Positioning method and communication apparatus

Abstract

The present application provides a positioning method and a communication apparatus. The positioning method comprises: a terminal measuring a time of arrival (TOA) of a first signal, wherein the first signal comprises a plurality of SSBs, and the plurality of SSBs occupy the same time domain resource but occupy different frequency domain resources; and determining location information of the terminal on the basis of the TOA of the first signal. By means of the positioning method, the initial access performance of terminals can be improved.

Description

Positioning method and communication device

[0001] This application claims priority from the Chinese patent application No. 202411261181.3 filed on September 9, 2024, and entitled "Positioning method and communication device", the content of which is incorporated herein by reference in its entirety. TECHNICAL FIELD

[0002] Embodiments of the present application relate to the field of communication, and in particular to a positioning method and a communication device. BACKGROUND

[0003] When a terminal initially accesses a network, a time advance needs to be obtained to realize uplink synchronization between the terminal and the network side. The time advance can be considered as a time in advance of the terminal sending an uplink signal.

[0004] The terminal can determine the time advance according to its own position information and the position information of a satellite. For the position information of the terminal in the initial access stage, in an implementation manner, the terminal can obtain the position information of the terminal based on a synchronization signal block (SSB).

[0005] However, the position information of the terminal obtained by the terminal based on the SSB is not accurate, so that the time advance determined by the terminal is not accurate, which affects the initial access performance of the terminal. SUMMARY

[0006] The present application provides a positioning method and a communication device to improve the initial access performance of the terminal.

[0007] In a first aspect, the present application provides a positioning method, which can be executed by a terminal, or can be executed by a component (such as a chip, a chip system, etc.) configured in the terminal, or can be a logic module or software capable of realizing all or part of the terminal function, and the present application does not limit this.

[0008] The method comprises: measuring a time of arrival (TOA) of a first signal, the first signal comprising a plurality of SSBs, the plurality of SSBs occupying the same time domain resource but occupying different frequency domain resources; and determining position information of the terminal according to the TOA of the first signal.

[0009] In the technical solution, the first signal comprises a plurality of SSBs, and the plurality of SSBs occupy the same time domain resource but occupy different frequency domain resources. That is, in the technical solution, the network side simultaneously sends a plurality of SSBs in the frequency domain.

[0010] By the technical solution, the TOA of the first signal measured by the terminal is related to the frequency domain distance between the first subcarrier in the subcarriers occupied by the starting SSB in the plurality of SSBs and the last subcarrier in the subcarriers occupied by the terminal SSB in the plurality of SSBs, compared with a single SSB, the bandwidth of the signal when measuring the TOA is improved, and therefore the accuracy of the determined position information of the terminal can be improved, so that the accuracy of the TA determined by the terminal can be improved, and the initial access performance of the terminal is further improved.

[0011] Optionally, the method further includes: receiving first information, the first information being used to indicate the number of SSBs included in the first signal.

[0012] With reference to the first aspect, in a possible implementation manner, intervals between the frequency domain resources occupied by the plurality of SSBs are the same.

[0013] The interval is also referred to as a frequency domain interval or a frequency domain offset.

[0014] That is, the frequency domain resources occupied by the plurality of SSBs transmitted by the network device are equally spaced. It can also be understood that the plurality of SSBs transmitted by the network device are equally spaced in the frequency domain; or it can also be understood that the plurality of SSBs transmitted by the network device are uniformly distributed in the frequency domain.

[0015] With reference to the first aspect, in a possible implementation manner, the method further includes: receiving second information, the second information being used to indicate the intervals between the frequency domain resources occupied by the plurality of SSBs.

[0016] In this way, after the terminal searches for the first SSB in the plurality of SSBs, the terminal can determine the positions of the frequency domain resources occupied by the remaining SSBs in the plurality of SSBs based on the second information, the time for the terminal to search for the plurality of SSBs can be reduced, and the efficiency of the terminal to determine the position information of the terminal based on the plurality of SSBs is improved.

[0017] With reference to the first aspect, in a possible implementation manner, the intervals between the frequency domain resources occupied by the plurality of SSBs are partially different or totally different.

[0018] That is, the frequency domain resources occupied by the plurality of SSBs transmitted by the network device are non-equally spaced. It can also be understood that the plurality of SSBs transmitted by the network device are non-equally spaced in the frequency domain; or it can also be understood that the plurality of SSBs transmitted by the network device are non-uniformly distributed in the frequency domain.

[0019] In combination with the first aspect, the first signal includes two SSBs, and a bandwidth between a first subcarrier occupied by a starting SSB in the two SSBs and a last subcarrier occupied by a terminal SSB in the two SSBs is a first bandwidth; and when a terminal is positioned based on a TOA obtained by measuring a signal of the first bandwidth by the terminal, a positioning accuracy requirement is met.

[0020] By the technical solution, the accuracy of the determined position information of the terminal can be improved, and the network side can save the cost of sending SSBs.

[0021] In the second aspect, the present application provides a positioning method, which can be executed by a network device, or can be executed by a component (such as a chip, a chip system, etc.) configured in the network device, or can be a logic module or software capable of realizing all or part of the functions of the network device, and the present application does not limit this.

[0022] The method includes: sending a first signal, the first signal including a plurality of SSBs, the plurality of SSBs occupying the same time domain resources but occupying different frequency domain resources.

[0023] The number of the plurality of SSBs included in the first signal is determined based on a positioning accuracy requirement.

[0024] In combination with the second aspect, in a possible implementation manner, the method further includes: sending first information, the first information being used to indicate the number of SSBs included in the first signal.

[0025] In combination with the second aspect, in a possible implementation manner, intervals between the frequency domain resources occupied by the plurality of SSBs are the same.

[0026] In combination with the second aspect, in a possible implementation manner, the method further includes: sending second information, the second information being used to indicate the intervals between the frequency domain resources occupied by the plurality of SSBs.

[0027] In combination with the second aspect, in a possible implementation manner, the intervals between the frequency domain resources occupied by the plurality of SSBs are partially different or totally different.

[0028] In combination with the second aspect, in a possible implementation manner, the first signal includes two SSBs, and a bandwidth between a first subcarrier occupied by a starting SSB in the two SSBs and a last subcarrier occupied by a terminal SSB in the two SSBs is a first bandwidth; and when a terminal is positioned based on a TOA obtained by measuring a signal of the first bandwidth by the terminal, a positioning accuracy requirement is met.

[0029] In a third aspect, an apparatus is provided, which includes modules or units for implementing the method in the first aspect and any possible implementation of the first aspect. It should be understood that each module or unit can realize the corresponding function by executing a computer program.

[0030] In a fourth aspect, an apparatus is provided, which includes modules or units for implementing the method in the second aspect and any possible implementation of the second aspect. It should be understood that each module or unit can realize the corresponding function by executing a computer program.

