CN113840224A

CN113840224A - Communication method and device

Info

Publication number: CN113840224A
Application number: CN202010514692.7A
Authority: CN
Inventors: 史桢宇; 李汐
Original assignee: Huawei Technologies Co Ltd
Current assignee: Huawei Technologies Co Ltd
Priority date: 2020-06-08
Filing date: 2020-06-08
Publication date: 2021-12-24
Also published as: WO2021249109A1

Abstract

The application provides a communication method and device, which can solve the problem that a positioning result of terminal equipment is inaccurate, and can be applied to systems such as a V2X system, an Internet of vehicles system, an automatic driving system, an intelligent driving system, an Internet of things system and a 5G system. The method comprises the following steps: the positioning measurement equipment acquires the measurement results of the N channel propagation paths of the terminal equipment and sends the measurement results to the positioning calculation equipment through the first message, so that the positioning calculation equipment determines the position of the terminal equipment according to the measurement results of the N channel propagation paths. Wherein, N is a positive integer, and the measurement result of each channel propagation path includes an identifier of each channel propagation path and one or more of the following information: time of arrival, angle of arrival, or received power.

Description

Communication method and device

Technical Field

The present application relates to the field of communications, and in particular, to a communication method and apparatus.

Background

In communication scenarios such as automatic driving, internet of things, unmanned aerial vehicle, etc., it is necessary to accurately acquire the location of a terminal device and provide network services, such as automatic navigation services, based on the location of the terminal device.

Currently, the position of the terminal device can be determined by measuring the time of arrival (TOA) and/or the angle of arrival (AOA) of the received reference signal and then using the line-circle intersection method. For example, the access network device measures an arrival time and/or an arrival angle of a reference signal sent by the terminal device, and reports to a Location Management Function (LMF) network element, and the LMF network element determines a distance between the terminal device and the base station based on the arrival time, and then determines the position of the terminal device by combining the relative angle. Taking a two-dimensional plane as an example, a line refers to a ray which takes the base station as a starting point and an included angle with the due north direction as the arrival angle, a circle refers to a circle which takes the base station as a circle center and takes the distance between the terminal device and the base station as a radius, and an intersection point of the ray and the circumference is the position of the terminal device.

However, when the arrival time and the arrival angle do not belong to the same channel propagation path, the positioning result is inaccurate. For example, due to signal reflection, fast fading of signals, etc., there is a large error in the measured time of arrival and/or angle of arrival, resulting in inaccurate positioning results.

Disclosure of Invention

The embodiment of the application provides a communication method and device, which can solve the problem that the positioning result of terminal equipment is inaccurate.

In order to achieve the purpose, the technical scheme is as follows:

in a first aspect, a method of communication is provided. The method comprises the following steps: the positioning measurement equipment obtains the measurement results of N channel propagation paths of the terminal equipment, and the measurement result of each channel propagation path comprises the identifier of each channel propagation path and one or more of the following items of information: the arrival time corresponding to each channel propagation path, the arrival angle corresponding to each channel propagation path, and the received power corresponding to each channel propagation path, where N is a positive integer. Then, the positioning measurement device sends a first message to the positioning calculation device; the first message comprises measurement results of N channel propagation paths, and the measurement results of the N channel propagation paths are used for determining the position of the terminal equipment.

Based on the first aspect and the communication method described in the second aspect, the positioning measurement device may report measurement results of N channel propagation paths of the terminal device, such as arrival time, arrival angle, or received power, that is, there is a binding relationship between the reported measurement results of the N channel propagation paths and the N channel propagation paths, so that the positioning calculation device determines the position of the terminal device based on the measurement results bound to the channel propagation paths, and the problem of poor positioning accuracy caused by different types of measurement results used in the positioning process, such as arrival time and arrival angle, not belonging to the same channel propagation path can be solved, thereby improving the accuracy of the positioning result of the terminal device.

In a possible design, the obtaining, by the positioning measurement device, measurement results of N channel propagation paths of the terminal device may include: positioning measurement equipment acquires channel impulse response; and the positioning measurement equipment determines the measurement results of the N channel propagation paths according to the channel impulse response. Wherein the channel impulse response comprises a time-domain channel impulse response. Optionally, the channel impulse response may further include a frequency domain channel impulse response. This is not a particular limitation of the present application.

Optionally, the determining, by the positioning measurement device, measurement results of N channel propagation paths according to the channel impulse response may include: the positioning measurement equipment screens N channel propagation paths from the channel impulse response and determines the measurement results of the N channel propagation paths.

Wherein, the N channel propagation paths may be any one of the following: n channel propagation paths with maximum receiving power in the channel impulse response; or, the N channel propagation paths with the minimum arrival time in the channel impulse response; or, the minimum arrival time and received power of the N channel propagation paths in the channel impulse response are greater than or equal to the first power threshold; or, the N channel propagation paths with the minimum arrival time and the sum of the received powers greater than or equal to the second power threshold in the channel impulse response; or the N channel propagation paths with the minimum arrival time, the receiving power larger than or equal to the third power threshold and the sum of the receiving powers larger than or equal to the fourth power threshold in the channel impulse response. Thus, N channel propagation paths may be screened from the channel impulse response based on the received power and/or the arrival time, and then, based on the received data corresponding to each channel propagation path, other contents, such as the arrival angle, in the measurement result of each channel propagation path may be determined, so as to implement the binding of the measurement result and the channel propagation path.

Further, the identifier of each channel propagation path may be a sequence number obtained by sorting the channel propagation paths in the channel impulse response according to the receiving power from large to small, and the arrival time and the arrival angle of the channel propagation path corresponding to the receiving power corresponding to the sequence number are bound with the sequence number to serve as the measurement result of the channel propagation path corresponding to the receiving power corresponding to the sequence number.

Or, optionally, the identifier of each channel propagation path may be a sequence number obtained by sequencing channel propagation paths in the channel impulse response according to the order from small to large of the arrival time, and the received power and the arrival angle of the channel propagation path corresponding to the arrival time corresponding to the sequence number are bound together with the sequence number, and the bound result is used as the measurement result of the channel propagation path corresponding to the arrival time corresponding to the sequence number.

Still further, the measurement result of each channel propagation path may further include a weighting factor, and the weighting factor may include one or more of the following: a time of arrival weighting factor, an angle of arrival weighting factor, a power weighting factor, or a path weighting factor. Wherein the time-of-arrival weighting factor is inversely related to the value of the time-of-arrival; the time-of-arrival weighting factor is positively correlated with the bandwidth occupied by the reference signal; the power weighting factor is positively correlated with the value of the received power; the power weighting factor is positively correlated with the value of the transmission power of the reference signal; the power weighting factor is inversely related to the value of the central frequency point or the frequency band of the transmitted reference signal; the arrival angle weighting factor is positively correlated with the number of receiving antennas; the path weighting factor is positively correlated with one or more of: a time-of-arrival weighting factor, an angle-of-arrival weighting factor, or a power weighting factor.

In a possible design, the determining the location of the terminal device using the measurement results of the N channel propagation paths may include: determining a plurality of candidate positions according to the measurement results of the N channel propagation paths; determining weighted values of a plurality of candidate positions according to weighting factors in the measurement results of the N channel propagation paths; and determining the weighted average value of the candidate positions as the position of the terminal equipment according to the weighted values of the candidate positions.

Thus, the greater the value of the weighting factor, the higher the accuracy of the single measurement result or the measurement result of the channel propagation path corresponding to the weighting factor, so that when multiple measurement results of the same channel propagation path or measurement results of multiple channel propagation paths are used to locate the terminal device, the weighting factor may be used to adjust the location result to eliminate or weaken the interference of one or more adverse factors, thereby further improving the accuracy of the location result. Adverse factors may include, among others, multipath propagation (e.g., signal reflection, refraction, scattering, etc.), fast fading of the signal, etc.

In one possible design, the positioning measurement device may be an access network device, the positioning calculation device may be a core network device or a terminal device, the N channel propagation paths include N uplink channel propagation paths, and a measurement result of each uplink channel propagation path includes an identifier of each uplink channel propagation path and one or more of the following information: the uplink arrival time corresponding to each uplink channel propagation path, the uplink arrival angle corresponding to each uplink channel propagation path, and the uplink receiving power corresponding to each uplink channel propagation path. The sending, by the location measurement device, the first message to the location calculation device may include: the access network equipment sends a first message to the core network equipment or the terminal equipment. In this way, the core network device or the terminal device may determine the location of the terminal device based on the measurement results of the N uplink channel propagation paths.

In another possible design, the positioning measurement device may be a terminal device, the positioning calculation device may be a core network device or an access network device, the N channel propagation paths include N downlink channel propagation paths, and the measurement result of each downlink channel propagation path includes an identifier of each downlink channel propagation path and one or more of the following information: the downlink arrival time corresponding to each downlink channel propagation path, the downlink arrival angle corresponding to each downlink channel propagation path, and the downlink receiving power corresponding to each downlink channel propagation path. The sending, by the location measurement device, the first message to the location calculation device may include: the terminal equipment sends a first message to the core network equipment or the access network equipment.

In one possible design, the communication method according to the first aspect may further include: a location measurement device receives a first request from a location computing device. The first request is used for requesting the measurement results of the N channel propagation paths of the terminal equipment, the first request is determined according to first capability information, and the first capability information is used for indicating the positioning measurement capability of the positioning measurement equipment, such as whether the multi-path measurement result reporting is supported. Therefore, the measurement tasks which can be reached by the positioning measurement equipment can be distributed to the positioning measurement equipment according to the first capacity information, and/or the reported content can be customized.

Optionally, if the positioning measurement device does not support the reporting of the multi-path measurement result, the positioning measurement device may be instructed to report the channel impulse response and not report the measurement results of the N channel propagation paths, and the positioning computing device may screen the measurement results of the N channel propagation paths from the reported channel impulse response and determine the position of the terminal device based on the screened measurement results of the N channel propagation paths, so as to improve the applicability of the positioning method.

Or, optionally, if the positioning measurement device supports the reporting of the multi-path measurement result, the positioning measurement device may be instructed to report the measurement results of the N channel propagation paths, and not report the channel impulse response, so as to reduce the amount of reported data, thereby saving resources and improving the positioning efficiency.

Furthermore, if the positioning measurement device supports the reporting of the multipath measurement result, the workload of the positioning measurement device and the workload of the positioning calculation device can be flexibly adjusted according to the load conditions of the positioning measurement device and the positioning calculation device, so that the positioning measurement task and the normal communication are both considered, and the operation efficiency of the whole wireless network is improved.

Optionally, before the positioning measurement device receives the first request, the communication method according to the first aspect may further include: the location measurement device sends the first capability information to the location computing device.

Further, before the positioning measurement device sends the first capability information, the communication method according to the first aspect may further include: the location measurement device receives a second request from the location computing device. Wherein the second request is for requesting the first capability information. That is, the positioning measurement device may transmit the first capability information after receiving the second request.

It should be understood that the positioning measurement device may also actively transmit the first capability information. The implementation manner of reporting the first capability information is not specifically limited in the embodiments of the present application.

In this embodiment, the positioning measurement device and the positioning calculation device may be different devices or may be the same device. When the positioning measurement device and the positioning computing device are the same device, the interaction between the positioning measurement device and the positioning computing device may be considered as internal operation of the same device. For example, the same device may be a terminal device, and the terminal device may screen measurement results of N downlink channel propagation paths from the downlink channel impulse response, determine a position of the terminal device based on the screened measurement results of the N downlink channel propagation paths, and then report the position to a network, such as a core network device and/or an access network device.

For another example, the same device may be an access network device, and the access network device may screen measurement results of N uplink channel propagation paths from the uplink channel impulse response, determine the position of the terminal device based on the screened measurement results of the N uplink channel propagation paths, and then report the position to a core network device, such as a positioning management network element, and/or issue the position to the terminal device.

