Communication method and communication apparatus

Abstract

The present application provides a communication method and a communication apparatus. The method comprises: receiving a number N of downlink subframes from a second communication apparatus, N being an integer greater than or equal to 2; sending to a positioning server first delay change rates corresponding to the N downlink subframes, the first delay change rates being related to a number M of delay change rates corresponding to M downlink subframes among the N downlink subframes, and M being a positive integer less than or equal to N. By means of sending the first delay change rates to the positioning server, the positioning server can determine the position of a terminal device or verify the position of a first communication apparatus on the basis of the first delay change rates.

Description

Communication method and communication device

[0001] This application claims priority to the Chinese patent application filed with the State Intellectual Property Office of China on December 29, 2023, with application number 202311866014.7, and priority to the Chinese patent application with the invention name “Communication Method and Communication Device”, all contents of which are incorporated by reference into this application. Technical Field

[0002] The present application relates to the field of communication technology, and more particularly, to a communication method and a communication device. Background Art

[0003] Compared to traditional mobile communication systems, satellite communications offer wider coverage, support asymmetric transmission links, and communication costs independent of transmission distance. They can overcome natural geographical barriers such as oceans, deserts, and mountains. In satellite communications, satellite cells typically cover large areas, potentially spanning borders and encompassing multiple countries and regions. When satellites provide communication services such as disaster warnings, emergency calls, and toll collection services, while complying with national or regional laws and regulations, they often need to know or verify the location of terminal devices.

[0004] In non-terrestrial networks (NTNs), multi-round trip time (multi-RTT) can be used to locate terminal devices. In multi-RTT positioning methods, terminal devices are usually required to report the downlink timing drift within the UE Rx-Tx time difference measurement period to reflect the delay change rate of the service link. Therefore, how to improve the positioning accuracy of terminal devices is an issue that needs to be considered. Summary of the Invention

[0005] The present application provides a communication method and a communication device that can improve the positioning accuracy of terminal devices in satellite communication scenarios.

[0006] In a first aspect, a communication method is provided. The method can be performed by a first communication device, which can be a terminal device or a chip or circuit configured in the terminal device, although this application does not limit this. The following description assumes that the method is performed by the first communication device.

[0007] The method includes: receiving N downlink subframes from a second communication device, where N is an integer greater than or equal to 2; sending a first delay change rate corresponding to the N downlink subframes to a positioning server, where the first delay change rate is related to M delay change rates corresponding to M downlink subframes in the N downlink subframes, and the first delay change rate is used to determine the location information of the first communication device, where M is a positive integer less than or equal to N.

[0008] Based on the above scheme, by sending the first delay change rate to the positioning server, the positioning server can determine the location of the terminal device or verify the location of the first communication device based on the first delay change rate, wherein the first delay change rate is related to the M delay change rates corresponding to the M downlink subframes in the N downlink subframes.

[0009] In combination with the first aspect, in some implementations of the first aspect, the first delay change rate includes M delay change rates corresponding to the moments when the M downlink subframes are received.

[0010] Based on the above solution, by sending M delay variation rates corresponding to M downlink subframes in the N downlink subframes to the positioning server, the error of the delay variation rate corresponding to the N downlink subframes can be reduced and the positioning accuracy can be improved.

[0011] In combination with the first aspect, in some implementations of the first aspect, the first delay change rate is determined based on M delay change rates corresponding to the time when the M downlink subframes are received.

[0012] Based on the above scheme, by sending the first delay change rate determined by M delay change rates corresponding to M downlink subframes in the N downlink subframes to the positioning server, the error of the delay change rate corresponding to the N downlink subframes can be reduced and the positioning accuracy can be improved.

[0013] In combination with the first aspect, in certain implementations of the first aspect, before sending the first delay change rate corresponding to the N downlink subframes to the positioning server, a request message is received from the second communication device, where the request message is used to request reporting of the first delay change rate, and the request message includes indication information indicating the M downlink subframes.

[0014] In combination with the first aspect, in certain implementations of the first aspect, the indication information includes a bit map, which includes N bits, the value of the i-th bit in the N bits is 0 or 1, and when the i-th bit is 1, the i-th subframe in the N downlink subframes is a downlink subframe in the M downlink subframes; or, when the i-th bit is 0, the i-th subframe in the N downlink subframes is a downlink subframe in the M downlink subframes, i = 1, 2, ..., N.

[0015] In combination with the first aspect, in certain implementations of the first aspect, the first delay change rate is a delay change rate within a first time period, and the first time period includes any one of the following: a time period between the sending time of the i-th uplink subframe and the sending time of the l-th uplink subframe; a time period between the sending time of the i-th uplink subframe and the sending time of the j-th uplink subframe; a time period between the sending time of the j-th uplink subframe and the sending time of the l-th uplink subframe; a time period corresponding to the i-th downlink subframe, the i-th uplink subframe, the j-th uplink subframe, or the l-th uplink subframe; or a measurement of the first time difference. period, the first time difference is determined according to the moment of receiving all or part of the N downlink subframes and the moment of sending all or part of the uplink subframes in the N uplink subframes, and the N uplink subframes carry reference signals; wherein, the position of the i-th uplink subframe in the uplink frame is the same as the position of the i-th downlink subframe in the N downlink subframes in the downlink frame, the sending moment of the j-th uplink subframe is closest to the receiving moment of the i-th downlink subframe in the N downlink subframes, and the l-th uplink subframe carries the reference signal, i=1, 2,…, N; j=1, 2,…, N; l=1, 2,…, N.

[0016] In combination with the first aspect, in certain implementations of the first aspect, when the difference in the delay change rate corresponding to every two downlink subframes in the N downlink subframes is greater than or equal to a first threshold, the first delay change rate is sent to the positioning server.

[0017] In one example, the first threshold includes threshold #1. When the difference between the delay change rates corresponding to every two downlink subframes in the N downlink subframes is greater than or equal to threshold #1, the first delay change rate is sent to the positioning server. The first delay change rate is related to the M delay change rates corresponding to M downlink subframes in the N downlink subframes. M <N。

[0018] In another example, the first threshold includes threshold #2. When the difference in the delay change rate corresponding to each two downlink subframes in the N downlink subframes is greater than or equal to threshold #2, the first delay change rate is sent to the positioning server. The first delay change rate includes M delay change rates corresponding to M downlink subframes, where M=N.

[0019] In combination with the first aspect, in some implementations of the first aspect, the first threshold is received from the second communication device.

[0020] In combination with the first aspect, in certain implementations of the first aspect, a first time difference is sent to the positioning server, where the first time difference includes M time differences, and the i-th time difference among the M time differences is the time difference between the moment of receiving the i-th downlink subframe among the M downlink subframes and the moment of sending the uplink subframe closest to the i-th downlink subframe.

[0021] In combination with the first aspect, in certain implementations of the first aspect, when a difference between the first time differences corresponding to every two downlink subframes in the N downlink subframes is greater than or equal to a second threshold, the first time difference is sent to the positioning server.

[0022] In one example, the second threshold includes threshold #5, and the first time difference includes M time differences, M <N。

[0023] In another example, the second threshold includes threshold #6, and the first time difference includes M time differences, where M=N.

[0024] In combination with the first aspect, in some implementations of the first aspect, the second threshold is received from the second communication device.

[0025] In a second aspect, a communication method is provided, which can be executed by a positioning server or a chip or circuit configured in the positioning server, and is not limited in this application. The following description assumes execution by the positioning server.

[0026] The method includes: receiving a first delay change rate from a first communication device, the first delay change rate being the delay change rate corresponding to N downlink subframes, the first delay change rate being related to M delay change rates corresponding to M downlink subframes in the N downlink subframes, N being an integer greater than or equal to 2, and M being a positive integer less than or equal to N; determining the location information of the terminal device or verifying the location information of the terminal device based on the first delay change rate.

[0027] Based on the above scheme, the positioning server can receive a first delay change rate from the terminal device, and determine the position of the terminal device or verify the position of the first communication device based on the first delay change rate, wherein the first delay change rate is related to the M delay change rates corresponding to the M downlink subframes in the N downlink subframes.

[0028] In combination with the second aspect, in certain implementations of the second aspect, the first delay change rate includes M delay change rates corresponding to the moments when the M downlink subframes are received.

[0029] In combination with the second aspect, in some implementations of the second aspect, the first delay change rate is determined based on M delay change rates corresponding to the time when the M downlink subframes are received.

[0030] In combination with the second aspect, in certain implementations of the second aspect, before receiving the first delay change rate from the first communication device, a request message is sent to the first communication device, where the request message is used to request reporting of the first delay change rate, and the request message includes indication information indicating the M downlink subframes.

[0031] In combination with the second aspect, in certain implementations of the second aspect, the indication information includes a bit map, which includes N bits, and the value of the i-th bit in the N bits is 0 or 1. When the i-th bit takes a value of 1, it indicates that the i-th subframe in the N downlink subframes is a downlink subframe in the M downlink subframes; or, when the i-th bit takes a value of 0, it indicates that the i-th subframe in the N downlink subframes is a downlink subframe in the M downlink subframes, i = 1, 2, ..., N.

[0032] In combination with the second aspect, in certain implementations of the second aspect, the first delay change rate is the delay change rate within a first time period, and the first time period includes any one of the following: the time period between the sending moment of the i-th uplink subframe and the sending moment of the l-th uplink subframe; the time period between the sending moment of the i-th uplink subframe and the sending moment of the j-th uplink subframe; the time period between the sending moment of the j-th uplink subframe and the sending moment of the l-th uplink subframe; the time period corresponding to the i-th downlink subframe, the i-th uplink subframe, the j-th uplink subframe, or the l-th uplink subframe; or, a measurement period of a first time difference, the first time difference being determined based on the moment of receiving all or part of the downlink subframes in the N downlink subframes and the moment of sending all or part of the uplink subframes in the N uplink subframes, and the N uplink subframes carry reference signals.

[0033] Among them, the position of the i-th uplink subframe in the uplink frame is the same as the position of the i-th downlink subframe in the N downlink subframes in the downlink frame, the sending time of the j-th uplink subframe is closest to the receiving time of the i-th downlink subframe in the N downlink subframes, and the l-th uplink subframe carries a reference signal, i = 1, 2, ..., N.

[0034] In combination with the second aspect, in certain implementations of the second aspect, when the difference in the delay change rate corresponding to every two downlink subframes in the N downlink subframes is greater than or equal to a first threshold, the first delay change rate is received from the first communication device.

[0035] In one example, the first threshold includes a threshold #1. When the difference between the delay change rates corresponding to every two downlink subframes in the N downlink subframes is greater than or equal to the threshold #1, the first delay change rate is received from the first communication device, and the first delay change rate is related to the M delay change rates corresponding to M downlink subframes in the N downlink subframes, and M <N。

[0036] In another example, the first threshold includes threshold #2. When the difference in the delay change rate corresponding to each two downlink subframes in the N downlink subframes is greater than or equal to threshold #2, the first delay change rate is received from the first communication device. The first delay change rate includes M delay change rates corresponding to M downlink subframes, M=N.

[0037] In combination with the second aspect, in some implementations of the second aspect, the first threshold is sent to the first communication device.

[0038] In combination with the second aspect, in certain implementations of the second aspect, a first time difference is received from the first communication device, and the first time difference includes M time differences, and the i-th time difference among the M time differences is the time difference between the moment of receiving the i-th downlink subframe among the M downlink subframes and the moment of sending the uplink subframe closest to the i-th downlink subframe.

[0039] In combination with the second aspect, in certain implementations of the second aspect, when the difference between the first time differences corresponding to every two downlink subframes in the N downlink subframes is greater than or equal to a second threshold, the first time difference is received from the first communication device.

[0040] In one example, the second threshold includes threshold #5, and the first time difference includes M time differences, M <N。

[0041] In another example, the second threshold includes threshold #6, and the first time difference includes M time differences, where M=N.

[0042] In combination with the second aspect, in some implementations of the second aspect, the second threshold is sent to the first communication device.

[0043] According to a third aspect, a communication device is provided, comprising a transceiver unit configured to: receive N downlink subframes from a second communication device, where N is an integer greater than or equal to 2; and send a first delay change rate corresponding to the N downlink subframes to a positioning server, where the first delay change rate is related to M delay change rates corresponding to M downlink subframes in the N downlink subframes, where M is a positive integer less than or equal to N.