[0031] In a fifth aspect, an apparatus is provided, which includes a processor and a storage medium storing instructions that, when executed by the processor, cause the method in the first aspect or any possible implementation of the first aspect to be implemented, or cause the method in the second aspect or any possible implementation of the second aspect to be implemented.

[0032] In a sixth aspect, an apparatus is provided, which includes processing circuitry for processing data and / or information, so as to cause the method in the first aspect or any possible implementation of the first aspect to be implemented, or cause the method in the second aspect or any possible implementation of the second aspect to be implemented.

[0033] The processing circuitry can include one or more processors, or all or part of circuitry for controlling or processing functions in the one or more processors.

[0034] Optionally, the apparatus can further include a memory for storing programs or instructions, and the processor is configured to execute the programs or instructions, so as to cause the method in the first aspect or any possible implementation of the first aspect to be implemented, or cause the method in the second aspect or any possible implementation of the second aspect to be implemented.

[0035] Optionally, the apparatus can further include the transceiver circuitry, or an input / output interface.

[0036] In a seventh aspect, a chip is provided, which includes processing circuitry for executing programs or instructions, so as to cause the method in the first aspect or any possible implementation of the first aspect to be implemented, or cause the method in the second aspect or any possible implementation of the second aspect to be implemented.

[0037] Optionally, the chip can further include a memory for storing programs or instructions.

[0038] Optionally, the chip can further include the transceiver circuitry, or an input / output interface.

[0039] In an eighth aspect, there is provided an apparatus comprising one or more processors and communication circuitry configured to enable the apparatus to at least one of transmit or receive signals; and the one or more processors configured to implement a method as described in the first aspect or in any possible implementation of the first aspect or to implement a method as described in the second aspect or in any possible implementation of the second aspect.

[0040] In a ninth aspect, there is provided a computer-readable storage medium comprising instructions that, when executed by a processor, cause a method as described in the first aspect or in any possible implementation of the first aspect or a method as described in the second aspect or in any possible implementation of the second aspect to be implemented.

[0041] In a tenth aspect, there is provided a computer program product comprising computer program code or instructions, which, when executed by a processor, cause a method as described in the first aspect or in any possible implementation of the first aspect or a method as described in the second aspect or in any possible implementation of the second aspect to be implemented. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS

[0042] FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram of several scenarios in which the technical solution of the present application can be applied;

[0043] FIG. 2 is a schematic diagram of signals used when a terminal is positioned based on SSB and PRACH;

[0044] FIG. 3 is a schematic diagram of signals used when a terminal is positioned based on SSB;

[0045] FIG. 4 is a flowchart of a positioning method according to an embodiment of the present application;

[0046] FIG. 5 is a schematic diagram of SSB0-SSBN being uniformly distributed according to an embodiment of the present application;

[0047] FIG. 6 is a schematic diagram of four SSBs being non-uniformly distributed according to an embodiment of the present application;

[0048] FIG. 7 is a schematic diagram of the distribution of two SSBs according to an embodiment of the present application;

[0049] FIG. 8 is a schematic diagram of the structure of a communication apparatus according to an embodiment of the present application;

[0050] FIG. 9 is a schematic diagram of the structure of a communication apparatus according to another embodiment of the present application. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0051] For the convenience of understanding the embodiments of the present application, the terms related to the embodiments of the present application are briefly introduced below. It should be understood that this part is only for the convenience of understanding and cannot be regarded as a specific limitation of the present application.

[0052] I. Positioning technology

[0053] More than 80% of the information in daily life belongs to relevant information with spatial location characteristics, and the demand for quickly and accurately obtaining the position information of the terminal and providing location services becomes increasingly urgent.

[0054] At present, there are various methods in ground network positioning. By measuring some parameters of wireless signals, the parameters generally include transmission time, signal strength, angle of arrival, angle of departure, etc. of wireless signals, and then according to specific positioning technology, the position of the terminal is determined, such as uplink time difference of arrival (UL-TDOA) positioning, downlink time difference of arrival (DL-TDOA) positioning, positioning based on signal strength, uplink angle of arrival (UL-AOA), downlink angle of arrival (DL-AOA), multi-cell round trip time (RTT) positioning technology, etc.

[0055] For example, in an example, the terminal is positioned by multi-cell round trip time (RTT). Among them, the multi-cell RTT mainly estimates the RTT between the terminal and multiple base stations according to the time difference of the transmitted signal and the received signal, and through the known base station position and multiple RTTs, the positioning of the terminal can be realized.

[0056] II. Ephemeris information

[0057] The ephemeris information is the motion law information of the satellite, for example, includes the orbit parameters, angular velocity, velocity and other information of the satellite, and the communication device can calculate the position of the satellite on the orbit at each moment based on the information. The ephemeris information can be expressed as a simple correspondence, for example, the satellite position information corresponding to each moment / time period. The ephemeris information can also be expressed as a satellite coverage map, for example, satellite coverage availability information, the satellite coverage map can divide the earth's surface into a plurality of grid points, and show the grid points covered and not covered by the satellite at each moment. For example, the running period of the satellite around the earth is one hour, and the accuracy is minute. Each minute corresponds to a satellite coverage map of the satellite, some grid points in the map are bright and some are dark, and the bright grid points represent the grid points covered by the satellite at the corresponding moment in each period.

[0058] It is explained herein that the ephemeris information involved in the present application includes but is not limited to traditional ephemeris information, satellite map information and deployment information of the gateway station. Among them, the traditional ephemeris information includes but is not limited to orbit parameters, or parameters such as the position of the satellite calculated based on the orbit parameters, and it can be understood that the traditional ephemeris information can be used to calculate, predict, depict or track the time, position, velocity and other states of the satellite flight. Exemplarily, the traditional ephemeris information can be 17 bytes of information to represent the position (78 bits) and velocity (54 bits), or the traditional ephemeris information can be 18 bytes of information to represent the orbit parameters (such as semi-major axis, range, eccentricity, perigee angular distance and other parameters). The satellite map information can be the range covered by the satellite on the map at each moment. The specific form, content and name of the ephemeris information in the present application are not limited, and the definition of the ephemeris information in the existing protocol can be referred to. For example, the ephemeris information in the present application can also be referred to as satellite coverage information (satellite coverage availability information).

[0059] III. SSB

[0060] The SSB can also be referred to as a synchronization signal and PBCH block. The SSB is composed of three parts, a primary synchronization signal (PSS), a secondary synchronization signal (SSS), and a physical broadcasting channel block (PBCH), and can be used for downlink synchronization.

[0061] One function of the SSB is cell access: receiving master information block (MIB) information through the SSB, and obtaining system information block (SIB) 1 associated with the SSB to access the cell.

[0062] Four, SSB burst set

[0063] One SSB burst set represents a set of one or more SSBs, and the SSB burst set is also referred to as an SSB Burst. One SSB burst set is located in the first half frame or the second half frame of one radio frame, and the period of the SSB can also be considered as the period of the SSB burst set. The maximum number of SSBs included in one SSB burst set Lmax represents the number of SSBs that the network device can send in one SSB burst set, and the actual number of SSBs sent in one SSB burst set is less than or equal to Lmax. Lmax is related to the frequency range.