In a second aspect, a method of communication is provided. The method comprises the following steps: the positioning computing device receives a first message from the positioning measurement device; the first message includes channel impulse response or measurement results of N channel propagation paths of the terminal device, and the measurement result of each channel propagation path includes an identifier of each channel propagation path and one or more of the following information: the arrival time corresponding to each channel propagation path, the arrival angle corresponding to each channel propagation path, and the received power corresponding to each channel propagation path, where N is a positive integer. Then, the positioning calculation device determines the position of the terminal device according to the measurement results of the N channel propagation paths.

In one possible design, the communication method according to the second aspect may further include: the positioning computing device determines measurements of the N channel propagation paths from the channel impulse responses.

Optionally, the determining, by the positioning computing device, measurement results of N channel propagation paths according to the channel impulse response may include: the positioning computing device screens out N channel propagation paths from the channel impulse response and determines measurements of the N channel propagation paths.

Wherein, the N channel propagation paths may be any one of the following: n channel propagation paths with maximum receiving power in the channel impulse response; or, the N channel propagation paths with the minimum arrival time in the channel impulse response; or, the minimum arrival time and received power of the N channel propagation paths in the channel impulse response are greater than or equal to the first power threshold; or, the N channel propagation paths with the minimum arrival time and the sum of the received powers greater than or equal to the second power threshold in the channel impulse response; or the N channel propagation paths with the minimum arrival time, the receiving power larger than or equal to the third power threshold and the sum of the receiving powers larger than or equal to the fourth power threshold in the channel impulse response.

In a possible design, the determining, by the positioning calculation device, the position of the terminal device according to the measurement results of the N channel propagation paths may include: determining a plurality of candidate positions according to the measurement results of the N channel propagation paths; determining weighted values of a plurality of candidate positions according to weighting factors in the measurement results of the N channel propagation paths; and determining the weighted average value of the candidate positions as the position of the terminal equipment according to the weighted values of the candidate positions.

In one possible design, the positioning measurement device may be an access network device, the positioning calculation device may be a core network device or a terminal device, the N channel propagation paths include N uplink channel propagation paths, and a measurement result of each uplink channel propagation path includes an identifier of each uplink channel propagation path and one or more of the following information: the uplink arrival time corresponding to each uplink channel propagation path, the uplink arrival angle corresponding to each uplink channel propagation path, and the uplink receiving power corresponding to each uplink channel propagation path. The receiving, by the location computing device, the first message from the location measurement device may include: the core network device or the terminal device receives the first message from the access network device.

In another possible design, the positioning measurement device may be a terminal device, the positioning calculation device may be a core network device or an access network device, the N channel propagation paths include N downlink channel propagation paths, and the measurement result of each downlink channel propagation path includes an identifier of each downlink channel propagation path and one or more of the following information: the downlink arrival time corresponding to each downlink channel propagation path, the downlink arrival angle corresponding to each downlink channel propagation path, and the downlink receiving power corresponding to each downlink channel propagation path. The receiving, by the location computing device, the first message from the location measurement device may include: the core network device or the access network device receives the first message from the terminal device.

In one possible design, the communication method according to the second aspect may further include: the positioning computing device sends a first request to the positioning measuring device; the first request is used for requesting the measurement results of the N channel propagation paths of the terminal equipment, the first request is determined according to first capability information, and the first capability information is used for indicating the positioning measurement capability of the positioning measurement equipment.

Optionally, before the positioning computing device sends the first request to the positioning measurement device, the communication method according to the second aspect may further include: the location computing device receives first capability information.

Further, before the positioning computing device receives the first capability information, the communication method of the second aspect may further include: the positioning computing device sends a second request; wherein the second request is for requesting the first capability information.

In addition, for technical effects of the communication method according to the second aspect, reference may be made to the technical effects of the communication method according to the first aspect, and details are not repeated here.

In a third aspect, a communications apparatus is provided. The device includes: a processing module and a transceiver module. The processing module is configured to obtain measurement results of N channel propagation paths of the terminal device, where the measurement result of each channel propagation path includes an identifier of each channel propagation path and one or more of the following information: the arrival time corresponding to each channel propagation path, the arrival angle corresponding to each channel propagation path, and the received power corresponding to each channel propagation path, where N is a positive integer. A transceiver module for sending a first message to a positioning computing device; the first message comprises measurement results of N channel propagation paths, and the measurement results of the N channel propagation paths are used for determining the position of the terminal equipment.

In one possible design, the processing module is further configured to obtain a channel impulse response; and the processing module is also used for determining the measurement results of the N channel propagation paths according to the channel impulse response.

Optionally, the processing module is further configured to screen N channel propagation paths from the channel impulse response, and determine measurement results of the N channel propagation paths.

In a possible design, the communication apparatus in the third aspect may be an access network device, the positioning computing device may be a core network device or a terminal device, the N channel propagation paths include N uplink channel propagation paths, and the measurement result of each uplink channel propagation path includes an identifier of each uplink channel propagation path and one or more of the following information: the uplink arrival time corresponding to each uplink channel propagation path, the uplink arrival angle corresponding to each uplink channel propagation path, and the uplink receiving power corresponding to each uplink channel propagation path. Correspondingly, the transceiver module is further configured to send the first message to the core network device or the terminal device by the access network device.

In another possible design, the communication apparatus according to the third aspect may be a terminal device, the positioning computing device may be a core network device or an access network device, the N channel propagation paths include N downlink channel propagation paths, and the measurement result of each downlink channel propagation path includes an identifier of each downlink channel propagation path and one or more of the following information: the downlink arrival time corresponding to each downlink channel propagation path, the downlink arrival angle corresponding to each downlink channel propagation path, and the downlink receiving power corresponding to each downlink channel propagation path. Correspondingly, the transceiver module is further configured to send the first message to the core network device or the access network device by the terminal device.

In one possible design, the transceiver module is further configured to receive a first request from a positioning computing device; the first request is used for requesting the measurement results of N channel propagation paths of the terminal equipment, the first request is determined according to first capability information, and the first capability information is used for indicating the positioning measurement capability of the communication device.

Optionally, the transceiver module is further configured to send the first capability information to the positioning computing device before receiving the first request from the positioning computing device.

Further, the transceiver module is further configured to receive a second request from the positioning computing device before sending the first capability information to the positioning computing device; wherein the second request is for requesting the first capability information.

Optionally, the transceiver module may include a receiving module and a transmitting module. Wherein, the receiving module is configured to execute a receiving function of the communication apparatus according to the third aspect, and the transmitting module is configured to execute a transmitting function of the communication apparatus according to the third aspect. The embodiment of the present application does not limit the specific implementation manner of the transceiving function.

Optionally, the communication device according to the third aspect may further include a storage module, which stores the program or the instructions. The program or instructions, when executed by the processing module, cause the communication apparatus according to the third aspect to perform the communication method according to the first aspect.

It should be noted that the communication device in the third aspect may be a positioning measurement apparatus, or may be a chip (system) or other component or assembly disposed on the positioning measurement apparatus, and this is not particularly limited in this embodiment of the application. For example, in the uplink measurement scheme, the communication device according to the third aspect may be an access network device. For another example, in the downlink measurement scheme, the communication apparatus according to the third aspect may be a terminal device.

In addition, for technical effects of the communication apparatus according to the third aspect, reference may be made to the technical effects of the communication method according to the first aspect, and details are not repeated here.

In a fourth aspect, a communication device is provided. The device includes: a processing module and a transceiver module. The receiving and sending module is used for receiving a first message from the positioning measurement equipment; the first message includes channel impulse response or measurement results of N channel propagation paths of the terminal device, and the measurement result of each channel propagation path includes an identifier of each channel propagation path and one or more of the following information: the arrival time corresponding to each channel propagation path, the arrival angle corresponding to each channel propagation path, and the received power corresponding to each channel propagation path, where N is a positive integer. And the processing module is used for determining the position of the terminal equipment according to the measurement results of the N channel propagation paths.

In one possible design, the processing module is further configured to determine measurement results of the N channel propagation paths according to the channel impulse response.

In one possible embodiment, the processing module is further configured to perform the following steps: determining a plurality of candidate positions according to the measurement results of the N channel propagation paths; determining weighted values of a plurality of candidate positions according to weighting factors in the measurement results of the N channel propagation paths; and determining the weighted average value of the candidate positions as the position of the terminal equipment according to the weighted values of the candidate positions.

In a possible design, the positioning measurement device may be an access network device, the communication apparatus according to the fourth aspect may be a core network device or a terminal device, the N channel propagation paths include N uplink channel propagation paths, and a measurement result of each uplink channel propagation path includes an identifier of each uplink channel propagation path and one or more of the following information: the uplink arrival time corresponding to each uplink channel propagation path, the uplink arrival angle corresponding to each uplink channel propagation path, and the uplink receiving power corresponding to each uplink channel propagation path. Correspondingly, the transceiver module is further configured to receive, by the core network device or the terminal device, the first message from the access network device.

In another possible design, the positioning measurement device may be a terminal device, the communication apparatus according to the fourth aspect may be a core network device or an access network device, the N channel propagation paths include N downlink channel propagation paths, and a measurement result of each downlink channel propagation path includes an identifier of each downlink channel propagation path and one or more of the following information: the downlink arrival time corresponding to each downlink channel propagation path, the downlink arrival angle corresponding to each downlink channel propagation path, and the downlink receiving power corresponding to each downlink channel propagation path. Correspondingly, the transceiver module is further configured to receive, by the core network device or the access network device, the first message from the terminal device.

In one possible design, the transceiver module is further configured to send a first request to the positioning and measuring device; the first request is used for requesting the measurement results of the N channel propagation paths of the terminal equipment, the first request is determined according to first capability information, and the first capability information is used for indicating the positioning measurement capability of the positioning measurement equipment.

Optionally, the transceiver module is further configured to receive the first capability information before sending the first request to the positioning measurement device.

Further, the transceiver module is further configured to send a second request before receiving the first capability information; wherein the second request is for requesting the first capability information.

Optionally, the transceiver module may include a receiving module and a transmitting module. Wherein, the receiving module is configured to execute the receiving function of the communication apparatus in the fourth aspect, and the sending module is configured to execute the sending function of the communication apparatus in the fourth aspect. The embodiment of the present application does not limit the specific implementation manner of the transceiving function.

Optionally, the communication device according to the fourth aspect may further include a storage module, which stores the program or the instructions. The processing module, when executing the program or the instructions, enables the communication apparatus according to the fourth aspect to perform the communication method according to the second aspect.

It should be noted that the communication apparatus according to the fourth aspect may be a positioning computing device, or may be a chip (system) or other component or assembly disposed on the positioning computing device, and this is not particularly limited in this embodiment of the application. For example, in the uplink measurement scheme, the communication apparatus according to the fourth aspect may be a core network device or a terminal device. For another example, in the downlink measurement scheme, the communication apparatus according to the fourth aspect may be a core network device or an access network device.

In addition, for technical effects of the communication apparatus according to the fourth aspect, reference may be made to the technical effects of the communication method according to the first aspect, and details are not repeated here.

In a fifth aspect, a communications apparatus is provided. The apparatus is configured to perform the communication method of any one of the first to second aspects.

In a sixth aspect, a communications apparatus is provided. The device includes: a processor. Wherein the processor is configured to execute the communication method according to any one of the first aspect to the second aspect.

In a seventh aspect, a communications apparatus is provided. The device includes: a processor coupled with the memory. Wherein the memory is used for storing the computer program; a processor for executing a computer program stored in the memory to cause the communication apparatus to perform the communication method of any one of the first to second aspects.

In one possible design, the communications device of the seventh aspect may further include a transceiver. The transceiver may be a transmit-receive circuit or an input/output port. The transceiver may be used for the communication device to communicate with other communication devices.

Optionally, the transceiver may include a receiver and a transmitter. Wherein the receiver is configured to perform a receiving function of the communication apparatus of the seventh aspect, and the transmitter is configured to perform a transmitting function of the communication apparatus of the seventh aspect. The embodiment of the present application does not limit the specific implementation manner of the transceiver.

It should be noted that the communication apparatus in any one of the fifth to seventh aspects may be the positioning measurement device, the positioning calculation device, the core network device, the access network device, or the terminal device, or may be a chip (system) or other component or assembly provided in the positioning measurement device, the positioning calculation device, the core network device, the access network device, or the terminal device, which is not specifically limited in this embodiment of the application.

