, confirmation, reception, transmission, output, access, resolution, selection, selection, establishment, comparison, assumption, expectation, consideration, broadcasting, notifying, communicating, forwarding, configuring, reconfiguring, allocating, mapping, and assignment. For example, a functional block (component) that performs transmission is called a transmitting unit or transmitter. As mentioned above, there are no particular limitations on how these functions are implemented.
[0134] For example, the base station 10, the LMF 30, the terminal 20, etc. according to an embodiment of the present disclosure may function as a computer that performs processing of the wireless communication method of the present disclosure. Fig. 15 is a diagram illustrating an example of the hardware configuration of the base station 10, the terminal 20, and the LMF 30 according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. The base station 10 and the terminal 20 described above may be physically configured as a computer device including a processor 1001, a storage device 1002, an auxiliary storage device 1003, a communication device 1004, an input device 1005, an output device 1006, a bus 1007, etc.
[0135] In the following description, the term "apparatus" can be read as a circuit, a device, a unit, etc. The hardware configurations of the base station 10, the terminal 20, and the LMF 30 may be configured to include one or more of the apparatuses shown in the drawings, or may be configured to exclude some of the apparatuses.
[0136] Each function in the base station 10, terminal 20, and LMF 30 is realized by loading specified software (programs) onto hardware such as a processor 1001, a memory device 1002, etc., so that the processor 1001 performs calculations, controls communication by the communication device 1004, and controls at least one of reading and writing data in the memory device 1002 and the auxiliary memory device 1003.
[0137] The processor 1001 controls the entire computer by running, for example, an operating system. The processor 1001 may be configured as a central processing unit (CPU) including an interface with peripheral devices, a control device, an arithmetic unit, a register, etc. For example, the above-mentioned control unit 140, control unit 240, etc. may be realized by the processor 1001.
[0138] Furthermore, the processor 1001 reads programs (program codes), software modules, data, etc. from at least one of the auxiliary storage device 1003 and the communication device 1004 into the storage device 1002 and executes various processes in accordance with the programs. The programs used are those that cause a computer to execute at least some of the operations described in the above-described embodiments. For example, the control unit 140 of the base station 10 may be implemented by a control program stored in the storage device 1002 and running on the processor 1001. Furthermore, for example, the control unit 240 of the terminal 20 may be implemented by a control program stored in the storage device 1002 and running on the processor 1001. While the above-described various processes have been described as being executed by one processor 1001, they may also be executed simultaneously or sequentially by two or more processors 1001. The processor 1001 may be implemented by one or more chips. The programs may also be transmitted from a network via a telecommunications line.
[0139] The storage device 1002 is a computer-readable recording medium and may be configured, for example, by at least one of a read-only memory (ROM), an erasable programmable read-only memory (EPROM), an electrically erasable programmable read-only memory (EEPROM), a random access memory (RAM), etc. The storage device 1002 may also be called a register, a cache, a main memory, etc. The storage device 1002 can store executable programs (program codes), software modules, etc. for implementing a communication method according to an embodiment of the present disclosure.
[0140] The secondary storage device 1003 is a computer-readable recording medium, and may be, for example, at least one of an optical disk such as a CD-ROM (Compact Disc ROM), a hard disk drive, a flexible disk, a magneto-optical disk (e.g., a compact disk, a digital versatile disk, a Blu-ray (registered trademark) disk), a smart card, a flash memory (e.g., a card, a stick, a key drive), a floppy (registered trademark) disk, a magnetic strip, etc. The above-mentioned storage medium may be, for example, a database, a server, or other appropriate medium including at least one of the storage device 1002 and the secondary storage device 1003.
[0141] The communication device 1004 is hardware (transmission / reception device) for communicating between computers via at least one of a wired network and a wireless network, and is also referred to as, for example, a network device, a network controller, a network card, or a communication module. The communication device 1004 may be configured to include a high-frequency switch, a duplexer, a filter, a frequency synthesizer, etc. to realize at least one of frequency division duplex (FDD) and time division duplex (TDD). For example, a transmission / reception antenna, an amplifier unit, a transmission / reception unit, a transmission path interface, etc. may be realized by the communication device 1004. The transmission / reception unit may be implemented as a transmission unit and a reception unit that are physically or logically separated.