[0064] To facilitate understanding of the communication method provided by the embodiments of the present application, first, the system architecture to which the embodiments of the present application can be applied is introduced. It should be noted that the system architecture described in the embodiments of the present application is to more clearly illustrate the technical solutions of the embodiments of the present application, and does not constitute a limitation on the technical solutions provided by the embodiments of the present application. Those skilled in the art can know that, with the evolution of network architecture and the appearance of new business scenarios, the technical solutions provided by the embodiments of the present application are also applicable to similar technical problems.

[0065] With the development of information technology, modern communication systems have more urgent requirements for efficient, mobile, and diverse communication. At present, in some important application scenarios such as space communication, aviation communication, maritime communication, and military communication, non-terrestrial networks (NTN) represented by satellites, unmanned aerial vehicles, and high-altitude platforms play an irreplaceable role. For the sake of convenience, the non-terrestrial device represented by the satellite will be taken as an example in the following description.

[0066] Satellite and other non-terrestrial communication has its unique characteristics compared with terrestrial communication. For example, by introducing satellite communication into the 5th generation (5G) mobile communication system: 1) it can provide communication services for some areas that cannot be covered by terrestrial communication networks such as oceans and forests; 2) it can enhance the reliability of 5G communication, for example, to ensure that airplanes, trains, and users on these vehicles can obtain better communication services; 3) it can provide more data transmission resources for 5G communication and improve the network rate. Therefore, supporting communication between terrestrial and satellite and other non-terrestrial base stations at the same time is an inevitable trend for future 5G communication, which has great benefits in terms of wide coverage, reliability, multi-connection, high throughput, and the like.

[0067] For example, FIG. 1 is several schematic diagrams of system architectures to which the present application can be applied.

[0068] As shown in the system architecture of (a) in FIG. 1, the terminal communicates with the terrestrial base station through the user-universal terrestrial radio access network (Uu) interface, and the satellite can realize transparent load transmission between the user and the terrestrial base station. The satellite and the NTN gateway can be considered as a remote radio unit (RRU) of the ground base station, realizing transparent forwarding of signals, i.e., the satellite only supports functions such as radio frequency filtering, frequency conversion, and amplification, and the signal waveform does not change. The ground base station and the core network can communicate with each other through the next generation (NG) interface, and interact with the core network non-access stratum (NAS) signaling and service data of the terminal device, and the like.

[0069] As shown in the system architecture of (b) in FIG. 1, the satellite has part or all of the functions of the access network device, which can be called a satellite base station, and can provide wireless access services and schedule wireless resources for terminal devices accessing the network through the satellite base station. The satellite base station communicates with the terminal device through the Uu interface. The satellite base station and the core network can communicate with each other through the NG interface, and the satellite base station and the core network can interact with each other through the NG interface, NAS signaling, and service data of the terminal device. The satellite radio interface (SRI) interface is a feeder link between the NTN gateway and the satellite, and the SRI interface can be used as part of the NG interface to realize communication interaction between the satellite and the core network.

[0070] As shown in (c) of FIG. 1, compared with (b) of FIG. 1, a communication scenario between satellite base stations is added, specifically, the satellite base stations can communicate through an Xn interface.

[0071] The following describes each interface in FIG. 1:

[0072] Air interface: represents a wireless link between a terminal and a base station.

[0073] Xn interface: represents an interface between base stations, mainly used for signaling interaction such as handover.

[0074] NG interface: represents an interface between a base station and a core network, mainly used for interaction of NAS signaling of the core network and service data of a user.

[0075] In the technical solution provided in the present application, two execution subjects, a terminal and a network device, are mainly involved, and the following describes the terminal and the network device:

[0076] Terminal: can be a device providing voice / data, for example, a handheld device with wireless connection function, a vehicle-mounted device, etc. At present, some examples of the terminal are: a mobile phone, a tablet computer, a notebook computer, a palm computer, a mobile internet device (MID), a wearable device, a virtual reality (VR) device, an augmented reality (AR) device, a wireless terminal in industrial control, a wireless terminal in self-driving, a wireless terminal in remote medical surgery, a wireless terminal in smart grid, a wireless terminal in transportation safety, a wireless terminal in smart city, a wireless terminal in smart home, a cellular phone, a cordless phone, a session initiation protocol (SIP) phone, a wireless local loop (WLL) station, a personal digital assistant (PDA), a handheld device with wireless communication function, a computing device or other processing device connected to a wireless modem, a wearable device, a terminal device in a 5G network, or a terminal device in a future evolved public land mobile network (PLMN), etc., and the present application embodiment is not limited thereto.

[0077] By way of example and not limitation, in embodiments of the present application, the terminal can also be a wearable device. The wearable device can also be referred to as a wearable smart device, which is a general term for devices that are designed and developed by applying wearable technology to daily wear, such as glasses, gloves, watches, clothing, and shoes. The wearable device is a portable device that is directly worn on the body or integrated into the clothes or accessories of the user. The wearable device is not only a hardware device, but also has strong functions through software support and data interaction and cloud interaction. The general wearable smart device includes a full function, a large size, and can realize complete or partial functions without relying on a smart phone, such as a smart watch or smart glasses, and focuses on a certain type of application function and needs to be used in cooperation with other devices, such as a smart phone, such as various types of smart wristbands, smart jewelry, and the like.

[0078] In embodiments of the present application, the device for implementing the function of the terminal can be a terminal, or a device capable of supporting the terminal to implement the function, such as a chip system, which can be installed in the terminal or used in matching with the terminal. In embodiments of the present application, the chip system can be composed of a chip, or can include a chip and other discrete devices. In embodiments of the present application, only the device for implementing the function of the terminal is taken as an example for description, and the present application is not limited to the scheme.

[0079] Network device: can be a device for communicating with a terminal device, which can also be referred to as an access network device or a radio access network device, such as a network device can be a base station. The network device in the embodiments of the present application can refer to a radio access network (RAN) node (or device) that accesses a terminal device to a wireless network. The base station can broadly cover various names in the following or be replaced by the following names, such as: Node B (NodeB), evolved Node B (eNB), next generation Node B (gNB), relay station, access point, transmitting and receiving point (TRP), transmitting point (TP), primary station, secondary station, multi-standard radio (MSR) node, home base station, network controller, access node, wireless node, access point (AP), transmission node, transceiver node, baseband unit (BBU), remote radio unit (RRU), active antenna unit (AAU), remote radio head (RRH), central unit (CU), distributed unit (DU), radio unit (RU), positioning node, etc. The base station can be a macro base station, a micro base station, a relay node, a donor node or the like, or a combination thereof. The base station can also refer to a communication module, modem or chip used in the foregoing devices or apparatus. The base station can also be a mobile switching center and a device that performs the function of a base station in D2D, V2X, M2M communication, a network side device in 6G network, a device that performs the function of a base station in future communication systems, etc. The base station can support networks of the same or different access technologies. Optionally, the RAN node can also be a server, a wearable device, a vehicle or a vehicle-mounted device, etc. For example, the access network device in vehicle to everything (V2X) technology can be a road side unit (RSU). The embodiments of the present application do not limit the specific technology and specific device form adopted by the network device.In some deployments, the network device mentioned in embodiments of the present application can be a device including a CU, or a DU, or a device including a CU and a DU, or a control plane CU node (central unit-control plane, CU-CP) and a user plane CU node (central unit-user plane, CU-UP), and a DU node. For example, the network device can include a gNB-CU-CP, a gNB-CU-UP, and a gNB-DU.