[0044] In combination with the third aspect, in certain implementations of the third aspect, the first delay change rate includes M delay change rates corresponding to the moments when the M downlink subframes are received.

[0045] In combination with the third aspect, in certain implementations of the third aspect, the first delay change rate is determined based on M delay change rates corresponding to the time when the M downlink subframes are received.

[0046] In combination with the third aspect, in certain implementations of the third aspect, before sending the first delay change rate corresponding to the N downlink subframes to the positioning server, the transceiver unit is also used to receive a request message from the second communication device, and the request message is used to request reporting of the first delay change rate, and the request message includes indication information indicating the M downlink subframes.

[0047] In combination with the third aspect, in certain implementations of the third aspect, the indication information includes a bit map, which includes N bits, and the value of the i-th bit in the N bits is 0 or 1. When the i-th bit takes a value of 1, it indicates that the i-th subframe in the N downlink subframes is a downlink subframe in the M downlink subframes; or, when the i-th bit takes a value of 0, it indicates that the i-th subframe in the N downlink subframes is a downlink subframe in the M downlink subframes, i = 1, 2, ..., N.

[0048] In combination with the third aspect, in certain implementations of the third aspect, the first delay change rate is the delay change rate within a first time period, and the first time period includes any one of the following: the time period between the sending time of the i-th uplink subframe and the sending time of the l-th uplink subframe; the time period between the sending time of the i-th uplink subframe and the sending time of the j-th uplink subframe; the time period between the sending time of the j-th uplink subframe and the sending time of the l-th uplink subframe; the time period corresponding to the i-th downlink subframe, the i-th uplink subframe, the j-th uplink subframe, or the l-th uplink subframe; or a measurement period of a first time difference, the first time difference being determined based on a moment of receiving all or part of the N downlink subframes and a moment of sending all or part of the uplink subframes in the N uplink subframes, the N uplink subframes carrying reference signals; wherein a position of the i-th uplink subframe in the uplink frame is the same as a position of the i-th downlink subframe in the N downlink subframes, a sending moment of the j-th uplink subframe is closest to a receiving moment of the i-th downlink subframe in the N downlink subframes, and the l-th uplink subframe carries a reference signal, i=1, 2, …, N.

[0049] In combination with the third aspect, in certain implementations of the third aspect, the transceiver unit is specifically used to send the first delay change rate to the positioning server when the difference in the delay change rate corresponding to every two downlink subframes in the N downlink subframes is greater than or equal to a first threshold.

[0050] In one example, the first threshold includes a threshold #1, and the transceiver unit is specifically configured to send the first delay change rate to the positioning server when the difference between the delay change rates corresponding to every two downlink subframes in the N downlink subframes is greater than or equal to the threshold #1. The first delay change rate is related to the M delay change rates corresponding to M downlink subframes in the N downlink subframes, and M <N。

[0051] In another example, the first threshold includes threshold #2, and the transceiver unit is specifically used to send the first delay change rate to the positioning server when the difference in the delay change rate corresponding to each two downlink subframes in the N downlink subframes is greater than or equal to threshold #2. The first delay change rate includes M delay change rates corresponding to M downlink subframes, M=N.

[0052] In combination with the third aspect, in certain implementations of the third aspect, the transceiver unit is further configured to receive the first threshold from the second communication device.

[0053] In combination with the third aspect, in certain implementations of the third aspect, the transceiver unit is further used to send a first time difference to the positioning server, where the first time difference includes M time differences, and the i-th time difference among the M time differences is the time difference between the moment of receiving the i-th downlink subframe among the M downlink subframes and the moment of sending the uplink subframe closest to the i-th downlink subframe.

[0054] In combination with the third aspect, in certain implementations of the third aspect, the transceiver unit is further configured to receive a second threshold from the second communication device; the transceiver unit is specifically configured to: if the difference between the first time differences corresponding to every two downlink subframes in the N downlink subframes is greater than or equal to the second threshold, send the M time differences to the positioning server, M <N。

[0055] In one example, the second threshold includes threshold #5, and the first time difference includes M time differences, M <N。

[0056] In another example, the second threshold includes threshold #6, and the first time difference includes M time differences, where M=N.

[0057] In combination with the third aspect, in certain implementations of the third aspect, the transceiver unit is further configured to receive the second threshold from a second communication device.

[0058] In a fourth aspect, a communication device is provided, which includes a transceiver unit and a processing unit. The transceiver unit is used to receive a first delay change rate from a first communication device, where the first delay change rate is the delay change rate corresponding to N downlink subframes, and the first delay change rate is related to M delay change rates corresponding to M downlink subframes in the N downlink subframes, where N is an integer greater than or equal to 2, and M is a positive integer less than or equal to N; the processing unit is used to determine the location information of the terminal device or verify the location information of the terminal device based on the first delay change rate.

[0059] In combination with the fourth aspect, in certain implementations of the fourth aspect, the first delay change rate includes M delay change rates corresponding to the moments when the M downlink subframes are received.

[0060] In combination with the fourth aspect, in certain implementations of the fourth aspect, the first delay change rate is determined based on M delay change rates corresponding to the moments when the M downlink subframes are received.

[0061] In combination with the fourth aspect, in certain implementations of the fourth aspect, before receiving the first delay change rate from the first communication device, the transceiver unit is also used to send a request message to the first communication device, and the request message is used to request reporting of the first delay change rate, and the request message includes indication information indicating the M downlink subframes.

[0062] In combination with the fourth aspect, in certain implementations of the fourth aspect, the indication information includes a bit map, which includes N bits, and the value of the i-th bit in the N bits is 0 or 1. When the i-th bit takes a value of 1, it indicates that the i-th subframe in the N downlink subframes is a downlink subframe in the M downlink subframes; or, when the i-th bit takes a value of 0, it indicates that the i-th subframe in the N downlink subframes is a downlink subframe in the M downlink subframes, i = 1, 2, ..., N.

[0063] In combination with the fourth aspect, in certain implementations of the fourth aspect, the first delay change rate is the delay change rate within a first time period, and the first time period includes any one of the following: the time period between the sending time of the i-th uplink subframe and the sending time of the l-th uplink subframe; the time period between the sending time of the i-th uplink subframe and the sending time of the j-th uplink subframe; the time period between the sending time of the j-th uplink subframe and the sending time of the l-th uplink subframe; the time period corresponding to the i-th downlink subframe, the i-th uplink subframe, the j-th uplink subframe, or the l-th uplink subframe; or a measurement period of a first time difference, the first time difference being determined based on a moment of receiving all or part of the N downlink subframes and a moment of sending all or part of the uplink subframes in the N uplink subframes, the N uplink subframes carrying reference signals; wherein a position of the i-th uplink subframe in the uplink frame is the same as a position of the i-th downlink subframe in the N downlink subframes, a sending moment of the j-th uplink subframe is closest to a receiving moment of the i-th downlink subframe in the N downlink subframes, and the l-th uplink subframe carries a reference signal, i=1, 2, …, N.

[0064] In combination with the fourth aspect, in certain implementations of the fourth aspect, the transceiver unit is specifically used to receive the first time difference from the first communication device when the difference between the first time differences corresponding to every two downlink subframes in the N downlink subframes is greater than or equal to the first threshold.

[0065] In one example, the first threshold includes a threshold #1, and the transceiver unit is specifically configured to receive the first delay change rate from the first communication device when the difference between the delay change rates corresponding to every two downlink subframes in the N downlink subframes is greater than or equal to the threshold #1, and the first delay change rate is related to the M delay change rates corresponding to M downlink subframes in the N downlink subframes, and M <N。

[0066] In another example, the first threshold includes threshold #2, and the transceiver unit is specifically used to receive the first delay change rate from the first communication device when the difference in the delay change rate corresponding to each two downlink subframes in the N downlink subframes is greater than or equal to threshold #2, and the first delay change rate includes M delay change rates corresponding to M downlink subframes, M=N.

[0067] In combination with the fourth aspect, in certain implementations of the fourth aspect, the transceiver unit is further configured to send the first threshold to the first communication device.

[0068] In combination with the fourth aspect, in certain implementations of the fourth aspect, the transceiver unit is also used to receive a first time difference from the first communication device, and the first time difference includes M time differences, and the i-th time difference among the M time differences is the time difference between the moment of receiving the i-th downlink subframe among the M downlink subframes and the moment of sending the uplink subframe closest to the i-th downlink subframe.

[0069] In combination with the fourth aspect, in certain implementations of the fourth aspect, the transceiver unit is also used to receive the first time difference from the first communication device when the difference between the first time differences corresponding to each two downlink subframes in the N downlink subframes is greater than or equal to a second threshold.

[0070] In one example, the second threshold includes threshold #5, and the first time difference includes M time differences, M <N。

[0071] In another example, the second threshold includes threshold #6, and the first time difference includes M time differences, where M=N.

[0072] In combination with the fourth aspect, in some implementations of the fourth aspect, the transceiver unit is further configured to send the second threshold to the first communication device.

[0073] In a fifth aspect, a communication device is provided, comprising a processor. The processor is coupled to a memory and configured to execute instructions in the memory to implement the method of the first aspect and any possible implementation of the first aspect. Optionally, the communication device further comprises a memory. Optionally, the communication device further comprises a communication interface, the processor being coupled to the communication interface.

[0074] In one implementation, the communication device is a terminal device. When the communication device is a terminal device, the communication interface may be a transceiver, or an input / output interface.

[0075] In another implementation, the communication device is a chip configured in a terminal device. When the communication device is a chip configured in a terminal device, the communication interface may be an input / output interface.

[0076] Optionally, the transceiver may be a transceiver circuit. Optionally, the input / output interface may be an input / output circuit.

[0077] In a sixth aspect, a communication device is provided, comprising a processor. The processor is coupled to a memory and configured to execute instructions in the memory to implement the method of the second aspect and any possible implementation thereof. Optionally, the communication device further comprises a memory. Optionally, the communication device further comprises a communication interface, the processor being coupled to the communication interface.

[0078] In one implementation, the communication device is a positioning server. When the communication device is a positioning server, the communication interface may be a transceiver or an input / output interface.

[0079] In another implementation, the communication device is a chip configured in a positioning server. When the communication device is a chip configured in a positioning server, the communication interface may be an input / output interface.

[0080] In a seventh aspect, a processor is provided, comprising: an input circuit, an output circuit, and a processing circuit. The processing circuit is configured to receive a signal through the input circuit and transmit a signal through the output circuit, so that the processor executes the method of any possible implementation of the first to second aspects.

[0081] In a specific implementation, the processor may be one or more chips, the input circuit may be an input pin, the output circuit may be an output pin, and the processing circuit may be a transistor, a gate circuit, a trigger, or various logic circuits. The input signal received by the input circuit may be, for example, but not limited to, received and input by a receiver, and the signal output by the output circuit may be, for example, but not limited to, output to and transmitted by a transmitter. The input circuit and the output circuit may be the same circuit, which functions as an input circuit and an output circuit at different times. The embodiments of the present application do not limit the specific implementation of the processor and various circuits.

[0082] In an eighth aspect, a processing device is provided, comprising a processor and a memory. The processor is configured to read instructions stored in the memory and receive signals via a receiver and transmit signals via a transmitter to execute the method of any possible implementation of the first to second aspects.

[0083] Optionally, there are one or more processors and one or more memories.

[0084] Optionally, the memory may be integrated with the processor, or the memory may be provided separately from the processor.

[0085] In the specific implementation process, the memory can be a non-transitory memory, such as a read-only memory (ROM), which can be integrated with the processor on the same chip or can be set on different chips. The embodiments of the present application do not limit the type of memory and the setting method of the memory and the processor.

[0086] It should be understood that related data interaction processes, such as sending indication information, can be the process of outputting indication information from the processor, and receiving capability information can be the process of receiving input capability information from the processor. Specifically, data output by the processor can be output to the transmitter, and input data received by the processor can be received from the receiver. The transmitter and receiver can be collectively referred to as a transceiver.