In addition, for technical effects of the communication apparatus according to any one of the fifth to seventh aspects, reference may be made to technical effects of the communication method according to the first aspect, and details are not repeated here.

In an eighth aspect, a communication system is provided. The communication system includes a location measurement device and a location calculation device.

In one possible design, the positioning measurement device may be an access network device, and the positioning calculation device may be a core network device or a terminal device.

In another possible design, the positioning measurement device may be a terminal device, and the positioning calculation device may be a core network device or an access network device.

In a ninth aspect, there is provided a computer-readable storage medium comprising: computer programs or instructions; the computer program or the instructions, when executed on a computer, cause the computer to perform the communication method according to any one of the possible implementations of the first aspect to the second aspect.

A tenth aspect provides a computer program product comprising a computer program or instructions for causing a computer to perform the communication method according to any one of the possible implementations of the first to the second aspect when the computer program or instructions are run on the computer.

Drawings

Fig. 1 is a first schematic architecture diagram of a communication system according to an embodiment of the present application;

fig. 2 is a schematic structural diagram of a communication system according to an embodiment of the present application;

fig. 3 is a first flowchart of a communication method according to an embodiment of the present application;

fig. 4 is a second flowchart illustrating a communication method according to an embodiment of the present application;

fig. 5 is a third schematic flowchart of a communication method according to an embodiment of the present application;

fig. 6 is a first schematic structural diagram of a communication device according to an embodiment of the present disclosure;

fig. 7 is a schematic structural diagram of a communication device according to an embodiment of the present application.

Detailed Description

The technical solution in the present application will be described below with reference to the accompanying drawings.

The technical solution of the embodiment of the present application may be applied to various communication systems, for example, a wireless fidelity (WiFi) system, a vehicle-to-any object (V2X) communication system, a device-to-device (D2D) communication system, an internet of vehicles communication system, a 4th generation (4G) mobile communication system, such as a Long Term Evolution (LTE) system, a Worldwide Interoperability for Microwave Access (WiMAX) communication system, a fifth generation (5th generation, 5G) mobile communication system, such as a New Radio (NR) system, and a future communication system, such as a 6th generation (6G) mobile communication system.

This application is intended to present various aspects, embodiments or features around a system that may include a number of devices, components, modules, and the like. It is to be understood and appreciated that the various systems may include additional devices, components, modules, etc. and/or may not include all of the devices, components, modules etc. discussed in connection with the figures. Furthermore, a combination of these schemes may also be used.

In addition, in the embodiments of the present application, words such as "exemplarily", "for example", etc. are used for indicating as examples, illustrations or explanations. Any embodiment or design described herein as "exemplary" is not necessarily to be construed as preferred or advantageous over other embodiments or designs. Rather, the term using examples is intended to present concepts in a concrete fashion.

In the embodiment of the present invention, "information", "signal", "message", "channel", "signaling" may be used in combination, and it should be noted that the meaning to be expressed is consistent when the difference is not emphasized. "of", "corresponding", and "corresponding" may sometimes be used in combination, it being noted that the intended meaning is consistent when no distinction is made.

In the examples of the present application, the subscripts are sometimes as W₁It may be mistaken for a non-subscripted form such as W1, whose intended meaning is consistent when the distinction is de-emphasized.

The network architecture and the service scenario described in the embodiment of the present application are for more clearly illustrating the technical solution of the embodiment of the present application, and do not form a limitation on the technical solution provided in the embodiment of the present application, and as a person of ordinary skill in the art knows that along with the evolution of the network architecture and the appearance of a new service scenario, the technical solution provided in the embodiment of the present application is also applicable to similar technical problems.

For the convenience of understanding the embodiments of the present application, a communication system applicable to the embodiments of the present application will be first described in detail by taking the communication system shown in fig. 1 and 2 as an example.

Fig. 1 is a schematic structural diagram of a communication system according to an embodiment of the present application. As shown in fig. 1, the communication system includes a location measurement device and a location calculation device.

The positioning measurement equipment is used for receiving a positioning measurement task and sending a positioning measurement result. And the positioning calculation equipment is used for receiving the positioning measurement result and determining the position of the terminal equipment according to the positioning measurement result.

The communication system shown in fig. 1 will be described in detail below with reference to the communication system shown in fig. 2 as an example. Exemplarily, fig. 2 is a schematic structural diagram ii of a communication system provided in the embodiment of the present application. As shown in fig. 2, the communication system includes a core network device, an access network device, and a terminal device. The terminal device is a terminal device to be positioned (hereinafter referred to as terminal device), such as a mobile phone, a vehicle-mounted terminal, or a vehicle provided with the vehicle-mounted terminal.

The following describes an uplink scheme and a downlink scheme as examples.

In the uplink scheme, the positioning measurement device shown in fig. 1 may be an access network device shown in fig. 2, and the positioning calculation device shown in fig. 1 may be a core network device or a terminal device shown in fig. 2. In an uplink scenario, the access network device may obtain an uplink channel impulse response (uplink channel impulse response) according to an uplink reference signal (UL-RS) received from the terminal device, such as a Sounding Reference Signal (SRS), and then screen and send out measurement results of N uplink channel propagation paths from the uplink channel impulse response. Accordingly, the core network device or the terminal device may determine the location of the terminal device according to the measurement results of the N uplink channel propagation paths received from the access network device.

Optionally, the operation of screening the measurement results of the N uplink channel propagation paths from the uplink channel impulse responses may also be performed by the positioning computing device shown in fig. 1, such as the core network device or the terminal device shown in fig. 2. As such, a positioning measurement device shown in fig. 1, such as an access network device shown in fig. 2, may transmit an uplink channel impulse response to a positioning computing device shown in fig. 1, such as a core network device or a terminal device shown in fig. 2. Accordingly, the positioning computing device shown in fig. 1, such as the core network device or the terminal device shown in fig. 2, may receive the uplink channel impulse response, and screen out the measurement results of the N uplink channel propagation paths from the uplink channel impulse response, and then determine the position of the terminal device according to the screened measurement results of the N uplink channel propagation paths.

It should be understood that, for the uplink scheme, the location measurement task requesting party may be the location computing device shown in fig. 1, such as the core network device or the terminal device shown in fig. 2, or may be another device, such as a navigation server deployed by a third party, which is not specifically limited in this embodiment of the present application.

For a specific implementation manner of the uplink scheme, reference may be made to the method embodiment shown in fig. 4 described below, and details are not described here again.

Similarly, in the downlink scheme, the positioning measurement device shown in fig. 1 may be the terminal device shown in fig. 2, and the positioning calculation device shown in fig. 1 may be the core network device or the access network device shown in fig. 2. In a downlink scenario, the terminal device may obtain downlink channel impulse responses according to a downlink reference signal (DL-RS) received from the access network device, such as a channel state information reference signal (CSI-RS) or a positioning reference signal (SRS), and then screen out measurement results of N downlink channel propagation paths from the downlink channel impulse responses and send the measurement results. Accordingly, the core network device or the access network device may determine the location of the terminal device according to the measurement results of the N downlink channel propagation paths received from the terminal device.

Optionally, the operation of screening the measurement results of the N downlink channel propagation paths from the downlink channel impulse responses may also be performed by the positioning computing device shown in fig. 1, such as the core network device or the access network device shown in fig. 2. As such, a positioning measurement device shown in fig. 1, such as a terminal device shown in fig. 2, may send a downlink channel impulse response to a positioning calculation device shown in fig. 1, such as a core network device or an access network device shown in fig. 2. Accordingly, the positioning computing device shown in fig. 1, such as the core network device or the access network device shown in fig. 2, may receive the downlink channel impulse response, and screen out the measurement results of the N downlink channel propagation paths from the downlink channel impulse response, and then determine the position of the terminal device according to the screened measurement results of the N downlink channel propagation paths.

It should be understood that, for the downlink scheme, the location measurement task requesting party may be the location computing device shown in fig. 1, such as the core network device or the access network device shown in fig. 2, or may be another device, such as a navigation server deployed by a third party, which is not specifically limited in this embodiment of the present application.

For a specific implementation of the downlink scheme, reference may be made to the method embodiment shown in fig. 5 described below, and details are not described here again.

The core network device is a device located on the network side of the communication system and providing positioning/navigation/autopilot/smart driving services for the terminal device, or a chip (system) or other components or assemblies that can be installed in the device. Such devices include, but are not limited to: an LMF network element, an evolved serving mobile location center (E-SMLC), and a server with a positioning function deployed by a third party, such as a map navigation server, an automatic driving server, and an intelligent driving server.

The access network device is a device located on the network side of the communication system and having a wireless transceiving function, or a chip (system) or other components or assemblies that can be installed on the device. Such devices include, but are not limited to: an Access Point (AP) in a wireless fidelity (WiFi) system, such as a home gateway, a router, a server, a switch, a bridge, etc., an evolved Node B (eNB), a Radio Network Controller (RNC), a Node B (NB), a Base Station Controller (BSC), a Base Transceiver Station (BTS), a home base station (e.g., home NodeB, or home Node B, HNB), a Base Band Unit (BBU), a wireless relay Node, a wireless backhaul Node, a transmission point (TP and reception point, TRP or transmission point, RAN), etc., and may also be 5G, such as a next generation access network (TP, TRP) or a radio access network (NB, TRP) device in a new air interface (NR) system, one or a group (including multiple antenna panels) of the base station in the 5G system may be an antenna panel, or may also be a network node forming a gNB or a transmission point, such as a baseband processing unit (BBU), or a Distributed Unit (DU), a Road Side Unit (RSU) with a base station function, or the like.

The terminal device is a terminal which is accessed to the communication system and has a wireless transceiving function or a chip system which can be arranged on the terminal. The terminal device can also be called a user equipment, access terminal, subscriber unit, subscriber station, mobile station, remote terminal, mobile device, user terminal, wireless communication device, user agent, or user device. The terminal device in the embodiment of the present application may be a mobile phone (mobile phone), a tablet computer (Pad), a computer with a wireless transceiving function, a Virtual Reality (VR) terminal device, an Augmented Reality (AR) terminal device, a wireless terminal in industrial control (industrial control), a wireless terminal in self driving (self driving), a wireless terminal in remote medical (remote medical), a wireless terminal in smart grid (smart grid), a wireless terminal in transportation safety (transportation safety), a wireless terminal in smart city (smart city), a wireless terminal in smart home (smart home), a vehicle-mounted terminal, an RSU with a terminal function, and the like. The terminal device of the present application may also be an on-board module, an on-board component, an on-board chip, or an on-board unit that is built in the vehicle as one or more components or units, and the vehicle may implement the communication method provided by the present application through the built-in on-board module, the on-board component, the on-board chip, or the on-board unit.

In this embodiment, the core network device and the access network device are both located on a network side of the communication system, and therefore may also be collectively referred to as a network device or a network side device. Correspondingly, the terminal device may also be referred to as a user equipment or a user-side device.

It should be noted that the communication method provided in the embodiment of the present application may be applied to communication between the positioning measurement device and the positioning calculation device shown in fig. 1, and may also be applied to communication between any two devices shown in fig. 2, such as between a terminal device and an access network device, between an access network device and a core network device, and between a terminal device and a core network device. For specific implementation, reference may be made to the method embodiments shown in fig. 3 to fig. 5, which are not described herein again.

It should be noted that the scheme in the embodiment of the present application may also be applied to other communication systems, and the corresponding names may also be replaced with names of corresponding functions in other communication systems.

It should be understood that fig. 1 and 2 are simplified schematic diagrams that are merely examples for ease of understanding, and that other network devices, and/or other terminal devices, not shown in fig. 1 and 2, may also be included in the communication system.

For convenience of description, technical terms related to the embodiments of the present application will be described below.

1. Reference Signal (RS)

A reference signal, also called a pilot signal, is a signal known to both the transmitting end and the receiving end. Specifically, the receiving end compares the received reference signal with a local sequence of the reference signal sent by the sending end, such as correlation, equalization, matched filtering, and so on, to estimate information such as signal attenuation, channel characteristics, transmission time, and so on during transmission.

The reference signal may include UL-RS and DL-RS, which are described separately below.