[0080] In another possible scenario, multiple RAN nodes cooperate to assist a terminal to implement wireless access, and different RAN nodes respectively implement part of the functions of a base station. For example, the RAN node can be a CU, a DU, a CU-CP, a CU-UP, or an RU, etc. The CU and the DU can be separately arranged, or can be included in the same network element, such as a BBU. The RU can be included in a radio frequency device or a radio frequency unit, such as an RRU, an AAU, or an RRH.

[0081] In different systems, the CU (or CU-CP and CU-UP), DU, or RU can also have different names, but those skilled in the art can understand their meanings. For example, in an ORAN system, the CU can also be referred to as an O-CU (open CU), the DU can also be referred to as an O-DU, the CU-CP can also be referred to as an O-CU-CP, the CU-UP can also be referred to as an O-CU-UP, and the RU can also be referred to as an O-RU. Any of the CU (or CU-CP, CU-UP), DU, and RU in the present application can be implemented by a software module, a hardware module, or a combination of a software module and a hardware module.

[0082] In embodiments of the present application, the apparatus for implementing the function of the network device can be a network device; or can be an apparatus capable of supporting the network device to implement the function, such as a chip system, a hardware circuit, a software module, or a hardware circuit plus a software module. The apparatus can be installed in the network device or used in combination with the network device. In embodiments of the present application, only the apparatus for implementing the function of the network device is taken as an example for illustration, and the scheme of embodiments of the present application is not limited.

[0083] The terminal and / or network device can be deployed on land, including indoors or outdoors, handheld or vehicle-mounted; can also be deployed on water; and can also be deployed on airplanes, balloons and satellites in the air. The scene in which the terminal and network device are located is not limited in the embodiments of the present application. In addition, the terminal device and network device can be hardware devices, or software functions running on special hardware, software functions running on general hardware, such as virtualized functions instantiated on a platform (for example, a cloud platform), or entities including special or general hardware devices and software functions. The specific form of the terminal device and network device is not limited in the present application.

[0084] When the terminal initially accesses the network, the terminal needs to perform a cell search and selection process and a random access process. Without these two processes, the terminal cannot access the network and cannot communicate.

[0085] In the process of the terminal initially accessing the network, the terminal needs to obtain a time advance to achieve uplink synchronization between the terminal and the network side. The time advance can be considered as the time in advance of the terminal sending an uplink signal.

[0086] In a satellite communication scenario, the terminal can obtain the time advance through its own position information and satellite position information. The satellite position information can be obtained through ephemeris information.

[0087] It can be seen that the position information of the terminal is an important factor affecting the accuracy of the time advance, that is, a key factor affecting the access performance.

[0088] Next, two implementation manners of obtaining the position information of the terminal are introduced.

[0089] I. Positioning the terminal based on a global navigation satellite system (GNSS) to obtain the position information of the terminal

[0090] The GNSS is a system that uses satellite technology to provide positioning, navigation and timing services for global users, and can provide three-dimensional coordinates and speed and time information for users at any location on the earth's surface or near space. The GNSS constellation is composed of three parts: a space segment, a control segment and a user segment. The space segment is composed of satellites or spacecraft, which can provide various information required for positioning, including ephemeris (satellite orbit parameters and other information), transmission of ranging signals, etc.; the control segment refers to ground monitoring stations and master control centers, which mainly calculate the ephemeris of the satellite and the modification parameters of the satellite clock according to the monitored GNSS observation data, and feed back to the satellite, and can control and issue instructions to the satellite, etc.; the user segment refers to the GNSS receiver, which can obtain its own position and time information by receiving satellite signals and performing calculation.

[0091] The basic principle of GNSS positioning is based on distance measurement: the terminal determines the distance between the satellite and the terminal, and then determines the position information of the terminal itself based on the distance.

[0092] To determine the distance between the satellite and the terminal by the terminal, one implementation is that the terminal receives the signal transmitted by the satellite and records the current time of the terminal at the same time, the satellite transmission time is known, so the time of signal propagation in space can be obtained, considering the propagation speed of light, the distance between the satellite and the terminal can be measured, because there is an error, the measured distance is not the true distance, so it is called pseudo-range.

[0093] Another implementation for the terminal to determine the distance between the satellite and the terminal is carrier phase ranging: carrier phase ranging is not based on the time of signal space propagation to complete the measurement, but uses the periodicity of the phase of electromagnetic waves to complete the measurement; since the GNSS signal is an electromagnetic wave, the phase has periodicity, so the true phase should be X integer cycles + a non-integer cycle phase, the non-integer cycle part can be accurately obtained by phase-locked loop and other methods, while the integer cycle part X is uncertain and needs to be determined by auxiliary information.

[0094] After the terminal determines the above distance, the position information of the terminal can be determined by combining the satellite position and using methods such as least squares or extended Kalman filtering.

[0095] II. Positioning the terminal based on SSB to obtain the position information of the terminal

[0096] When the terminal is turned on, the first signal received is SSB, which includes PSS, SSS and PBCH from the cell, so in the initial access stage of the terminal, SSB can be used for positioning to obtain the position information of the terminal.

[0097] Next, two implementation manners of terminal positioning by SSB are introduced:

[0098] The first implementation manner is to realize the positioning of the terminal based on RTT.

[0099] Referring to FIG. 2, when the satellite moves to different positions, the terminal measures the transmission-reception time difference (i.e. time interval) between the time of arrival (TOA) of SSB and the transmission time of PRACH, and the satellite measures the transmission-reception time difference between the transmission time of SSB and the time of arrival of PRACH, i.e. a group of RTT, which can be considered as multiple base stations at different positions, by determining multiple groups of RTT and combining the positions of the satellites at different times obtained from the ephemeris information, the position information of the terminal can be determined.

[0100] The second implementation manner is to position the terminal based on DL-TDOA.

