Communication method and application apparatus

Abstract

The embodiments of the present application can be applied to the field of satellite communications, such as NTNs. Provided are a communication method and an application apparatus. The communication method comprises: by means of resource configurations of at least two first reference signals corresponding to first information, acquiring a first measurement result of these reference signals. In the communication method of the present application, it is unnecessary to measure reference signals corresponding to other first information, such that the delay and power consumption overhead of terminal-side positioning can be reduced.

Description

Communication methods and application devices

[0001] This application claims priority to Chinese Patent Application No. 202510363796.5, filed on March 24, 2025, entitled "Communication Method and Application Device", the entire contents of which are incorporated herein by reference. Technical Field

[0002] This application relates to the field of communication technology, and in particular to a communication method and application device. Background Technology

[0003] Terminal devices (e.g., user equipment, UE) may need to determine their location during use. For example, a UE can use location for navigation or emergency calls. Currently, terminal devices can achieve location by observing the observed time difference of arrival (OTDOA) technology. This technology, also known as downlink time difference of arrival (DL-TDOA), mainly involves the terminal device receiving and measuring the reference signal time difference of arrival (RSTD) of reference signals transmitted from several cells, and reporting the measurement results to network devices or a location server. The network device or location server then uses the known location of the network device and multiple RSTDs to locate the terminal device.

[0004] The network primarily broadcasts reference signal configuration information, ensuring that terminal devices within the coverage area of ​​a single cell receive the same reference signal configuration information. Even within a single cell, two terminal devices located far apart may have significantly different satellite visibility (i.e., signal reception) at different times. In such cases, the terminal devices may need to expend considerable time and energy detecting the configuration information of unreceived or poorly received reference signals, leading to longer positioning times or higher power consumption. Summary of the Invention

[0005] This application discloses a communication method and application device that can reduce the latency and power consumption of terminal-side positioning.

[0006] Firstly, this application discloses a communication method. This method can be applied to a first communication device, which can be a terminal as a finished product, a component or module with terminal functions, a circuit or chip (such as a modem chip, also known as a baseband chip, or a system-on-a-chip (SoC) chip or system-in-package (SIP) chip containing a modem core), a chip system, or a processor capable of performing communication functions within the terminal. Alternatively, it can be a logical node, logical module, or software capable of implementing all or part of the terminal functions. The method includes:

[0007] First information is determined, which corresponds to the resource configuration of at least two first reference signals. Based on the resource configuration of the first reference signals, first measurement results of the at least two first reference signals are obtained, and the first measurement results are used to determine the location of the first communication device. In this way, there is no need to measure the reference signals corresponding to other first information, which reduces the latency and power consumption of terminal-side positioning.

[0008] In some possible implementations, the first measurement result can be the time difference of arrival of at least two first reference signals, such as the time difference of arrival of signals from different satellites. The first measurement result can be the angle of arrival of the first reference signal, or it can be the reference signal receiving power (RSRP), reference signal receiving quality (RSRQ), signal to interference plus noise ratio (SINR), etc.

[0009] In some possible implementations, the first reference signal can be a position reference signal (PRS), or it can be a tracking reference signal (TRS), a cell reference signal (CRS), a channel state information reference signal (CSI-RS), a demodulation reference signal (DMRS), a phase tracking reference signal (PT-RS), a synchronization signal block (SSB), etc.

[0010] In some possible implementations, the first information is a second reference signal, which includes at least one of the following: SSB, CSI-RS, TRS, and DMRS. Positioning is performed using the resource configuration of at least two first reference signals corresponding to the second reference signal, eliminating the need to measure the first reference signals corresponding to other second reference signals, thereby reducing the latency and power consumption overhead of terminal-side positioning.

[0011] In some possible implementations, the first information is the second reference signal with the largest second measurement result among a plurality of second reference signals, and the second measurement result includes at least one of the following: RSRP, RSRQ, and SINR. This facilitates the first communication device in receiving configuration information from the first reference signal, thereby reducing the latency and power consumption overhead of terminal-side positioning.

[0012] In some possible implementations, the first information is a transmission configuration indicator (TCI) state. The method further includes receiving a first indication, which indicates the first information. The TCI state can be an uplink TCI state (e.g., TCI-UL_State), a downlink TCI state (e.g., TCI-DL_State), or a common TCI state (e.g., JointTCI-State), and is not limited thereto. It is understood that by obtaining the measurement results of at least two first reference signals corresponding to the TCI state through resource configuration, it is unnecessary to measure the reference signals corresponding to other first information, thereby reducing the latency and power consumption overhead of terminal-side positioning.

[0013] In some possible implementations, the first information is a second communication device, and the at least two first reference signals are reference signals sent by the second communication device and the third communication device respectively, or the at least two first reference signals are reference signals sent by at least two third communication devices respectively.

[0014] The third communication device and the second communication device can be different network devices, such as satellites. The third communication device and the second communication device are associated through device identifiers; that is, they can be bound together using the device identifiers of the second and third communication devices. For example, the satellite ID of one satellite can be bound to the satellite IDs of several other different satellites. The number of third communication devices can be greater than or equal to one. When there is only one third communication device, at least two first reference signals are reference signals transmitted by the second and third communication devices respectively. When there is more than one third communication device, at least two first reference signals are reference signals transmitted by the second communication device and each of the third communication devices respectively, or they can be reference signals transmitted by each of the third communication devices respectively. This application does not limit whether the second or third communication device transmits the first reference signal. The first communication device can select at least two of the transmitted reference signals as the first reference signals for determining the location of the first communication device based on the association information between the second and third communication devices bound by identifiers.

[0015] It is understood that in this embodiment, the third communication device associated with the second communication device is determined by the identifier of the second communication device, and the measurement results of these reference signals are obtained by the first reference signals sent by the second communication device and the third communication device associated with the second communication device, or by the first reference signals sent by at least two third communication devices associated with the second communication device. There is no need to measure the reference signals corresponding to other first information, which can reduce the latency and power consumption of terminal-side positioning.

[0016] In some possible implementations, the second communication device serving as the first information may be a service network device of the first communication device, or it may be a non-service network device of the first communication device, i.e., not a service network device of the first communication device, which is not limited here.

[0017] In some possible implementations, if the first information is a second reference signal sent by the second communication device, then a third communication device associated with the second communication device can be identified, and at least two first reference signals can be identified as reference signals sent by the second communication device and the third communication device respectively, or as reference signals sent by each of the third communication devices respectively. In this case, the first information (the second reference signal sent by the second communication device) corresponds to the resource configuration of the first reference signals sent by the second communication device and the third communication device associated with the second communication device respectively, or corresponds to the resource configuration of the first reference signals sent by at least two third communication devices associated with the second communication device respectively.

[0018] In some possible implementations, the number of second communication devices serving as the first information can be greater than or equal to one. When the number of second communication devices is one, the measurement results of these reference signals can be obtained through first reference signals transmitted by the second communication device and a third communication device associated with it, or through first reference signals transmitted by at least two third communication devices associated with the second communication device. When the number of second communication devices is greater than one, the measurement results of these reference signals can be obtained through first reference signals transmitted by at least one second communication device and a third communication device associated with it, or through first reference signals transmitted by third communication devices associated with at least one second communication device. The specific second communication device is not limited here. When the number of second communication devices is greater than one, these second communication devices can be associated with each other or with one of the second communication devices, thus without any associated third communication devices. The measurement results of these reference signals can be obtained through first reference signals transmitted by at least two second communication devices.

[0019] In some possible implementations, the first information is the sub-region closest to the last location of the first communication device. Thus, the measurement results of these reference signals can be obtained through the resource configuration of at least two first reference signals corresponding to the sub-region closest to the last location of the first communication device, without needing to measure the reference signals corresponding to other first information. This facilitates the first communication device in receiving the configuration information of the first reference signals and reduces the latency and power consumption of terminal-side positioning.

[0020] In some possible implementations, the at least two first reference signals are reference signals transmitted by at least two second communication devices corresponding to the sub-region. That is, the location of the first communication device can be achieved by measuring the reference signals transmitted from the second communication device corresponding to the sub-region to the first communication device. Thus, there is no need to add additional signaling to indicate the correspondence between the first reference signals and the first information, reducing signaling overhead. The second communication device corresponding to the sub-region can also be a third communication device, or other communication devices, which are not limited here.

[0021] In some possible implementations, the first information corresponds to the resource configuration of at least two first reference signals, including: the index value corresponding to the sub-region corresponds to the resource configuration of at least two first reference signals. Thus, indicating the resource configuration of the corresponding at least two first reference signals through the index value saves signaling overhead compared to indicating the resource configuration of the corresponding at least two first reference signals through the sub-region.

[0022] In some possible implementations, the first information is the first time at which the first communication device determines the location to be determined, and the visibility time of at least two first reference signals includes the first time. That is, the resource configuration of the first information corresponding to at least two first reference signals includes: the first time being the visibility time of at least two first reference signals, or the first time belonging to the visibility period of at least two first reference signals.

[0023] The visible period can be understood as the period during which signals transmitted by the satellite are received, such as the period during which the first reference signal can be received. The visible period can be determined by a start time (or initial time) and an end time; the time between the start and end times of the visible period can be called the visible time. Optionally, the start and end times of the visible period can also be called the visible time. The visible time of at least two first reference signals can be the shortest visible time of each first reference signal, or it can be the visible time of the reference signal set to which the at least two first reference signals belong. The number of visible times of the at least two first reference signals can be one or more, or it can be a visible period.

[0024] The first time can be the time when the first communication device needs to be located within the first area, or it can be the time period to which that time belongs, or it can be the duration for which the first communication device has been located in the first area, etc. The first area can be the coverage area of ​​the network device to which the first communication device is connected, or it can be a sub-area within that coverage area, or it can be the area where the first communication device was last located, etc., and is not limited here.

[0025] It is understood that the first communication device determines that the visible time (or visible period) to which the first time to be located belongs is the visible time of at least two first reference signals. Thus, the resource configuration of at least two first reference signals can be determined based on the first time, which is beneficial for the first communication device to receive the configuration information of the first reference signals and can reduce the latency and power consumption of the terminal-side positioning.

[0026] In some possible implementations, the method further includes receiving a second indication, the second indication being used to indicate the priority of each of the first reference signals. Thus, measurements can be performed one by one according to the priority of each of the first reference signals.

[0027] In some possible implementations, the method further includes sending a location request to obtain the location of the first communication device. Thus, by executing the method provided in this application based on the location request of the first communication device, the accuracy of execution can be improved.

[0028] Secondly, this application discloses a communication method that can be applied to a second communication device. The second communication device can be a network device as a final product, a component or module with network device functions, or a communication chip (e.g., a processor, baseband chip, or chip system) applicable to a network device. The second communication device can also be a third communication device, or other communication devices, without limitation. The following example uses a second communication device. The method includes: determining configuration information, wherein the configuration information indicates the correspondence between first information and resource configurations of at least two first reference signals, and the first measurement results of the at least two first reference signals are used to determine the location of the first communication device; and sending the configuration information.