[0142] The input device 1005 is an input device (e.g., a keyboard, a mouse, a microphone, a switch, a button, a sensor, etc.) that receives input from the outside. The output device 1006 is an output device (e.g., a display, a speaker, an LED lamp, etc.) that outputs to the outside. Note that the input device 1005 and the output device 1006 may be integrated into one device (e.g., a touch panel).
[0143] Furthermore, each device such as the processor 1001 and the storage device 1002 is connected by a bus 1007 for communicating information. The bus 1007 may be configured using a single bus, or may be configured using different buses between each device.
[0144] Furthermore, the base station 10, the terminal 20, and the LMF 30 may be configured to include hardware such as a microprocessor, a digital signal processor (DSP), an application specific integrated circuit (ASIC), a programmable logic device (PLD), or a field programmable gate array (FPGA), and some or all of the functional blocks may be realized by the hardware. For example, the processor 1001 may be implemented using at least one of these pieces of hardware.
[0145] Furthermore, the terminal 20, the base station 10, or the LMF 30 may be provided in a vehicle 2001. Fig. 16 shows a configuration example of a vehicle 2001. As shown in Fig. 16, the vehicle 2001 includes a drive unit 2002, a steering unit 2003, an accelerator pedal 2004, a brake pedal 2005, a shift lever 2006, front wheels 2007, rear wheels 2008, an axle 2009, an electronic control unit 2010, various sensors 2021 to 2029, an information service unit 2012, and a communication module 2013. The terminal 20, the base station 10, or the LMF 30 according to each aspect / embodiment described in the present disclosure may be applied to a communication device mounted on the vehicle 2001, and may be applied to the communication module 2013, for example.
[0146] The drive unit 2002 is configured, for example, by an engine, a motor, or a hybrid of an engine and a motor. The steering unit 2003 includes at least a steering wheel (also called a handle) and is configured to steer at least one of the front wheels and the rear wheels based on the operation of the steering wheel operated by the user.
[0147] The electronic control unit 2010 is composed of a microprocessor 2031, a memory (ROM, RAM) 2032, and a communication port (IO port) 2033. Signals are input to the electronic control unit 2010 from various sensors 2021 to 2029 provided in the vehicle 2001. The electronic control unit 2010 may also be called an ECU (Electronic Control Unit).
[0148] The signals from the various sensors 2021 to 2029 include a current signal from a current sensor 2021 that senses the current of the motor, a rotation speed signal of the front and rear wheels obtained by a rotation speed sensor 2022, an air pressure signal of the front and rear wheels obtained by an air pressure sensor 2023, a vehicle speed signal obtained by a vehicle speed sensor 2024, an acceleration signal obtained by an acceleration sensor 2025, an accelerator pedal depression amount signal obtained by an accelerator pedal sensor 2029, a brake pedal depression amount signal obtained by a brake pedal sensor 2026, a shift lever operation signal obtained by a shift lever sensor 2027, and a detection signal for detecting obstacles, vehicles, pedestrians, etc. obtained by an object detection sensor 2028.
[0149] The information service unit 2012 is composed of various devices, such as a car navigation system, an audio system, speakers, a television, and a radio, for providing (outputting) various types of information, such as driving information, traffic information, and entertainment information, and one or more ECUs for controlling these devices. The information service unit 2012 uses information acquired from external devices via the communication module 2013 or the like to provide various types of multimedia information and multimedia services to the occupants of the vehicle 2001. The information service unit 2012 may include input devices (e.g., a keyboard, a mouse, a microphone, a switch, a button, a sensor, a touch panel, etc.) that accept input from the outside, and may also include output devices (e.g., a display, a speaker, an LED lamp, a touch panel, etc.) that output information to the outside.