[0101] Considering the fast movement of the satellite, as shown in FIG. 3, the satellite sends different SSBs at different positions, and the terminal can calculate the time difference of arrival of the SSBs sent by the satellite at different satellite positions at the terminal side, and then use the DL-TDOA algorithm for positioning to obtain the position information of the terminal. For example, taking FIG. 3 as an example, the terminal can obtain the time difference of arrival 1 by measuring the time of arrival of SSB1 and the time of arrival of SSB2, and obtain the time difference of arrival 2 by measuring the time of arrival of SSB3 and the time of arrival of SSB2, and then the positions of the satellite at different times, based on the DL-TDOA algorithm for positioning.

[0102] However, it is found through analysis that there are two main shortcomings in the above-mentioned positioning of the terminal based on GNSS to obtain the position information of the terminal. On the one hand: GNSS positioning involves signal measurement and calculation of multiple high-orbit satellites; if carrier phase ranging is used, the signal needs to be continuously tracked, which is costly; and in the "cold start" scenario, the terminal needs to access GNSS for minutes. Considering these inherent characteristics of GNSS, the terminal side takes a long time from the start of the request to the last acquisition of its own position, which can cause the terminal position to be outdated and the positioning to be inaccurate. Further, it can cause the terminal side to calculate inaccurate TA for sending PRACH, which finally affects the performance of initial access. On the other hand: considering the NTN network service scenario that does not rely on GNSS positioning, the satellite itself provides services, so it is necessary to consider only relying on the NTN network capability to realize terminal positioning and provide the position information of the terminal.

[0103] As for the implementation of the terminal positioning by SSB, the positioning distance accuracy of TOA satisfies the following formula (I):

[0104] Wherein, SNR represents the signal-to-noise ratio, c represents the speed of light, and B represents the bandwidth of the signal.

[0105] As can be seen from the above formula, the positioning distance accuracy of TOA is inversely proportional to the bandwidth B. In theory, the positioning accuracy can be improved by increasing the bandwidth of the positioning signal.

[0106] However, in the NTN system, the bandwidth allocated for the SSB for initial access is relatively small, so there is a problem of inaccurate positioning of the terminal by SSB, which further causes the TA determined by the terminal to be inaccurate, thereby affecting the performance of the initial access of the terminal.

[0107] For example, the subcarrier spacing of the SSB is 15 kHz, and the allocation of the frequency domain resource is 20 RBs. In this case, the transmission bandwidth of the SSB is 3.6 MB, and the SNR (signal-to-noise ratio) of the link is 2 dB. According to the above formula, the theoretical distance measurement accuracy based on the TOA is 23 m. In some scenarios, the positioning accuracy cannot meet the requirements of some services.

[0108] Therefore, the present application provides a positioning method and a communication device to improve the positioning accuracy when positioning a terminal through an SSB, thereby improving the accuracy of the TA determined by the terminal and improving the initial access performance of the terminal.

[0109] Next, the communication method provided by the embodiments of the present application will be described in conjunction with the accompanying drawings.

[0110] FIG. 4 is a schematic flowchart of a communication method 400 provided by an embodiment of the present application. FIG. 4 only describes the method from the perspective of the interaction between a network device and a terminal and should not constitute any limitation on the embodiments of the present application. The network device in FIG. 4 can be replaced by a component (such as a chip, a chip system, a processor, etc.) configured in the network device, or a logic module or software capable of realizing all or part of the functions of the network device; the terminal in FIG. 4 can be replaced by a component (such as a chip, a chip system, a processor, etc.) configured in the terminal, or a logic module or software capable of realizing all or part of the functions of the terminal.

[0111] As shown in FIG. 4, the method 400 includes the following steps.

[0112] S410, the network device sends a first signal, the first signal including a plurality of SSBs, the plurality of SSBs occupying the same time domain resource but occupying different frequency domain resources; correspondingly, the terminal receives the first signal.

[0113] For example, in the scenario where the satellite is a transmissive satellite, the network device can be a base station.

[0114] For example, in the scenario where the satellite is a regenerative satellite, the network device can be a satellite.

[0115] Specifically, in the present application, the network device sends a first signal including a plurality of SSBs to the terminal. Understandably, the network device sending the first signal to the terminal can also be interpreted as the network device sending a plurality of SSBs to the terminal or the network device broadcasting a plurality of SSBs to the terminal.

[0116] Specifically, in the present application, the plurality of SSBs occupy the same time domain resource but occupy different frequency domain resources. That is, in the present application, the network device sends a plurality of SSBs on different frequency domain positions in the same time domain position.

[0117] Optionally, the method 400 further includes S430: the network device terminal indicates the number of SSBs included in the first signal. The information used to indicate the number of SSBs included in the first signal is referred to as first information, that is, the network device can indicate the number of broadcast SSBs to the terminal through the first information.

[0118] In an implementation manner, the network device can determine the number of SSBs included in the first signal and send the multiple SSBs according to the positioning accuracy of the service or scene and the SNR of a certain link obtained in combination with the ephemeris information.

[0119] For example, after the network device determines the positioning accuracy and obtains the SNR of the worst link, the bandwidth of the signal required to meet the positioning accuracy is determined based on the formula (I) in the foregoing, and then the number of SSBs included in the first signal is determined based on the bandwidth and the multiple SSBs are sent. That is, the network device determines the bandwidth required to meet the positioning requirement based on the positioning accuracy requirement and the worst link SNR, and then determines the number of SSBs in the initial access stage.

[0120] It is explained herein that the network device sending multiple SSBs and the terminal receiving the multiple SSBs in the present application can have different implementation manners. Two implementation manners are explained as follows:

[0121] Optionally, the first implementation manner: the intervals between the frequency domain resources occupied by the multiple SSBs are the same, and the interval is also referred to as a frequency domain interval or a frequency domain offset.

[0122] That is, when the network device sends the multiple SSBs, the frequency domain resources occupied by the multiple SSBs are equally spaced. That is, it can be explained that the network device sends multiple SSBs equally spaced in the frequency domain; or it can also be explained that the multiple SSBs sent by the network device are uniformly distributed in the frequency domain resources.

[0123] For example, referring to FIG. 5, the multiple SSBs are SSB0-SSBN, the multiple SSBs occupy the same time domain resources, each SSB in the multiple SSBs occupies 20 RBs, and the multiple SSBs are equally spaced in the frequency domain, that is, the frequency domain intervals between the frequency domain resources occupied by the multiple SSBs are equal.

[0124] It is explained herein that the present embodiment does not limit the manner of defining the frequency domain intervals between the frequency domain resources occupied by the multiple SSBs.

[0125] For example, in an implementation, the frequency domain interval can be an interval between subcarriers at starting positions of frequency domain resources occupied by two consecutive SSBs respectively. For example, taking SSB0 and SSB1 in FIG. 5 as an example, the frequency domain resources occupied by SSB0 are RB0-RB19, and the frequency domain resources occupied by SSB1 are RB272-RB291. The interval between the frequency domain resources occupied by SSB0 and SSB1 in the frequency domain is an interval between subcarriers at starting positions of RB0-RB19 and subcarriers at starting positions of RB272-RB291.