[0029] In some possible implementations, the first information is a second reference signal, which includes at least one of the following: a synchronization signal block (SSB), a channel state information reference signal (CSI-RS), a tracking reference signal (TRS), and a demodulation reference signal (DMRS).

[0030] In some possible implementations, the first information is the second reference signal with the largest second measurement result among a plurality of second reference signals, and the second measurement result includes at least one of the following: reference signal received power RSRP, reference signal received quality RSRQ, and signal-to-interference-plus-noise ratio SINR.

[0031] In some possible implementations, the first information is a Transmission Configuration Indicator (TCI) status, and the method further includes: sending a first indication, the first indication being used to indicate the first information.

[0032] In some possible implementations, the first information is a second communication device, and the at least two first reference signals are reference signals sent by the second communication device and the third communication device respectively, or the at least two first reference signals are reference signals sent by at least two third communication devices respectively; wherein the third communication device is associated with the second communication device through a device identifier.

[0033] In some possible implementations, the first information is the sub-region closest to the last location of the first communication device.

[0034] In some possible implementations, the at least two first reference signals are reference signals sent by at least two second communication devices corresponding to the sub-region, respectively.

[0035] In some possible implementations, the first information corresponds to the resource configuration of at least two first reference signals, including: the index value corresponding to the sub-region corresponds to the resource configuration of at least two first reference signals.

[0036] In some possible implementations, the first information is the first time at which the first communication device determines the location to be determined, and the visibility time of the at least two first reference signals includes the first time.

[0037] In some possible implementations, the method further includes sending a second indication, the second indication being used to indicate the priority of each of the first reference signals.

[0038] In some possible implementations, the method further includes: receiving a location request for obtaining the location of the first communication device.

[0039] It should be understood that the second aspect is implemented by the second communication device. The specific content of the second aspect corresponds to that of the first aspect, and the corresponding features and beneficial effects of the second aspect can be referred to the description of the first aspect. To avoid repetition, detailed descriptions are appropriately omitted here.

[0040] Thirdly, this application discloses a communication device, including units, modules, or means for performing the steps of the first or second aspect or any of the implementation methods described above. The modules, units, or means can be implemented by software, hardware, or a combination of software and hardware.

[0041] Fourthly, this application discloses a communication device including a processor for executing computer programs or instructions, which, when executed, cause the methods of any one of the first to second aspects or any possible implementations described above to be implemented. Optionally, the communication device further includes a memory.

[0042] Optionally, the communication device may also include interface circuitry, wherein the processor is used to communicate with other devices or components via the interface circuitry.

[0043] Optionally, the communication device may also include a memory.

[0044] In conjunction with the third or fourth aspect, in some feasible examples, the communication device may be a first communication device or a second communication device. The first communication device may be a terminal as a final product, a component or module with terminal functions, a circuit or chip that can be applied to the terminal to perform communication functions (such as a modem chip, also known as a baseband chip, or a SoC chip or SIP chip containing a modem core, a chip system or processor), or a logic node, logic module or software that can implement all or part of the terminal functions.

[0045] In conjunction with the third or fourth aspect, in some feasible examples, the communication device may be a second communication device, which may be a network device as a final product, a component or module with network device functions, or a communication chip (such as a processor, baseband chip, or chip system) that can be applied in a network device.

[0046] In one implementation, the second communication device can be a non-terrestrial network device, such as a satellite.

[0047] Fifthly, this application provides a communication system comprising a first communication device and a second communication device. When the first communication device operates in the communication system, it performs the methods described in the first aspect or in feasible examples thereof. When the second communication device operates in the communication system, it performs the methods described in the second aspect or in feasible examples thereof.

[0048] In a sixth aspect, this application provides a communication system that includes communication devices as described in the third or fourth aspect or any of the possible embodiments thereof.

[0049] In a seventh aspect, this application provides a computer-readable storage medium storing a computer program or instructions that, when executed, cause the method of any one of the first to second aspects or any possible implementation thereof to be implemented.

[0050] Eighthly, this application provides a computer program product comprising a computer program or instructions that, when executed, cause the method of any one of the first to second aspects or any possible implementation thereof to be implemented.

[0051] Ninthly, this application provides a chip or chip system including at least one processor for calling and executing instructions stored in a memory, causing a communication device on which the chip or chip system is mounted to perform the method of any one of the first to second aspects or any possible implementation thereof.

[0052] Optionally, the chip also includes a communication interface for receiving or sending signals.

[0053] Optionally, the chip or chip system may also include memory.

[0054] In a tenth aspect, this application provides a chip including: an input interface, an output interface, and a processing circuit. The input interface, the output interface, and the processing circuit are connected to the circuit via internal connection paths. The processing circuit is used to execute the method of any of the above aspects or possible examples. Optionally, the chip also includes a memory. The input interface, the output interface, the processor, and the memory are connected via internal connection paths. The processor is used to execute code in the memory. When the code is executed, the processor is used to execute the method of any of the above aspects or possible examples.

[0055] In one aspect, this application provides a chip system including at least one processor and a communication interface, the communication interface and at least one processor being interconnected via a line, the at least one processor being used to run computer programs or instructions to perform the methods in any of the above aspects or possible examples.

[0056] It should be understood that the implementation and beneficial effects of the above-mentioned aspects can be mutually referenced. Attached Figure Description

[0057] The accompanying drawings used in the embodiments of this application are described below.

[0058] Figure 1A is a schematic diagram of the architecture of a communication system provided in an embodiment of this application;

[0059] Figure 1B is a schematic diagram of the architecture of an NTN communication system provided in an embodiment of this application;

[0060] Figure 2 is a flowchart illustrating a communication method provided in an embodiment of this application;

[0061] Figures 3A and 3B are schematic diagrams of a communication method provided in an embodiment of this application.

[0062] Figure 4 is a schematic diagram of another communication method provided in an embodiment of this application;

[0063] Figure 5 is a schematic diagram of the structure of a communication device provided in an embodiment of this application;

[0064] Figure 6 is a schematic diagram of the structure of a communication device provided in an embodiment of this application;

[0065] Figure 7 is a schematic diagram of the structure of a terminal device provided in an embodiment of this application. Detailed Implementation

[0066] The technical solutions in the embodiments of this application will be clearly and completely described below with reference to the accompanying drawings.

[0067] The technical solutions of this application embodiment can be applied to various communication systems, such as long term evolution (LTE) communication systems, new radio (NR) communication systems, LTE-A advanced (LTE-A) communication systems, device-to-device (D2D) communication systems, vehicle-to-everything (V2X) communication systems, machine-to-machine (M2M) communication systems, internet of things (IoT) communication systems, narrowband internet of things (NB-IoT) communication systems, integrated sensing and communication systems, frequency division duplex (FDD) communication systems, time division duplex (TDD) communication systems, wireless projection communication systems, integrated access and backhaul (IAB) communication systems, public land mobile network (PLMN) communication systems, non-public network (NPN) communication systems, and future communication systems, or can be used for non-3rd generation partnerships. Projects, 3GPP communication systems, etc., are not restricted.

[0068] The method provided in this application can also be applied to non-terrestrial network (NTN) communication systems (also known as non-terrestrial network communication), or scenarios where NTN and terrestrial network (TN) are integrated. Here, NTN can be a communication system integrated with other communication systems such as 4G, 5G mobile communication systems, or future communication systems, such as NR NTN, IoT NTN, etc. NTN communication systems can be, for example, satellite communication systems, and can also include unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs), high altitude platform stations (HAPS), and other aerial access network equipment; this application does not limit this.

[0069] For example, please refer to Figure 1A, which is a schematic diagram of the architecture of a communication system provided in an embodiment of this application. As shown in Figure 1A, the communication system may include at least one terminal device and at least one network device. The terminal device can be connected to the network device wirelessly or via a wired connection, enabling uplink (UL) or downlink (DL) communication between the terminal device and the network device. Terminal devices can also be connected wirelessly or via a wired connection, enabling sidelink (SL) communication between them.

[0070] Terminal devices and network devices, network devices and network devices, and terminal devices and terminal devices can communicate using licensed spectrum, unlicensed spectrum, or both simultaneously. This application does not limit the spectrum resources used by terminal devices and network devices.

[0071] The terminal equipment involved in this application is an entity on the user side used to receive or transmit signals, providing voice and / or data to the user. Terminal equipment can be a terminal, user equipment (UE), access terminal, UE unit, UE station, mobile device, mobile station, mobile station, mobile terminal, mobile client, mobile unit, remote station, remote terminal, remote unit, wireless unit, wireless communication equipment, user agent, or user device, etc. Among them, the access terminal can be a cellular phone, cordless phone, session initiation protocol (SIP) phone, wireless local loop (WLL) station, personal digital assistant (PDA), handheld device with wireless communication capabilities, computing device or other processing device connected to a wireless modem, vehicle-mounted device, wearable device, terminal in a future communication system, terminal in a future evolved PLMN, or terminal in a future NPN, etc.

[0072] Terminal equipment can also be a communication module, satellite phone, or its components with satellite communication capabilities, or a satellite communication terminal, such as a very small aperture terminal (VSAT) (commonly referred to as a VSAT terminal), portable station, fixed station, vehicle-mounted or airborne satellite communication terminal, etc. It should be understood that a satellite communication terminal can serve as a micro base station to further provide data interfaces to accessed user equipment. Hereinafter, it will sometimes be simply referred to as a terminal.

[0073] In Figure 1A, network devices are exemplified as access network (AN) nodes. Access network nodes can also be called radio access network (RAN) nodes, or simply access networks. Access network nodes are used to connect terminal devices to the wireless network. In other words, the access network provides access services to terminal devices, enabling them to access (or connect to) the network. Access networks can support both wired and wireless access.

[0074] Optionally, the access network consists of multiple AN / RAN nodes. AN / RAN nodes can include, but are not limited to: access points (APs), enhanced node Bs (eNBs), home evolved Node Bs (HNBs), baseband units (BBUs), next-generation node Bs (gNBs), transmission reception points (TRPs), transmission points (TPs), or other access nodes, such as wireless relay nodes or wireless backhaul nodes. AN / RAN nodes can be one or more antenna panels, or network nodes constituting gNBs or transmission points, such as BBUs or distributed units (DUs), or devices performing RAN functions in communication systems such as D2D, V2X, M2M, and U2U. AN / RAN nodes can be radio controllers in cloud radio access network (CRAN) scenarios, open RAN (O-RAN or ORAN), or access networks in future communication systems, etc., without any limitations.