(1) The UL-RS refers to a reference signal sent by the terminal device on an uplink, such as an SRS, and may be used by the access network device to measure an arrival time of the reference signal from the terminal device to the access network device, and also to measure Channel State Information (CSI) of an uplink channel between the terminal device and the access network device.

(2) The DL-RS refers to a reference signal, such as PRS and CSI-RS, transmitted by the access network device on a downlink. The PRS is used for positioning by a method that a terminal device measures downlink time of arrival (DL-TOA) of radio waves from an access network device to the terminal device, or measures downlink time difference of arrival (DL-TDOA) of a plurality of access network devices to the terminal device, and is used for Observing Time Difference (OTDOA); the CSI-RS is used for measuring CSI of a downlink channel from the access network equipment to the terminal equipment.

2. Measurement results (measurement results)

The measurement result refers to a channel impulse response obtained by the receiving end according to the received reference signal, and various measurement results obtained according to the channel impulse response, such as arrival time or arrival time difference, arrival angle, received power, and the like.

(1) Channel impulse response (channel impulse response)

The channel impulse response means that small-scale channel state information can be acquired by measuring a reference signal, channel state information on a frequency domain, that is, attenuation and phase offset of the reference signal on different subcarriers, can be acquired first, and then, the channel state information can be converted into channel state information on a time domain through fourier transform, so that measurement results of a plurality of channel propagation paths, such as attenuation and phase offset of each channel propagation path, can be acquired. The attenuation of each channel propagation path can be used to represent the received power, and the phase difference of different receiving antennas on the same channel propagation path can be used to calculate the arrival angle.

That is, according to the time-domain and frequency-domain division, the channel impulse response may include a frequency-domain channel impulse response (frequency-domain channel impulse response) and a time-domain channel impulse response (time-domain channel impulse response), and according to the uplink and downlink division, the channel impulse response may include an uplink channel impulse response and a downlink channel impulse response. Further, for the uplink or the downlink, the arrival time or the arrival time difference, the arrival angle, and the received power may be divided into an uplink measurement result and a downlink measurement result.

(2) Time of transmission, time of arrival and time difference of arrival

The sending time is a specific time at which the sending end sends the reference signal, and can be used for the receiving end to determine the arrival time according to the arrival time of the reference signal, so as to determine the signal transmission delay between the sending end and the receiving end, that is, the following arrival time, or determine the transmission delay deviation between a plurality of sending ends and the same receiving end, or the transmission delay deviation between the same sending end and a plurality of receiving ends, that is, the following arrival time difference.

The arrival time refers to the transmission time of the reference signal from the transmitting end to the receiving end, and is a difference between the arrival time and the transmitting time, and may include an uplink arrival time and a downlink arrival time. The uplink arrival time refers to the transmission time of the uplink reference signal from the terminal equipment to the access network equipment, and the downlink arrival time refers to the transmission time of the downlink reference signal from the access network equipment to the terminal equipment.

The time difference of arrival refers to a time deviation of arrival of the reference signal between the terminal device and the plurality of access network devices, and may include an uplink time difference of arrival and a downlink time difference of arrival. The uplink arrival time difference refers to a transmission time deviation of an uplink reference signal from the terminal equipment to different access network equipment, and the downlink arrival time difference refers to a transmission time deviation of a downlink reference signal from different access network equipment to the terminal equipment.

(3) Transmission power and reception power

The transmission power (also referred to as transmission power) refers to power of a reference signal transmitted by a transmitting end, and may include uplink transmission power and downlink transmission power. The uplink transmission power refers to the power of the terminal device for transmitting the uplink reference signal, and the downlink transmission power refers to the power of the access network device for transmitting the downlink reference signal.

It should be noted that, for different frequency points or frequency bands, the effective transmission distances of the reference signals with the same transmission power may be different. Specifically, the effective transmission distance of the reference signal with a higher frequency point (frequency point) or frequency band (band) is usually smaller than the effective transmission distance of the reference signal with a lower frequency point or frequency band.

Optionally, the sending end may send a value or a power level (power level) of the sending power of the reference signal to the receiving end, so that the receiving end determines information such as a signal attenuation condition and a channel state between the sending end and the receiving end according to the value or the level and the value or the level of the receiving power.

The received power refers to power of a reference signal received by a receiving end, and may include uplink received power and downlink received power. The uplink received power refers to power of an uplink reference signal sent by the terminal device when the uplink reference signal reaches the access network device, and the downlink received power refers to power of a downlink reference signal sent by the access network device when the downlink reference signal reaches the terminal device.

Optionally, the received power may include one or more of: reference Signal Receiving Power (RSRP), Received Signal Strength Indicator (RSSI), Reference Signal Receiving Quality (RSRQ), signal to interference plus noise ratio (SINR), signal to noise ratio (SNR), and the like.

(4) Angle of arrival

Optionally, the arrival angle includes a horizontal arrival angle and a vertical arrival angle, and the horizontal arrival angle refers to an included angle between a propagation direction of the reference signal and the north direction. Specifically, starting from the positive north as 0 degree, the counterclockwise direction is positive, and the clockwise direction is negative. The vertical arrival angle is an included angle between the propagation direction of the reference signal and the right above, starting from the right above being 0 degree, the counterclockwise direction being positive, and the clockwise direction being negative.

Optionally, the arrival angle may include an uplink arrival angle and a downlink arrival angle according to the division of the transmission direction of the reference signal. The uplink arrival angle includes a horizontal uplink arrival angle and a vertical uplink arrival angle, and the horizontal uplink arrival angle refers to an included angle between a propagation direction of the uplink reference signal and the north. Specifically, starting from the positive north as 0 degree, the counterclockwise direction is positive, and the clockwise direction is negative. The vertical uplink arrival angle is an included angle between the propagation direction of the uplink reference signal and the right above the access network device, starting from the right above being 0 degree, the counterclockwise direction being positive, and the clockwise direction being negative.

Similarly, the downlink arrival angle includes a horizontal downlink arrival angle and a vertical downlink arrival angle, and the horizontal downlink arrival angle refers to an included angle between the propagation direction of the downlink reference signal and the north direction. Specifically, starting from the positive north as 0 degree, the counterclockwise direction is positive, and the clockwise direction is negative. The vertical downlink arrival angle is an included angle between the propagation direction of the downlink reference signal and the position of the terminal device, starting from the position of 0 degree directly above, the counterclockwise direction is positive, and the clockwise direction is negative.

It should be noted that the measurement accuracy of the angle of arrival is generally related to the specifications of the receiving antenna, the angle measurement algorithm, and other factors. Wherein the receive antenna specifications may include one or more of: the angles of the receiving antennas (such as a pitch angle, an azimuth angle, and the like), the number and the layout of antenna arrays included in the receiving antennas (array interval, array angle, and the like), the number and the layout of antennas in the antenna arrays (array interval, array angle, and the like), the number and the layout of a plurality of receiving antennas (antenna interval, antenna angle, and the like), and the like.

Alternatively, the angle of arrival may be represented by a beam direction of a reference signal, where the beam may be a synchronous broadcast signal and PBCH block (SSB) beam, or a static narrow beam, and by finding a beam corresponding to the strongest received power, an angle between the direction corresponding to the beam and the north and an angle between the direction corresponding to the beam and the top are found as a horizontal angle of arrival and a vertical angle of arrival, respectively. In addition, the beam index value of the beam may also be indicated as a measurement value of the angle of arrival.

The above various measurement results may be used to determine a channel state, a signal attenuation condition, and/or a signal transmission delay between the transmitting end and the receiving end, so that the receiving end adjusts a receiving gain, and synchronizes with a signal between the transmitting end to receive data, and may also be used to determine a position of the terminal device, that is, to locate the terminal device.

3. Positioning algorithm of terminal equipment

Depending on the measurement results used, the positioning algorithm of the terminal device may comprise the following positioning algorithm based on the geometric intersection rule: a positioning algorithm based on the measurement results of the reference signals transmitted between the single access network device and the terminal device, i.e. a single access network device positioning algorithm, and a positioning algorithm based on the measurement results of the reference signals transmitted between the multiple access network device and the terminal device, i.e. a multiple access network device positioning algorithm.

Optionally, the single access network device positioning algorithm may be a ray circle intersection algorithm based on the arrival time and the arrival angle, such as an enhanced cell identification (E-CID) algorithm; the multi-access network device positioning algorithm may be a multi-circle intersection algorithm or a multi-hyperbola intersection algorithm based on time difference of arrival of reference signals between the terminal device and a plurality of access network devices, such as a serving access network device and one or more adjacent access network devices, such as an observed time difference of arrival (OTDOA) algorithm, an uplink time difference of arrival (UTDOA) algorithm, and the like.

The E-CID algorithm is to position the terminal device by using an arrival angle and arrival time between the single access network device and the terminal device in a single access network device positioning scenario, the OTDOA algorithm is to position the terminal device by using a Reference Signal Time Difference (RSTD) measured on a downlink in a multiple access network device scenario, and the UTDOA algorithm is to position the terminal device by using an RTOA measured on an uplink in a multiple access network device scenario.

4. Positioning protocol

The positioning protocol refers to a protocol flow of signaling and/or data interaction between various devices involved in measurement/positioning operations in a wireless network in the process of positioning a terminal device.

Optionally, the positioning protocol may include: LTE Positioning Protocol (LPP) and new radio positioning protocol a (NRPPa). The NRPPa protocol is a protocol layer between an access network device and an LMF defined in the NR system, and is used for positioning related signaling transmission, the LPP protocol is a protocol layer between a terminal device and an LMF network element defined in the LTE system, and is used for positioning related signaling transmission, and the NR system currently uses the LPP protocol.

5. Channel propagation path

For the same signal, the signal has influence of reflection, diffraction and the like due to the complexity of the channel in the transmission process, so that the signal has different arrival time and attenuation of different degrees when reaching the receiving end.

Wherein the various devices may include one or more of: the method comprises the steps of positioning a request party of a measurement task, a reference signal sending party, a reference signal receiving party, a measurement party, positioning calculation equipment, terminal equipment to be positioned and the like.

It should be noted that the same operation may be performed by different devices, and/or the same device may also perform different operations, which is not specifically limited in this embodiment of the present application.

The communication method provided by the embodiment of the present application will be specifically described below with reference to fig. 3 to 5.

First, a communication method provided in an embodiment of the present application is described in detail by taking a positioning measurement device and a positioning calculation device shown in fig. 1 as examples.

Exemplarily, fig. 3 is a first flowchart of a communication method provided in the embodiment of the present application. As shown in fig. 3, the communication method includes the following steps S301 to S303:

s301, the positioning measurement equipment obtains the measurement results of N channel propagation paths of the terminal equipment.

Wherein, the measurement result of each channel propagation path comprises the identification of each channel propagation path and one or more of the following information: the arrival time corresponding to each channel propagation path, the arrival angle corresponding to each channel propagation path, and the received power corresponding to each channel propagation path, where N is a positive integer.

In a possible design, in step S301, the obtaining, by the positioning measurement device, measurement results of N channel propagation paths of the terminal device may include: and the positioning measurement equipment acquires the channel impulse response and determines the measurement results of the N channel propagation paths according to the channel impulse response. Wherein the channel impulse response comprises a time-domain channel impulse response. Optionally, the channel impulse response may further include a frequency domain channel impulse response. This is not a particular limitation of the present application.

For example, the positioning measurement device may obtain a frequency domain channel impulse response according to the received reference signal, and perform fourier transform (or fast fourier transform) on the frequency domain channel impulse response to obtain a time domain channel impulse response, which may be implemented by referring to the existing implementation manner, and details of the embodiment of the present application are not repeated.

Optionally, the positioning measurement device determines measurement results of N channel propagation paths according to the channel impulse response, which may include the following steps S301-1 and S301-2:

s301-1, the positioning measurement equipment screens N channel propagation paths from the channel impulse response.