[0087] The processing device in the eighth aspect may be one or more chips. The processor in the processing device may be implemented in hardware or software. When implemented in hardware, the processor may be a logic circuit, an integrated circuit, or the like; when implemented in software, the processor may be a general-purpose processor implemented by reading software code stored in a memory, which may be integrated into the processor or located independently of the processor.

[0088] In the ninth aspect, a computer program product is provided, which includes a computer program (also referred to as code, or instructions). When the computer program is run, it enables the computer to execute the method in any possible implementation of the first to second aspects above.

[0089] In the tenth aspect, a computer-readable storage medium is provided, which stores a computer program (also referred to as code, or instructions) which, when run on a computer, enables the method in any possible implementation of the first to second aspects above to be executed.

[0090] In an eleventh aspect, a communication system is provided, comprising at least one of the aforementioned first communication device, second communication device and positioning server. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0091] FIG1 is a schematic architecture diagram of a satellite communication system.

[0092] FIG2 is a schematic diagram of a communication system applicable to an embodiment of the present application.

[0093] Figure 3 is a schematic diagram of the round-trip transmission delay between UE and gNB.

[0094] FIG4 is a schematic flowchart of a communication method 400 provided in an embodiment of the present application.

[0095] FIG5 is a schematic block diagram of a communication device 500 provided in an embodiment of the present application.

[0096] FIG6 is a schematic block diagram of a communication device 600 provided in an embodiment of the present application.

[0097] FIG7 is a schematic block diagram of a chip system 700 provided in an embodiment of the present application. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0098] The technical solution in this application will be described below with reference to the accompanying drawings.

[0099] The technical solutions of the embodiments of the present application can be applied to various communication systems, such as: Global System of Mobile communication (GSM) system, Code Division Multiple Access (CDMA) system, Wideband Code Division Multiple Access (WCDMA) system, General Packet Radio Service (GPRS), 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) communication system, machine to machine (M2M) system, non-terrestrial network (NTN) system, the 5th Generation (5G) system or New Radio (NR) system or future wireless communication systems. Among them, the NTN system can also be called a satellite communication system. In addition, the non-ground communication system may also include a high altitude platform station (HAPS) communication system.

[0100] NTN refers to a communication network that uses aerial or space platforms as transmission equipment relay nodes or base stations. Aerial or space platforms include but are not limited to drones, hot air balloons, airplanes, satellites, etc.

[0101] Figure 1 is a schematic architecture diagram of NTN communications. As shown in Figure 1, using satellite communications as an example, this scenario includes: a ground station (gateway, GW), satellites, and user equipment (UE). The ground station in the NTN system provides similar functions to gateways in terrestrial communication systems, such as establishing connections with UEs and communicating with servers. To distinguish it from terrestrial communication systems, the gateway is referred to as a ground station here. The ground station also performs functions such as satellite monitoring, troubleshooting, packet switching of communication data, and interface protocol conversion. The ground station is connected to the core network. The link between the ground station and the satellite is called the feeder link, and the link between the satellite and the UE is called the service link. Generally speaking, satellites can operate in two modes: transparent mode and regenerative mode. In transparent mode, data from terminal devices generally travels through the satellite to the ground station, and then from there to the destination. Generally, due to the long distance between the satellite and the terminal devices on the ground, for example, over 1,000 kilometers, data transmission in this satellite operating mode incurs significant latency. In regenerative mode, satellites can filter, adjust frequencies, and amplify wireless signals. This also involves signal demodulation, decoding, packet switching or routing, and encoding and modulation. Therefore, satellites operating in regenerative mode essentially perform some or all of the functions of a base station in a cellular network.

[0102] It should be understood that in the embodiments of the present application, user equipment (UE) can be referred to as terminal equipment, which is a device that provides voice / data connectivity to users, such as a handheld device or vehicle-mounted device with wireless connection function. At present, some examples of terminals may include: mobile phones, tablet computers, computers with wireless transceiver functions (such as laptops, PDAs, etc.), mobile Internet devices (MIDs), virtual reality (VR) devices, augmented reality (AR) devices, wireless terminals in industrial control, wireless terminals in self-driving, wireless terminals in remote medical, wireless terminals in smart grids, wireless terminals in transportation safety, wireless terminals in smart cities, wireless terminals in smart homes, cellular phones, cordless phones, session initiation protocol (SIP) phones, wireless local loop (WLL) stations, personal digital assistants (PDAs), handheld devices with wireless communication functions, computing devices or other processing devices connected to wireless modems, vehicle-mounted devices, wearable devices, terminal devices in 5G networks or terminal devices in future evolved PLMNs, etc.

[0103] Wearable devices, also known as wearable smart devices, are a general term for wearable devices that use wearable technology to intelligently design and develop wearable devices for daily wear, such as glasses, gloves, watches, clothing, and shoes. Wearable devices are portable devices that are worn directly on the body or integrated into the user's clothing or accessories. Wearable devices are not just hardware devices, but can also achieve powerful functions through software support, data interaction, and cloud interaction. In a broad sense, wearable smart devices include those that are fully functional, large in size, and can achieve full or partial functions without relying on smartphones, such as smart watches or smart glasses, as well as those that only focus on a certain type of application function and need to be used in conjunction with other devices such as smartphones, such as various smart bracelets and smart jewelry for vital sign monitoring.

[0104] Furthermore, terminal devices can also be end devices in the Internet of Things (IoT) system. IoT is a crucial component of future information technology development. Its primary technical feature is connecting objects to the Internet through communications technology, thereby enabling intelligent networks that interconnect humans and machines, and objects and things. IoT technology, for example, utilizes narrowband (NB) technology to achieve massive connectivity, deep coverage, and power-saving terminals.

[0105] It should be understood that FIG1 exemplifies an NTN communication scenario. The communication device in the embodiments of the present application uses a satellite as an example, but the communication device in the embodiments of the present application is not limited to this. The communication device in the present application can also be a ground station, high-altitude platform, drone in NTN communication, or a terminal device that performs base station functions in device-to-device (D2D) communication.

[0106] In addition, the communication device in the embodiment of the present application can also be a device for communicating with a terminal device. The communication device in the embodiment of the present application can also be called a network device. The communication device can be a base station (base transceiver station, BTS) in the global system of mobile communication (GSM) system or code division multiple access (CDMA), or a base station (nodeB, NB) in a wideband code division multiple access (WCDMA) system, or an evolved base station (evolved nodeB, eNB or eNodeB) in an LTE system, or a wireless controller in a cloud radio access network (CRAN) scenario, or the communication device can be a relay station, an access point, a vehicle-mounted device, a wearable device, a communication device in a 5G network, or a communication device in a future evolved PLMN network, etc., and the embodiment of the present application is not limited.

[0107] It should be understood that the communication device in the wireless communication system can be any device with wireless transceiver functions. The device includes but is not limited to: a base station controller (BSC), a base transceiver station (BTS), etc., and can also be one or a group of antenna panels (including multiple antenna panels) of a base station in a 5G system, or a satellite, etc.

[0108] The solution provided in this application can be applied to the field of satellite communications, such as the integration of satellite communications and 5G technologies by 3GPP members.

[0109] Figure 2 shows the network application architecture of this technology. The ground mobile terminal device UE accesses the network through the air interface, and the air interface can be various types of air interfaces, such as a 5G air interface. As shown in Figure 2 (a), the base station can be deployed on the ground and connected to a ground station that communicates with the satellite; or, as shown in Figure 2 (b), the base station can be deployed on the satellite. The satellite is connected to the ground station through a wireless link, and the ground station and the ground base station are connected to the core network through a wired or wireless link. There can be a wireless link between satellites, as shown in Figure 2 (c). If the satellite only has a transparent transmission and forwarding function (that is, the corresponding base station is deployed on the ground), only the transparent transmission and forwarding function is realized between satellites; if the base station or part of the base station function is deployed on the satellite, the signaling interaction and user data transmission between base stations can be completed between satellites. The various network elements in the figure and their interfaces are described as follows:

[0110] Terminal equipment: Please refer to the above description of the terminal equipment, and the terminal equipment can access the satellite network through the air interface and initiate calls, access the Internet and other services.

[0111] Base station: mainly provides wireless access services, dispatches wireless resources to access terminal devices, and provides reliable wireless transmission protocols and data encryption protocols.

[0112] Core network: Provides services such as user access control, mobility management, session management, user security authentication, and billing. It consists of multiple functional units, divided into control plane and data plane functional entities. The Access and Mobility Management Element (AMF) is responsible for user access management, security authentication, and mobility management. The User Plane Element (UPF) manages user plane data transmission, traffic statistics, and other functions.

[0113] Ground station: responsible for forwarding signaling and service data between satellite base stations and 5G core network.

[0114] Air interface: The wireless link between the terminal device and the base station.

[0115] Xn interface: The interface between 5G base stations, mainly used for signaling interactions such as switching.

[0116] NG interface: The interface between the 5G base station and the 5G core network, which mainly exchanges signaling such as the non-access stratum (NAS) of the core network and user business data.

[0117] There are many methods for locating terminal devices in existing ground networks, such as using reference signal delay, delay difference, reception angle, etc. to locate terminal devices. The following introduces several common positioning methods.

[0118] 1. Downlink time difference of arrival (DL-TDOA)

[0119] The downlink signal used for DL-TDOA can be a Positioning Reference Signal (PRS). The UE measures the reception time difference of the PRS from different transmit-receive points (TRPs) or gNBs and reports it to the positioning server. The positioning server then calculates the UE's position using the known TRP or gNB location and the PRS reception time difference.

[0120] 2. Uplink time difference of arrival (UL-TDOA)

[0121] In UL-TDOA positioning, the UE transmits a sounding reference signal (SRS). In response, multiple TRPs receive the SRS and report the relative time difference of arrival (TDOA) to a positioning server. The positioning server then uses the TDA measurements of the reference signals and the known positions of the TRPs to estimate the UE's position.

[0122] 3. Multi-Round Trip Time (Multi-RTT)

[0123] Multi-cell round-trip delay estimates the round-trip time (RTT) between the UE and multiple TRPs by using the time interval between sending and receiving signals. As shown in Figure 3, the time difference between a TRP sending a PRS and receiving an SRS is T4 - T1 = gNB (Tx - Rx); the time difference between a UE receiving a PRS and sending an SRS is T3 - T2 = UE (Rx - Tx) time difference. Therefore, the RTT between the UE and a TRP is equal to gNB (Tx - Rx) - UE (Rx - Tx). By taking multiple measurements and sending the results to a positioning server, the positioning server can calculate the UE's location based on the RTT.

[0124] Among them, TDOA positioning technology requires the user and the base station to maintain synchronization, while Multi-RTT can be based on the mutual transmission of reference signals between the UE and multiple TRPs or gNBs, and determine the UE's position based on data such as the time difference between the UE's received signal and the sent signal, and the time difference between the gNB's received signal and the sent signal. This positioning method is less affected by the accuracy of inter-station synchronization.

[0125] In the Multi-RTT based positioning method, the UE measures the frequency layer according to the measurement period T configured by the network side. UERxTx,i Measure the UE Rx-Tx time difference corresponding to the positioning frequency layer i. UERxTx,i The size of the UE Rx-Tx time difference and the number of measurement samples N sample It is related to the PRS resource period. For details, please refer to the description in protocol TS 38.215.

[0126] According to the UE's capabilities, N sample The values ​​of are as follows:

[0127] If the UE does not support supportedDL-PRS-ProcessingSamples (refer to the description in protocol TS37.355), that is, the UE does not have this capability, then N sample =4;

[0128] If the UE supports supportedDL-PRS-ProcessingSamples and the LMF requests the UE to perform positioning measurements with a reduced number of samples through requestedDL-PRS-ProcessingSamples, and the following conditions are met, then N sample =1:

[0129] (1) The PRS bandwidth is within the activated BWP, and

[0130] (2) The difference between the synchronization signal reference signal received power (SS-RSRP) of the serving cell and the PRS-RSRP of the neighboring cell is within 6dB.

[0131] If the UE supports supportedDL-PRS-ProcessingSamples and the LMF requests the UE to perform positioning measurements with a reduced number of samples through requestedDL-PRS-ProcessingSamples, but the following conditions are not met, then N sample =2:

[0132] (1) The PRS bandwidth is within the activated BWP, and

[0133] (2) The difference between the SS-RSRP of the serving cell and the PRS-RSRP of the neighboring cell is within 6dB.