[0075] In some deployments, a gNB may include a centralized unit (CU) and a dedicated unit (DU). The gNB may also include an active antenna unit (AAU). The CU implements some of the gNB's functions, and the DU implements others. For example, the CU handles non-real-time protocols and services, implementing radio resource control (RRC) and packet data convergence protocol (PDCP) layer functions. The DU handles physical layer protocols and real-time services, implementing radio link control (RLC), media access control (MAC), and physical (PHY) layer functions. The AAU implements some physical layer processing functions, radio frequency processing, and active antenna-related functions. RRC layer information is generated by the CU and is ultimately encapsulated by the DU's PHY layer to become PHY layer information, or it may be derived from PHY layer information. Therefore, in this architecture, higher-layer signaling, such as RRC layer signaling, can be considered as being sent by the DU, or by the DU+AAU. It is understood that network devices can be one or more of the following: CU nodes, DU nodes, and AAU nodes. Furthermore, a CU can be classified as a network device in the radio access network (RAN) or a network device in the core network (CN); this application does not limit this classification.

[0076] Furthermore, the solution provided in this application can be applied to satellite communication systems, such as 5G systems or NTN integrated into future evolved communication systems. In this case, the network equipment can be a satellite with access network equipment functionality, or an access network device deployed on a satellite. In some satellite communication scenarios, the network equipment can also be a satellite communication terminal, such as a portable station, a fixed station, a vehicle-mounted or airborne satellite communication terminal. It should be understood that in these scenarios, the satellite communication terminal communicates with the satellite and can act as a micro base station or satellite data station to further provide data interfaces to user equipment accessing the satellite communication terminal.

[0077] In some satellite communication scenarios, network equipment can also be satellite communication terminals, such as portable stations, fixed stations, vehicle-mounted or airborne satellite communication terminals. It should be understood that in these scenarios, the satellite communication terminal communicates with the satellite and can act as a micro base station to further provide data interfaces to user equipment accessing the satellite communication terminal. Network equipment can also be a satellite (or satellite base station) or HAPS, or base station equipment mounted on a satellite / HAPS. The satellite can include at least one of the following: geostationary earth orbit (GEO) satellites (or geosynchronous orbit satellites) or non-geostationary earth orbit (NGEO) satellites. Non-geostationary earth orbit satellites can include at least one of the following: medium earth orbit (MEO) satellites or low earth orbit (LEO) satellites, without limitation. Network equipment can also be a gateway station (or ground station, earth station, signal gateway, gateway, or gateway station).

[0078] In the network architecture shown in Figure 1A, network devices are exemplified using access network nodes. Furthermore, the number and types of network devices and terminal devices included in the network architecture shown in Figure 1A are merely examples, and the embodiments of this application are not limited thereto. For example, it may also include more or fewer terminal devices communicating with the network devices. As another example, it may also include more or fewer network devices communicating with the terminal devices. For the sake of simplicity, they are not described one by one in the accompanying drawings.

[0079] Optionally, the communication system may also include network devices not shown in Figure 1A, such as core network devices, data network devices, etc.

[0080] In different communication systems, core network equipment (hereinafter referred to as core network) can correspond to different devices. For example, in a 3G communication system, it can correspond to the Serving GPRS Support Node (SGSN) and / or the Gateway GPRS Support Node (GGSN); in a 4G communication system, it can correspond to the Mobility Management Entity (MME) and / or the Serving Gateway (S-GW); and in a 5G communication system, it can correspond to policy control function (PCF) network elements, unified data management (UDM) network elements, application function (AF) network elements, access and mobility management function (AMF) network elements, session management function (SMF) network elements, location management function (LMF) network elements, user plane function (UPF) network elements, etc.

[0081] Among them, the UPF network element is responsible for managing the transmission of user plane data and quality of service (QoS) control, traffic statistics and other functions. It can perform user data packet forwarding according to the routing rules of the session management network element, such as sending uplink data to the data network or other user plane network elements, and forwarding downlink data to other user plane network elements or (R)AN network elements.

[0082] The AMF (Access Default Mode) network element is responsible for user access management, security authentication, and mobility management. The LMF (Local Mode Default Mode) network element manages and controls location service requests from target terminals and processes location-related information. The SMF (Supply, Service Default Mode) network element manages sessions, allocating and releasing resources for terminal device sessions. The UDM (User Default Mode) network element manages the context of user subscriptions, such as storing terminal device subscription information. The PCF (Policy and Charging Rules Function) network element is responsible for user policy management. Similar to the Policy and Charging Rules Function (PCRF) network element in LTE, it is primarily responsible for policy authorization, quality of service (QoS), and generating charging rules, and distributing these rules to the UPF (User Default Mode) network element via the SMF network element to complete the installation of the corresponding policies and rules. The AF (Application Default Mode) network element can be a third-party application control platform or the operator's own equipment. The AF network element is responsible for application management and can provide services to multiple application servers.

[0083] In the embodiments of this application, network elements may also be referred to as functional network elements, functional entities, nodes, devices, etc. A network element can be a network component implemented on dedicated hardware, a software instance running on dedicated hardware, or an instance of virtualized functionality on a suitable platform, such as a cloud platform. In different communication systems, the network elements such as AMF, SMF, PCF, and NWDAF shown in Figure 1B above may have other names, which are not limited in this application.

[0084] In this embodiment, the data network device is hereinafter referred to as the data network. The data network is used to provide business services to users. Generally, the client is a terminal, and the server is the data network. The data network provided by the data network can be a private network, such as a local area network (LAN). The data network can also be an external network not managed by the operator, such as the Internet. The data network can also be a proprietary network jointly deployed by the operator, such as a network providing Internet Protocol Multimedia Subsystem (IMS) services.

[0085] Optionally, the communication system may also include a positioning server (not shown in Figure 1A). This positioning server, also known as a positioning device, is a network device. In a 5G communication system, this positioning server may be an LMF (Location Management Unit) network element. In other communication systems, this positioning server may be a location management unit (LMU), a location management center (LMC), or an evolved serving mobile location center (E-SMLC). It is understood that the positioning server may also be other network elements, nodes, or devices used to determine the location information of terminal devices, such as network elements or nodes in future communication systems used to determine the location information of terminal devices. This application does not specifically limit the name of the positioning server in its embodiments.

[0086] In some embodiments, network devices and terminal devices may also be referred to as communication devices, which may be general-purpose devices or special-purpose devices. This application does not specifically limit this.

[0087] This application does not limit the location of terminal devices and network devices; they can be in a fixed state or in a mobile state. Terminal devices and network devices can be deployed on land, water, air, etc. In the embodiments of this application, network devices deployed in the air can be referred to as non-terrestrial network devices, and network devices deployed on the ground can be referred to as terrestrial network devices. An NTN communication system includes at least one non-terrestrial network device and one terrestrial network device; all network devices in a terrestrial communication system are terrestrial network devices. Terrestrial network devices, relative to non-terrestrial network devices, are stationary or move at a relatively slow speed. That is, non-terrestrial network devices, relative to terrestrial network devices, can be high-speed mobile network devices.

[0088] Non-terrestrial network equipment may include satellites, high-altitude platforms (HAPs), drones, hot air balloons, low-Earth orbit satellites, medium-Earth orbit satellites, high-Earth orbit satellites, etc., without limitation. The term "satellite" in this application can refer to a collection of satellites and other network equipment related to satellite communication; therefore, in this application, the descriptions "satellite" and "satellite network equipment" are equivalent.

[0089] Please refer to Figure 1B, which is a schematic diagram of the architecture of an NTN communication system provided in an embodiment of this application. Figure 1B uses an NTN communication system integrated with a 5G communication system as an example. It should be understood that the solution provided in this embodiment can be applied to NTN systems integrated with future evolved communication systems. The access network can be a next-generation radio access network (NG-RAN), and the core network can be a 5G core network (5G CN). The 5G core network equipment consists of multiple functional units, which can be divided into control plane and data plane functional entities, such as the 5G control plane processing unit and the 5G user plane processing unit shown in Figure 1B. The 5G control plane processing unit can include the Access and Mobility Management Function (AMF) network element and the Location Management Function (LMF) network element shown in Figure 1B, and can also include PCF network elements, UDM network elements, AF network elements, SMF network elements, etc., not shown in the figure. The architecture shown in Figure 1B can be understood as an NTN-based NG-RAN architecture.

[0090] The interface between terminal equipment and network equipment in a wireless link can be called an air interface, such as the NR Uu interface. The NG interface serves as the interface between the access network and the core network, as shown in Figure 1B, including the interface between the 5G base station and the ground station, the interface between the ground station and the 5G user plane processing unit, and the interface between the ground station and the AMF network element. It is mainly used for exchanging non-access stratum (NAS) signaling in the core network, as well as user service data. The Xn interface is the interface between access networks, as shown in Figure 1B, between two 5G base stations, and is mainly used for exchanging handover signaling. The N6 interface can be the interface between the core network and the data network.

[0091] The above interfaces are illustrated using a 5G communication system. Different communication systems may use different names. For example, in a 4G communication system, the interface between access networks can be an X2 interface, and the interface between the access network and the core network can be an S1 interface, etc. Of course, in future communications, the names of these interfaces may remain unchanged or can be replaced with other names; this application does not limit this.

[0092] As shown in Figure 1B, an NTN system may include at least one terminal device, at least one non-terrestrial network device, and at least one terrestrial network device. The non-terrestrial network device is a satellite, such as a 5G base station. The terrestrial network device may include a ground station, a 5G base station, a 5G user plane processing unit, a 5G control plane processing unit, and data network equipment. The ground station is responsible for forwarding signaling and service data between the satellite (access network equipment) and the core network equipment. The functions of the terminal device and various network devices are as described above and will not be repeated here. The terminal device in NTN can be called an NTN terminal, such as an NTN-UE.

[0093] As shown in Figure 1B, satellites can have inter-satellite links (ISLs) to each other. These satellites can be referred to as regenerative sanitary systems with inter-satellite links. The ISL between two satellites is connected via the Xn interface. Signaling interaction and user data transmission between access network devices can be completed between satellites. Alternatively, satellites may not have inter-satellite links.

[0094] The system architecture shown in Figure 1B is a typical architecture in an NTN communication system. In fact, other system architectures can also exist, such as transparent satellite access architecture (e.g., RAN architecture with transparent satellite), etc., which are not limited here.

[0095] In a transparent satellite access architecture, terminal devices access the network via an air interface, while 5G base stations are deployed on the ground and connected to ground stations that communicate with the satellite. This means that non-terrestrial network devices and ground stations within terrestrial network devices can act as radio frequency units, and access networks (such as base stations) within terrestrial network devices can perform RAN functions (access functions, or access service functions). In the scenario corresponding to the transparent satellite access architecture, the satellite's role is: radio frequency filtering, frequency conversion, and amplification. In other words, the satellite can achieve transparent transmission and forwarding, acting as a layer 1 relay to regenerate physical layer signals, without involving any higher protocol layers.

[0096] The number and types of communication devices included in the network architecture shown in Figures 1A and 1B are merely examples, and the embodiments of this application are not limited thereto. The network architecture and business scenarios described in the embodiments of this application are for the purpose of more clearly illustrating the technical solutions of the embodiments of this application, and do not constitute a limitation on the technical solutions provided by the embodiments of this application. As those skilled in the art will know, with the evolution of network architecture and the emergence of new business scenarios, the technical solutions provided by the embodiments of this application are also applicable to similar technical problems.