The N channel propagation paths may be any one of the following, that is, the N channel propagation paths may be screened from the channel impulse response according to one of the following screening methods:

the screening mode 1 is that N channel propagation paths with the maximum receiving power in the channel impulse response are selected; alternatively, the first and second electrodes may be,

a screening mode 2, wherein N channel propagation paths with minimum arrival time in channel impulse response; alternatively, the first and second electrodes may be,

a screening mode 3, in which the arrival time in the channel impulse response is the minimum and the received power is greater than or equal to the N channel propagation paths of the first power threshold; alternatively, the first and second electrodes may be,

screening mode 4, the minimum arrival time in the channel impulse response and the N channel propagation paths with the sum of the received powers larger than or equal to the second power threshold; alternatively, the first and second electrodes may be,

in the screening mode 5, the N channel propagation paths with the minimum arrival time, the reception power greater than or equal to the third power threshold, and the sum of the reception powers greater than or equal to the fourth power threshold are included in the channel impulse response.

The received power, the first power threshold, the second power threshold, the third power threshold, and the fourth power threshold may be Reference Signal Received Power (RSRP), Reference Signal Received Quality (RSRQ), signal to interference plus noise ratio (SINR), signal to noise ratio (SNR), or the like. The time of arrival may be a time when the beam carrying the reference signal arrives at the positioning measurement device, and the angle of arrival may be an angle at which the beam carrying the reference signal arrives at the positioning measurement device, and may include a horizontal angle of arrival and a vertical angle of arrival. For the definitions of the received power, the arrival time and the arrival angle, reference may be made to the above-mentioned definitions of terms, which are not described herein again.

For example, assuming that there are 15 channel propagation paths in total in the channel impulse response, and the threshold of the number of paths is 5, that is, N is 5, the above filtering method 1 may include: the 20 channel propagation paths are sorted from high to low according to the received power, and then the first 5 channel propagation paths are selected from the 15 sorted channel propagation paths as the screened 5 channel propagation paths.

For example, assuming that there are 20 channel propagation paths in total in the channel impulse response, and the threshold of the number of paths is 5, that is, N is 5, the above filtering manner 2 may include: and sequencing the 20 channel propagation paths according to the arrival time from small to large, and then selecting the first 5 channel propagation paths from the 15 sequenced channel propagation paths as the screened 5 channel propagation paths.

For example, assuming that there are 25 channel propagation paths in total in the channel impulse response, the first power threshold is 40% of the maximum single path received power in all channel propagation paths, and the path number threshold is 5, that is, N is 5, then the above filtering manner 3 may include: and sequencing the 25 channel propagation paths according to the arrival time from small to large, and selecting 5 channel propagation paths which are sequenced most in front and have single-path receiving power larger than or equal to a first power threshold from the 25 channel propagation paths after sequencing as the screened 5 channel propagation paths.

For example, assuming that there are 25 channel propagation paths in total in the channel impulse response, the second power threshold is 80% of the sum of the received powers of all the channel propagation paths, and the path number threshold is 5, that is, N is 5, the above filtering manner 4 may include: and sequencing the 25 channel propagation paths according to the arrival time from small to large, and selecting the channel propagation path which is sequenced most in front and has the sum of the received powers larger than or equal to a second power threshold value from the 25 channel propagation paths after sequencing as the screened 5 channel propagation paths.

For example, assuming that there are 25 channel propagation paths in total in the channel impulse response, the third power threshold is 40% of the maximum single path received power in all channel propagation paths, the fourth power threshold is 80% of the sum of the received powers of all channel propagation paths, and the path number threshold is 5, that is, N is 5, the above filtering manner 5 may include: and sequencing the 25 channel propagation paths according to the arrival time from small to large, and selecting 5 channel propagation paths which are sequenced most in front and have the single-path received power greater than or equal to a third power threshold and the sum of the received powers greater than or equal to a fourth power threshold from the 25 channel propagation paths after sequencing as screened channel propagation paths.

If the number of channel propagation paths satisfying the conditions in the various filtering methods is smaller than the threshold value of the number of paths, the number of filtered channel propagation paths may be smaller than the threshold value of the number of paths. This is not particularly limited in the embodiments of the present application.

It should be understood that, in the above 5 screening methods, the screening method based on the received power and the screening method based on the arrival time may be implemented independently, such as the screening method 1 and the screening method 2, or may be used in combination, such as the screening methods 3 to 5, and the embodiment of the present application is not limited to the specific implementation of each screening method. For example, in the screening method 3, the path number threshold includes a first path number threshold and a second path number threshold, and the first path number threshold is greater than the second path number threshold, a candidate channel propagation path with a first path number threshold before the minimum arrival time may be screened from the channel impulse response, and then a candidate channel propagation path with a second path number threshold before the maximum reception power may be screened from the candidate channel propagation paths as N channel propagation paths; or, the candidate channel propagation paths with the first path number threshold before the maximum reception power are screened from the channel impulse response, and then the candidate channel propagation paths with the second path number threshold before the minimum arrival time are screened from the candidate channel propagation paths as the N channel propagation paths. The embodiment of the present application does not specifically limit the specific use manner of the screening manner in the above-mentioned 4.

It should be noted that the number of the N channel propagation paths is less than or equal to the threshold of the number of paths, so as to reduce the amount of data reported by the positioning measurement device, thereby further improving the positioning efficiency. It should be understood that the threshold of the number of paths used in the above various screening methods may be the same or different, and this is not specifically limited in this embodiment of the application.

S301-2, the positioning measurement device determines the measurement results of the N channel propagation paths.

In particular, for each channel propagation path, measurements other than the one or more measurements involved in the screening operation may be obtained. Taking the screening method 1 as an example, assuming that 5 channel propagation paths are screened out in total according to the received power, for each of the 5 channel propagation paths, the corresponding arrival time, arrival angle, and other measurement results may be obtained from the channel impulse response.

Further, to facilitate distinguishing between different channel propagation paths, an identification may be set for each channel propagation path in the channel impulse response, as may be set based on received power or arrival time. The following examples are given.

Optionally, the identifier of each channel propagation path may be a sequence number obtained by sorting the channel propagation paths in the channel impulse response according to the receiving power from large to small, and the arrival time and the arrival angle of the channel propagation path corresponding to the receiving power corresponding to the sequence number are bound with the sequence number to serve as the measurement result of the channel propagation path corresponding to the receiving power corresponding to the sequence number.

Thus, N channel propagation paths may be first screened from the channel impulse response based on the received power and/or the arrival time, and then other measurement results, such as the arrival angle, corresponding to each channel propagation path may be obtained from the channel impulse response based on each channel propagation path, thereby achieving the purpose of binding the measurement results with the channel propagation paths.

The above-mentioned arrival time weighting factor is inversely correlated with the value of the arrival time, and it can be understood that the positioning measurement result corresponding to the channel propagation path with the smaller value of the arrival time is more accurate, so that a larger arrival time weighting factor can be set for the channel propagation path with the smaller value of the arrival time, and a smaller arrival time weighting factor is set for the channel propagation path with the larger value of the arrival time, so as to improve the effect of the arrival time corresponding to the channel propagation path with the smaller value of the arrival time in the positioning calculation process, and reduce the effect of the arrival time corresponding to the channel propagation path with the larger value of the arrival time in the positioning calculation process, thereby improving the positioning accuracy. For example, the arrival times of the direct channel propagation paths are typically smaller than the arrival times of the reflected channel propagation paths, and the arrival time weighting factors of the direct channel propagation paths have a greater value than the arrival time weighting factors of the reflected channel propagation paths.

The above-mentioned weighting factor of the arrival time is positively correlated with the bandwidth occupied by the reference signal, and it can be understood that the larger the bandwidth occupied by the reference signal is, the more accurate the measured arrival time is, so that a larger time weighting factor can be set for the arrival time corresponding to the channel propagation path with the larger bandwidth occupied by the reference signal, so as to improve the role of the arrival time corresponding to the channel propagation path with the larger bandwidth occupied by the reference signal in the positioning calculation process, and reduce the role of the arrival time corresponding to the channel propagation path with the smaller bandwidth occupied by the reference signal in the positioning calculation process, thereby improving the positioning accuracy.

The power weighting factor is positively correlated with the value of the received power, and it can be understood that the larger the value of the received power is, the smaller the loss of the reference signal is, for example, the propagation distance is shorter, the reference signal does not pass through a fast fading region, the direct channel propagation path is, and the like, and the measured received power is more accurate, so that a larger received power weighting factor can be set for the received power corresponding to the channel propagation path with the larger value of the received power, so as to improve the effect of the received power corresponding to the channel propagation path with the larger value of the received power in the positioning calculation process, and reduce the effect of the received power corresponding to the channel propagation path with the smaller value of the received power in the positioning calculation process, thereby improving the positioning accuracy.

The above power weighting factor is positively correlated with the value of the transmission power of the reference signal, and it can be understood that the higher the transmission power is, the larger the maximum propagation distance of the reference signal is, and accordingly, when the distance between the positioning measurement device and the sender of the reference signal is a certain determined value at a certain time, the larger the value of the transmission power is, the larger the value of the reception power is, so that a larger reception power weighting factor can be set for the reception power corresponding to the channel propagation path having the larger value of the transmission power, so as to improve the effect of the reception power corresponding to the channel propagation path having the larger value of the transmission power in the positioning calculation process, and reduce the effect of the reception power corresponding to the channel propagation path having the smaller value of the transmission power in the positioning calculation process, thereby improving the positioning accuracy.

The above power weighting factor is inversely related to the value of the center frequency point or the frequency band of the transmitted reference signal, and it can be understood that the larger the value of the center frequency point or the frequency band of the transmitted reference signal is, the smaller the maximum propagation distance of the reference signal is, and accordingly, when the distance between the positioning measurement device and the transmitter of the reference signal is a certain determined value at a certain moment, the smaller the value of the center frequency point or the frequency band of the transmitted reference signal is, the larger the value of the received power is, so that a larger received power weighting factor can be set for the received power corresponding to the channel propagation path with the smaller value of the center frequency point or the frequency band of the transmitted reference signal, so as to improve the role played by the received power corresponding to the channel propagation path with the smaller value of the center frequency point or the frequency band of the transmitted reference signal in the positioning calculation process, and reduce the received power corresponding to the channel propagation path with the larger value of the center frequency point or the frequency band of the transmitted reference signal in the positioning calculation process Thereby improving the positioning accuracy.

The above-mentioned weighting factor of the arrival angle is positively correlated with the number of receiving antennas, and it can be understood that the more the receiving antennas are, the higher the measurement accuracy of the arrival angle is, so that a larger weighting factor of the arrival angle can be set for the arrival angle corresponding to the channel propagation path with the more the receiving antennas, so as to improve the effect of the arrival angle corresponding to the channel propagation path with the more the receiving antennas in the positioning calculation process, and reduce the effect of the arrival angle corresponding to the channel propagation path with the less the receiving antennas in the positioning calculation process, thereby improving the positioning accuracy.

It should be noted that, besides the number of receiving antennas, the arrival angle weighting factor may also be determined by combining other contents of the specifications of the receiving antennas of the positioning and measuring device (specifically, refer to the term definition part of the arrival angle above), and/or the used angle estimation algorithm, and the like, and specifically may be determined by combining the roles of each factor in the process of measuring the arrival angle, and the embodiments of the present application are not described in detail again.

The path weighting factor is positively correlated with one or more of: the time of arrival weighting factor, the angle of arrival weighting factor, or the power weighting factor may be understood as the more accurate the above-mentioned individual measurement results are, the more accurate the measurement result of the corresponding channel propagation path is, and thus the path weighting factor may be determined according to the time of arrival weighting factor, the angle of arrival weighting factor, or the power weighting factor.

In the embodiment of the present application, the weighting factor may also be understood as a reliability or reliability, and is used to indicate an accuracy of a corresponding channel propagation path or a corresponding measurement result.

In one possible design, the positioning measurement device may be an access network device, the positioning calculation device may be a core network device or a terminal device, the N channel propagation paths include N uplink channel propagation paths, and a measurement result of each uplink channel propagation path includes an identifier of each uplink channel propagation path and one or more of the following information: the uplink arrival time corresponding to each uplink channel propagation path, the uplink arrival angle corresponding to each uplink channel propagation path, and the uplink receiving power corresponding to each uplink channel propagation path.