[0150] The driving assistance system unit 2030 is composed of various devices that provide functions for preventing accidents and reducing the driving burden on the driver, such as millimeter-wave radar, LiDAR (Light Detection and Ranging), cameras, positioning locators (e.g., GNSS, etc.), map information (e.g., high-definition (HD) maps, autonomous vehicle (AV) maps, etc.), gyro systems (e.g., IMU (Inertial Measurement Unit), INS (Inertial Navigation System), etc.), AI (Artificial Intelligence) chips, and AI processors, as well as one or more ECUs that control these devices. In addition, the driving assistance system unit 2030 transmits and receives various information via the communication module 2013 to realize the driving assistance function or the autonomous driving function.
[0151] The communication module 2013 can communicate with the microprocessor 2031 and components of the vehicle 2001 via the communication port. For example, the communication module 2013 transmits and receives data via the communication port 2033 to and from the drive unit 2002, steering unit 2003, accelerator pedal 2004, brake pedal 2005, shift lever 2006, front wheels 2007, rear wheels 2008, axle 2009, microprocessor 2031 and memory (ROM, RAM) 2032 in the electronic control unit 2010, and sensors 2021 to 29, which are provided in the vehicle 2001. When the terminal 20, the base station 10, or the LMF 30 is included in the communication module 2013, the communication module 2013 can perform the operations described in the first to fourth embodiments.
[0152] The communication module 2013 is a communication device that can be controlled by the microprocessor 2031 of the electronic control unit 2010 and can communicate with an external device. For example, it transmits and receives various information to and from the external device via wireless communication. The communication module 2013 may be located either inside or outside the electronic control unit 2010. The external device may be, for example, a base station, a mobile station, or the like.
[0153] The communication module 2013 may transmit at least one of signals from the above-mentioned various sensors 2021-2028 input to the electronic control unit 2010, information obtained based on the signals, and information based on input from the outside (user) obtained via the information service unit 2012 to an external device via wireless communication. The electronic control unit 2010, the various sensors 2021-2028, the information service unit 2012, etc. may be referred to as input units that accept input. For example, the PUSCH transmitted by the communication module 2013 may include information based on the above-mentioned input.
[0154] The communication module 2013 receives various information (traffic information, traffic signal information, vehicle-to-vehicle information, etc.) transmitted from external devices and displays it on an information service unit 2012 provided in the vehicle 2001. The information service unit 2012 may be called an output unit that outputs information (for example, outputs information to a device such as a display or speaker based on the PDSCH (or data / information decoded from the PDSCH) received by the communication module 2013). The communication module 2013 also stores the various information received from external devices in a memory 2032 that can be used by the microprocessor 2031. Based on the information stored in the memory 2032, the microprocessor 2031 may control the drive unit 2002, steering unit 2003, accelerator pedal 2004, brake pedal 2005, shift lever 2006, front wheels 2007, rear wheels 2008, axles 2009, sensors 2021 to 2029, etc. provided in the vehicle 2001.
[0155] (Supplementary Notes on the Embodiments) Although the embodiments of the present invention have been described above, the disclosed invention is not limited to such embodiments, and those skilled in the art will understand various modifications, alterations, alternatives, substitutions, and the like. While specific numerical examples have been used to facilitate understanding of the invention, unless otherwise specified, these numerical values are merely examples, and any appropriate values may be used. The division of items in the above description is not essential to the present invention; matters described in two or more items may be used in combination as needed, and matters described in one item may apply to matters described in another item (as long as there is no contradiction). Boundaries between functional units or processing units in the functional block diagram do not necessarily correspond to boundaries between physical components. The operations of multiple functional units may be performed by a single physical component, or the operations of a single functional unit may be performed by multiple physical components. The order of processing steps described in the embodiments may be reversed as long as there is no contradiction. For convenience of processing description, the base station 10, terminal 20, and LMF 30 have been described using functional block diagrams, but such devices may be realized by hardware, software, or a combination thereof. The software operated by the processor of the base station 10 in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention and the software operated by the processor of the terminal 20 in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention may each be stored in random access memory (RAM), flash memory, read-only memory (ROM), EPROM, EEPROM, register, hard disk (HDD), removable disk, CD-ROM, database, server, or any other suitable storage medium.