[0097] To facilitate understanding of the embodiments of this application, the relevant concepts involved in the embodiments of this application will be introduced first.

[0098] (1) SSB is a type of downlink information that can include a synchronization signal (SS) and a physical broadcast channel (PBCH). The synchronization signal helps terminal devices perform downlink synchronization, such as time or frequency synchronization, to prepare for subsequent access to the wireless network. The PBCH can be used to transmit the master information block (MIB), which indicates basic information related to the terminal device's access to the wireless network, such as indicating the candidate time-domain position of the physical downlink control channel (PDCCH). The candidate time-domain position of the PDCCH can also be referred to as the PDCCH search space.

[0099] In the embodiments of this application, the first information may be an SSB, or it may be one or more downlink information other than an SSB, which can be determined by the SSB. For example, the first information may be downlink control information (DCI), such as common control signals (CCS); the first information may also be broadcast information scheduled by the downlink control information, such as remaining minimum system information (RMSI), and the RMSI may include system information block (SIB) 1, etc.

[0100] (2) The reference signal (RS) can be a pilot signal, which is a known signal provided by the transmitter to the receiver for channel estimation or channel sounding. The reference signal may include one or more of the following: PRS, TRS, SRS, CRS, CSI-RS, DMRS, PT-RS, etc.

[0101] CRS can be used by terminal devices to perform channel evaluation on the downlink physical channels of network devices, sending channel quality indications (CQI) or RSRP. It can also be used by terminal devices to obtain CSI and as a basis for selecting the cell to camp on. SRS is used for uplink channel measurement, time-frequency synchronization, beam management, etc. PT-RS is used for phase noise tracking and compensation.

[0102] CSI-RS is used for downlink channel measurement, acquiring downlink channel state information, beam management, radio resource management (RRM) measurement / radio link monitoring (RLM) measurement and fine-grained time-frequency tracking, mobility management, rate matching, etc. TRS can be a collection of CSI-RS resources (CSI-RS resource set), which includes a trs-Info field indicating that the CSI-RS resource set is used for TRS.

[0103] DMRS is used for channel estimation to demodulate the corresponding physical channels, such as the Physical Downlink Shared Channel (PDSCH), Physical Uplink Shared Channel (PUSCH), Physical Downlink Control Channel (PDCCH), and Physical Uplink Control Channel (PUCCH). DMRS is a signal known to the receiver. Based on the received data signal and the known DMRS signal, the receiver can obtain the fading characteristics of the wireless channel, i.e., the channel coefficients of the wireless channel, which are used to recover the received data signal.

[0104] It is understood that PDSCH and PDCCH in the embodiments of this application are merely examples of downlink data channels and downlink control channels. PUSCH and PUCCH in the embodiments of this application are examples of uplink data channels and uplink control channels. In different systems and different scenarios, data channels and control channels may have different names, and the embodiments of this application do not limit this.

[0105] Compared to other reference signals, PRS allows terminal devices to measure more signals, improving positioning performance. Access network devices can configure PRS on one or more PRS resources within a channel. PRS transmission depends on the number of configured ports. A PRS resource can span multiple physical resource blocks (PRBs) within one or more orthogonal frequency division multiplexing (OFDM) symbols in a time slot. For example, a PRS resource can span one symbol in a time slot and include one port for transmission. PRS transmission can be mapped to coherent OFDM symbols in that time slot or to interleaved OFDM symbols in that time slot.

[0106] In the embodiments of this application, the uplink reference signal may include DMRS, SRS, etc., and the downlink reference signal may include PRS, CSI-RS, CRS, PT-RS, etc.

[0107] (3) Transmission Configuration Indication State (TCI-state), used to indicate the relationship between channel large-scale parameters and one or two downlink reference signals in the data transmission process and their quasi-co-location (QCL) relationship. The QCL relationship indicates that multiple resources share one or more identical or similar communication characteristics. For example, if two antenna ports have a quasi-co-location relationship, the channel large-scale characteristics of a signal transmitted by one port can be inferred from the channel large-scale characteristics of a signal transmitted by the other port. Antenna ports with a QCL relationship have signals with the same parameters, or the parameters of one antenna port can be used to determine the parameters of another antenna port with a QCL relationship, or the two antenna ports have the same parameters, or the parameter difference between the two antenna ports is less than a certain threshold. The parameters may include one or more of the following channel large-scale parameters: delay spread, Doppler spread, Doppler shift, average delay, average gain, and spatial Rx parameters. The spatial receiving parameters may include one or more of the following: Angle of arrival (AOA), Dominant AoA, Average AoA, Angle of departure (AOD), channel correlation matrix, power angle spread spectrum of the angle of arrival, Average AoD, power angle spread spectrum of the departure angle, transmit channel correlation, receive channel correlation, transmit beamforming, receive beamforming, spatial channel correlation, spatial filter, or spatial filtering parameters, or spatial receiving parameters.

[0108] The terminal device can obtain indication information of the large-scale channel parameter relationships of the received signal based on the TCI-state, and then demodulate the data carried by the signal based on channel estimation. Each TCI-state may include the serving cell index (ServeCellIndex), the bandwidth part (BWP) identifier (ID), and the reference signal resource identifier. The reference signal resource identifier may be at least one of the following: non-zero power (NZP) CSI-RS reference signal resource identifier (NZP-CSI-RS-ResourceId), non-zero power CSI-RS reference signal resource set identifier (NZP-CSI-RS-ResourceSetId), or SSB index (SSB-Index).

[0109] (4) Positioning technologies can include uplink, downlink, and uplink / downlink positioning. Uplink positioning involves the network device detecting the uplink reference signal sent by the terminal device; downlink positioning involves the terminal device detecting the downlink reference signal sent by the network device; and uplink / downlink positioning requires both the terminal device and the network device to perform detection. In general, it can be categorized into uplink positioning methods, downlink positioning methods, and uplink / downlink positioning methods. It should be noted that uplink and downlink are relative terms. If the transmission direction from the network device to the terminal device is downlink (as used in this example), then the transmission direction from the terminal device to the network device is uplink; conversely, if the transmission direction from the network device to the terminal device is uplink, then the transmission direction from the terminal device to the network device is downlink.

[0110] It should be understood that both downlink and uplink / downlink positioning require the terminal device to measure the downlink reference signal. Downlink positioning methods can include: downlink time difference of arrival (DL-TDOA) positioning, downlink angle of arrival (DL-AOA) positioning, downlink angle of departure (DL-AOD) positioning, and multi-cell round trip time (multi-RTT) positioning, etc. These techniques can measure the location of the terminal device using two or more network devices at fixed locations.

[0111] The following example uses OTDOA technology, also known as DL-TDOA. It primarily involves a terminal device receiving and measuring the RSTD (Reference Downlink Reference Signal) of a network device (such as a TRP or base station). The terminal device then includes the RSTD in the measurement results and reports it to the network device or location server, such as an LMF (Local Multi-Function) network element. The network device or location server uses the known location of the network device and multiple RSTDs to locate the terminal device. Alternatively, the terminal device may not report the measurement results; instead, it can determine its location based on the known location of the network device and multiple RSTDs.

[0112] In NTN scenarios, when a terminal device uses DL-TDOA for positioning, it primarily treats multiple non-terrestrial network devices (such as satellites) as equivalent to multiple TRPs. The terminal device measures the time difference of arrival of reference signals from different non-terrestrial network devices to determine its position.

[0113] Before a terminal device connects to the network, neither the terminal device nor the network knows its location. Therefore, the network primarily broadcasts reference signal configuration information, ensuring that terminal devices within the coverage area of ​​a single cell receive the same reference signal configuration information. Even within a single cell, two terminal devices located far apart may have significantly different satellite visibility (i.e., satellite signal reception) at different times. In this case, the terminal device may need to spend considerable time and energy detecting the configuration information of unreceived or poorly received reference signals, leading to longer positioning times or higher power consumption.

[0114] Based on this, this application proposes a communication method that can reduce the latency and power consumption of terminal-side positioning.

[0115] The communication method provided in the embodiments of this application will be described in detail below. The communication devices involved in this communication method may include a first communication device and a second communication device. The first communication device may be a terminal as a final product, such as the various terminal devices mentioned above, or a component or part with terminal functions, or a circuit or chip (such as a modem chip, also known as a baseband chip, or a SoC chip or SIP chip containing a modem core, chip system, or processor) that can be applied to the terminal to perform communication functions, or a logic node, logic module, or software that can implement all or part of the terminal functions. The second communication device may be a network device as a final product, such as the various network devices mentioned above, or a component or part with network device functions, or a communication chip (such as a processor, baseband chip, or chip system) that can be applied to the network device. The system architecture of the terminal device and the network device can be referred to the description in Figure 1A or Figure 1B, and will not be repeated here.

[0116] Optionally, the communication method is applicable to NTN communication scenarios, meaning that the second communication device in the method can be a non-terrestrial network device.

[0117] Please refer to Figure 2, which is a flowchart illustrating a communication method provided in an embodiment of this application. As shown in Figure 2, the method includes, but is not limited to, the following steps:

[0118] S201, the first communication device determines first information, which corresponds to the resource configuration of at least two first reference signals.

[0119] In the embodiments of this application, the first reference signal can be PRS, or it can be other reference signals, such as SSB, CRS, CSI-RS, TRS, DMRS, etc., which are not limited here.

[0120] The resource configuration of the first reference signal is used to indicate the resource location of the first reference signal, such as the number of symbols, slot offset, QCL information (e.g., QCL relationship), priority, etc. The resource configuration of at least two first reference signals may include the resource configuration of each of the at least two first reference signals, or it may be the resource configuration of the resources of the at least two first reference signals as a whole. Taking the first reference signal as a PRS as an example, the first information may correspond to the resource configuration of each of the at least two PRSs. The resource configuration of each PRS may include the resource identifier, parameters required for sequence generation and resource mapping, the QCL relationship of the resource, etc. Alternatively, the first information may correspond to the resource configuration of a PRS resource set, which includes at least two PRS resources. The resource configuration of the PRS resource set may include the resource set identifier to which the PRS resource belongs, period, number of repetitions, time gap, slot offset, starting resource block (RB), and the number of RBs occupied, etc.

[0121] In this embodiment, the correspondence between the first information and the resource configuration of at least two first reference signals can be indicated by system information or configuration information. For example, system message blocks (SIBs), medium access control-control element (MAC CE) signaling or RRC signaling, downlink control information (DCI), etc., are not limited here. In some possible implementations, the method may further include: a second communication device determining configuration information; the second communication device sending the configuration information to a first communication device. Correspondingly, the first communication device receives the configuration information from the second communication device. The configuration information is used to indicate the correspondence between the first information and the resource configuration of at least two first reference signals, and the first measurement results of the at least two first reference signals are used to determine the location of the first communication device.

[0122] The resource configuration of at least two first reference signals in the correspondence between the first information and the resource configuration of at least two first reference signals can be determined by the identifier of each first reference signal, or by the identifier of a reference signal set including at least two first reference signals, such as PRS resource ID or PRS resourcesetID. In the embodiments of this application, at least two first reference signals can be used as a reference signal set or as a reference signal group.