[0134] and, in other cases N sample =4.

[0135] Among them, the number of measurement samples of UE Rx-Tx time difference is N sample It can be understood as the number of PRSs based on which the UE measures the UE Rx-Tx time difference. The network side can configure the time domain period of the PRS so that the UE detects the PRS based on the configuration and measures the UE Rx-Tx time difference based on the PRS.

[0136] For example, the network side can configure a downlink PRS resource set (DL PRS resource set) through NR-DL-PRS-ResourceSet, which contains one or more downlink PRS resources (PRS resource). For example, nr-DL-PRS-ResourceSetID in NR-DL-PRS-ResourceSet defines the identifier of the downlink PRS resource set configuration; dl-PRS-Periodicity-and-ResourceSetSlotOffset defines the downlink PRS resource period, and its value is timeslot, where μ = 0, 1, 2, 3 for downlink subcarrier spacing dl-PRS-SubcarrierSpacing = 15, 30, 60, and 120 kHz; and defines the timeslot offset of the downlink PRS resource set relative to the system frame number (SFN) SFN0 timeslot 0. All PRS resources in a downlink PRS resource set are configured with the same downlink PRS resource period. The UE does not expect the downlink PRS resource period to be The product of the higher-level parameter dl-prs-MutingBitRepetitionFactor and the size of the dl-PRS-MutingOption1 bitmap exceeds 2 μ ×10240, where μ=0, 1, 2, 3 in the case of dl-PRS-SubcarrierSpacing=15, 30, 60 and 120 kHz.

[0137] In NTN scenarios, when using the multi-RTT positioning method to locate or verify the UE's position, the UE side is usually required to report the UE transmit and receive time difference (legacy UE Rx-Tx time difference), UE transmit and receive time difference subframe offset (UE Rx-Tx time difference subframe offset, and downlink timing drift).

[0138] The UE's transmit and receive time difference is defined as the time difference between the UE's receiving time and sending time, that is, T UE-RX -T UE-TX . T UE-RX represents the receiving time of the UE, i.e., the time when the UE receives the DL subframe i; T UE-TX Represents the UE's transmission moment, that is, the moment when the UE transmits UL subframe j; that is, the UE's transmit-receive time difference represents the time difference between the moment when the UE receives DL subframe i and the moment when it transmits UL subframe j, where subframe j is closest in time to the received DL subframe i. UE Rx-Tx time difference subframe offset may refer to the number of subframes between UL subframe j and UL subframe i. For example, UE Rx-Tx time difference subframe offset may be the difference between the index of UL subframe j and the index of UL subframe i. DL timing drift is defined as the rate of change of downlink delay due to Doppler on the serving link during the legacy UE Rx-Tx time difference measurement period, in ppm. For example, the DL timing drift reported by the terminal device may be determined by the DL timing drift corresponding to each measurement sample during the legacy UE Rx-Tx time difference measurement period. For example, the DL timing drift reported by the terminal device may be obtained by averaging the DL timing drift corresponding to each measurement sample.

[0139] In a terrestrial network, within a measurement period, the UE measures N sample After PRS resource, according to N sample The measurement results of the PRS resources can be used to obtain the UE Rx-Tx time difference and report it. sampleThe larger the value of and the PRS resource period, the longer the measurement period of the UE Rx-Tx time difference.

[0140] In NTN, if the definition of DL timing drift continues to use the definition of UE Rx-Tx time difference measurement period, the DL timing drift reported by the UE may have a large error. For example, if the configured PRS resource period is long (denoted as T), then within the T period, the DL timing drift changes greatly due to the movement of the satellite, which may cause a large error in the reported DL timing drift. If the configured PRS resource period is short, it may cause a large signaling overhead. In addition, using N sample Setting this to 1 or 2 can reduce the measurement period, but this approach may be limited by UE capabilities, requiring the UE to support supportedDL-PRS-ProcessingSamples. Therefore, in NTN scenarios, it is important to consider how to properly report DL timing drift to improve terminal positioning accuracy.

[0141] In view of this, embodiments of the present application provide a communication method and a communication device, which can be applied to the positioning or position verification of terminal devices in satellite communication scenarios.

[0142] To facilitate understanding of the embodiments of the present application, the following points are explained:

[0143] In the embodiments of this application, "at least two" refers to two or more. "And / or" describes the relationship between associated objects, indicating that three possible relationships exist. For example, "A and / or B" can mean: A exists alone, A and B exist simultaneously, and B exists alone, where A and B can be singular or plural. In the text description of this application, the character " / " generally indicates that the associated objects are in an "or" relationship.

[0144] It is understood that the various numerical numbers involved in the embodiments of this application are only for the convenience of description and are not intended to limit the scope of the embodiments of this application. The order of the sequence numbers of the above-mentioned processes does not mean the order of execution. The execution order of each process should be determined by its function and internal logic, and should not constitute any limitation on the implementation process of the embodiments of this application.

[0145] In the embodiments of the present application, “first”, “second” and various numerical numbers are used to distinguish for the convenience of description and are not used to limit the scope of the embodiments of the present application. For example, different indication information is distinguished.

[0146] In the embodiments of the present application, "used to indicate" may include being used for direct indication and being used for indirect indication. When describing that a certain indication information is used to indicate A, it may include that the indication information directly indicates A or indirectly indicates A, but it does not mean that the indication information must carry A.

[0147] In addition, the specific indication method can also be various existing indication methods, such as but not limited to the above-mentioned indication methods and various combinations thereof. The specific details of the various indication methods can be referred to the prior art and will not be repeated herein. As can be seen from the above, for example, when it is necessary to indicate multiple information of the same type, there may be a situation where the indication methods for different information are different. In the specific implementation process, the required indication method can be selected according to specific needs. The embodiment of the present application does not limit the selected indication method. In this way, the indication method involved in the embodiment of the present application should be understood to cover various methods that can enable the party to be indicated to obtain the information to be indicated.

[0148] In the embodiments of the present application, descriptions such as "when...", "under...", and "if" all mean that the device will perform corresponding processing under certain objective circumstances. They do not limit the time, nor do they require the device to perform judgment actions when implemented, nor do they mean that there are other limitations.

[0149] In the embodiments of the present application, "indication information" and "configuration information" may be explicit indications, i.e., directly indicated via signaling, or obtained based on parameters indicated by signaling, combined with other rules, other parameters, or through deduction. Alternatively, they may be implicit indications, i.e., obtained based on rules or relationships, or based on other parameters, or through deduction. This application does not impose specific limitations on this.

[0150] In the embodiments of the present application, “of”, “corresponding, relevant”, “corresponding” and “associate” may sometimes be used interchangeably. It should be noted that when the distinction between them is not emphasized, the meanings they intend to express are consistent.

[0151] In the embodiment of the present application, “A is associated (related) with B” can be understood as “B needs to be used when determining A”, or it can be understood as “A is determined based on B”.

[0152] It should be understood that the positioning server in this application is responsible for the location-related information services of the terminal device, including providing auxiliary information to the terminal device for location measurement, or processing the location measurement information reported by the terminal device or base station and calculating the final coordinates, location movement speed, etc. The positioning server can be a location management network element. For example, in a 5G communication system, the location management network element can be an LMF network element. In future communication systems, the location management network element can still be an LMF network element, or have other names, which are not limited in this application. The positioning server can be located in the core network or in a network device.

[0153] It should be understood that the "reference signals used for positioning" involved in this application are uniformly referred to as "reference signals", but this does not mean that the "reference signals" only include reference signals specifically used for positioning (positioning reference signal, PRS). Optionally, "reference signals used for positioning" may also include sounding reference signaling (SRS), demodulation reference signal (DMRS), tracking reference signal (TRS), channel state information reference signal (CSI-RS), etc.

[0154] It should be understood that the downlink frame or uplink frame mentioned in the embodiments of the present application is only an example, wherein the frame can be replaced by a time unit; similarly, the downlink subframe or uplink subframe mentioned in the embodiments of the present application is only an example, wherein the subframe can be replaced by a time domain resource, and the time domain resource can also be a time slot, or a symbol, or a mini subframe, or a mini time slot, which is not limited in this application.

[0155] Figure 4 is a schematic flow chart of a communication method provided by the present application. The method may include the following steps.

[0156] S410: A network device (an example of a second communication apparatus) sends N downlink (DL) subframes to a terminal device. Correspondingly, the terminal device receives the N downlink subframes from the network device.

[0157] Each of the N downlink subframes may be used to carry a reference signal, such as a PRS; or each downlink subframe may be configured as a reference signal resource by configuration information, where N is a positive integer, and illustratively, N is an integer greater than or equal to 2.

[0158] Exemplarily, the terminal device may detect the N downlink subframes based on configuration information. The configuration information may be used to configure a PRS resource set (DL PRS resource set), for example, the configuration information may be NR-DL-PRS-ResourceSet, for details of which refer to the above description.

[0159] It can be understood that when the configuration information configures the i-th downlink subframe among the N downlink subframes as a reference signal resource, the i-th downlink subframe may not actually carry a reference signal, and the network device and / or terminal device may determine the sending time or receiving time of the i-th downlink subframe based on the boundary of the i-th downlink subframe, thereby saving signaling overhead.

[0160] Optionally, the method further includes: the terminal device determines a first time difference within a first measurement period based on all or part of the N downlink subframes. The first measurement period may be a terminal device measurement period configured by the network side. For example, the first measurement period may refer to the above description of T UERxTx,i Description; the first time difference is the UE sending and receiving time difference.

[0161] Exemplarily, the first time difference may be determined by M time differences corresponding to M downlink subframes among the N downlink subframes, where M is a positive integer less than or equal to N. For example, the M time differences may include time difference #i (or referred to as the i-th time difference), where time difference #i is the time difference between the reception time of downlink subframe i (the i-th downlink subframe or downlink subframe is indexed as i, and descriptions of similar cases are omitted below) among the M downlink subframes and the transmission time of uplink subframe j. Here, i may be any value from 1 to M; the transmission time of uplink subframe j is closest to the reception time of downlink subframe i.

[0162] Exemplarily, the terminal device determining the first time difference may include: the terminal device determining the first time difference based on multiple time differences #i, where i can be a different value from 1 to M, for example, taking the average of the multiple time differences #i to obtain the first time difference.

[0163] S420: The terminal device sends the first delay change rate corresponding to the N downlink subframes to the positioning server.

[0164] The first delay change rate can be understood as the change rate of the downlink delay caused by Doppler on the serving link corresponding to the N downlink subframes (measurement samples). The first delay change rate is related to M delay change rates corresponding to M downlink subframes in the N downlink subframes, where M is a positive integer less than or equal to N.

[0165] In one example, the first delay change rate includes M delay change rates corresponding to the moments when the M downlink subframes are received.

[0166] The value of M and the M downlink subframes may be indicated by a network device or determined by the terminal device itself.

[0167] Exemplarily, the network device may indicate that the i-th downlink subframe among the N downlink subframes is the M downlink subframes, where i has a unique value. That is, the network device indicates that M=1, and the first delay change rate is the delay change rate corresponding to the reception time of one downlink subframe among the N downlink subframes, where the one downlink subframe is the i-th downlink subframe among the N downlink subframes.

[0168] Optionally, the network device may further indicate that i takes multiple different values ​​between 1 and N. That is, the network device indicates 2≤M≤N, the first delay change rate includes M delay change rates corresponding to reception times of M downlink subframes among the N downlink subframes, the M downlink subframes include the i-th downlink subframe among the N downlink subframes, and the value of i is indicated by the network device.

[0169] For example, when M=1, the network device can directly indicate the value of i; the terminal device reports the downlink delay change rate corresponding to the reception moment of the i-th downlink subframe according to the value of i. If the value of i is 1, the terminal device reports the change rate of the downlink delay corresponding to the reception moment of the first downlink subframe in N downlink subframes. That is, the first delay change rate includes the delay change rate corresponding to the first downlink subframe in N downlink subframes. In other words, the first delay change rate is the change rate of the downlink delay caused by Doppler on the service link corresponding to the i-th downlink subframe (measurement sample).