[0126] For example, in an implementation, the frequency domain interval can be an interval between subcarriers at ending positions of frequency domain resources occupied by two consecutive SSBs respectively. For example, taking SSB0 and SSB1 in FIG. 5 as an example, the frequency domain resources occupied by SSB0 are RB0-RB19, and the frequency domain resources occupied by SSB1 are RB272-RB291. The interval between the frequency domain resources occupied by SSB0 and SSB1 in the frequency domain is an interval between subcarriers at middle positions of RB0-RB19 and subcarriers at middle positions of RB272-RB291.

[0127] For example, in an implementation, the frequency domain interval can be an interval between subcarriers at middle positions of frequency domain resources occupied by two consecutive SSBs respectively. For example, taking SSB0 and SSB1 in FIG. 5 as an example, the frequency domain resources occupied by SSB0 are RB0-RB19, and the frequency domain resources occupied by SSB1 are RB272-RB291. The interval between the frequency domain resources occupied by SSB0 and SSB1 in the frequency domain is an interval between subcarriers at ending positions of RB0-RB19 and subcarriers at ending positions of RB272-RB291.

[0128] Optionally, in the first implementation, the network device sends second information to the terminal, and the second information is used to indicate intervals between frequency domain resources occupied by the plurality of SSBs. Correspondingly, for the terminal device, the terminal device determines positions of remaining SSBs in the plurality of SSBs based on the frequency domain intervals indicated by the second information after searching for the first SSB, so as to receive the plurality of SSBs. For example, the terminal can search for the first SSB according to a plurality of Sync-Raster indications. The related meanings of the Sync-Raster indications can be referred to the description in the related art, which is not described herein. It can be understood that in this way, the SSBs can be flexible in the frequency domain, the signal transceiving design has better redundancy, and in addition, the time for the terminal to search for the plurality of SSBs can be reduced, and the efficiency for the terminal to determine the position information of the terminal based on the plurality of SSBs is improved.

[0129] Optionally, in the second implementation, the intervals between the frequency domain resources occupied by the plurality of SSBs are partially different or totally different.

[0130] That is, the frequency domain resources occupied by the plurality of SSBs transmitted by the network device are non-equidistant. It can also be understood that the plurality of SSBs transmitted by the network device are non-equidistantly placed in the frequency domain; or it can also be understood that the plurality of SSBs transmitted by the network device are non-uniformly distributed in the frequency domain.

[0131] For example, referring to FIG. 6, there are a total of 4 SSBs, the 4 SSBs occupy the same time domain resources, each of the 4 SSBs occupies 20 RBs, SSB0 occupies the frequency domain resources of RB0-RB19, SSB1 occupies the frequency domain resources of RB252-RB271, SSB2 occupies the frequency domain resources of RB444-RB463, and SSB3 occupies the frequency domain resources of RB616-RB635. It can be seen that the 4 SSBs are non-equidistantly placed in the frequency domain, that is, the frequency domain intervals between the frequency domain resources occupied by each SSB are non-uniform. Similarly, the implementation manner of how to define the intervals between the frequency domain resources occupied by the plurality of SSBs is not limited. For details, refer to the description in the first implementation manner above, which will not be described here.

[0132] Under the second implementation manner, for the terminal, the plurality of SSBs can be sequentially searched and received according to the plurality of Sync-Raster indications.

[0133] That is, under the second implementation manner, the difference from the first implementation manner is that the frequency domain intervals between the frequency domain resources occupied by the plurality of SSBs are not equal, the network device does not need to transmit the second information, and the terminal can sequentially search the plurality of SSBs according to the Sync-Raster indications. This manner saves the overhead of the second information indication and is simple to operate.

[0134] S420, the terminal measures the time of arrival TOA of the first signal and determines the position information of the terminal according to the TOA of the first signal.

[0135] In this application, after the terminal receives the plurality of SSBs, the terminal measures the TOA of the first signal by jointly detecting and correlating the plurality of SSBs, and then performs positioning based on the TOA to obtain the position information of the terminal.

[0136] The terminal can have multiple different implementation manners to perform positioning based on the TOA to obtain the position information of the terminal, and the application does not limit this. For example, the terminal uses the RTT positioning method to perform positioning based on the measured TOA of the first signal to obtain the position information of the terminal. For another example, the terminal uses the DL-TDOA positioning method to perform positioning based on the measured TOA of the first signal to obtain the position information of the terminal.

[0137] Further, the terminal receives SIB1 and SIB19, determines the time advance based on the determined position information of the terminal and the ephemeris information, and completes the subsequent random access process.

[0138] It can be understood that, in this method, the TOA measured by the terminal is based on multiple SSBs, and the bandwidth when measuring the TOA is related to the frequency domain distance between the start SSB and the end SSB in the multiple SSBs in the frequency domain (that is, the frequency domain distance between the first subcarrier in the subcarrier occupied by the start SSB and the last subcarrier in the subcarrier occupied by the end SSB, which is also referred to as the equivalent bandwidth of the SSB in this application). Compared with the prior art method of measuring the TOA based on a single SSB, the equivalent bandwidth when measuring the TOA is significantly increased. Referring to the distance measurement accuracy formula (one) of the TOA in the foregoing, increasing the bandwidth can improve the ranging accuracy of the terminal. Increasing the ranging accuracy of the terminal can improve the accuracy of the determined time advance, and thus improve the access performance of the terminal.

[0139] For example, when the subcarrier spacing SCS is set to 15khz and 20 RBs are allocated to the frequency domain resources occupied by each SSB, when the terminal is positioned based on the prior art method of measuring the TOA of a single SSB, the transmission bandwidth B of the single SSB is 20*12*SCS=3.6MB, and if the SNR is 2 decibels (dB), then based on the distance measurement accuracy formula (one) of the TOA in the foregoing, the ranging accuracy of the terminal is And if the network device uses 5 SSBs, the frequency domain intervals between the subcarriers occupied by the 5 SSBs are equal, and the frequency domain interval is 252 RBs, the equivalent bandwidth of the 5 SSBs is equal to BW n BW represents the bandwidth occupied by the nth SSB, and N represents the number of SSBs.

[0140] If the SNR is 2dB, then based on the distance measurement accuracy formula (one) of the TOA in the foregoing, the ranging accuracy of the terminal is It can be seen that the positioning accuracy is improved by 2 orders of magnitude.

[0141] For another example, when the subcarrier spacing SCS is set to 30khz and 20 RBs are allocated to the frequency domain resources occupied by each SSB, when the terminal is positioned based on the prior art method of measuring the TOA of a single SSB, the transmission bandwidth B of the single SSB is 20*12*SCS=7.2MB, and if the SNR is 1dB, then based on the distance measurement accuracy formula (one) of the TOA in the foregoing, the ranging accuracy of the terminal is And if the network device uses N equal to 4 SSBs, the frequency domain intervals between the subcarriers occupied by the 4 SSBs are as shown in FIG. 7, and the equivalent bandwidth of the 4 SSBs is If SNR takes 2dB, based on the distance measurement accuracy formula (one) of TOA in the foregoing, then The positioning accuracy is improved by nearly 2 orders of magnitude.