[0123] This application does not limit the type of the first information. In a first possible implementation, the first information is a second reference signal, which may include, but is not limited to, at least one of the following: SSB, CSI-RS, TRS, DMRS.

[0124] Taking the first information signal as SSB and the first reference signal as PRS as an example, before executing step S201, different resource configurations for SSB and their corresponding PRS can be set. The correspondence between the first reference signal and the second reference signal can be shown in Table 1 below.

[0125] Table 1

[0126] In Table 1, when the first information is SSB#1, three first reference signals can be identified as PRS#1, PRS#2, and PRS#3. When the first information is SSB#2, three first reference signals can be identified as PRS#4, PRS#5, and PRS#6. Thus, the first reference signals can be received based on the resource configuration of at least two of the first reference signals corresponding to the first information, and the first measurement results of at least two of the first reference signals can be obtained.

[0127] The correspondence between the second reference signal (excluding SSB) and the first reference signal can be found in Table 1, and will not be elaborated here. For example, the second reference signal in Table 2 is CSI-RS. When the first information is CSI-RS#1, three first reference signals can be identified: PRS#1, PRS#2, and PRS#3. When the first information is CSI-RS#2, three first reference signals can be identified: PRS#4, PRS#5, and PRS#6.

[0128] Table 2

[0129] It is understood that when the first information is a second reference signal, positioning is performed using the resource configuration of at least two first reference signals corresponding to the second reference signal, eliminating the need to measure the first reference signals corresponding to other second reference signals, thus reducing the latency and power consumption of positioning on the terminal side. When the first information is an SSB, this method can be applied before the first communication device accesses the network side. When the first information is CSI-RS, TRS, or DMRS, this method can be applied before or after the first communication device accesses the network side.

[0130] Table 1 describes at least two first reference signals corresponding to the second reference signal. In practice, these at least two first reference signals can be either a set of reference signals or an identifier for a first reference signal. That is, the at least two first reference signals in Table 1 can be replaced by a set of reference signals or an identifier for that set, such as PRS set#1 or PRS resourcesetID. Thus, the set of reference signals corresponding to the second reference signal can be determined first, and then the first reference signals included in that set can be determined, thereby identifying the first reference signal corresponding to the second reference signal.

[0131] In the embodiments of this application, different first reference signals can be reference signals transmitted by different second communication devices, such as different first reference signals transmitted by different satellites. An example is given using PRS as the first reference signal, SSB as the first information, UE as the first communication device, and satellite as the second communication device. Referring to Figure 3A or Figure 3B, PRS#1 is the PRS transmitted by satellite sat#1, PRS#2 is the PRS transmitted by sat#2, PRS#3 is the PRS transmitted by sat#3, PRS#4 is the PRS transmitted by sat#4, PRS#5 is the PRS transmitted by sat#5, and PRS#6 is the PRS transmitted by sat#6.

[0132] In some possible implementations, the first measurement result can be the time difference of arrival of at least two first reference signals, such as the time difference of arrival of signals from different satellites. The first measurement result can be either the angle of arrival of the first reference signal, or it can be the RSRP, RSRQ, SINR, etc. of the first reference signal.

[0133] In some possible implementations, the first information is the second reference signal with the largest second measurement result among a plurality of second reference signals. The second measurement result includes, but is not limited to, at least one of the following: RSRP, RSRQ, and SINR. That is, step S201 may include: acquiring the second measurement result of each of the plurality of second reference signals, and using the second reference signal with the largest second measurement result as the first information. This facilitates the first communication device receiving configuration information from the first reference signal, and can reduce the latency and power consumption overhead of terminal-side positioning.

[0134] Multiple second reference signals can be sent by a single second communication device or by different second communication devices. Referring again to Figure 3A, using the first measurement result as the time difference of arrival (TDOA) and the second measurement result as the RSRP (Real-Time Ratio), and the first information as the SSB (Secondary Source Message), an example is provided. The dashed line represents the SSB, and the actual value represents the PRS (Personal Source Message). SSB#1 and SSB#2 are both sent by SSB#1, while different PRS are sent by different second communication devices. UE#1 measures the RSRP of SSB#1 and the RSRP of SSB#2. If the RSRP of SSB#1 is greater than the RSRP of SSB#2, then the first information can be determined to be SSB#1. UE#1 can use the time difference of arrival between the first reference signals corresponding to SSB#1 (such as PRS#1, PRS#2, and PRS#3 in Table 1) to report to the network device or positioning server to achieve UE#1 positioning. Alternatively, UE#1 can determine its location based on the positions of the sent PRS#1 (sat#1), PRS#2 (sat#2), and PRS#3 (sat#3), as well as the time difference of arrival (TDOA) between PRS#1, PRS#2, and PRS#3. UE#2 measures the RSRP of SSB#1 and SSB#2. If the RSRP of SSB#1 is less than the RSRP of SSB#2, then the first information can be identified as SSB#2. UE#2 can report the TDOA between the first reference signals corresponding to SSB#2 (such as PRS#4, PRS#5, and PRS#6 in Table 1) to the network device or location server to achieve UE#2's location. Alternatively, UE#2 can determine its location based on the positions of the sent PRS#4 (sat#4), PRS#5 (sat#5), and PRS#6 (sat#6), as well as the TDOA between PRS#4, PRS#5, and PRS#6.

[0135] Please refer to Figure 3B again. In Figure 3B, the first information is CSI-RS, and the first measurement result is the time difference of arrival, and the second measurement result is RSRP, as an example. UE#1 measures the RSRP of CSI-RS#1 and the RSRP of CSI-RS#2. If the RSRP corresponding to CSI-RS#1 is greater than the RSRP corresponding to CSI-RS#2, then the first information can be determined to be CSI-RS#1. UE#1 can report the time difference of arrival between the first reference signals corresponding to CSI-RS#1 (such as PRS#1, PRS#2, and PRS#3 in Table 2) to the network device or positioning server to achieve UE#1 positioning, or it can locate itself without reporting. UE#2 measures the RSRP of CSI-RS#1 and the RSRP of CSI-RS#2. If the RSRP corresponding to CSI-RS#1 is less than the RSRP corresponding to CSI-RS#2, then the first information can be determined to be CSI-RS#2. UE#2 can report to the network device or positioning server through the time difference between the first reference signals corresponding to CSI-RS#2 (such as PRS#4, PRS#5, and PRS#6 in Table 2) to achieve UE#2 positioning, or it can locate itself without reporting.

[0136] In this embodiment, the second communication device that transmits the first reference signal may be the same as or different from the second communication device that transmits the second reference signal. That is, the second communication device that transmits the first reference signal may be the same as the second communication device that transmits the second reference signal, or it may not be the same as the second communication device that transmits the second reference signal. Furthermore, the second communication device that transmits the second reference signal may be a serving network device of the first communication device, or it may not be a serving network device of the first communication device. For example, if the second reference signal is CSI-RS and the second communication device is a satellite, then the first information may belong to a serving satellite of the first communication device, or it may be a non-serving satellite, i.e., not a serving satellite of the first communication device.

[0137] In the second possible implementation, the first information is the second communication device, and the at least two first reference signals are reference signals sent by the second communication device and the third communication device respectively, or the at least two first reference signals are reference signals sent by at least two third communication devices respectively.

[0138] The third communication device and the second communication device can be different network devices, such as satellites. The third communication device and the second communication device are associated through device identifiers; that is, they can be bound together using the device identifiers of the second and third communication devices. For example, the satellite ID of one satellite can be bound to the satellite IDs of several other different satellites. The number of third communication devices can be greater than or equal to one. When there is only one third communication device, at least two first reference signals are reference signals transmitted by the second and third communication devices respectively. When there is more than one third communication device, at least two first reference signals are reference signals transmitted by the second communication device and each of the third communication devices respectively, or they can be reference signals transmitted by each of the third communication devices respectively. This application does not limit whether the second or third communication device transmits the first reference signal. The first communication device can select at least two of the transmitted reference signals as the first reference signals for determining the location of the first communication device based on the association information between the second and third communication devices bound by identifiers.

[0139] It is understood that in this embodiment, the third communication device associated with the second communication device is determined by the identifier of the second communication device, and the measurement results of these reference signals are obtained by the first reference signals sent by the second communication device and the third communication device associated with the second communication device, or by the first reference signals sent by at least two third communication devices associated with the second communication device. There is no need to measure the reference signals corresponding to other first information, which can reduce the latency and power consumption of terminal-side positioning.

[0140] This application does not limit the second communication device used as the first information. The second communication device can be any communication device selected by the first communication device, or optionally, the second communication device used as the first information can be a serving network device of the first communication device. That is, the serving network device of the first communication device and other non-serving network devices can be bound to the resource configuration of at least two first reference signals of the first communication device, thereby determining the corresponding first reference signal through the serving network device of the first communication device to achieve the positioning of the first communication device. Step S201 may include: using the network device (or the second communication device) selected by the first communication device as the first information; or, using the serving network device of the first communication device as the second communication device and the second communication device as the first information.

[0141] In some possible implementations, if the first information is a second reference signal sent by the second communication device, then a third communication device associated with the second communication device can be identified, and at least two first reference signals can be identified as reference signals sent by the second communication device and the third communication device respectively, or as reference signals sent by each of the third communication devices respectively. In this case, the first information (the second reference signal sent by the second communication device) corresponds to the resource configuration of the first reference signals sent by the second communication device and the third communication device associated with the second communication device respectively, or corresponds to the resource configuration of the first reference signals sent by at least two third communication devices associated with the second communication device respectively.

[0142] In some possible implementations, the number of second communication devices serving as the first information can be greater than or equal to one. When the number of second communication devices is one, the measurement results of these reference signals can be obtained through first reference signals transmitted by the second communication device and a third communication device associated with it, or through first reference signals transmitted by at least two third communication devices associated with the second communication device. When the number of second communication devices is greater than one, the measurement results of these reference signals can be obtained through first reference signals transmitted by at least one second communication device and a third communication device associated with it, or through first reference signals transmitted by third communication devices associated with at least one second communication device. The specific second communication device is not limited here. When the number of second communication devices is greater than one, these second communication devices can be associated with each other or with one of the second communication devices, thus without any associated third communication devices. The measurement results of these reference signals can be obtained through first reference signals transmitted by at least two second communication devices.

[0143] In a third possible implementation, the first information is the TCI status, and step S201 may include: the first communication device receiving a first instruction from the second communication device. Accordingly, the second communication device sends the first instruction to the first communication device.

[0144] The first indication is used to indicate the first information. This first indication can be carried by the DCI or sent separately, which is not limited here. The TCI state can be an uplink TCI state (such as TCI-UL_State), a downlink TCI state (such as TCI-DL_State), or a common TCI state (such as a joint TCI state (JointTCI-State)), which is not limited here.

[0145] It is understandable that by configuring the resources of at least two first reference signals corresponding to the TCI state, the measurement results of these reference signals can be obtained without measuring the reference signals corresponding to other first information, which can reduce the latency and power consumption of terminal-side positioning.