[0156] Furthermore, the notification of information is not limited to the aspects / embodiments described in the present disclosure, and may be performed using other methods. For example, the notification of information may be performed by physical layer signaling (e.g., Downlink Control Information (DCI), Uplink Control Information (UCI)), higher layer signaling (e.g., Radio Resource Control (RRC) signaling, Medium Access Control (MAC) signaling), broadcast information (Master Information Block (MIB), System Information Block (SIB)), other signals, or a combination thereof. Furthermore, the RRC signaling may be referred to as an RRC message, and may be, for example, an RRC Connection Setup message, an RRC Connection Reconfiguration message, or the like.
[0157] Each aspect / embodiment described in the present disclosure may be implemented using any of the following standards: LTE (Long Term Evolution), LTE-Advanced (LTE-A), SUPER 3G, IMT-Advanced, 4G (4th generation mobile communication system), 5G (5th generation mobile communication system), 6th generation mobile communication system (6G), xth generation mobile communication system (xG) (xG (x is, for example, an integer or a decimal number)), FRA (Future Radio Access), NR (new Radio), New radio access (NX), Future generation radio access (FX), W-CDMA (registered trademark), GSM (registered trademark), CDMA2000, UMB (Ultra Mobile Broadband), IEEE 802.11 (Wi-Fi (registered trademark)), IEEE 802.16 (WiMAX (registered trademark)), IEEE 802.17 (WiMAX (registered trademark)), IEEE 802.19 (WiMAX (registered trademark)), IEEE 802.20 (WiMAX (registered trademark)), IEEE 802.21 (Wi-Fi (registered trademark)), IEEE 802.22 (WiMAX (registered trademark)), IEEE 802.23 (WiMAX (registered trademark)), IEEE 802.24 (WiMAX (registered trademark)), IEEE 802.25 (WiMAX (registered trademark)), IEEE 802.26 (WiMAX (registered trademark)), IEEE 802.27 (WiMAX (registered trademark)), IEEE 802.28 (WiMAX (registered trademark)), IEEE 802.29 (WiMAX (registered trademark)), IEEE 802.30 (WiMAX (registered trademark)), IEEE 802.31 (Wi-Fi (registered trademark)), IEEE 802.32 (WiMAX (registered trademark)), IEEE 802.33 (WiMAX (registered trademark)), IEEE 802.34 ( The present invention may be applied to at least one of systems using 802.20, UWB (Ultra-Wide Band), Bluetooth (registered trademark), or other suitable systems, and next-generation systems that are extended, modified, created, or defined based on these systems. The present invention may also be applied to a combination of multiple systems (e.g., a combination of LTE and / or LTE-A with 5G).
[0158] The order of the procedures, sequences, flowcharts, etc. of each aspect / embodiment described herein may be rearranged unless it is consistent. For example, the methods described in this disclosure present elements of various steps using an example order and are not limited to the particular order presented.
[0159] In this specification, a specific operation described as being performed by the base station 10 may be performed by its upper node in some cases. In a network consisting of one or more network nodes having the base station 10, it is clear that various operations performed for communication with the terminal 20 may be performed by at least one of the base station 10 and another network node other than the base station 10 (such as, but not limited to, an MME or an S-GW). Although the above example illustrates a case where there is one other network node other than the base station 10, the other network node may be a combination of multiple other network nodes (such as an MME and an S-GW).
[0160] The information, signals, etc. described in the present disclosure may be output from a higher layer (or a lower layer) to a lower layer (or a higher layer), or may be input / output via multiple network nodes.
[0161] Input and output information may be stored in a specific location (for example, memory) or may be managed using a management table. Input and output information may be overwritten, updated, or added to. Output information may be deleted. Input information may be transmitted to another device.