[0170] For another example, when 2≤M≤N, the network device can indicate that i takes different values; the terminal device reports the downlink delay change rate corresponding to the reception time of the i-th downlink subframe when i takes different values ​​according to the instruction of the network device. If the network device indicates i=1, 3, the terminal device reports the downlink link delay change rate corresponding to the reception time of the first downlink subframe and the reception time of the third downlink subframe in the N downlink subframes. That is, the first delay change rate includes the delay change rate corresponding to at least two downlink subframes in the N downlink subframes.

[0171] The network device may also indicate the M downlink subframes in the following multiple ways.

[0172] Exemplarily, the network device may indicate the M downlink subframes through indication information #1. For example, the indication information #1 includes a bitmap, which may include N bits, and the value of the i-th bit in the N bits is 0 or 1. When the i-th bit is 1, it indicates that the i-th subframe in the N downlink subframes is a downlink subframe in the M downlink subframes; or when the i-th bit is 0, it indicates that the i-th subframe in the N downlink subframes is a downlink subframe in the M downlink subframes, where i=1, 2, ..., N.

[0173] Taking the value of N as 4 and the value of the i-th bit as 1, indicating that the i-th subframe in the N downlink subframes is a downlink subframe in the M downlink subframes, as an example, if the value of the N bit is 0100, it means that the network device instructs the terminal device to report the delay change rate corresponding to the second downlink subframe in the N downlink subframes; if the value of the N bit is 1010, it means that the network device instructs the terminal device to report the delay change rate corresponding to the first and third downlink subframes in the N downlink subframes; if the value of the N bit is 1111, it means that the network device instructs the terminal device to report the N delay change rates corresponding to the N downlink subframes.

[0174] For another example, the network device may indicate N weight factors, each corresponding to N delay change rates. The N delay change rates are the N delay change rates corresponding to the N downlink subframes. Taking the value of N as 4 as an example, the network device may issue w1, w2, w3, and w4. Optionally, w1 + w2 + w3 + w4 = 1.

[0175] At this time, the first delay change rate can be the sum of the products of each weight factor and its corresponding delay change rate, that is, the first delay change rate is determined by the delay change rate corresponding to the M downlink subframes. For example, w1=a, w2=b, w3=w4=0 can be set, that is, the network device indicates that the first delay change rate is determined by the delay change rate corresponding to the first downlink subframe and the second downlink subframe in the N downlink subframes. Optionally, the network device can also indicate the delay change rate corresponding to one of the N subframes by indicating the weight factor, that is, the first delay change rate is the delay change rate corresponding to the one downlink subframe. For example, w1=1, w2=w3=w4=0 can be set, that is, the network device instructs the terminal device to report the delay change rate corresponding to the first downlink subframe in the N downlink subframes.

[0176] It should be understood that within the first measurement period, the weight factor indicated by the network device can be reused. For example, the network side can configure the weight factor once, and the terminal device can use the weight factor in each measurement period (i.e., each RTT measurement of the UE). Optionally, the network device can configure a different weight factor for each measurement report, which is not limited in this application.

[0177] Optionally, when the network device indicates M (2≤M≤N) downlink subframes, and the first delay change rate includes M delay change rates corresponding to the M downlink subframes, the terminal device reporting the delay change rates corresponding to the M downlink subframes may include: the terminal device reporting the M delay change rates and the correspondence between the M delay change rates and the M downlink subframes. By reporting the correspondence between the M delay change rates and the M downlink subframes, the network device can obtain the downlink subframe corresponding to each delay change rate.

[0178] For example, the terminal device can report the delay change rates corresponding to M downlink subframes in sequence; or, the terminal device can report M delay change rates to the network device and indicate the downlink subframe corresponding to each reported delay change rate; or, the terminal device reports the delay change rates corresponding to M downlink subframes and the time stamp corresponding to the delay change rate corresponding to each downlink subframe. For example, the timestamp may include the system frame number (system frame number), slot index (slot index) and measurement time (measurement time) corresponding to each subframe.

[0179] Optionally, before the network device indicates the M downlink subframes to the terminal device, the method includes: the terminal device indicates the number of measurement samples to the network device. The meaning of the number of measurement samples can refer to the above description of N. sample Description.

[0180] Exemplarily, the network device may send a request message to the terminal device, where the request message is used to request the UE to report capability information. For example, the request message may be a Multi-RTT request capability message (NR-Multi-RTT-RequestCapabilities).

[0181] Accordingly, the terminal device reports capability information to the network device according to the requested capability information. The capability information can be used to indicate whether the terminal device supports measuring timing drift using reduced samples.

[0182] If the terminal device supports measuring timing drift through reduced samples, the terminal device sends supportedDL-PRS-ProcessingSamples information to the network device. In this case, the number of measurement samples can be a first value, for example, the first value can be 1 or 2; if the terminal device does not support measuring timing drift through reduced samples, the terminal device does not send supportedDL-PRS-ProcessingSamples information. In this case, the number of measurement samples can be a second value, and the second value can be greater than 2, for example, the second value is 4.

[0183] In a case where the terminal device indicates the number of measurement samples to the network device, the network device indicating the M downlink subframes may include: the network device indicating the M downlink subframes according to the number of measurement samples.

[0184] For example, if the network device determines that the number of measurement samples is the second value according to the capability information reported by the device, the network device indicates the M downlink subframes. For another example, if the network device determines that the number of measurement samples is greater than 1, the network device indicates the M downlink subframes.

[0185] In the case where the terminal device determines the M downlink subframes by itself, there is no restriction on the specific manner in which the terminal device selects the M downlink subframes.

[0186] Exemplarily, the terminal device may determine the M downlink subframes based on the signal strength of N downlink subframes. For example, the terminal device may select a downlink subframe with a signal strength greater than the signal strength of other downlink subframes among the N downlink subframes as the M downlink subframes, and report the rate of change of the downlink delay corresponding to the moment of receiving the M downlink subframes. Alternatively, the terminal device may select any M subframes among the N downlink subframes as the M downlink subframes.

[0187] The terminal device may also determine the M downlink subframes based on configuration information or a protocol. This configuration information is used to configure the number of measurement samples corresponding to the delay variation rate. That is, the terminal device may report M delay variation rates based on the configuration information or protocol agreement. For example, the value of M may be 1 or 2. In other words, in an NTN scenario, the number of measurement samples corresponding to the delay variation rate may be a predetermined value of 1 or 2.

[0188] Optionally, when the number of measurement samples is 1 or 2 as specified in the configuration information or protocol, the measurement period of the first delay variation rate can reuse the formula for determining the measurement period in the terrestrial network, that is, to determine T UERxTx,i For details on the formula, please refer to the description in protocol TS 38.215.

[0189] It should be understood that this application does not limit the application scenario in which the terminal device independently determines the M downlink subframes. For example, when the network device indicates M downlink subframes, the terminal device can independently determine the M downlink subframes. Alternatively, the terminal device can directly independently determine the M downlink subframes. By having the terminal device independently determine the M downlink subframes, the flexibility of selecting the M downlink subframes can be improved.

[0190] When the terminal device needs to report M delay change rates corresponding to M downlink subframes (2≤M≤N), in one possible implementation method, the terminal device can report the delay change rate #1 and the first difference, where the delay change rate #1 can be the delay change rate corresponding to the j-th downlink subframe in the M downlink subframes, and the first difference includes the difference between the delay change rate corresponding to the downlink subframes other than the j-th downlink subframe in the M downlink subframes and the delay change rate #1, j = 1, 2, ..., M.

[0191] In addition, on each of the N downlink subframes, the timing advance (TA) corresponding to the terminal device may be different. For example, if the value of N is 4, the TA corresponding to each downlink subframe may be TA#1, TA#2, TA#3, and TA#4. The terminal device can report TA#1 to TA#4 to determine the location information of the terminal device. Optionally, the terminal device can also report differential TA. For example, reporting (TA#2-TA#1), (TA#3-TA#1), (TA#4-TA#1), (TA#3-TA#2), (TA#4-TA#2), and (TA#4-TA#3). Among them, TA can also be the TA corresponding to the sending of SRS.

[0192] When the terminal device needs to report M delay change rates corresponding to M downlink subframes (2≤M≤N), in another possible implementation, the terminal device can report the delay change rate #2 and the first change rate. For example, the delay change rate #2 can be the delay change rate corresponding to the first downlink subframe in the M downlink subframes, and the first change rate can represent the change rate of the downlink delay change rate in the first time period. The first time period is the time period corresponding to the first delay change rate, or in other words, the downlink delay change rate in the first time period can be represented by the first delay change rate. The specific representation of the first time period can refer to the description below.

[0193] Optionally, the network device may indicate a threshold value A. When the first change rate is greater than or equal to the threshold value A, the terminal device sends the first delay change rate to the positioning server. When the first change rate is less than the threshold value A, the terminal device may report the delay change rate of the downlink in an existing manner.

[0194] In another example, the first delay variation rate is determined based on M delay variation rates corresponding to the time instants of receiving the M downlink subframes.

[0195] Exemplarily, when the network device indicates the M downlink subframes, 2≤M≤N, the terminal device may report a delay variation rate. The delay variation rate may be determined by the M delay variation rates corresponding to the M downlink subframes.

[0196] For example, the one delay change rate is an average value of the M delay change rates.

[0197] In the above example, the first delay change rate may be a delay change rate within a first time period, and the first time period includes any of the following:

[0198] (1) The time period between the transmission time of uplink subframe i and the transmission time of uplink subframe l.

[0199] The position of uplink subframe i in the uplink frame is the same as the position of downlink subframe i in the downlink frame, or the index of uplink subframe i is the same as the index of downlink subframe i; uplink subframe l can carry a reference signal, such as SRS.

[0200] (2) The time period between the sending time of uplink subframe i and the sending time of uplink subframe j.

[0201] The uplink subframe j is closest to the reception time of the downlink subframe i in terms of time.

[0202] (3) The time period between the sending time of the uplink subframe j and the sending time of the uplink subframe l.

[0203] (4) The time period corresponding to the downlink subframe i, the time period corresponding to the uplink subframe i, the time period corresponding to the uplink subframe j, and the time period corresponding to the uplink subframe l.

[0204] The starting time of the time period corresponding to the subframe may be the starting time of the subframe, for example, the time when the boundary of the subframe is detected, and the length of the time period corresponding to the uplink subframe may be the length of one subframe.

[0205] (5) The first measurement period: For the first measurement period, reference may be made to the above description.

[0206] For example, the first measurement period may be T UERxTx_i From the above, we can see that T UERxTx,i With N sample The value of N sample When T is different, or in other words, when the number of downlink subframes based on which the terminal device measures the first time difference is different, T UERxTx,i For different values, T UERxTx,iThe specific value of T can be determined according to TS 38.215 UERxTx,i The formula is determined.

[0207] It can be understood that in this application, when N sample In the case of N sample The actual value of can be N or M, that is, T is determined in TS 38.215. UERxTx,i Based on the formula, N in the formula can be sample Replaced by N or M in this application.

[0208] (6) The measurement period corresponding to the downlink subframe i within the first measurement period, or the measurement period of the sample where the downlink subframe i is located.

[0209] (7)T effect,i or T last,i , or T effect,i With T last,i The harmony.

[0210] Among them, T effect,i is the measurement period of UE Rx-Tx time difference measurement in positioning frequency layer i; T last,i is the measurement duration of the last UE Rx-Tx time difference measurement sample in positioning layer i, which includes sampling time and processing time, T effect,i or T last,i Please refer to the description in TS 38.215.

[0211] It should be understood that in the above examples, the reception time of the downlink subframe by the terminal device may be the start time (starting point) when the terminal device detects the downlink subframe; or the first path arrival time when the terminal device detects the downlink subframe. The start time of detecting the downlink subframe may be the time when the boundary of the downlink subframe is detected, or the time when the reference signal carried by the downlink subframe is detected.

[0212] In the above example, the first delay change rate can be carried in radio resource control (RRC) signaling, media access control (MAC) control element (CE) signaling or uplink control information (UCI), or other uplink information. This application does not limit the sending method of the first delay change rate.

[0213] In a possible implementation, the terminal device sending the above first delay change rate to the positioning server may include: when the difference between the delay change rates corresponding to every two of the N downlink subframes is greater than or equal to a first threshold, the terminal device sends the above first delay change rate to the positioning server.