[0146] In a fourth possible implementation, the first information is the sub-region closest to the last positioning of the first communication device. Step S201 may include: using the sub-region closest to the last positioning of the first communication device as the first information. Thus, the measurement results of these reference signals can be obtained through the resource configuration of at least two first reference signals corresponding to the sub-region closest to the last positioning of the first communication device, without needing to measure the reference signals corresponding to other first information. This facilitates the first communication device in receiving the configuration information of the first reference signals and reduces the latency and power consumption of terminal-side positioning.

[0147] The first communication device implementing the fourth possible implementation may have a relatively coarse position (low-precision position information), for example, the time since the last positioning of the first communication device is greater than a first threshold, or the GNSS positioning accuracy is less than a second threshold. This application does not limit the first and second thresholds. If the time since the last positioning of the first communication device is greater than the first threshold, or the GNSS positioning accuracy is less than the second threshold, the position of the first communication device may have changed, requiring positioning.

[0148] Taking the first information as a sub-region and the first reference signal as the PRS as an example. Before executing step S201, different resource configurations for different sub-regions and their corresponding PRSs can be set. The correspondence between sub-regions and at least two first reference signals can be shown in Table 3 below.

[0149] Table 3

[0150] As can be seen from Table 3, the first reference signal corresponding to the sub-region can be determined. Different sub-regions may correspond to the same first reference signal or different first reference signals. For example, Area#2 and Area#6 may correspond to the same first reference signal, while Area#1 and Area#4 may correspond to different first reference signals. Area#1 and Area#3 may correspond to partially the same first reference signal, with PRS#1 being the only identical first reference signal. The other first reference signals are different and are not limited here.

[0151] The number of first reference signals corresponding to each sub-region can be the same or different. For example, Area#1, Area#2, and Area#3 have 3 first reference signals, while Area#5 and Area#7 have 4 first reference signals. This is not a limitation.

[0152] For example, referring to Table 3 and Figure 4, if the first communication device determines that the first information is Area#2, then according to Table 3, at least two first reference signals corresponding to the first information are determined to be PRS#5, PRS#6, and PRS#7. Thus, the positioning of the first communication device can be achieved by measuring PRS#5, PRS#6, and PRS#7.

[0153] It should be understood that Table 3 is for illustrative purposes only. Sub-regions can be represented as Area#1, Area#2, etc., as shown in Table 3, or can be described by the center point and radius of the sub-region, etc., without limitation here.

[0154] In some other possible implementations, the correspondence between sub-regions and at least two first reference signals can be determined as shown in Table 4 below. Table 4 describes the correspondence between the index values ​​corresponding to the sub-regions and the identifiers of the at least two first reference signals.

[0155] Table 4

[0156] The index value corresponding to the sub-region is used to identify the sub-region. Table 4 does not describe the correspondence between the index value and the sub-region; this can be determined through other tables or other forms. For example, the sub-region corresponding to index value 0 is Area#6, the sub-region corresponding to index value 1 is Area#5, the sub-region corresponding to index value 2 is Area#1, the sub-region corresponding to index value 3 is Area#7, etc., without limitation here. Alternatively, a column can be added to Table 4 to indicate the sub-region corresponding to the index value, that is, the sub-region corresponding to at least two first reference signals, without limitation here. It can be understood that indicating the resource configuration of at least two first reference signals through index value can save signaling overhead compared to indicating the resource configuration of at least two first reference signals through sub-region.

[0157] Table 3 directly indicates the sub-region and its corresponding first reference signal. In other possible implementations, the correspondence between the sub-region and at least two first reference signals can be indirectly indicated, as shown in Table 5. The correspondence between the first information and the resource configuration of at least two first reference signals may include: the first reference signals transmitted by at least two second communication devices corresponding to the sub-region correspond to the resource configuration of the first reference signal. The second communication device corresponding to the sub-region may also be a third communication device, or other communication devices, which are not limited here.

[0158] Table 5

[0159] As can be seen from Table 5, the sub-regions and corresponding second communication devices are used. The first reference signal corresponding to a sub-region can be the reference signal sent by the second communication device corresponding to that sub-region. In other words, the location of the first communication device can be achieved by measuring the reference signal sent by the second communication device to the first communication device. Thus, there is no need to add additional signaling to indicate the correspondence between the first reference signal and the first information, which can reduce signaling overhead.

[0160] This application does not limit the method of dividing the sub-region. It can be the cell corresponding to the second communication device, or the sub-region obtained by further dividing the coverage area of ​​the second communication device or the cell of the second communication device, or the sub-region obtained by dividing according to different beam directions, etc.

[0161] In the fifth possible implementation, the first information is the first time at which the first communication device determines the location, and the first time is included in the visibility time of at least two first reference signals. That is, the resource configuration corresponding to the first information and the at least two first reference signals includes: the first time is the visibility time of at least two first reference signals, or the first time belongs to the visibility period of at least two first reference signals.

[0162] The visible period can be understood as the period during which signals transmitted by the satellite are received, such as the period during which the first reference signal can be received. The visible period can be determined by a start time (or initial time) and an end time; the time between the start and end times of the visible period can be called the visible time. Optionally, the start and end times of the visible period can also be called the visible time. The visible time of at least two first reference signals can be the shortest visible time of each first reference signal, or it can be the visible time of the reference signal set to which the at least two first reference signals belong. The number of visible times of the at least two first reference signals can be one or more, or it can be a visible period.

[0163] The first time can be the moment or time when the first communication device needs to be located within the first area, or it can be the time period to which the moment or time belongs, or it can be the duration for which the first communication device has been located in the first area, etc. The first area can be the coverage area of ​​the network device to which the first communication device is connected, or it can be a sub-area within the coverage area, or it can be the area where the first communication device was last located, etc., and is not limited here.

[0164] Using the first reference signal as the PRS, and taking Release 16 as an example, the visible time period of one of the at least two first reference signals can be configured using the following information:

[0165] The start time of the visible period of the first reference signal is configured by “Startime”, and the end time of the visible period of the first reference signal is configured by “EndTime”. The resource configuration of the first reference signal is represented by multiple sequences (SEQUENCE) contained in “NR-DL-PRS-Resource-r16”. In addition to the start and end times of the visible period of the first reference signal, the resource configuration can also be configured by “nr-DL-PRS-ResourceID-r16” for the resource identifier of the PRS, by “dl-PRS-SequenceID-r16” for the sequence identifier of the PRS, by “dl-PRS-CombSizeN-AndReOffset-r16” for the N symbols occupied by the PRS, by “dl-PRS-ResourceSlotOffset-r16” for the offset of the time slot occupied by the PRS resources, by “dl-PRS-ResourceSymbolOffset-r16” for the offset of the symbols occupied by the PRS resources, and by “dl-PRS-ResourcePrioritySubset-r17” for the priority of the PRS resources, etc., without being limited here.

[0166] For example, the visible time periods of at least two first reference signals belonging to a set of reference signals can be configured using the following information:

[0167] The start time of the visible period of at least two first reference signals belonging to a reference signal set is configured via “SetStartingTime”, and the end time of the visible period of the reference signal set is configured via “SetEndignTime”. The resource configuration of the reference signal set is represented by multiple sequences contained within “NR-DL-PRS-ResourceSet-r16”. In addition to the start and end times of the visible period of the reference signal set, this resource configuration can also configure the resource set identifier of the PRS via “nr-DL-PRS-ResourceSetID-r16”, the offset of the time slot occupied by the PRS resource set via “dl-PRS-Periodicity-and-ResourceSetSlotOffset-r16”, and the resource repetition count of the PRS via “dl-PRS-ResourceRepetitionFactor-r16”. Configure the PRS resource delay time using "dl-PRS-ResourceTimeGap-r16", configure the number of symbols occupied by the PRS using "dl-PRS-NumSymbols-r16", configure the PRS round-trip options using "dl-PRS-MutingOption1-r16" or "dl-PRS-MutingOption2-r16", configure the PRS resource capabilities using "dl-PRS-ResourcePower-r16", and configure the PRS resource list, i.e., the first reference signal included in the reference signal set, using "dl-PRS-ResourceList-r16", etc., without limitation here.

[0168] It is understandable that the fifth possible implementation can be executed when the first communication device determines that positioning is required. The first communication device determines that the visible time (or visible period) to which the first time to be positioned belongs is the visible time of at least two first reference signals. Thus, the resource configuration of at least two first reference signals can be determined according to the first time, which is beneficial for the first communication device to receive the configuration information of the first reference signals and can reduce the latency and power consumption of positioning on the terminal side.

[0169] For example, if the first time is 1:30, and assuming the start time of a visible period is 1:00 and the end time of the visible period is 2:00, then the visible period may include the first time. This visible period is the visible period of at least two first reference signals, such as PRS#1, PRS#6, and PRS#7. The first communication device can be located by receiving PRS#1, PRS#6, and PRS#7 based on their resource configurations, and obtaining the first measurement results between them.

[0170] At least two first reference signals and their corresponding visible times (or visible periods) can be transmitted through the resource configuration of at least two first reference signals, or at least two first reference signals and their corresponding visible times (or visible periods) can be transmitted simultaneously or separately with the resource configuration of at least two first reference signals, without limitation. That is, the network side can group the first reference signals so that each reference signal group includes at least two first reference signals, and issue the resource configuration for each reference signal group. This resource configuration may or may not include the visible time (or visible period) of the reference signal group. If the resource configuration of a reference signal group includes the visible time (or visible period) of the reference signal group, the resource configuration of the reference signal group may also include other information, such as the location information of the reference signal group, without limitation.

[0171] At least two first reference signals and their corresponding visible time periods can be represented by Table 6 below.

[0172] Table 6

[0173] For example, if the start time of the first communication device being located in the first area is T1', and the time when the first communication device needs to be located after being located in the first area is T2', then the first time is T2'-T1'. If T2'-T1' is greater than t2 and less than t3, then the visible time period to which the first time belongs is [t2 t3]. The first time is one of the visible times in [t2 t3]. According to Table 6, at least two corresponding first reference signals can be determined as PRS#1, PRS#6, and PRS#7. In this way, the first communication device can be located by detecting PRS#1, PRS#6, and PRS#7.

[0174] In some possible implementations, the method may further include: the second communication device sending a second instruction to the first communication device. Correspondingly, the first communication device receives the second instruction from the second communication device. The second communication device here may also be a third communication device, or other communication devices, and is not limited thereto.

[0175] The second indication is used to indicate the priority of each first reference signal. This second indication can be provided through system information or configuration information, such as SIB, MAC CE signaling, RRC signaling, DCI, etc. In this way, measurements can be performed one by one according to the priority of each first reference signal.

[0176] In some possible implementations, the second indication is also used to indicate the correspondence between the first information and at least two first reference signals, or the second indication is used to indicate the resource configuration of at least two first reference signals. That is, the priority among these first reference signals can be indicated when the correspondence between at least two first reference signals and the first information is issued on the network side, or when the resource configuration of at least two first reference signals is issued on the network side.