In another possible design, the positioning measurement device may be a terminal device, the positioning calculation device may be a core network device or an access network device, the N channel propagation paths include N downlink channel propagation paths, and the measurement result of each downlink channel propagation path includes an identifier of each downlink channel propagation path and one or more of the following information: the downlink arrival time corresponding to each downlink channel propagation path, the downlink arrival angle corresponding to each downlink channel propagation path, and the downlink receiving power corresponding to each downlink channel propagation path.

In one possible design, before performing S301, before the positioning measurement device obtains measurement results of N channel propagation paths of the terminal device, the communication method shown in fig. 3 may further include: the positioning computing device sends a first request to the positioning measurement device, and the positioning measurement device receives the first request from the positioning computing device. The first request is used for requesting the measurement results of N channel propagation paths of the terminal equipment.

The first request may be determined according to first capability information, where the first capability information is used to indicate a positioning measurement capability of the positioning measurement device, such as whether multipath measurement result reporting is supported. Thus, the positioning computing device can allocate the measurement tasks that can be reached by the positioning measurement device according to the first capability information, and/or customize the reported content.

For example, if the load of the positioning computing device is heavy and the load of the positioning measurement device is light, the positioning measurement device may be instructed to report only the measurement results of the N channel propagation paths, or report only a part of the channel impulse responses, so as to reduce the workload of the positioning computing device. Or, conversely, if the load of the positioning measurement device is heavy and the load of the positioning calculation device is light, the positioning measurement device may be instructed to report the complete channel impulse response, and the measurement results of the N channel propagation paths are not reported, so as to reduce the workload of the positioning measurement device.

Optionally, before the positioning computing device sends the first request to the positioning measurement device and the positioning measurement device receives the first request from the positioning computing device, the communication method illustrated in fig. 3 may further include: the positioning measurement device sends the first capability information to the positioning calculation device, and the positioning calculation device receives the first capability information.

Further, before the positioning measurement device sends the first capability information to the positioning computing device, and the positioning computing device receives the first capability information, the communication method shown in fig. 3 may further include: the positioning computing device sends a second request, and the positioning measurement device receives the second request from the positioning computing device. Wherein the second request is for requesting the first capability information. That is, the positioning measurement device may transmit the first capability information after receiving the second request.

It should be understood that the positioning measurement device may also actively transmit the first capability information. For example, if the positioning measurement device is a terminal device, the terminal device may actively report the first capability information to the access network device and/or the core network device, for example, in a registration procedure. For another example, if the positioning measurement device is an access network device, the access network device may actively report the first capability information to the core network device, for example, when the access network device is started. The implementation manner of reporting the first capability information is not specifically limited in the embodiments of the present application.

It should be noted that the positioning computing device may also obtain the first capability information from other devices besides the positioning measurement device. For example, if the positioning measurement device is an access network device and the positioning computing device is a core network device, the core network device may also obtain the first capability information of the access network device from a centralized storage network element, such as a Unified Data Repository (UDR) network element and a Unified Data Management (UDM) network element. For another example, if the positioning measurement device is a terminal device and the positioning computing device is a core network device, the core network device may also obtain the first capability information from the access network device. For another example, if the positioning measurement device is a terminal device and the positioning computing device is a target access network device, the target access network device may also obtain the first capability information from the core network device or the source access network device. The source of the first capability information is not specifically limited in the embodiment of the present application.

Further, the original requesting party of the positioning measurement task may be a positioning computing device, or may be other devices, which is not specifically limited in this embodiment of the present application. For example, the positioning computing device is a core network device, and the original requester of the positioning measurement task may be the core network device, or may be a terminal device or an application server deployed by a third party or another terminal device that needs to know the location of the terminal device. For another example, the positioning computing device is an access network device, and the original requester of the positioning measurement task may be the access network device itself, or may be a core network device, a terminal device, an application server deployed by a third party, or another terminal device that needs to know the location of the terminal device.

S302, the positioning measurement device sends a first message to the positioning calculation device, and the positioning calculation device receives the first message from the positioning measurement device.

The first message includes the channel impulse response or the measurement results of the N channel propagation paths of the terminal device described in S301 above.

In one possible design, the positioning measurement device may be an access network device, and the positioning calculation device may be a core network device or a terminal device. Accordingly, the step S302, where the positioning measurement device sends the first message to the positioning computing device, and the positioning computing device receives the first message from the positioning measurement device, may include:

the access network equipment sends a first message to the core network equipment or the terminal equipment, and the core network equipment or the terminal equipment receives the first message from the access network equipment.

In this way, the core network device or the terminal device may determine the location of the terminal device based on the measurement results of the N channel propagation paths, i.e., perform S303 described below.

In another possible design, the positioning measurement device may be a terminal device, and the positioning calculation device may be a core network device or an access network device. Accordingly, the step S302, where the positioning measurement device sends the first message to the positioning computing device, and the positioning computing device receives the first message from the positioning measurement device, may include:

the terminal equipment sends a first message to the core network equipment or the access network equipment, and the core network equipment or the access network equipment receives the first message from the terminal equipment.

In this way, the core network device or the access network device may determine the location of the terminal device based on the measurement results of the N channel propagation paths, i.e., perform S303 described below.

It should be noted that the operation of determining the measurement results of the N channel propagation paths according to the channel impulse responses described in S301 above may be performed by the positioning measurement device in S301 above, or may be performed by the positioning calculation device before S303 below. When this operation is performed by the positioning computing device, the first message in S302 may include the channel impulse response and not include the measurements of the N channel propagation paths. Accordingly, after performing S302, the positioning computing device may perform the operation of determining the measurement results of the N channel propagation paths according to the channel impulse responses described in S301, and then perform S303 described below.

S303, the positioning calculation equipment determines the position of the terminal equipment according to the measurement results of the N channel propagation paths.

In a possible design, in step S303, the determining, by the positioning computing device, the position of the terminal device according to the measurement results of the N channel propagation paths may include the following steps S303-1 to S303-3:

s303-1, determining a plurality of candidate positions according to the measurement results of the N channel propagation paths.

Specifically, a candidate position may be determined according to all measurement results corresponding to one channel propagation path, or a candidate position may be determined according to one or more single measurement results, such as arrival time or arrival angle, in the measurement results of one channel propagation path, or a candidate position may be determined according to a set consisting of one or more single measurement results, such as arrival time + arrival angle, in the measurement results of one channel propagation path. That is to say, the channel propagation paths and the candidate positions may be in one-to-one correspondence, or one channel propagation path may correspond to multiple candidate positions.

S303-2, determining weighted values of the plurality of candidate positions according to the weighting factors of the measurement results of the N channel propagation paths.

For example, the weighting factors of the candidate positions corresponding to the N channel propagation paths may be determined according to the measurement results of the N channel propagation paths used by the positioning algorithm, and the ratio of the weighting factor corresponding to the candidate position to the sum of the weighting factors corresponding to all the channel propagation paths may be determined as the weighting value of the candidate position.

And S303-3, determining the weighted average value of the candidate positions as the position of the terminal equipment according to the weighted values of the candidate positions.

Therefore, the greater the value of the weighting factor, the higher the accuracy of a single measurement result, multiple measurement results, or all measurement results of a certain channel propagation path corresponding to the weighting factor, and therefore, when multiple measurement results of the same channel propagation path are used, or when measurement results of multiple channel propagation paths are used to locate the terminal device, the weighting factor can be used to further adjust the location result, so as to eliminate or weaken the interference of adverse factors, thereby further improving the accuracy of the location result. Wherein the adverse factors may include one or more of: multipath propagation (e.g., reflection, refraction, scattering, etc.), fast fading of the signal, etc.

Specifically, the measurement result of the channel propagation path affected by one or more of the above adverse factors may have a large deviation from the measurement result of the channel propagation path not affected by one or more of the above adverse factors, and thus may be eliminated or given a smaller weight in the screening process in the above S303-1 to S303-3, and finally, the adverse effect of the above adverse factors on the positioning result is eliminated or weakened.

Illustratively, the arrival time of the reflected channel propagation path is longer than the arrival time of the direct channel propagation path, such that when sorted in order of arrival time from small to large, the order of the reflected channel propagation path is after the direct channel propagation path, then the weight of the reflected channel propagation path is less than the weight of the direct channel propagation path, i.e. the weight of the candidate location determined based on the measurement of the reflected channel propagation path is less than the weight of the candidate location determined based on the measurement of the direct channel propagation path. Therefore, in the process of determining the position of the terminal device by performing weighted average operation on the 2 candidate positions, the adverse effect of the propagation path of the reflection channel can be weakened, so that the positioning accuracy is improved. Further, if the sequence number of the reflection channel propagation path is greater than the path number threshold, the reflection channel propagation path can be eliminated in the screening process, so that the adverse effect of the reflection channel propagation path can be eliminated, and the positioning accuracy is further improved.

Illustratively, in a direct scene, such as an open field, the received power of the fast fading channel propagation path is less than the received power of the non-fast fading channel propagation path, so that when the received powers are sorted in descending order, the order of the fast fading channel propagation path is located behind the non-fast fading channel propagation path, and then the weight of the fast fading channel propagation path is less than the weight of the non-fast fading channel propagation path, that is, the weight of the candidate location determined based on the measurement result of the fast fading channel propagation path is less than the weight of the candidate location determined based on the measurement result of the non-fast fading channel propagation path. Therefore, in the process of determining the position of the terminal device by performing weighted average operation on the 2 candidate positions, the adverse effect of the fast fading channel propagation path can be weakened, so that the positioning accuracy is improved. Further, if the sequence number of the fast fading channel propagation path is greater than the threshold of the number of paths, the fast fading channel propagation path can be eliminated in the screening process, so that the adverse effect of the fast fading channel propagation path can be eliminated, and the positioning accuracy is further improved.

In this embodiment, the positioning measurement device and the positioning calculation device may be different devices or may be the same device. When the same device, the interaction between the positioning measurement device and the positioning calculation device, as described above S302, can be regarded as the internal operation of the same device. For example, the same device may be a terminal device, and the terminal device may screen measurement results of N downlink channel propagation paths from the downlink channel impulse response, determine a position of the terminal device based on the screened measurement results of the N downlink channel propagation paths, and then report the position to a network, such as a core network device and/or an access network device.

In this embodiment of the present application, the communication method shown in fig. 3 may be implemented based on an uplink reference signal, that is, an uplink scheme, or based on a downlink reference signal, that is, an uplink scheme. The following are described separately.

In the uplink scheme, the reference signal is an uplink reference signal sent by the terminal device, the positioning calculation device may be a core network device or a terminal device, the positioning measurement device is an access network device, the N channel propagation paths include N uplink channel propagation paths, and a measurement result of each uplink channel propagation path includes an identifier of each uplink channel propagation path and one or more of the following information: an uplink time of arrival (UL-TOA) corresponding to each uplink channel propagation path, an uplink angle of arrival (UL-AOA) corresponding to each uplink channel propagation path, and an uplink received power (uplink received power) corresponding to each uplink channel propagation path.

The uplink channel impulse response refers to channel impulse response obtained by the access network device according to an uplink reference signal received from the terminal device, and the measurement results of the N uplink channel propagation paths are screened from the uplink channel impulse response.

For a specific implementation of the uplink scheme, reference may be made to the communication method illustrated in fig. 4 described below, and details are not described here.

In the downlink scheme, the reference signal is a downlink reference signal sent by the access network device, the positioning computing device may be a core network device or an access network device, the N channel propagation paths include N downlink channel propagation paths, and the measurement result of each downlink channel propagation path includes an identifier of each downlink channel propagation path and one or more of the following information: a downlink arrival time corresponding to each downlink channel propagation path, a downlink angle of arrival (DL-AOA) corresponding to each downlink channel propagation path, and a downlink received power (downlink received power) corresponding to each downlink channel propagation path.

The downlink channel impulse response refers to channel impulse response obtained by the terminal device according to a downlink reference signal received from the access network device, and the measurement results of the N downlink channel propagation paths are screened from the downlink channel impulse response.

For specific implementation of the downlink scheme, reference may be made to the communication method illustrated in fig. 5 described below, and details are not described here.