[0214] In one example, the first threshold includes threshold #1. The terminal device sending the first delay change rate to the positioning server may include: when the difference between the delay change rates corresponding to every two of the N downlink subframes is greater than or equal to threshold #1 (condition #1), the terminal device sends the first delay change rate to the positioning server, where the first delay change rate includes the delay change rate corresponding to each of the M downlink subframes, and M < N. That is, when condition #1 is satisfied, the terminal device reports to the network device the delay change rates corresponding to some of the N downlink subframes.

[0215] Otherwise, the terminal device may report the delay change rates corresponding to the N downlink subframes in the existing manner.

[0216] In another example, the first threshold includes threshold #2. The terminal device sending the above first delay change rate to the positioning server may include: when the difference between the delay change rates corresponding to every two of the N downlink subframes is greater than or equal to threshold #2 (condition #2), the terminal device sends the first delay change rate to the positioning server, where the first delay change rate includes the delay change rate corresponding to each of the M downlink subframes, and M = N. That is, when condition #2 is satisfied, the terminal device reports to the network device the delay change rates corresponding to each of the N downlink subframes.

[0217] Otherwise, the terminal device reports the delay change rates corresponding to M of the N downlink subframes, and M < N.

[0218] In yet another example, the first threshold includes threshold #1 and threshold #2, where threshold #2 may be greater than threshold #1. The terminal device sending the above first delay change rate to the positioning server may include: when the difference between the delay change rates corresponding to every two of the N downlink subframes is greater than or equal to threshold #1 and less than threshold #2 (condition #3), sending the delay change rates corresponding to the M downlink subframes to the positioning server, and M < N; when the difference between the delay change rates corresponding to every two of the N downlink subframes is greater than or equal to the threshold #2 (condition #4), reporting to the network device the delay change rates corresponding to each of the N downlink subframes.

[0219] Otherwise, the terminal device may report the delay change rates corresponding to the N downlink subframes in the existing manner.

[0220] Optionally, before the terminal device sends the first delay change rate to the positioning server, the terminal device may receive the first threshold (including threshold #1 and / or threshold #2) from the network device. Alternatively, the terminal device is configured with the first threshold.

[0221] The above conditions #1 to #4 are only examples for determining the change magnitude of the delay change rates corresponding to multiple downlink subframes, and the present application is not limited thereto. For example, "the delay change rate corresponding to every two downlink subframes" may be replaced with "the delay change rate corresponding to any two downlink subframes", or replaced with "there exists a delay change rate corresponding to two downlink subframes", or replaced with "the delay change rate corresponding to two adjacent downlink subframes", or replaced with "the delay change rate corresponding to two-by-two adjacent downlink subframes", etc.

[0222] Optionally, when conditions #1 to #4 are satisfied, the terminal device may further send indication information to the network device, and the indication information is used to indicate whether the configuration period of the PRS resource is reasonable; the network device may reconfigure the PRS resource according to the indication information, or adjust the PRS resource period according to the indication information.

[0223] Optionally, the network device may further send threshold #3 to the terminal device, or the terminal device is configured with the threshold #3. The threshold #3 is the threshold corresponding to the period T of the PRS resource.

[0224] The terminal device sending the above first delay change rate to the positioning server may include: when the period of the terminal device receiving the N downlink subframes is greater than or equal to the threshold #3, the terminal device sends the first delay change rate to the positioning server, where the first delay change rate includes the delay change rate corresponding to each of the M downlink subframes, M < N; otherwise, the terminal device may send the delay change rate of the downlink to the positioning server in an existing manner.

[0225] Similarly, the network device may further send threshold #4, or the terminal device is configured with threshold #4. When the period of the terminal device receiving the N downlink subframes is greater than or equal to the threshold #4, the terminal device sends the delay change rate corresponding to each of the N downlink subframes to the positioning server.

[0226] Optionally, the network device may further send the threshold #3 and threshold #4, and the terminal device determines to report different first delay change rates by comparing the period of receiving the N downlink subframes with the threshold #3 and threshold #4. The specific reporting strategy may refer to the strategy of reporting different first delay change rates by comparing the difference between the delay change rates corresponding to every two downlink subframes among the above N downlink subframes with the threshold #1 and threshold #2, which will not be elaborated herein.

[0227] Optionally, the method further includes:

[0228] S430, the terminal device sends a first time difference to the positioning server. Correspondingly, the positioning server receives the first time difference from the terminal device.

[0229] In a possible implementation, the first time difference is determined based on the reception times of the above-mentioned M downlink subframes. The determination method of the M downlink subframes can refer to the determination method of the M downlink subframes in S420. That is, the network side can indicate the M downlink subframes or the terminal device can determine the M downlink subframes by itself.

[0230] For example, when the network device indicates that the M downlink subframes are the i-th downlink subframe among the N downlink subframes, the first time difference can be the time difference between the reception time of the terminal device receiving the downlink subframe i and the transmission time of the terminal device transmitting the uplink subframe j. Among them, the transmission time of the uplink subframe j is the closest to the reception time of the downlink subframe i, and i takes a fixed value.

[0231] When the network device indicates that the M downlink subframes are multiple downlink subframes among the N downlink subframes, the first time difference can be determined by M time differences #i corresponding to the M downlink subframes. For example, the first time difference is the average value of the M time differences #i, i = 1, 2,..., M. Among them, the time difference #i can be the time difference between the reception time of the terminal device receiving the downlink subframe i and the transmission time of the terminal device transmitting the uplink subframe j. The transmission time of the uplink subframe j is the closest to the reception time of the downlink subframe i.

[0232] That is, when the network device indicates M downlink subframes, the terminal device can report the UE Rx-Tx time difference and the delay change rate for the M downlink subframes.

[0233] Exemplarily, the terminal device sending the first time difference to the positioning server can include: when the difference between every two of the M time differences #i is greater than or equal to a second threshold, sending the first time difference to the positioning server.

[0234] In an example, the second threshold includes threshold #5. The terminal device sending the first time difference to the positioning server can include: when the difference between every two of the M time differences #i is greater than or equal to threshold #5, sending the first time difference to the positioning server. The first time difference is determined based on the reception times of the above-mentioned M downlink subframes, M < N. Otherwise, the terminal device can report the UE transceiver time difference in the existing manner.

[0235] In another example, the second threshold includes threshold #6. The terminal device sending the first time difference to the positioning server may include: if the difference between every two of the M time differences #i is greater than or equal to the threshold #6, then send the first time difference to the positioning server, where the first time difference is determined based on the reception times of the above M downlink subframes, and M = N. Otherwise, send the first time difference to the positioning server, where the first time difference is determined based on the reception times of the above M downlink subframes, and M < N, or the terminal device may report the UE transceiver time difference in an existing manner.

[0236] In yet another example, the second threshold includes threshold #5 and threshold #6, where threshold #6 may be greater than threshold #5. The terminal device sending the first time difference to the positioning server may include: if the difference between every two of the M time differences #i is greater than or equal to the threshold #5 and less than the threshold #6, then send the first time difference to the positioning server, where the first time difference is determined based on the reception times of the above M downlink subframes, and M < N; if the difference between every two of the M time differences #i is greater than or equal to the threshold #6, then send the first time difference to the positioning server, where the first time difference is determined based on the reception times of the above M downlink subframes, and M = N. Otherwise, the terminal device may report the UE transceiver time difference in an existing manner.

[0237] Optionally, before the terminal device sends the first time difference to the positioning server, the terminal device receives the second threshold (threshold #5 and / or threshold #6) from the network device; or the terminal device is configured with the second threshold.

[0238] Optionally, the terminal device sending the first time difference to the positioning server further includes:

[0239] In the case of only receiving (being configured with) the first threshold, the terminal device sends the first time difference to the positioning server. Or rather, when the terminal device reports the first delay change rate, it may report the corresponding UE Rx-Tx time difference at the same time. For example, when the terminal device reports the delay change rate corresponding to a specific downlink subframe, the terminal device may report the UE Rx-Tx time difference corresponding to the downlink subframe.

[0240] Similarly, when only the second threshold is received (configured), the terminal device sends the first delay change rate to the positioning server. In other words, when the terminal device reports the UE Rx-Tx time difference corresponding to the downlink subframe, it can also report the delay change rate corresponding to the downlink subframe. For example, when the terminal device reports the UE Rx-Tx time difference corresponding to a specific downlink subframe, the terminal device can report the delay change rate corresponding to the downlink subframe.

[0241] Optionally, the terminal device determines the reporting method of the first delay change rate and / or the first time difference based on the relationship between the delay change rate corresponding to the downlink subframe and the threshold, and the relationship between the UE Rx-Tx time difference corresponding to the downlink subframe and the threshold.

[0242] For example, if the difference between the delay change rates corresponding to any two downlink subframes is less than or equal to threshold #1, and the difference between the UE Rx-Tx time difference measured on any two downlink subframes is less than or equal to the threshold #5, the terminal device may choose to report the delay change rates (i.e., the first delay change rate) and / or the transmit-receive time difference (i.e., the first time difference) corresponding to N downlink subframes in the existing manner. Otherwise, the terminal device may choose to report the delay change rates and / or the transmit-receive time difference corresponding to M downlink subframes, M <N。

[0243] If the difference between the delay variation rates corresponding to any two downlink subframes is greater than the threshold #2, and the difference between the UE Rx-Tx time difference measured on any two downlink subframes is greater than the threshold #6, the terminal device reports the delay variation rates and / or transmit-receive time differences corresponding to M downlink subframes, M = N. Otherwise, the terminal device may choose to report the delay variation rates and / or transmit-receive time differences corresponding to M downlink subframes, M <N。

[0244] Optionally, the terminal device may also report the UE Rx-Tx time difference subframe offset in a similar manner as above, which will not be repeated here.

[0245] S440: The positioning server determines or verifies the location information of the terminal device according to the first delay change rate.

[0246] Specifically, the positioning server can determine the RTT between the network device and the terminal device based on the first delay change process and the UE transmission and reception time difference (the UE transmission and reception time difference can refer to the existing relevant description or the UE transmission and reception time difference includes the first time difference), and verify the location of the terminal device based on the RTT. The way in which the positioning server verifies the location of the terminal device based on the RTT can refer to the existing relevant description.

[0247] The communication method provided in the embodiment of the present application is described in detail above in conjunction with Figure 4. Below, the communication device provided in the embodiment of the present application is described in detail in conjunction with Figures 5 to 7. It should be understood that the description of the device embodiment corresponds to the description of the method embodiment. Therefore, for matters not described in detail, please refer to the method embodiment above. For the sake of brevity, it will not be repeated here.

[0248] 5 shows a schematic diagram of a communication device 500 provided in an embodiment of the present application. The device 500 includes a transceiver unit 510, which can be used to implement corresponding communication functions and can also be referred to as a communication interface or a communication unit.

[0249] Optionally, the apparatus 500 may further include a processing unit 520 , which may be configured to perform data processing.

[0250] Optionally, the device 500 also includes a storage unit, which can be used to store instructions and / or data. The processing unit 520 can read the instructions and / or data in the storage unit so that the device can implement the actions of different devices in the aforementioned method embodiments.

[0251] In one possible design, the apparatus 500 may be the terminal device in the aforementioned embodiment, or may be a component of the terminal device (e.g., a chip). The apparatus 500 may implement steps or processes corresponding to those performed by the terminal device in the above method embodiment. The transceiver unit 510 may be used to perform transceiver-related operations of the terminal device in the above method embodiment, such as the transceiver-related operations of the terminal device in the embodiment shown in FIG4 ; and the processing unit 520 may be used to perform processing-related operations of the terminal device in the above method embodiment, such as the processing-related operations of the terminal device in the embodiment shown in FIG4 .

[0252] In another possible design, the device 500 may be the positioning server in the aforementioned embodiment, or may be a component of the positioning server (e.g., a chip). The device 500 may implement steps or processes corresponding to those performed by the positioning server in the above method embodiment. The transceiver unit 510 may be used to perform the transceiver-related operations of the positioning server in the above method embodiment, such as the transceiver-related operations of the positioning server in the embodiment shown in FIG4 ; the processing unit 520 may be used to perform the processing-related operations of the positioning server in the above method embodiment, such as the processing-related operations of the positioning server in the embodiment shown in FIG4 .