[0177] For example, taking Table 4 as an example, when the index value corresponding to the first information (Table 4 is a sub-region) is determined to be 0, the first communication device measures PRS#5, PRS#6, and PRS#7 step by step to achieve the positioning of the first communication device.

[0178] In some possible implementations, the method may further include: the first communication device sending a location request to the second communication device. Correspondingly, the second communication device receives the location request from the first communication device. The second communication device here may also be a third communication device, or other communication devices, without limitation.

[0179] The location request is used to obtain the location of the first communication device. This method can be executed before step S201, or before the network side sends the resource configuration of at least two first reference signals, or before the network side sends the correspondence between at least two first reference signals and first information; no limitation is made here. Thus, by executing the method provided in this application according to the location request of the first communication device, the accuracy of execution can be improved.

[0180] It should be understood that each of Tables 1 to 6, and the five possible first information provided above, are examples. Other first information not described herein, and the correspondence between the first information and at least two first reference signals, can also implement the method of this application.

[0181] S202, the first communication device acquires a first measurement result of at least two first reference signals based on the resource configuration of at least two first reference signals, and the first measurement result is used to determine the position of the first communication device.

[0182] In some possible implementations, step S202 may include: the first communication device sending a first measurement result to the second communication device; and the second communication device sending its location information to the first communication device. Correspondingly, the second communication device receives the first measurement result from the first communication device; and the first communication device receives its location information. This method can refer to the description of OTDOA technology, where the first communication device reports the first measurement result of at least two first reference signals, and the second communication device or a positioning server determines the location of the first communication device based on the first measurement result. Alternatively, the first communication device can determine its location based on the first measurement result and the location of the second communication device that sent the first reference signals. The second communication device here can also be a third communication device, or other communication devices, which are not limited here.

[0183] It is understood that in the method shown in Figure 2, the measurement results of these reference signals are obtained by configuring the resources of at least two first reference signals corresponding to the first information, without the need to measure the reference signals corresponding to other first information, which can reduce the latency and power consumption of the terminal-side positioning.

[0184] The methods of the embodiments of this application have been described in detail above, and the apparatus of the embodiments of this application is provided below.

[0185] Please refer to Figure 5, which is a schematic diagram of a communication device provided in an embodiment of this application. The communication device may include a transceiver unit 501 and a processing unit 502. The transceiver unit 501 may be a device with signal input (receiving) or output (transmitting) capabilities, used for signal transmission with other devices or other components within a device. The processing unit 502 may be a device with processing capabilities, including one or more processors, used for executing instructions (or code or programs), for example, processing communication protocols and communication data. This communication device may be a first communication device or a second communication device.

[0186] In one embodiment, when the communication device can be a first communication device, wherein:

[0187] The processing unit 502 is used to determine first information, which corresponds to the resource configuration of at least two first reference signals;

[0188] The transceiver unit 501 is used to receive the first reference signal based on resource configuration of the first reference signal;

[0189] The processing unit 502 is also configured to acquire a first measurement result of the at least two first reference signals, the first measurement result being used to determine the position of the first communication device.

[0190] In some possible implementations, the first information is a second reference signal, which includes at least one of the following: SSB, CSI-RS, TRS, DMRS.

[0191] In some possible implementations, the first information is the second reference signal with the largest second measurement result among a plurality of second reference signals, and the second measurement result includes at least one of the following: RSRP, RSRQ, SINR.

[0192] In some possible implementations, the first information is a TCI state, and the transceiver unit 501 is further configured to receive a first indication, which is used to indicate the first information; the processing unit 502 is configured to determine the first information based on the first indication.

[0193] In some possible implementations, the first information is a second communication device, and the at least two first reference signals are reference signals sent by the second communication device and the third communication device respectively, or the at least two first reference signals are reference signals sent by at least two third communication devices respectively; wherein the third communication device is associated with the second communication device through a device identifier.

[0194] In some possible implementations, the first information is the sub-region closest to the last location of the first communication device.

[0195] In some possible implementations, the at least two first reference signals are reference signals sent by at least two second communication devices corresponding to the sub-region, respectively.

[0196] In some possible implementations, the first information corresponds to the resource configuration of at least two first reference signals, including: the index value corresponding to the sub-region corresponds to the resource configuration of at least two first reference signals.

[0197] In some possible implementations, the first information is the first time at which the first communication device determines the location to be determined, and the visibility time of the at least two first reference signals includes the first time.

[0198] In some possible implementations, the transceiver unit 501 is further configured to receive a second indication, which indicates the priority of each of the first reference signals.

[0199] In some possible implementations, the transceiver unit 501 is also configured to send a location request for obtaining the location of the first communication device.

[0200] Alternatively, in one embodiment, the communication device can be a second communication device, which can also be a third communication device, or other communication devices, without limitation. The following example uses a second communication device, wherein:

[0201] The processing unit 502 is used to determine configuration information, which is used to indicate the correspondence between the first information and the resource configuration of at least two first reference signals, and the first measurement results of the at least two first reference signals are used to determine the location of the first communication device;

[0202] The transceiver unit 501 is used to send the configuration information.

[0203] In some possible implementations, the first information is a second reference signal, which includes at least one of the following: SSB, CSI-RS, TRS, DMRS.

[0204] In some possible implementations, the first information is the second reference signal with the largest second measurement result among a plurality of second reference signals, and the second measurement result includes at least one of the following: RSRP, RSRQ, SINR.

[0205] In some possible implementations, the first information is a TCI state, and the transceiver unit 501 is also used to send a first indication, which is used to indicate the first information.

[0206] In some possible implementations, the first information is a second communication device, and the at least two first reference signals are reference signals sent by the second communication device and the third communication device respectively, or the at least two first reference signals are reference signals sent by at least two third communication devices respectively; wherein the third communication device is associated with the second communication device through a device identifier.

[0207] In some possible implementations, the first information is the sub-region closest to the last location of the first communication device.

[0208] In some possible implementations, the at least two first reference signals are reference signals sent by at least two second communication devices corresponding to the sub-region, respectively.

[0209] In some possible implementations, the first information corresponds to the resource configuration of at least two first reference signals, including: the index value corresponding to the sub-region corresponds to the resource configuration of at least two first reference signals.

[0210] In some possible implementations, the first information is the first time at which the first communication device determines the location to be determined, and the visibility time of the at least two first reference signals includes the first time.

[0211] In some possible implementations, the transceiver unit 501 is also configured to transmit a second indication, which indicates the priority of each of the first reference signals.

[0212] In some possible implementations, the transceiver unit 501 is also configured to receive a location request for obtaining the location of the first communication device.

[0213] The implementation of the above-mentioned transceiver unit 501 and processing unit 502 can be referred to the relevant description of the method embodiment shown in FIG2, which will not be repeated here.

[0214] Please refer to Figure 6, which is a schematic diagram of the structure of a communication device provided in an embodiment of this application. As shown in Figure 6, the communication device may include a processor 111. The processor 111 may also be referred to as a processing unit, which can implement certain control functions. When the processor 111 is running, it causes the communication device to execute any of the methods described in Figure 2 in the embodiment of this application.

[0215] The communication device shown in Figure 6 may further include a storage medium 112, which may also be referred to as a storage unit or a memory. Instructions 114 are stored on the storage medium 112. These instructions 114 can be executed on the processor 111, causing the communication device to perform any of the methods described in Figure 2 of this embodiment.

[0216] Optionally, the processor 111 may include instructions 113 that can be executed on the processor 111 to cause the communication device to perform any of the methods described in FIG2 in the embodiments of this application.

[0217] The communication device can be a first communication device or a second communication device, used to implement the method described in the method embodiments. However, the scope of the device described in this application is not limited thereto; the communication device can be a standalone device or part of a larger device. For example, the communication device can be:

[0218] (1) An independent integrated circuit (IC), or chip, or chip system or subsystem;

[0219] (2) A collection of one or more ICs, optionally, the collection of ICs may include a storage component for storing data and / or instructions;

[0220] (3) Application-specific integrated circuits (ASICs), such as modems;

[0221] (4) Modules that can be embedded in other devices.

[0222] Please refer to Figure 7, which is a schematic diagram of the structure of a terminal device provided in an embodiment of this application. For ease of explanation, Figure 7 only shows the main components of the terminal device. As shown in Figure 7, the terminal device includes a processor, a memory, a control circuit, an antenna, and input / output devices. The processor is mainly used to process communication protocols and communication data, control the entire terminal device, execute software programs, and process the data of the software programs. The memory is mainly used to store software programs and data. The radio frequency circuit is mainly used for the conversion between baseband signals and radio frequency signals and the processing of radio frequency signals. The antenna is mainly used for transmitting and receiving radio frequency signals in the form of electromagnetic waves. Input / output devices, such as touch screens, displays, and keyboards, are mainly used to receive user input data and output data to the user.

[0223] When the terminal device is powered on, the processor can read the software program from the storage unit, parse and execute the instructions of the software program, and process the data of the software program. When data needs to be transmitted wirelessly, the processor performs baseband processing on the data to be transmitted and outputs the baseband signal to the radio frequency (RF) circuit. The RF circuit processes the baseband signal to obtain the RF signal and transmits the RF signal outward in the form of electromagnetic waves through the antenna. When data is sent to the terminal device, the RF circuit receives the RF signal through the antenna. This RF signal is further converted into a baseband signal and output to the processor. The processor converts the baseband signal back into data and processes the data.

[0224] For ease of explanation, Figure 7 shows only one memory and processor. In actual terminal devices, multiple processors and memories may exist. Memory may also be referred to as storage medium or storage device, etc., and the embodiments of this application do not limit this.

[0225] In one embodiment, the antenna is used to perform the operations performed by the transceiver unit 501 in the above embodiments. The processor can be used to perform the operations performed by the processing unit 502 in the above embodiments.

[0226] This application also provides a computer-readable storage medium storing instructions that, when executed by a computer or processor, can implement the relevant steps in the communication method provided in the above-described method embodiments.

[0227] This application also provides a computer program product including instructions that, when executed by a computer or processor, cause one or more steps of any of the above-described communication methods to be performed. If the constituent modules of the aforementioned devices are implemented as software functional units and sold or used as independent products, they can be stored in a computer-readable storage medium.

[0228] This application provides a chip or chip system including at least one processor for calling and executing instructions stored in a memory, causing a communication device with the chip installed to perform any of the methods described above.

[0229] This application also provides a chip, including a processor and a memory, wherein the processor is used to call and execute instructions stored in the memory, causing a communication device on which the chip is installed to perform any of the above methods.

[0230] This application also provides a chip, including: an input interface, an output interface, and a processing circuit. The input interface, the output interface, and the processing circuit are connected via internal connection paths. The processing circuit is used to execute any of the methods described above. Optionally, the chip further includes a memory. The input interface, the output interface, the processor, and the memory are connected via internal connection paths. The processor is used to execute code in the memory. When the code is executed, the processor is used to execute any of the methods described above.