[0162] In the present disclosure, the determination may be made by a value represented by one bit (0 or 1), by a Boolean value (true or false), or by a comparison of numerical values (e.g., comparison with a predetermined value).
[0163] Software shall be construed broadly to mean instructions, instruction sets, code, code segments, program code, programs, subprograms, software modules, applications, software applications, software packages, routines, subroutines, objects, executable files, threads of execution, procedures, functions, etc., whether referred to as software, firmware, middleware, microcode, hardware description language, or otherwise.
[0164] Software, instructions, information, etc. may also be transmitted or received over a transmission medium. For example, if software is transmitted from a website, server, or other remote source using wired technologies (such as coaxial cable, fiber optic cable, twisted pair, Digital Subscriber Line (DSL)), and / or wireless technologies (such as infrared, microwave), then these wired and / or wireless technologies are included within the definition of transmission media.
[0165] The information, signals, etc. described in this disclosure may be represented using any of a variety of different technologies. For example, data, instructions, commands, information, signals, bits, symbols, chips, etc. that may be referred to throughout the above description may be represented by voltages, currents, electromagnetic waves, magnetic fields or magnetic particles, optical fields or photons, or any combination thereof.
[0166] Note that terms described in this disclosure and terms necessary for understanding this disclosure may be replaced with terms having the same or similar meanings. For example, at least one of a channel and a symbol may be a signal (signaling). Furthermore, a signal may be a message. Furthermore, a component carrier (CC) may be called a carrier frequency, a cell, a frequency carrier, etc.
[0167] As used in this disclosure, the terms "system" and "network" are used interchangeably.
[0168] Furthermore, the information, parameters, etc. described in the present disclosure may be expressed using absolute values, relative values from a predetermined value, or other corresponding information. For example, a radio resource may be indicated by an index.
[0169] The names used for the above-described parameters are not intended to be limiting in any way. Furthermore, the mathematical expressions using these parameters may differ from those explicitly disclosed in this disclosure. The various channels (e.g., PUCCH, PDCCH, etc.) and information elements may be identified by any suitable names, and therefore the various names assigned to these various channels and information elements are not intended to be limiting in any way.
[0170] In the present disclosure, terms such as "base station (BS)," "radio base station," "base station," "fixed station," "NodeB," "eNodeB (eNB)," "gNodeB (gNB)," "access point," "transmission point," "reception point," "transmission / reception point," "cell," "sector," "cell group," "carrier," and "component carrier" may be used interchangeably. A base station may also be referred to by terms such as a macrocell, a small cell, a femtocell, and a picocell.
[0171] A base station can accommodate one or more (e.g., three) cells. When a base station accommodates multiple cells, the overall coverage area of the base station can be partitioned into multiple smaller areas, and each smaller area can also be provided with communication services by a base station subsystem (e.g., a small indoor base station (RRH: Remote Radio Head)). The terms "cell" or "sector" refer to part or all of the coverage area of a base station and / or base station subsystem that provides communication services within that coverage.
[0172] In the present disclosure, the base station transmitting information to a terminal may be interpreted as the base station instructing the terminal to control or operate based on the information.
[0173] In this disclosure, the terms "Mobile Station (MS)," "user terminal," "User Equipment (UE)," "terminal," etc. may be used interchangeably.
[0174] A mobile station may also be referred to by those skilled in the art as a subscriber station, mobile unit, subscriber unit, wireless unit, remote unit, mobile device, wireless device, wireless communication device, remote device, mobile subscriber station, access terminal, mobile terminal, wireless terminal, remote terminal, handset, user agent, mobile client, client, or some other suitable terminology.