The uplink scheme and the downlink scheme of the communication method shown in fig. 3 are explained in detail below with reference to fig. 4 or fig. 5, respectively.

Exemplarily, fig. 4 is a schematic flowchart of a second communication method provided in the embodiment of the present application. The positioning computing device shown in fig. 3 may be a core network device or a terminal device shown in fig. 4, and the positioning measuring device shown in fig. 3 may be an access network device shown in fig. 4. The following takes the positioning computing device and the requester of the positioning measurement task as the core network device for example.

As shown in fig. 4, the communication method includes the following steps S401 to S404:

s401, the terminal device sends an uplink reference signal to the access network device, and the access network device receives the uplink reference signal from the terminal device.

The uplink reference signal may be an SRS, or may also be another uplink measurement signal sent by the terminal device and used for the purpose of positioning the terminal device, which is not specifically limited in this embodiment of the present application.

In a possible design, in S401, the terminal device may actively send the uplink reference signal on a preconfigured or predefined uplink resource (e.g., a resource in an uplink resource pool).

Optionally, the terminal device actively sends the uplink reference signal to the access network device, which may be regarded as that the terminal device simultaneously sends a positioning measurement task request to the access network device. The positioning measurement task request is used for requesting measurement results of N uplink channel propagation paths. For specific contents of the measurement results of the N uplink channel propagation paths, reference may be made to the following S402, which is not described herein again.

It should be understood that the terminal device may also send the positioning measurement task request to the access network device first, and then send the uplink reference signal to the access network device. The embodiment of the present application does not limit any specific implementation manner of how the terminal device sends the positioning measurement task request and the uplink reference signal to the access network device.

In another possible design, the sending, by the terminal device, the uplink reference signal to the access network device in S401 may be performed after the access network device receives a first request from a core network device described below and instructs, according to the first request, the terminal device to send the uplink reference signal. That is, before performing the above-described S401, the communication method illustrated in fig. 4 may further include the following S401-1 to S401-2:

s401-1, the core network device sends a first request to the access network device, and the access network device receives the first request from the core network device.

The first request is used for requesting measurement results or uplink channel impulse responses of N uplink channel propagation paths. For specific contents of the measurement results of the N uplink channel propagation paths, reference may be made to the following S402, which is not described herein again.

S401-2, the access network equipment sends the configuration information of the uplink reference signal to the terminal equipment, and the terminal equipment receives the configuration information of the uplink reference signal from the access network equipment.

The configuration information of the uplink reference signal is used to instruct the terminal device to send the uplink reference signal, and the configuration information of the uplink reference signal may include one or more of the following items: identification information of the uplink reference signal, indication information of a time-frequency resource for transmitting the uplink reference signal, uplink transmission power and the like.

It should be noted that the original requester of the first request in S401-1 may be the following core network device, or may be other devices that need to know the location of the terminal device, such as another terminal device or an application server deployed by a third party, and the embodiment of the present application is not limited in this respect.

In addition, the terminal device may send the uplink reference signal periodically, or send the uplink reference signal for a specified number of times within a time period specified by the access network device, as long as the requirement of the positioning measurement task can be met, which is not specifically limited in this embodiment of the present application.

Further, the content of the first request may be determined by the core network device according to the positioning measurement capability of the access network device, that is, the first capability information described in S301. Thus, the core network device may allocate the measurement task that can be met by the access network device according to the first capability information, and/or customize the reported content, and the specific implementation may refer to the description related to the first capability information in S301, which is not described herein again.

Optionally, the core network device may obtain the first capability information of the access network device from the access network device or other core network devices, and the specific implementation may refer to the related content of the first capability information in S301, which is not described herein again.

It should be noted that, when the core network device acquires the first capability information from the access network device, the content of the second request and the first capability information in the above S301 may be carried in a message of the NRPPa. For example, the second request may be an E-CID measurement initialization request (E-CID measurement initialization request) message, and the first capability information may be carried in an E-CID measurement initialization response (E-CID measurement initialization response) message.

S402, the access network equipment obtains the measurement results of N uplink channel propagation paths of the terminal equipment.

Illustratively, the access network device obtains the uplink channel impulse response according to the uplink reference signal received from the terminal device, such as the SRS in S401, and then determines the measurement results of the N uplink channel propagation paths according to the uplink channel impulse response.

Wherein, the measurement result of each uplink channel propagation path includes the identifier of each uplink channel propagation path and one or more of the following information: the uplink arrival time corresponding to each uplink channel propagation path, the uplink arrival angle corresponding to each uplink channel propagation path, and the uplink receiving power corresponding to each uplink channel propagation path.

The uplink arrival time may include a relative time of arrival (RTOA), or an uplink time difference of arrival (UL-TDOA), an uplink angle of arrival (UL-AOA) refers to an angle between an incoming direction of an uplink reference signal received by the access network device from the terminal device and a north direction, such as an angle between an uplink beam (uplink-beam ID) receiving the uplink reference signal and the north direction, an uplink received power refers to a power of the uplink reference signal received by the access network device and may include RSRP, RSRQ, RSSI, SINR, SNR, and the like of the uplink reference signal, an identification of an uplink channel propagation path may be determined according to the uplink arrival time or uplink received power, and specific implementation may refer to related contents of the identification of a channel propagation path determined according to the received power and/or the arrival time in S303, and will not be described in detail herein.

In a possible design, the determining the measurement results of the N uplink channel propagation paths according to the uplink channel impulse responses may include the following steps S402-1 and S402-2:

s402-1, screening N uplink channel propagation paths from the uplink channel impulse response.

The N uplink channel propagation paths may be any one of the following paths, that is, the N uplink channel propagation paths may be screened from the uplink channel impulse response according to one of the following screening methods:

a screening mode 6, in which the uplink receiving power in the uplink channel impulse response is the maximum N uplink channel propagation paths; alternatively, the first and second electrodes may be,

a screening mode 7, in which N uplink channel propagation paths with the minimum uplink arrival time in the uplink channel impulse response are obtained; alternatively, the first and second electrodes may be,

a screening mode 8, in which the uplink channel impulse response includes N uplink channel propagation paths with the minimum uplink arrival time and the uplink received power greater than or equal to the first uplink power threshold; alternatively, the first and second electrodes may be,

a screening means 9, which is configured to select N uplink channel propagation paths having the minimum uplink arrival time and the sum of uplink received powers greater than or equal to the second uplink power threshold in the uplink channel impulse response; alternatively, the first and second electrodes may be,

in the screening method 10, the uplink channel impulse response includes N uplink channel propagation paths with the minimum uplink arrival time, the uplink received power greater than or equal to the third uplink power threshold, and the sum of the uplink received powers greater than or equal to the fourth uplink power threshold.

For specific implementation manners of the screening manner 6 to the screening manner 10, reference may be made to the screening manner 1 to the screening manner 5 in the above S301-1, which is not described herein again.

The uplink power, the first uplink power threshold, the second uplink power threshold, the third uplink power threshold, and the fourth uplink power threshold may include one or more of the following uplink reference signals: the RSRP, RSRQ, RSSI, SINR, SNR, etc. of the uplink reference signal, the uplink arrival time may be the time when the uplink reference signal arrives at the access network device, and the uplink arrival angle may be the angle when the uplink reference signal arrives at the access network device.

It should be noted that N is an uplink path number threshold, and the number of the N uplink channel propagation paths may be less than or equal to the uplink path number threshold, so as to reduce the reported data amount of the access network device, thereby further improving the positioning efficiency. It should be understood that the uplink path number thresholds used in the screening methods 6 to 10 may be the same or different, and this is not specifically limited in this embodiment of the present application.

Thus, N uplink channel propagation paths can be screened from the uplink channel impulse response based on the uplink received power and/or the uplink arrival time, and then other contents, such as the uplink arrival angle and the like, in the measurement result of each uplink channel propagation path are determined based on the received data corresponding to each uplink channel propagation path, so that the measurement result of the uplink channel propagation path is bound with the uplink channel propagation path.

S402-2, determining the measurement results of N uplink channel propagation paths.

Specifically, for each uplink channel propagation path in the N uplink channel propagation paths, other measurement results except for one or more measurement results involved in the screening operation may be obtained. Taking the screening method 6 as an example, assuming that 5 uplink channel propagation paths are screened out in total according to the uplink received power, the uplink arrival time and the uplink arrival angle of each uplink channel propagation path can be obtained from the uplink channel impulse response for each uplink channel propagation path in the 5 uplink channel propagation paths.

Further, in order to facilitate distinguishing different uplink channel propagation paths, an identifier may be set for each uplink channel propagation path in the uplink channel impulse response. Wherein the identifier of each uplink channel propagation path may be set based on the uplink received power or the uplink arrival time. The following examples are given.

Optionally, the identifier of each uplink channel propagation path may be a sequence number obtained by sequencing uplink channel propagation paths in the uplink channel impulse response from large to small according to uplink received power, and the uplink arrival time and the uplink arrival angle of the uplink channel propagation path corresponding to the uplink received power corresponding to the sequence number are bound together with the sequence number and used as a measurement result of the uplink channel propagation path corresponding to the uplink received power corresponding to the sequence number.

Or, optionally, the identifier of each uplink channel propagation path may be a sequence number obtained by sequencing uplink channel propagation paths in the uplink channel impulse response according to the ascending arrival time from small to large, and the uplink receiving power and the uplink arrival angle of the uplink channel propagation path corresponding to the uplink arrival time corresponding to the sequence number are bound together with the sequence number to serve as the measurement result of the uplink channel propagation path corresponding to the uplink arrival time corresponding to the sequence number.

Thus, N uplink channel propagation paths can be screened from the uplink channel impulse response based on the uplink received power and/or the uplink arrival time, and then other uplink measurement results, such as uplink arrival angles, corresponding to each uplink channel propagation path are obtained from the uplink channel impulse response based on each uplink channel propagation path, so that the uplink measurement results and the uplink channel propagation paths are bound.

Still further, the measurement result of each uplink channel propagation path may further include an uplink weighting factor, and the uplink weighting factor may include one or more of the following items: an uplink time-of-arrival weighting factor, an uplink angle-of-arrival weighting factor, an uplink power weighting factor, or an uplink path weighting factor. Wherein the uplink arrival time weighting factor is inversely related to the value of the uplink arrival time; the uplink arrival time weighting factor is positively correlated with the bandwidth occupied by the uplink reference signal; the uplink power weighting factor is positively correlated with the value of the uplink received power; the uplink power weighting factor is positively correlated with the value of the uplink transmission power of the uplink reference signal; the uplink power weighting factor is inversely related to the central frequency point or the frequency band value of the transmitted uplink reference signal; the uplink arrival angle weighting factor is positively correlated with the number of uplink receiving antennas; the uplink path weighting factor is positively correlated with one or more of: an uplink time-of-arrival weighting factor, an uplink angle-of-arrival weighting factor, or an uplink power weighting factor. For specific implementation, reference may be made to the related content of the weighting factor in S301, which is not described herein again.

S403, the access network device sends a first message to the core network device, and the core network device receives the first message from the access network device.

In a possible design, the first message includes the measurement results of the N uplink channel propagation paths described in the above S402, and specific contents of the measurement results of the N uplink channel propagation paths may refer to S402, which is not described herein again.

In this way, the core network device or the terminal device may determine the location of the terminal device based on the measurement results of the N uplink channel propagation paths, i.e., perform S404 described below.

In another possible design, the first message may also include the uplink channel impulse response and no measurement results of the N uplink channel propagation paths. Accordingly, the operation of "determining the measurement results of the N uplink channel propagation paths according to the uplink channel impulse response" in S402 may be performed by the core network device before S404 described below, and is not described herein again.

It should be noted that the content of the first message, that is, the reported content of the access network device, may be determined by the core network device according to the first capability information of the access network device, and specific implementation may refer to the relevant content of the second request and the first capability information in S401, which is not described herein again.

S404, the core network equipment determines the position of the terminal equipment according to the measurement results of the N uplink channel propagation paths.