[0231] This application also provides a chip system including at least one processor and a communication interface. The communication interface and the at least one processor are interconnected via a circuit. The at least one processor is used to run computer programs or instructions to perform any of the methods described above. This chip system may be composed of chips or may include chips and other discrete devices.

[0232] This application also provides a communication system, which includes a first communication device and a second communication device. For a detailed description, please refer to the method shown in FIG2.

[0233] It should be understood that the memory mentioned in the embodiments of this application can be volatile memory or non-volatile memory, or may include both volatile and non-volatile memory. Non-volatile memory can be a hard disk drive (HDD), a solid-state drive (SSD), a read-only memory (ROM), a programmable read-only memory (PROM), an erasable programmable read-only memory (EPROM), an electrically erasable programmable read-only memory (EEPROM), or flash memory. Volatile memory can be random access memory (RAM), which is used as an external cache. Memory is any other medium capable of carrying or storing desired program code having an instruction or data structure form and accessible by a computer, but is not limited thereto. The memory in the embodiments of this application can also be a circuit or any other device capable of implementing storage functions for storing program instructions and / or data.

[0234] It should also be understood that the processor mentioned in the embodiments of this application can be a central processing unit (CPU), or other general-purpose processors, digital signal processors (DSPs), application-specific integrated circuits (ASICs), field-programmable gate arrays (FPGAs), or other programmable logic devices, discrete gate or transistor logic devices, discrete hardware components, etc. A general-purpose processor can be a microprocessor, or any conventional processor, etc.

[0235] It should be noted that when the processor is a general-purpose processor, DSP, ASIC, FPGA, or other programmable logic device, discrete gate or transistor logic device, or discrete hardware component, the memory (storage module) is integrated into the processor.

[0236] It should be noted that the memories described herein are intended to include, but are not limited to, these and any other suitable types of memories.

[0237] Those skilled in the art will recognize that the units and algorithm steps of the various examples described in conjunction with the embodiments provided herein can be implemented in electronic hardware, or a combination of computer software and electronic hardware. Whether these functions are implemented in hardware or software depends on the specific application and design constraints of the technical solution. Those 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 this application.

[0238] In the several embodiments provided in this application, it should be understood that the disclosed systems, apparatuses, and methods can be implemented in other ways. For example, the apparatus embodiments described above are merely illustrative; for instance, the division of units is only a logical functional division, and in actual implementation, there may be other division methods. For example, multiple units or components may be combined or integrated into another system, or some features may be ignored or not executed. Furthermore, the coupling or direct coupling or communication connection shown or discussed may be through some interfaces; the indirect coupling or communication connection between apparatuses or units may be electrical, mechanical, or other forms.

[0239] The units described as separate components may or may not be physically separate. 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 the units can be selected to achieve the purpose of this embodiment, depending on actual needs.

[0240] In addition, the functional units in the various embodiments of this application can be integrated into one processing unit, or each unit can exist physically separately, or two or more units can be integrated into one unit.

[0241] The steps in the methods of this application can be adjusted, combined, or deleted according to actual needs. Each step in each embodiment can be partially performed (for example, the communication device may not perform the steps performed by the communication device in the above embodiments). The execution order of different steps can be changed. The embodiments described herein can be combined with other embodiments, different embodiments can be combined with each other, and different steps of different embodiments herein can be combined.

[0242] The modules / units in the device of this application embodiment can be merged, divided, and deleted according to actual needs.

[0243] In this document, the term "embodiment" means that a particular feature, structure, or characteristic described in connection with an embodiment may be included in at least one embodiment of this application. The appearance of this phrase in various places in the specification does not necessarily refer to the same embodiment, nor is it a separate or alternative embodiment mutually exclusive with other embodiments.

[0244] In this application, it may refer to a communication protocol or specification, such as the 3GPP communication protocol.

[0245] In this application, unless otherwise specified, "at least one" means "one or more".

[0246] The terms “first,” “second,” “third,” “fourth,” etc. (if present) in the embodiments of this application are used to distinguish similar objects and are not necessarily used to describe a specific order or sequence.

[0247] In the embodiments of this application, "including" can refer to a relationship of inclusion or an equality relationship. For example, A includes B, which could mean that A includes B and may also include other content, or that A and B are the same content.

[0248] In the description of this application, unless otherwise stated, " / " indicates that the objects before and after it are in an "or" relationship. For example, A / B can mean A or B. "And / or" in this application is merely a description of the relationship between the related objects, indicating that three relationships can exist. For example, A and / or B can represent: A alone, A and B simultaneously, and B alone, where A and B can be singular or plural. Furthermore, in the description of this application, unless otherwise stated, "multiple" means two or more. "At least one of the following" or similar expressions refer to any combination of these items, including any combination of singular or plural items. For example, at least one of a, b, or c can represent: a, b, c, ab, ac, bc, or abc, where a, b, and c can be single or multiple.

[0249] In this application, the words "exemplarily" or "for example" are used to indicate that they are examples, illustrations, or descriptions. Any embodiment or design that is described as "exemplarily" or "for example" in this application should not be construed as being more preferred or advantageous than other embodiments or design options. Rather, the use of the words "exemplarily" or "for example" is intended to present the relevant concepts in a specific manner.

[0250] In the description of this application, "instruction" can include direct and indirect instructions, as well as explicit and implicit instructions. The information indicated by a certain piece of information is called the information to be instructed. In the specific implementation process, there are many ways to instruct the information to be instructed. For example, the information to be instructed can be directly instructed, such as by instructing the information itself or its index. Alternatively, the information to be instructed can be indirectly indicated by instructing other information, where there is a relationship between the indicated other information and the information to be instructed. Another example is that only a part of the information to be instructed can be indicated, while the other parts are known or pre-agreed upon. Furthermore, the instruction of specific information can be achieved by using a pre-agreed (such as an agreement) arrangement of various pieces of information, thereby reducing the instruction overhead to some extent.

[0251] It is understood that in the description of this application, "when," "if," and "if" all refer to the device making a corresponding action under certain objective circumstances, and are not time-limited, nor do they require the device to make a judgment action when it is implemented, nor do they mean that there are other limitations.

[0252] It should be understood that in the various embodiments of this application, the order of the above-mentioned processes does not imply 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.

Claims

1. A communication method, characterized in that, Applied to a first communication device, the method includes: Determine the first information, which corresponds to the resource configuration of at least two first reference signals; Based on the resource configuration of the at least two first reference signals, a first measurement result of the at least two first reference signals is obtained, and the first measurement result is used to determine the location of the first communication device.

2. The method according to claim 1, characterized in that, The first information is a second reference signal, which includes at least one of the following: synchronization signal block SSB, channel state information reference signal CSI-RS, tracking reference signal TRS, and demodulation reference signal DMRS.

3. The method according to claim 2, characterized in that, The first information is the second reference signal with the largest second measurement result among a plurality of second reference signals. The second measurement result includes at least one of the following: reference signal received power RSRP, reference signal received quality RSRQ, and signal-to-interference-plus-noise ratio SINR.

4. The method according to claim 1, characterized in that, The first information is the Transmission Configuration Indicator (TCI) status, and determining the first information includes: Receive a first instruction, which is used to indicate the first information.

5. The method according to claim 1, characterized in that, The first information is a second communication device, and the at least two first reference signals are reference signals sent by the second communication device and the third communication device respectively, or the at least two first reference signals are reference signals sent by at least two third communication devices respectively; wherein, the third communication device and the second communication device are associated through a device identifier.

6. The method according to claim 1, characterized in that, The first information is the sub-region closest to the last location of the first communication device.

7. The method according to claim 6, characterized in that, The at least two first reference signals are reference signals sent by at least two second communication devices corresponding to the sub-region, respectively.

8. The method according to claim 6, characterized in that, The first information corresponds to the resource configuration of at least two first reference signals, including: the index value corresponding to the sub-region corresponds to the resource configuration of at least two first reference signals.

9. The method according to claim 1, characterized in that, The first information is the first time when the first communication device determines the location to be determined, and the visibility time of the at least two first reference signals includes the first time.

10. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 9, characterized in that, Also includes: Receive a second instruction, which indicates the priority of each of the first reference signals.

11. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 10, characterized in that, Also includes: A location request is sent to obtain the location of the first communication device.

12. A communication method, characterized in that, Applied to a second communication device, the method includes: The configuration information is determined, which is used to indicate the correspondence between the first information and the resource configuration of at least two first reference signals, and the first measurement results of the at least two first reference signals are used to determine the location of the first communication device; Send the configuration information.

13. The method according to claim 12, characterized in that, The first information is a second reference signal, which includes at least one of the following: synchronization signal block SSB, channel state information reference signal CSI-RS, tracking reference signal TRS, and demodulation reference signal DMRS.

14. The method according to claim 13, characterized in that, The first information is the second reference signal with the largest second measurement result among a plurality of second reference signals. The second measurement result includes at least one of the following: reference signal received power RSRP, reference signal received quality RSRQ, and signal-to-interference-plus-noise ratio SINR.

15. The method according to claim 14, characterized in that, The first information is the Transmission Configuration Indicator (TCI) status, and the method further includes: Send a first instruction, which is used to indicate the first information.

16. The method according to claim 12, characterized in that, The first information is a second communication device, and the at least two first reference signals are reference signals sent by the second communication device and the third communication device respectively, or the at least two first reference signals are reference signals sent by at least two third communication devices respectively; wherein, the third communication device and the second communication device are associated through a device identifier.

17. The method according to claim 12, characterized in that, The first information is the sub-region closest to the last location of the first communication device.

18. The method according to claim 17, characterized in that, The at least two first reference signals are reference signals sent by at least two second communication devices corresponding to the sub-region, respectively.

19. The method according to claim 17, characterized in that, The first information corresponds to the resource configuration of at least two first reference signals, including: the index value corresponding to the sub-region corresponds to the resource configuration of at least two first reference signals.

20. The method according to claim 19, characterized in that, The first information is the first time when the first communication device determines the location to be determined, and the visibility time of the at least two first reference signals includes the first time.

21. The method according to any one of claims 12 to 20, characterized in that, Also includes: A second instruction is sent, which indicates the priority of each of the first reference signals.

22. The method according to any one of claims 12 to 21, characterized in that, Also includes: A location request is received, the location request being used to obtain the location of the first communication device.

23. A communication device, characterized in that, It includes at least one processor, which, when running, causes the method according to any one of claims 1 to 22 to be performed.

24. A computer-readable storage medium or computer program product, characterized in that, Includes a computer program or instructions that, when executed, cause the method according to any one of claims 1 to 22 to be performed.

25. A chip or chip system, characterized in that, It includes at least one processor for retrieving and executing instructions stored in a memory, causing a communication device equipped with a chip or chip system to perform the method as described in any one of claims 1 to 22.

26. A communication system, characterized in that, It includes a first communication device and a second communication device, wherein the first communication device is used to perform the method according to any one of claims 1 to 11, and the second communication device is used to perform the method according to any one of claims 12 to 22.

Images