[0175] At least one of the base station and the mobile station may be referred to as a transmitting device, a receiving device, a communication device, etc. At least one of the base station and the mobile station may be a device mounted on a mobile object, the mobile object itself, etc. The mobile object refers to a movable object, and may move at any speed. Naturally, this also includes cases where the mobile object is stationary. Examples of the mobile object include, but are not limited to, vehicles, transport vehicles, automobiles, motorcycles, bicycles, connected cars, excavators, bulldozers, wheel loaders, dump trucks, forklifts, trains, buses, handcars, rickshaws, ships and other watercraft, airplanes, rockets, satellites, drones (registered trademark), multicopters, quadcopters, balloons, and objects mounted thereon. The mobile object may also be a mobile object that moves autonomously based on an operational command. It may be a vehicle (e.g., a car, an airplane, etc.), an unmanned mobile object (e.g., a drone, an autonomous vehicle, etc.), or a robot (manned or unmanned). At least one of the base station and the mobile station may be a device that does not necessarily move during communication operations. For example, at least one of the base station and the mobile station may be an IoT (Internet of Things) device such as a sensor.
[0176] Furthermore, a base station in the present disclosure may be read as a terminal. For example, the aspects / embodiments of the present disclosure may be applied to a configuration in which communication between a base station and a terminal is replaced with communication between a plurality of terminals 20 (which may be referred to as, for example, D2D (Device-to-Device) or V2X (Vehicle-to-Everything)). In this case, the terminal 20 may be configured to have the functions of the base station 10 described above. Furthermore, terms such as "uplink" and "downlink" may be read as terms corresponding to terminal-to-terminal communication (for example, "side"). For example, terms such as an uplink channel and a downlink channel may be read as a side channel.
[0177] Similarly, the term "terminal" in the present disclosure may be read as "base station." In this case, the base station may be configured to have the functions of the terminal described above.
[0178] As used in this disclosure, the terms "determining" and "determining" may encompass a wide variety of actions. "Determining" and "determining" may include, for example, judging, calculating, computing, processing, deriving, investigating, looking up, searching, inquiring (e.g., searching in a table, database, or other data structure), ascertaining, and the like. "Determining" and "determining" may also include receiving (e.g., receiving information), transmitting (e.g., sending information), input, output, accessing (e.g., accessing data in memory), and the like. Furthermore, "judgment" and "decision" can include regarding resolving, selecting, choosing, establishing, comparing, etc. as having been "judged" or "decided." In other words, "judgment" and "decision" can include regarding some action as having been "judged" or "decided." Furthermore, "judgment (decision)" can be interpreted as "assuming," "expecting," "considering," etc.
[0179] The terms "connected," "coupled," or any variation thereof, refer to any direct or indirect connection or coupling between two or more elements, and may include the presence of one or more intermediate elements between two elements that are "connected" or "coupled" to each other. The coupling or connection between elements may be physical, logical, or a combination thereof. For example, "connected" may be read as "access." As used in this disclosure, two elements may be considered to be "connected" or "coupled" to each other using one or more wires, cables, and / or printed electrical connections, as well as electromagnetic energy having wavelengths in the radio frequency range, microwave range, and optical (both visible and invisible) range, as some non-limiting and non-exhaustive examples.
[0180] The reference signal may be abbreviated as RS (Reference Signal) or may be called a pilot depending on the applicable standard.
[0181] As used in this disclosure, the phrase "based on" does not mean "based only on," unless expressly stated otherwise. In other words, the phrase "based on" means both "based only on" and "based at least on."
[0182] As used in this disclosure, any reference to an element using a designation such as "first," "second," etc. does not generally limit the quantity or order of those elements. These designations may be used in this disclosure as a convenient method of distinguishing between two or more elements. Thus, a reference to a first and a second element does not imply that only two elements may be employed or that the first element must in some way precede the second element.
[0183] The "means" in the configuration of each of the above devices may be replaced with "part," "circuit," "device," etc.
[0184] When the terms "include," "including," and variations thereof are used in this disclosure, these terms are intended to be inclusive, similar to the term "comprising." Furthermore, when the term "or" is used in this disclosure, it is not intended to be an exclusive or.
[0185] A radio frame may be composed of one or more frames in the time domain. Each of the one or more frames in the time domain may be called a subframe. A subframe may further be composed of one or more slots in the time domain. A subframe may have a fixed time length (e.g., 1 ms) that is independent of numerology.