[0253] Figure 6 is a schematic block diagram of a communication device 600 provided in an embodiment of the present application. The device 600 includes a processor 610, which is coupled to a memory 620. Optionally, the memory 620 is further included. The memory 620 is used to store computer programs or instructions and / or data. The processor 610 is used to execute the computer programs or instructions stored in the memory 620, or read the data stored in the memory 620, to perform the methods described in the above method embodiments.

[0254] Optionally, there are one or more processors 610 .

[0255] Optionally, there are one or more memories 620 .

[0256] Optionally, the memory 620 is integrated with the processor 610 or provided separately.

[0257] 6 , the apparatus 600 further includes a transceiver 630 , which is configured to receive and / or transmit signals. For example, the processor 610 is configured to control the transceiver 630 to receive and / or transmit signals.

[0258] As a solution, the apparatus 600 is used to implement the operations performed by the terminal device in each of the above method embodiments.

[0259] For example, the processor 610 is configured to execute computer programs or instructions stored in the memory 620 to implement the relevant operations of the terminal device in the above various method embodiments. For example, the method executed by the terminal device in the embodiment shown in FIG4 .

[0260] As another solution, the device 600 is used to implement the operations performed by the positioning server in the above various method embodiments.

[0261] For example, the processor 610 is configured to execute computer programs or instructions stored in the memory 620 to implement the operations related to the positioning server in the above various method embodiments. For example, the method executed by the positioning server in the embodiment shown in FIG4 .

[0262] During implementation, each step of the above method can be completed by an integrated logic circuit of the hardware in the processor 610 or by instructions in the form of software. The method disclosed in conjunction with the embodiments of the present application can be directly embodied as being executed by a hardware processor, or can be executed by a combination of hardware and software modules in the processor. The software module can be located in a storage medium mature in the art, such as a random access memory, a flash memory, a read-only memory, a programmable read-only memory or an electrically erasable programmable memory, a register, etc. The storage medium is located in the memory 620, and the processor 610 reads the information in the memory 620 and completes the steps of the above method in combination with its hardware. To avoid repetition, it will not be described in detail here.

[0263] It should be understood that in the embodiments of the present application, the processor may be one or more integrated circuits for executing relevant programs to execute the method embodiments of the present application.

[0264] A processor (e.g., processor 610) may include one or more processors and be implemented as a combination of computing devices. The processor may include one or more of the following: a microprocessor, a microcontroller, a digital signal processor (DSP), a digital signal processing device (DSPD), an application-specific integrated circuit (ASIC), a field programmable gate array (FPGA), a programmable logic device (PLD), gating logic, transistor logic, discrete hardware circuits, processing circuits, or other suitable hardware, firmware, and / or a combination of hardware and software to perform the various functions described in this disclosure. The processor may be a general-purpose processor or a special-purpose processor. For example, processor 610 may be a baseband processor or a central processing unit. A baseband processor may be used to process communication protocols and communication data. A central processing unit may be used to enable the device to execute software programs and process data in the software programs. In addition, a portion of the processor may also include non-volatile random access memory. For example, the processor may also store information about the device type.

[0265] In this application, the term "program" is used broadly to refer to software. Non-limiting examples of software include program code, program, subroutine, instruction, instruction set, code, code segment, software module, application, or software application. The program can be executed in a processor and / or computer to cause the device to perform the various functions and / or processes described in this application.

[0266] The memory (e.g., memory 620) can store data required by the processor (e.g., processor 610) when executing software. The memory can be implemented using any suitable storage technology. For example, the memory can be any available storage medium that can be accessed by the processor and / or computer. Non-limiting examples of storage media include random access memory (RAM), read-only memory (ROM), electrically erasable programmable read-only memory (EEPROM), compact disc read-only memory (CD-ROM), static RAM (SRAM), dynamic RAM (DRAM), synchronous DRAM (SDRAM), double data rate synchronous dynamic random access memory (DDR SDRAM), enhanced synchronous dynamic random access memory (ESDRAM), synchronous link dynamic random access memory (SLDRAM), and direct rambus RAM (DR RAM), removable media, optical disk storage, magnetic disk storage media, magnetic storage devices, flash memory, registers, state memory, remotely mounted storage, local or remote memory components, or any other medium capable of carrying or storing software, data, or information and accessible by a processor / computer. It should be noted that the memory described herein is intended to include, but is not limited to, these and any other suitable types of memory.

[0267] The memory (e.g., memory 620) and the processor (e.g., processor 610) may be provided separately or integrated together. The memory may be used to connect to the processor so that the processor can read information from the memory and store and / or write information in the memory. The memory may be integrated into the processor. The memory and the processor may be provided in an integrated circuit (e.g., the integrated circuit may be provided in a UE or other network node).

[0268] 7 is a schematic block diagram of a chip system 700 provided in an embodiment of the present application. The chip system 700 (or also referred to as a processing system) includes a logic circuit 710 and an input / output interface 720.

[0269] The logic circuit 710 may be a processing circuit in the chip system 700. The logic circuit 710 may be coupled to a storage unit and call instructions in the storage unit so that the chip system 700 can implement the methods and functions of the various embodiments of the present application. The input / output interface 720 may be an input / output circuit in the chip system 700, outputting information processed by the chip system 700 or inputting data or signaling information to be processed into the chip system 700 for processing.

[0270] As a solution, the chip system 700 is used to implement the operations performed by the terminal device in the above various method embodiments.

[0271] For example, the logic circuit 710 is used to implement the processing-related operations performed by the terminal device in the above method embodiments, such as the processing-related operations performed by the terminal device in the embodiment shown in Figure 4; the input / output interface 720 is used to implement the sending and / or receiving-related operations performed by the terminal device in the above method embodiments, such as the sending and / or receiving-related operations performed by the terminal device in the embodiment shown in Figure 4.

[0272] As another solution, the chip system 700 is used to implement the operations performed by the positioning server in the above various method embodiments.

[0273] For example, the logic circuit 710 is used to implement the processing-related operations performed by the positioning server in the above method embodiment, such as the processing-related operations performed by the positioning server in the embodiment shown in Figure 4; the input / output interface 720 is used to implement the sending and / or receiving-related operations performed by the positioning server in the above method embodiment, such as the sending and / or receiving-related operations performed by the positioning server in the embodiment shown in Figure 4.

[0274] An embodiment of the present application further provides a computer-readable storage medium on which computer instructions for implementing the methods executed by a communication device (such as a terminal device or a positioning server) in the above-mentioned method embodiments are stored.

[0275] An embodiment of the present application further provides a computer program product comprising instructions, which, when executed by a computer, implement the methods performed by a communication device (such as a terminal device or a positioning server) in the above-mentioned method embodiments.

[0276] An embodiment of the present application further provides a communication system, which includes one or more of the terminal devices or positioning servers in the above embodiments.

[0277] The explanation of the relevant contents and beneficial effects of any of the above-mentioned devices can be referred to the corresponding method embodiments provided above, which will not be repeated here.

[0278] In the several embodiments provided in this application, it should be understood that the disclosed devices and methods can be implemented in other ways. For example, the device embodiments described above are only schematic. For example, the division of the above-mentioned units is only a logical function division. There may be other division methods in actual implementation. For example, multiple units or components can be combined or integrated into another system, or some features can be ignored or not executed. In addition, the mutual coupling or direct coupling or communication connection shown or discussed can be through some interfaces, indirect coupling or communication connection of devices or units, which can be electrical, mechanical or other forms.

[0279] The units described above as separate components may or may not be physically separate, and the components shown as units may or may not be physical units, that is, they may be located in one place or distributed across multiple network units. Some or all of these units may be selected according to actual needs to implement the solutions provided in this application.

[0280] In addition, each functional unit in each embodiment of the present application may be integrated into one unit, each unit may exist physically separately, or two or more units may be integrated into one unit.

[0281] Those skilled in the art will appreciate that the units and algorithm steps of each example described in conjunction with the embodiments disclosed herein can be implemented in electronic hardware, or a combination of computer software and electronic hardware. Whether these functions are performed in hardware or software depends on the specific application and design constraints of the technical solution. Professional and technical personnel can use different methods to implement the described functions for each specific application, but such implementation should not be considered beyond the scope of this application.

[0282] When software is used for implementation, it can be implemented in whole or in part in the form of a computer program product. The computer program product includes one or more computer instructions. When the computer program instructions are loaded and executed on a computer, the process or function described in the embodiment of the present application is generated in whole or in part. The computer can be a general-purpose computer, a special-purpose computer, a computer network or other programmable devices. For example, the computer can be a personal computer, a server, or a network device, etc. The computer instructions can be stored in a computer-readable storage medium, or transmitted from one computer-readable storage medium to another computer-readable storage medium. For example, the computer instructions can be transmitted from a website, computer, server or data center to another website, computer, server or data center by wired (such as coaxial cable, optical fiber, digital subscriber line (DSL)) or wireless (such as infrared, wireless, microwave, etc.). About computer-readable storage media, reference can be made to the above description.

[0283] The above description is merely a specific embodiment of the present application, but the scope of protection of the present application is not limited thereto. Any changes or substitutions that can be easily conceived by a person skilled in the art within the technical scope disclosed in this application should be included in the scope of protection of this application. Therefore, the scope of protection of this application should be based on the scope of protection of the claims.

Claims

1. A communication method, characterized in that: include: Receiving N downlink subframes from a second communication device, where N is an integer greater than or equal to 2; A first delay change rate corresponding to the N downlink subframes is sent to a positioning server, where the first delay change rate is related to M delay change rates corresponding to M downlink subframes in the N downlink subframes, where M is a positive integer less than or equal to N.

2. The method according to claim 1, characterized in that The first delay change rate is determined according to M delay change rates corresponding to the time when the M downlink subframes are received.

3. The method according to claim 1 or 2, characterized in that: The first delay change rate includes M delay change rates corresponding to the time when the M downlink subframes are received.

4. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 3, characterized in that Before sending the first delay change rate corresponding to the N downlink subframes to the positioning server, the method further includes: A request message is received from the second communication device, where the request message is used to request reporting of the first delay change rate, and the request message includes indication information indicating the M downlink subframes.

5. The method according to claim 4, characterized in that The indication information includes a bit map, the bit map includes N bits, the value of the i-th bit in the N bits is 0 or 1, When the value of the i-th bit is 1, the i-th subframe in the N downlink subframes is a downlink subframe in the M downlink subframes; or, When the i-th bit takes a value of 0, the i-th subframe in the N downlink subframes is a downlink subframe in the M downlink subframes, i=1, 2, . . . , N.

6. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 5, characterized in that The first delay change rate is a delay change rate in a first time period, and the first time period includes any of the following: The time period between the transmission time of the i-th uplink subframe and the transmission time of the l-th uplink subframe; The time period between the transmission time of the i-th uplink subframe and the transmission time of the j-th uplink subframe; The time period between the transmission time of the jth uplink subframe and the transmission time of the lth uplink subframe; The time period corresponding to the ith downlink subframe, the ith uplink subframe, the jth uplink subframe, or the lth uplink subframe; or, a measurement period of a first time difference, wherein the first time difference is determined according to a moment of receiving all or part of the N downlink subframes and a moment of sending all or part of the uplink subframes of the N uplink subframes, wherein the N uplink subframes carry reference signals; Among them, the position of the i-th uplink subframe in the uplink frame is the same as the position of the i-th downlink subframe in the N downlink subframes in the downlink frame, the sending time of the j-th uplink subframe is closest to the receiving time of the i-th downlink subframe in the N downlink subframes, and the l-th uplink subframe carries a reference signal, i=1, 2,…, N, j=1, 2,…, N, l=1, 2,…, N.

7. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 6, characterized in that The sending the first delay change rate to the positioning server includes: When the difference between the delay variation rates corresponding to every two downlink subframes in the N downlink subframes is greater than or equal to a first threshold, the first delay variation rate is sent to the positioning server.

8. The method according to claim 7, characterized in that The method further comprises: The first threshold is received from the second communication device.

9. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 8, characterized in that The method further comprises: A first time difference is sent to the positioning server, where the first time difference includes M time differences, and the i-th time difference among the M time differences is the time difference between the moment of receiving the i-th downlink subframe among the M downlink subframes and the moment of sending the uplink subframe closest to the i-th downlink subframe.