[0142] Optionally, the number of SSBs is 2, and the network device maximizes the frequency domain distance of the two SSBs sent by the network device to improve the positioning accuracy when positioning the terminal based on the two SSBs. Taking FIG. 7 as an example, when the subcarrier spacing SCS is set to 15khz, 20 RBs are allocated to the frequency domain resources occupied by each SSB. Then, if the frequency domain resources occupied by the two SSBs are as shown in (a) of FIG. 7, the equivalent bandwidth of the two SSBs = (N-1) * BW + 20 * 12 * SCS = 97.9MB, if SNR takes 1dB, based on the distance measurement accuracy formula (one) of TOA in the foregoing, then If the frequency domain resources occupied by the two SSBs are as shown in (b) of FIG. 7, the starting position of SSB1 is L0+B / (SCS*12)-20, and the equivalent bandwidth of the two SSBs = N*BWP-20*12*SCS = 196MB, if SNR takes 1dB, based on the distance measurement accuracy formula (one) of TOA in the foregoing, then

[0143] The positioning method of the embodiments of the present application is described in detail above, and the apparatus provided by the embodiments of the present application will be described in detail below in combination with FIG. 8 and FIG. 9.

[0144] FIG. 8 is a structural schematic diagram of a communication apparatus provided by an embodiment of the present application. Specifically, as shown in FIG. 8, the apparatus 800 includes a processing module 801 and a transceiver module 802.

[0145] In an embodiment of the first apparatus, the apparatus 800 is applied to a terminal.

[0146] Specifically, the processing module 801 is configured to measure the time of arrival TOA of a first signal, the first signal including a plurality of SSBs, the plurality of SSBs occupying the same time domain resources but occupying different frequency domain resources; and the processing module 801 is further configured to determine the position information of the terminal according to the TOA of the first signal.

[0147] Optionally, the transceiver module 802 is further configured to receive first information, the first information being used to indicate the number of SSBs included in the first signal.

[0148] Optionally, the intervals between the frequency domain resources occupied by the plurality of SSBs are the same.

[0149] Optionally, the transceiver module 802 is further configured to receive second information, the second information being used to indicate the intervals between the frequency domain resources occupied by the plurality of SSBs.

[0150] Optionally, intervals between the frequency domain resources occupied by the plurality of SSBs are partially different or all different.

[0151] Optionally, the first signal includes two SSBs, a first subcarrier in subcarriers occupied by a starting SSB in the two SSBs and a last subcarrier in subcarriers occupied by a terminal SSB in the two SSBs have a first bandwidth; and when a terminal is positioned based on a TOA obtained by measuring a signal of the first bandwidth, a positioning accuracy requirement is met.

[0152] In an embodiment of the second apparatus, the apparatus 800 is applied to a network device.

[0153] The transceiver module 802 is configured to send a first signal, the first signal including a plurality of SSBs, the plurality of SSBs occupying the same time domain resources but occupying different frequency domain resources; and a number of the plurality of SSBs included in the first signal is determined based on a positioning accuracy requirement.

[0154] Optionally, the transceiver module 802 is further configured to send first information, the first information being used to indicate the number of SSBs included in the first signal.

[0155] Optionally, intervals between the frequency domain resources occupied by the plurality of SSBs are the same.

[0156] Optionally, the transceiver module 802 is further configured to send second information, the second information being used to indicate the intervals between the frequency domain resources occupied by the plurality of SSBs.

[0157] Optionally, intervals between the frequency domain resources occupied by the plurality of SSBs are partially different or all different.

[0158] Optionally, the first signal includes two SSBs, a first subcarrier in subcarriers occupied by a starting SSB in the two SSBs and a last subcarrier in subcarriers occupied by a terminal SSB in the two SSBs have a first bandwidth; and when a terminal is positioned based on a TOA obtained by measuring a signal of the first bandwidth, a positioning accuracy requirement is met.

[0159] FIG. 9 is a structural schematic diagram of another communication apparatus provided by an embodiment of the present application. The apparatus shown in FIG. 9 can be used to execute the method described in any one of the foregoing embodiments.

[0160] As shown in FIG. 9, the apparatus 900 of the present embodiment includes a memory 901 and a processor 902. In an implementation manner, the apparatus 900 further includes a communication interface 903 and a bus 904. The memory 901, the processor 902, and the communication interface 903 are in communication connection with each other through the bus 904.

[0161] The memory 901 can be a read only memory (ROM), a static storage device, a dynamic storage device, or a random access memory (RAM). The memory 901 can store programs, which, when executed by the processor 902, are used to perform various steps of the method shown in FIG. 4.

[0162] The processor 902 can be a general purpose central processing unit (CPU), a microprocessor, an application specific integrated circuit (ASIC), or one or more integrated circuits, for executing programs to implement the method shown in FIG. 4 of the present application.

[0163] The processor 902 can also be an integrated circuit chip having a processing capability of signals. In the implementation process, each step of the method shown in FIG. 4 of the present application can be completed by the integrated logic circuit of hardware in the processor 902 or the instruction in the form of software.

[0164] The processor 902 described above can also be a general purpose processor, a digital signal processor (DSP), an application specific integrated circuit (ASIC), a field programmable gate array (FPGA) or other programmable logic device, a discrete gate or transistor logic device, a discrete hardware component. Each method, step and logic block disclosed in the present application can be implemented or executed. The general purpose processor can be a microprocessor or the processor can also be a conventional processor or the like.

[0165] The steps of the method disclosed in the present application can be directly embodied as hardware code processing executed by the processor, or executed by a combination of hardware and software modules in the code processing. The software module can be located in a random access memory, a flash memory, a read only memory, a programmable read only memory or an electrically erasable programmable memory, a register or other mature storage medium in the art. The storage medium is located in the memory 901, and the processor 902 reads the information in the memory 901, and combines the hardware to complete the functions required by the units included in the device of the present application, for example, each step / function of the embodiment shown in FIG. 4 can be executed.

[0166] The communication interface 903 can use, but is not limited to, a transceiver type transceiver device to realize the communication between the device 900 and other devices or communication networks.

[0167] The bus 904 can include a path for communicating information between the various components (e.g., the memory 901, the processor 902, the communication interface 903) of the apparatus 900.

[0168] It should be understood that the apparatus 900 shown in the embodiments of the present application can be an electronic device, or can also be a chip configured in an electronic device. The apparatus 900 can be deployed in a terminal device, or can also be deployed in a network device.