[0186] Numerology may be communication parameters that apply to the transmission and / or reception of a signal or channel, such as subcarrier spacing (SCS), bandwidth, symbol length, cyclic prefix length, transmission time interval (TTI), number of symbols per TTI, radio frame structure, specific filtering operations performed by the transceiver in the frequency domain, specific windowing operations performed by the transceiver in the time domain, etc.
[0187] A slot may be composed of one or more symbols (such as an Orthogonal Frequency Division Multiplexing (OFDM) symbol or a Single Carrier Frequency Division Multiple Access (SC-FDMA) symbol) in the time domain. A slot may be a time unit based on numerology.
[0188] A slot may include multiple minislots. Each minislot may consist of one or multiple symbols in the time domain. A minislot may also be called a subslot. A minislot may consist of fewer symbols than a slot. A PDSCH (or PUSCH) transmitted in a time unit larger than a minislot may be called PDSCH (or PUSCH) mapping type A. A PDSCH (or PUSCH) transmitted using a minislot may be called PDSCH (or PUSCH) mapping type B.
[0189] The radio frame, subframe, slot, minislot, and symbol all represent time units for transmitting signals, and may be referred to by other names corresponding to the radio frame, subframe, slot, minislot, and symbol.
[0190] For example, one subframe may be called a transmission time interval (TTI), multiple consecutive subframes may be called a TTI, or one slot or one minislot may be called a TTI. That is, at least one of the subframe and the TTI may be a subframe (1 ms) in existing LTE, a period shorter than 1 ms (for example, 1-13 symbols), or a period longer than 1 ms. Note that the unit representing the TTI may be called a slot, minislot, or the like instead of a subframe. Furthermore, one slot may be called a unit time. The unit time may differ for each cell depending on the numerology.
[0191] Here, TTI refers to, for example, the smallest time unit for scheduling in wireless communication. For example, in an LTE system, a base station performs scheduling to allocate wireless resources (such as frequency bandwidth and transmission power that can be used by each terminal 20) to each terminal 20 in TTI units. Note that the definition of TTI is not limited to this.
[0192] The TTI may be a transmission time unit for a channel-encoded data packet (transport block), a code block, a code word, etc., or may be a processing unit for scheduling, link adaptation, etc. When a TTI is given, the time interval (e.g., the number of symbols) to which a transport block, a code block, a code word, etc. is actually mapped may be shorter than the TTI.
[0193] When one slot or one minislot is called a TTI, one or more TTIs (i.e., one or more slots or one or more minislots) may be the minimum time unit for scheduling. Also, the number of slots (minislots) constituting the minimum time unit for scheduling may be controlled.
[0194] A TTI having a time length of 1 ms may be called a regular TTI (TTI in LTE Rel. 8-12), normal TTI, long TTI, regular subframe, normal subframe, long subframe, slot, etc. A TTI shorter than a regular TTI may be called a shortened TTI, short TTI, partial or fractional TTI, shortened subframe, short subframe, minislot, subslot, slot, etc.
[0195] In addition, a long TTI (e.g., a normal TTI, a subframe, etc.) may be interpreted as a TTI having a time length of more than 1 ms, and a short TTI (e.g., a shortened TTI, etc.) may be interpreted as a TTI having a TTI length shorter than the TTI length of a long TTI and greater than or equal to 1 ms.
[0196] A resource block (RB) is a resource allocation unit in the time domain and the frequency domain, and may include one or more consecutive subcarriers in the frequency domain. The number of subcarriers included in an RB may be the same regardless of the numerology, for example, 12. The number of subcarriers included in an RB may be determined based on the numerology.
[0197] The time domain of an RB may include one or more symbols and may have a length of one slot, one minislot, one subframe, or one TTI. One TTI, one subframe, etc. may each be composed of one or more resource blocks.
[0198] Note that one or more RBs may also be called a physical resource block (PRB), a sub-carrier group (SCG), a resource element group (REG), a PRB pair, an RB pair, etc.
[0199] Furthermore, a resource block may be composed of one or more resource elements (REs). For example, one RE may be a radio resource region of one subcarrier and one symbol.