10. The method according to claim 9, characterized in that The sending the first time difference to the positioning server includes: When a difference value of the first time difference corresponding to every two downlink subframes in the N downlink subframes is greater than or equal to a second threshold, the M time differences are sent to the positioning server.

11. The method according to claim 10, characterized in that The method further comprises: The second threshold is received from a second communication device.

12. A communication method, characterized in that: include: Receiving a first delay change rate from a first communication device, where the first delay change rate is a delay change rate corresponding to N downlink subframes, and the first delay change rate is related to M delay change rates corresponding to M downlink subframes in the N downlink subframes, where N is an integer greater than or equal to 2, and M is a positive integer less than or equal to N; Determine the location information of the terminal device according to the first delay change rate.

13. The method according to claim 12, characterized in that The first delay change rate is determined according to M delay change rates corresponding to the time when the M downlink subframes are received.

14. The method according to claim 12 or 13, characterized in that The first delay change rate includes M delay change rates corresponding to the time when the M downlink subframes are received.

15. The method according to any one of claims 12 to 14, characterized in that Before receiving the first delay variation rate from the first communication device, the method further includes: A request message is sent to the first communication device, where the request message is used to request reporting of the first delay change rate, and the request message includes indication information indicating the M downlink subframes.

16. The method according to claim 15, characterized in that The indication information includes a bit map, the bit map includes N bits, the value of the i-th bit in the N bits is 0 or 1, When the value of the i-th bit is 1, the i-th subframe in the N downlink subframes is a downlink subframe in the M downlink subframes; or, When the i-th bit takes a value of 0, the i-th subframe in the N downlink subframes is a downlink subframe in the M downlink subframes, i=1, 2, . . . , N.

17. The method according to any one of claims 12 to 16, characterized in that The first delay change rate is a delay change rate in a first time period, and the first time period includes any of the following: The time period between the transmission time of the i-th uplink subframe and the transmission time of the l-th uplink subframe; The time period between the transmission time of the i-th uplink subframe and the transmission time of the j-th uplink subframe; The time period between the transmission time of the jth uplink subframe and the transmission time of the lth uplink subframe; The time period corresponding to the ith downlink subframe, the ith uplink subframe, the jth uplink subframe, or the lth uplink subframe; or, a measurement period of a first time difference, wherein the first time difference is determined according to a moment of receiving all or part of the N downlink subframes and a moment of sending all or part of the uplink subframes of the N uplink subframes, wherein the N uplink subframes carry reference signals; Among them, the position of the i-th uplink subframe in the uplink frame is the same as the position of the i-th downlink subframe in the N downlink subframes in the downlink frame, the sending time of the j-th uplink subframe is closest to the receiving time of the i-th downlink subframe in the N downlink subframes, and the l-th uplink subframe carries a reference signal, i=1, 2,…, N, j=1, 2,…, N, l=1, 2,…, N.

18. The method according to any one of claims 12 to 17, characterized in that The receiving a first delay variation rate from a first communication device comprises: When the difference between the delay change rates corresponding to every two downlink subframes in the N downlink subframes is greater than or equal to a first threshold, receiving the first delay change rate from the first communication device, M <N。 19. The method according to claim 18, characterized in that The method further comprises: The first threshold is sent to the first communication device.

20. The method according to any one of claims 12 to 19, characterized in that The method further comprises: A first time difference is received from the first communication device, wherein the first time difference includes M time differences, and the i-th time difference among the M time differences is the time difference between the moment of receiving the i-th downlink subframe among the M downlink subframes and the moment of sending the uplink subframe closest to the i-th downlink subframe.

21. The method according to claim 20, characterized in that The receiving a first time difference from the first communication device comprises: When the difference of the first time difference corresponding to every two downlink subframes in the N downlink subframes is greater than or equal to a second threshold, the M time differences are received from the first communication device, M <N。 22. The method according to claim 21, characterized in that The method further comprises: The second threshold is sent to the first communication device.

23. A communication device, characterized in that: Including transceiver unit, The transceiver unit is used to receive N downlink subframes from the second communication device, where N is an integer greater than or equal to 2; The transceiver unit is also used to send a first delay change rate corresponding to the N downlink subframes to the positioning server, where the first delay change rate is related to M delay change rates corresponding to M downlink subframes in the N downlink subframes, and M is a positive integer less than or equal to N.

24. The device according to claim 23, characterized in that The first delay change rate is determined according to M delay change rates corresponding to the time when the M downlink subframes are received.

25. The device according to claim 23 or 24, characterized in that The first delay change rate includes M delay change rates corresponding to the time when the M downlink subframes are received.

26. The device according to any one of claims 23 to 25, characterized in that The transceiver unit is also used for: A request message is received from the second communication device, where the request message is used to request reporting of the first delay change rate, and the request message includes indication information indicating the M downlink subframes.

27. The device according to claim 26, characterized in that The indication information includes a bit map, the bit map includes N bits, the value of the i-th bit in the N bits is 0 or 1, When the value of the i-th bit is 1, the i-th subframe in the N downlink subframes is a downlink subframe in the M downlink subframes; or, When the i-th bit takes a value of 0, the i-th subframe in the N downlink subframes is a downlink subframe in the M downlink subframes, i=1, 2, . . . , N.

28. The device according to any one of claims 23 to 27, characterized in that The first delay change rate is a delay change rate in a first time period, and the first time period includes any of the following: The time period between the transmission time of the i-th uplink subframe and the transmission time of the l-th uplink subframe; The time period between the transmission time of the i-th uplink subframe and the transmission time of the j-th uplink subframe; The time period between the transmission time of the jth uplink subframe and the transmission time of the lth uplink subframe; The time period corresponding to the ith downlink subframe, the ith uplink subframe, the jth uplink subframe, or the lth uplink subframe; or, a measurement period of a first time difference, wherein the first time difference is determined according to a moment of receiving all or part of the N downlink subframes and a moment of sending all or part of the uplink subframes of the N uplink subframes, wherein the N uplink subframes carry reference signals; Among them, the position of the i-th uplink subframe in the uplink frame is the same as the position of the i-th downlink subframe in the N downlink subframes in the downlink frame, the sending time of the j-th uplink subframe is closest to the receiving time of the i-th downlink subframe in the N downlink subframes, and the l-th uplink subframe carries a reference signal, i=1, 2,…, N, j=1, 2,…, N, l=1, 2,…, N.

29. The device according to any one of claims 23 to 28, characterized in that The transceiver unit is specifically used for: When the difference between the delay variation rates corresponding to every two downlink subframes in the N downlink subframes is greater than or equal to a first threshold, the first delay variation rate is sent to the positioning server.

30. The device according to claim 29, characterized in that The transceiver unit is also used for: The first threshold is received from the second communication device.

31. The device according to any one of claims 23 to 30, characterized in that The transceiver unit is also used for: A first time difference is sent to the positioning server, where the first time difference includes M time differences, and the i-th time difference among the M time differences is the time difference between the moment of receiving the i-th downlink subframe among the M downlink subframes and the moment of sending the uplink subframe closest to the i-th downlink subframe.

32. The device according to claim 31, characterized in that The transceiver unit is specifically used for: When a difference value of the first time difference corresponding to every two downlink subframes in the N downlink subframes is greater than or equal to a second threshold, the M time differences are sent to the positioning server.

33. The device according to claim 32, characterized in that The transceiver unit is also used for: The second threshold is received from a second communication device.

34. A communication device, characterized in that: Including transceiver unit and processing unit, The transceiver unit is used to receive a first delay change rate from a first communication device, where the first delay change rate is a delay change rate corresponding to N downlink subframes, and the first delay change rate is related to M delay change rates corresponding to M downlink subframes in the N downlink subframes, where N is an integer greater than or equal to 2, and M is a positive integer less than or equal to N; The processing unit is used to determine the location information of the terminal device according to the first delay change rate.

35. The device according to claim 34, characterized in that The first delay change rate is determined according to M delay change rates corresponding to the time when the M downlink subframes are received.

36. The device according to claim 34 or 35, characterized in that The first delay change rate includes M delay change rates corresponding to the time when the M downlink subframes are received.

37. The device according to any one of claims 34 to 36, characterized in that The transceiver unit is also used for: A request message is sent to the first communication device, where the request message is used to request reporting of the first delay change rate, and the request message includes indication information indicating the M downlink subframes.

38. The device according to claim 37, characterized in that The indication information includes a bit map, the bit map includes N bits, the value of the i-th bit in the N bits is 0 or 1, When the value of the i-th bit is 1, the i-th subframe in the N downlink subframes is a downlink subframe in the M downlink subframes; or, When the i-th bit takes a value of 0, the i-th subframe in the N downlink subframes is a downlink subframe in the M downlink subframes, i=1, 2, . . . , N.

39. The device according to any one of claims 34 to 38, characterized in that The first delay change rate is a delay change rate in a first time period, and the first time period includes any of the following: The time period between the transmission time of the i-th uplink subframe and the transmission time of the l-th uplink subframe; The time period between the transmission time of the i-th uplink subframe and the transmission time of the j-th uplink subframe; The time period between the transmission time of the jth uplink subframe and the transmission time of the lth uplink subframe; The time period corresponding to the ith downlink subframe, the ith uplink subframe, the jth uplink subframe, or the lth uplink subframe; or, a measurement period of a first time difference, wherein the first time difference is determined according to a moment of receiving all or part of the N downlink subframes and a moment of sending all or part of the uplink subframes of the N uplink subframes, wherein the N uplink subframes carry reference signals; Among them, the position of the i-th uplink subframe in the uplink frame is the same as the position of the i-th downlink subframe in the N downlink subframes in the downlink frame, the sending time of the j-th uplink subframe is closest to the receiving time of the i-th downlink subframe in the N downlink subframes, and the l-th uplink subframe carries a reference signal, i=1, 2,…, N, j=1, 2,…, N, l=1, 2,…, N.

40. The device according to any one of claims 34 to 39, characterized in that The transceiver unit is specifically used for: When the difference between the delay change rates corresponding to every two downlink subframes in the N downlink subframes is greater than or equal to a first threshold, receiving the first delay change rate from the first communication device, M <N。 41. The device according to claim 40, characterized in that The transceiver unit is also used for: The first threshold is sent to the first communication device.

42. The device according to any one of claims 34 to 41, characterized in that The transceiver unit is also used for: A first time difference is received from the first communication device, wherein the first time difference includes M time differences, and the i-th time difference among the M time differences is the time difference between the moment of receiving the i-th downlink subframe among the M downlink subframes and the moment of sending the uplink subframe closest to the i-th downlink subframe.

43. The device according to claim 42, characterized in that The transceiver unit is specifically used for: When the difference of the first time difference corresponding to every two downlink subframes in the N downlink subframes is greater than or equal to a second threshold, the M time differences are received from the first communication device, M <N。 44. The device according to claim 43, characterized in that The transceiver unit is also used for: The second threshold is sent to the first communication device.

45. A communication device, characterized in that: The communication device is used to execute the method according to any one of claims 1 to 11, or to execute the method according to any one of claims 12 to 22.

46. ​​A communication device, characterized in that: The communication device comprises: A processor and a memory, the memory being used to store a computer program, the processor being used to execute the computer program stored in the memory, so that the communication device executes the method according to any one of claims 1 to 11, or the method according to any one of claims 12 to 22.

47. A computer-readable storage medium, characterized in that The computer-readable storage medium stores a computer program, and when the computer program is executed on a computer, the computer is caused to execute the method according to any one of claims 1 to 11, or the method according to any one of claims 12 to 22.

48. A computer program product, characterized in that The computer program product comprises a computer program, and when the computer program is run on a computer, the computer is caused to perform the method according to any one of claims 1 to 11 or the method according to any one of claims 12 to 22.

49. A chip system, characterized in that: include: A processor, configured to call and run a computer program from a memory so that a communication device equipped with the chip system executes a method as described in any one of claims 1 to 11, or a method as described in any one of claims 12 to 22.

50. A communication system, characterized in that: include: A first communication device and a positioning server, wherein the first communication device is used to execute the method according to any one of claims 1 to 11, and the positioning server is used to execute the method according to any one of claims 12 to 22.

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