[0169] The above-described embodiments can be implemented in whole or in part by software, hardware, firmware, or any combination thereof. When implemented by software, the above-described embodiments 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 or computer programs. When the computer instructions or computer programs are loaded or executed on a computer, the processes or functions described in the embodiments of the present application are 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. 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 one website, computer, server, or data center to another website, computer, server, or data center by wired (such as infrared, wireless, microwave, etc.) mode. The computer-readable storage medium can be a computer-accessible medium or a data storage device such as a server, data center, etc. containing one or more available medium collections. The available medium can be a magnetic medium (such as a floppy disk, a hard disk, a magnetic tape), an optical medium (such as a DVD), or a semiconductor medium. The semiconductor medium can be a solid-state disk.

[0170] It should be understood that the term "and / or" herein merely describes the association relationship of the associated objects, which means that there can be three relationships, for example, A and / or B can mean that A exists alone, A and B exist together, and B exists alone, where A and B can be singular or plural. In addition, the character " / " herein generally represents that the front and rear associated objects are in an "or" relationship, but can also represent an "and / or" relationship, which can be understood in combination with the context.

[0171] In the present application, "at least one" means one or more, and "multiple" means two or more. "At least one of the following" or the like means any combination of these items, including any combination of single or multiple items. For example, at least one of a, b, or c can mean a, b, c, a-b, a-c, b-c, or a-b-c, where a, b, and c can be single or multiple.

[0172] It should be understood that the size of the sequence number of the above processes does not mean the order of execution in various embodiments of the present application, and the execution order of the processes should be determined according to its function and inherent logic, and should not constitute a limitation on the implementation process of the embodiments of the present application.

[0173] Those skilled in the art can appreciate that the units and algorithm steps of the examples described in conjunction with the embodiments disclosed herein can be implemented in electronic hardware or a combination of computer software and electronic hardware. Whether the functions are implemented in hardware or software depends on the specific application and design constraints of the technical solution. A person skilled in the art can use different methods to implement the described functions for each specific application, but such implementation should not be considered beyond the scope of the present application.

[0174] Those skilled in the art can clearly understand that, for the convenience and brevity of the description, the specific working process of the above-described system, device and unit can refer to the corresponding process in the foregoing method embodiments, which will not be repeated here.

[0175] In several embodiments provided in the present application, it should be understood that the disclosed system, device and method can be implemented in other ways. For example, the device embodiments described above are only schematic, for example, the division of the units is only a logical function division, and actual implementation can have another division manner, for example, a plurality of units or components can be combined or integrated into another system, or some features can be ignored or not executed. In addition, the coupling or direct coupling or communication connection between the units shown or discussed can be indirect coupling or communication connection through some interface, device or unit, and can be electrical, mechanical or other forms.

[0176] The units described as separate components can or can not be physically separated, and the components shown as units can or can not be physical units, that is, they can be located in one place, or can be distributed on a plurality of network units. Part or all of the units can be selected according to actual needs to achieve the purpose of the embodiment.

[0177] In addition, each functional unit in each embodiment of the present application can be integrated in one processing unit, or each unit can exist physically, or two or more units can be integrated in one unit.

[0178] If the functions are implemented in the form of software function units and sold or used as independent products, they can be stored in a computer readable storage medium. Based on this understanding, the technical solutions of the present application essentially or the parts that contribute to the prior art or parts of the technical solutions can be embodied in the form of a software product. The computer software product is stored in a storage medium and includes a plurality of instructions for causing a computer device (which can be a personal computer, a server, or a network device, etc.) to execute all or part of the steps of the methods described in the various embodiments of the present application. The aforementioned storage medium includes: a U disk, a mobile hard disk, a read-only memory, a random access memory, a magnetic disk or an optical disk, and various media that can store program codes.

Claims

1. A positioning method, characterized by, The method comprises: measuring a time of arrival, TOA, of a first signal, the first signal comprising a plurality of SSBs, the plurality of SSBs occupying the same time domain resources but occupying different frequency domain resources; determining location information of a terminal according to the TOA of the first signal.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein, The method further comprises: receiving first information, the first information being used to indicate a number of SSBs comprised in the first signal.

3. The method according to claim 1 or 2, characterized in that, The plurality of SSBs occupy the same interval between frequency domain resources.

4. The method of claim 3, wherein, The method further comprises: receiving second information, the second information being used to indicate an interval between frequency domain resources occupied by the plurality of SSBs.

5. The method according to claim 1 or 2, characterized in that, The interval between frequency domain resources occupied by the plurality of SSBs is partially different or totally different.

6. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 5, characterized in that, The first signal comprises two SSBs, a first subcarrier in a subcarrier occupied by a starting SSB in the two SSBs and a last subcarrier in a subcarrier occupied by a terminal SSB in the two SSBs have a first bandwidth therebetween; wherein, when a terminal is positioned based on a TOA obtained by measuring a signal of the first bandwidth by the terminal, a positioning accuracy requirement is met.

7. A positioning method characterized by, The method comprises: sending a first signal, the first signal comprising a plurality of SSBs, the plurality of SSBs occupying the same time domain resources but occupying different frequency domain resources; wherein, a number of SSBs comprised in the first signal is determined based on a positioning accuracy requirement.

8. The method of claim 7, wherein, The method further comprises: sending first information, the first information being used to indicate a number of SSBs comprised in the first signal.

9. The method according to claim 7 or 8, characterized in that, The plurality of SSBs occupy the same interval between frequency domain resources.

10. The method of claim 8, wherein, The method further comprises: sending second information, the second information being used to indicate an interval between frequency domain resources occupied by the plurality of SSBs.

11. The method of claim 7 or 8, wherein, The interval between frequency domain resources occupied by the plurality of SSBs is partially different or totally different.

12. The method according to any one of claims 7 to 11, characterized in that, The first signal comprises two SSBs, a first subcarrier in a subcarrier occupied by a starting SSB in the two SSBs and a last subcarrier in a subcarrier occupied by a terminal SSB in the two SSBs have a first bandwidth therebetween; wherein, when a terminal is positioned based on a TOA obtained by measuring a signal of the first bandwidth by the terminal, a positioning accuracy requirement is met.

13. A communications device, characterized by The apparatus comprises a module for performing the method of any one of claims 1 to 6.

14. A communications device, characterized by The apparatus comprises a module for performing the method of any one of claims 7 to 12.

15. A communications device, characterized by The apparatus comprises: a processor, the processor is configured to cause the apparatus to perform the method of any one of claims 1 to 6 by executing a computer program, and / or by a logic circuit; or, the processor is configured to cause the apparatus to perform the method of any one of claims 7 to 12.

16. A computer readable storage medium characterized by: The computer readable storage medium is configured to store a program or instructions, which, when executed, cause the method of any one of claims 1 to 6 to be performed; or, the computer readable storage medium is configured to store a program or instructions, which, when executed, cause the method of any one of claims 7 to 12 to be performed.

17. A computer program product, characterised in that, The computer program product comprises a computer program which, when executed, causes the method of any one of claims 1 to 6 to be implemented; or causes the method of any one of claims 7 to 12 to be implemented.

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