[0200] A Bandwidth Part (BWP) (which may also be referred to as a fractional bandwidth) may represent a subset of contiguous common resource blocks (RBs) for a given numerology on a given carrier, where the common RBs may be identified by their index relative to a Common Reference Point of the carrier. PRBs may be defined in a BWP and numbered within the BWP.
[0201] The BWP may include a BWP for UL (UL BWP) and a BWP for DL (DL BWP). One or more BWPs may be configured for a UE within one carrier.
[0202] At least one of the configured BWPs may be active, and the UE may not expect to transmit or receive a given signal / channel outside the active BWP. Note that the terms "cell," "carrier," etc. in this disclosure may be read as "BWP."
[0203] The above-described structures of radio frames, subframes, slots, minislots, symbols, etc. are merely examples, and various changes may be made to the number of subframes included in a radio frame, the number of slots per subframe or radio frame, the number of minislots included in a slot, the number of symbols and RBs included in a slot or minislot, the number of subcarriers included in an RB, the number of symbols in a TTI, the symbol length, the cyclic prefix (CP) length, etc.
[0204] In this disclosure, where articles are added by translation, such as a, an, and the in English, the disclosure may include that the nouns following these articles are in the plural form.
[0205] In the present disclosure, the term "A and B are different" may mean "A and B are different from each other." The term may also mean "A and B are each different from C." Terms such as "separate" and "coupled" may also be interpreted in the same way as "different."
[0206] The aspects / embodiments described in this disclosure may be used alone, in combination, or switched depending on the implementation. Notification of predetermined information (e.g., notification that "X is true") is not limited to explicit notification, but may be implicit (e.g., not notifying the predetermined information).
[0207] Although the present disclosure has been described in detail above, it is clear to those skilled in the art that the present disclosure is not limited to the embodiments described herein. The present disclosure can be implemented in modified and altered forms without departing from the spirit and scope of the present disclosure as defined by the claims. Therefore, the description of the present disclosure is intended to be illustrative and does not have any limiting meaning on the present disclosure.
[0208] 10 Base station 110 Transmitter 120 Receiver 130 Setting unit 140 Control unit 20 Terminal 210 Transmitter 220 Receiver 230 Setting unit 240 Control unit 30 LMF 1001 Processor 1002 Storage device 1003 Auxiliary storage device 1004 Communication device 1005 Input device 1006 Output device 2001 Vehicle 2002 Drive unit 2003 Steering unit 2004 Accelerator pedal 2005 Brake pedal 2006 Shift lever 2007 Front wheels 2008 Rear wheels 2009 Axle 2010 Electronic control unit 2012 Information service unit 2013 Communication module 2021 Current sensor 2022 RPM sensor 2023 Tire pressure sensor 2024 Vehicle speed sensor 2025 Acceleration sensor 2026 Brake pedal sensor 2027 Shift lever sensor 2028 Object detection sensor 2029 Accelerator pedal sensor 2030 Driving assistance system unit 2031 Microprocessor 2032 Memory (ROM, RAM) 2033 Communication port (IO port)
Claims
1. A terminal comprising: a receiving unit that receives settings or instructions from a network indicating that measurements for positioning are to be performed using existing reference signals; and a control unit that performs measurements for positioning using the existing reference signals.
2. The terminal according to claim 1, wherein the control unit performs measurements using the existing reference signal to which resource mapping dedicated to positioning has been performed.
3. The terminal according to claim 1, wherein the control unit performs measurements using a plurality of existing reference signals that satisfy specific conditions.
4. A base station comprising: a receiving unit that receives, from a network node, a setting or instruction indicating that measurements for positioning are to be performed using an existing reference signal; and a control unit that performs measurements for positioning using the existing reference signal.
5. A communication method executed by a terminal, comprising: a step of receiving a configuration or instruction from a network indicating that measurements for positioning are to be performed using an existing reference signal; and a step of performing measurements for positioning using the existing reference signal.
Citation Information
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