In a possible design, in the step S404, the determining, by the core network device, the location of the terminal device according to the measurement results of the N uplink channel propagation paths may include the following steps S404-1 to S404-3:

s404-1, determining a plurality of candidate positions according to the measurement results of the N uplink channel propagation paths.

Specifically, a candidate position may be determined according to all measurement results corresponding to one uplink channel propagation path, or a candidate position may be determined according to the same single measurement result of multiple uplink channel propagation paths, for example, according to the uplink arrival time of one uplink channel propagation path and the uplink arrival time of another uplink channel propagation path, or a candidate position may be determined according to a set of multiple single measurement results of one uplink channel propagation path, for example, according to the uplink arrival time + the uplink arrival angle of the same uplink channel propagation path. That is to say, the uplink channel propagation paths and the candidate positions may be in one-to-one correspondence, or one uplink channel propagation path may correspond to multiple candidate positions.

S404-2, determining uplink weighted values of a plurality of candidate positions according to the weighting factors of the measurement results of the N uplink channel propagation paths.

For example, according to the uplink measurement result used by the positioning algorithm, the weighting factors of the candidate positions corresponding to the N uplink channel propagation paths may be determined, and the ratio of the weighting factor corresponding to the candidate position to the sum of the weighting factors corresponding to all the uplink channel propagation paths may be determined as the uplink weighting value of the candidate position.

S404-3, determining the uplink weighted average value of the candidate positions as the position of the terminal equipment according to the uplink weighted values of the candidate positions.

Therefore, the greater the value of the uplink weighting factor is, the higher the accuracy of the partial or all measurement results of the uplink channel propagation path corresponding to the uplink weighting factor is, so that when different single measurement results of the same uplink channel propagation path are used or the measurement results of different uplink channel propagation paths are used to position the terminal device, the uplink weighting factor can be used to further adjust the positioning result, so as to further improve the accuracy of the positioning result.

It should be noted that the communication method shown in fig. 4 is described by taking the core network device as the positioning computing device and the requester of the positioning measurement task as an example. It should be understood that in the uplink scenario, the location calculation device and the requester of the location measurement task may also be terminal devices. Further, the location calculation device and the location measurement task requester may be different devices or the same device. When the positioning measurement device and the positioning computing device are the same device, the interaction between the positioning measurement device and the positioning computing device may be considered as an internal operation of the same device.

Illustratively, table 1 is an example of a correspondence relationship between a positioning computing device and a requester of a positioning measurement task in the uplink scheme. As shown in table 1, in the uplink scheme, the uplink reference signal sender is a terminal device, the uplink measurement task executor is an access network device, and a location measurement task requester is also determined in a specific application scenario. In practical application, different positioning computing devices can be flexibly selected according to different scenarios, for example, the positioning computing devices can be flexibly selected according to the load condition of the core network device, the positioning measurement capability and/or the load condition of the terminal device, and the positioning capability and/or the load condition of the access network device. For example, for the three schemes with sequence numbers 1, 4, and 7 shown in table 1, the positioning computing device may be a core network device, an access network device, or a terminal device, respectively.

TABLE 1

Exemplarily, fig. 5 is a third schematic flowchart of a communication method provided in the embodiment of the present application. The positioning computing device shown in fig. 3 may be a core network device or an access network device shown in fig. 5, and the positioning measuring device shown in fig. 3 may be a terminal device shown in fig. 5. The following takes the positioning computing device and the requester of the positioning measurement task as the core network device for example.

As shown in fig. 5, the communication method includes the following steps S501 to S504:

s501, the access network equipment sends downlink reference signals to the terminal equipment, and the terminal equipment receives the downlink reference signals from the access network equipment.

The downlink reference signal may be, for example, CSI-RS or PRS, or other downlink measurement signals sent by the access network device and used for positioning the terminal device, which is not specifically limited in this embodiment of the present application.

For example, the access network device may send the downlink reference signal on a preconfigured or predefined downlink resource, or may send the configuration information of the downlink reference signal to the terminal device first, and then send the downlink reference signal to the terminal device. The embodiment of the present application does not limit any specific implementation manner of how the access network device sends the downlink reference signal to the terminal device.

In a possible design, the sending, by the access network device, the downlink reference signal to the terminal device may be that the access network device receives a first request from a core network device described below, and sends the downlink reference signal to the terminal device according to the first request. That is, before performing the above-described S501, the communication method illustrated in fig. 5 may further include the following S501-1 to S501-2:

s501-1, the core network equipment sends a first request to the access network equipment, and the terminal equipment receives the first request from the core network equipment.

The first request is used for requesting measurement results or downlink channel impulse responses of N downlink channel propagation paths. For specific contents of the measurement results of the N downlink channel propagation paths, reference may be made to the following S502, which is not described herein again.

S501-2, the access network equipment sends a downlink measurement task request to the terminal equipment, and the terminal equipment receives the downlink measurement task request from the access network equipment.

Wherein the downlink measurement task request comprises the content of the first request.

Optionally, the downlink measurement task request may further include configuration information of the downlink reference signal. The configuration information of the downlink reference signal is used to indicate the terminal device to receive the downlink reference signal, and the configuration information of the downlink reference signal may include one or more of the following: the identification information of the downlink reference signal, the indication information of the time-frequency resource for receiving the downlink reference signal, the downlink transmission power, and the like, so that the terminal device receives the downlink reference signal from the access network device, and performs the following S502 according to the received downlink reference signal.

It should be understood that the configuration information of the first request and the downlink reference signal may also be sent separately, that is, the configuration information of the first request and the downlink reference signal are sent in two messages respectively. The embodiment of the present application does not specifically limit the manner of sending the configuration information of the first request and the downlink reference signal.

It should be noted that the original requester of the first request in the above S501-1 may be the following core network device, or may be other devices that need to know the location of the terminal device, such as another terminal device or an application server deployed by a third party, and the embodiment of the present application is not limited in this respect.

Further, the content of the first request may be determined by the core network device according to the positioning measurement capability of the terminal device, that is, the first capability information described in S301. Thus, the core network device may allocate the measurement task that can be met by the capability to the terminal device according to the first capability information, and/or customize the report content, and the specific implementation may refer to the relevant content of the first capability information in S301, which is not described herein again.

Optionally, the core network device may obtain the first capability information of the terminal device from the terminal device or the access network device, and the specific implementation may refer to the related content of the second request in S301, which is not described herein again.

It should be noted that, when the core network device acquires the first capability information from the terminal device, the content of the first request, the content of the second request, and the first capability information may be carried in a message of an LTE Positioning Protocol (LPP). For example, the first request and the second request may be LPP E-CID capability request (LPP E-CID capabilities request) messages, and the first capability information may be carried in LPP E-CID measurement capability provision (E-CID measurement capabilities) messages.

S502, the terminal equipment obtains the measurement results of N downlink channel propagation paths of the terminal equipment.

Illustratively, the terminal device obtains downlink channel impulse responses according to downlink reference signals received from the access network device, such as PRS or CSI-RS in S501, and then determines measurement results of N downlink channel propagation paths according to the downlink channel impulse responses.

The measurement result of each downlink channel propagation path includes an identifier of each downlink channel propagation path and one or more of the following items of information: the downlink arrival time corresponding to each downlink channel propagation path, the downlink arrival angle corresponding to each downlink channel propagation path, and the downlink receiving power corresponding to each downlink channel propagation path.

The downlink arrival time may include a downlink time of arrival (DL-TOA) or a downlink time difference of arrival (DL-TDOA), where the downlink arrival angle (DL-AOA) refers to an angle between an incoming direction of a downlink reference signal received by the terminal device from the access network device and a north direction, such as a downlink arrival angle corresponding to a downlink beam (uplink-beam ID) for the received downlink reference signal, the downlink received power refers to a power of the downlink reference signal received by the terminal device, and may include RSRP, RSRQ, RSSI, SINR, and the like of the downlink reference signal, the identifier of the downlink propagation path may be determined according to the downlink arrival time and/or the downlink received power, and a specific implementation may refer to an implementation manner in S303 that the identifier of the propagation path is determined according to the received power and/or the arrival time, and will not be described in detail herein.

In a possible design, the determining the measurement results of the N downlink channel propagation paths according to the downlink channel impulse responses may include the following steps S502-1 and S502-2:

s502-1, screening N downlink channel propagation paths from the downlink channel impulse response.

The N downlink channel propagation paths may be any one of the following paths, that is, the N downlink channel propagation paths may be screened from the downlink channel impulse response according to one of the following screening methods:

a screening mode 11, in which N downlink channel propagation paths with the maximum downlink receiving power in the downlink channel impulse response are selected; alternatively, the first and second electrodes may be,

a screening mode 12, in which N downlink channel propagation paths with the minimum time to reach downlink in the downlink channel impulse response are selected; alternatively, the first and second electrodes may be,

a screening mode 13, which is to say that the downlink arrival time in the downlink channel impulse response is the minimum and the downlink receiving power is greater than or equal to the N downlink channel propagation paths of the first downlink power threshold; alternatively, the first and second electrodes may be,

a screening mode 14, which is to select N downlink channel propagation paths with the minimum time to downlink arrival and the sum of downlink receiving powers greater than or equal to the second downlink power threshold in the downlink channel impulse response; alternatively, the first and second electrodes may be,

in the screening method 15, the downlink channel impulse response includes N downlink channel propagation paths in which the downlink arrival time is the minimum, the downlink received power is greater than or equal to the third downlink power threshold, and the sum of the downlink received powers is greater than or equal to the fourth downlink power threshold.

For specific implementation manners of the screening manner 11 to the screening manner 15, reference may be made to the screening manner 1 to the screening manner 5 in the above S301-1, which is not described herein again.

The downlink received power, the first downlink power threshold, the second downlink power threshold, the third downlink power threshold, and the fourth downlink power threshold may include one or more of the following downlink reference signals: RSRP, RSRQ, RSSI, SINR, SNR, etc., where the downlink arrival time may be the time when the downlink reference signal arrives at the terminal device, and the downlink arrival angle may be the angle when the downlink reference signal arrives at the terminal device.

It should be noted that the number of the N downlink channel propagation paths may be less than or equal to the threshold of the number of the downlink paths, so as to reduce the amount of data reported by the terminal device, thereby further improving the positioning efficiency. It should be understood that the threshold values of the number of downlink paths used in the screening methods 11 to 15 may be the same or different, and this is not specifically limited in this embodiment of the application.

S502-2, determining the measurement results of the N downlink channel propagation paths.

Specifically, for each downlink channel propagation path in the N downlink channel propagation paths, other measurement results except for one or more measurement results involved in the screening operation may be obtained. Taking the screening method 11 as an example, assuming that 5 downlink channel propagation paths are screened out in total according to the downlink receiving power, the corresponding downlink arrival time and downlink arrival angle may be obtained from the downlink channel impulse response for each of the 5 downlink channel propagation paths.

Optionally, in order to distinguish different downlink channel propagation paths, an identifier may be set for each downlink channel propagation path in the downlink channel impulse response. Wherein, the identifier of each downlink channel propagation path can be set based on the downlink receiving power or the downlink arrival time. The following examples are given.

Optionally, the identifier of each downlink channel propagation path may be a sequence number obtained by sequencing the downlink channel propagation paths in the downlink channel impulse response in descending order of the downlink receiving power from high to low, and the downlink arrival time and the downlink arrival angle of the downlink channel propagation path corresponding to the downlink receiving power corresponding to the sequence number are bound together with the sequence number and used as the measurement result of the downlink channel propagation path corresponding to the downlink receiving power corresponding to the sequence number.

Or, optionally, the identifier of each downlink channel propagation path may be a sequence number obtained by sequencing the downlink channel propagation paths in the downlink channel impulse response according to the descending arrival time from small to large, and the downlink receiving power and the downlink arrival angle of the downlink channel propagation path corresponding to the descending arrival time corresponding to the sequence number are bound together with the sequence number to serve as the measurement result of the downlink channel propagation path corresponding to the descending arrival time corresponding to the sequence number.

Therefore, N downlink channel propagation paths can be screened from the downlink channel impulse response based on the downlink receiving power and/or the downlink arrival time, and then other measurement results corresponding to each downlink channel propagation path, such as the downlink arrival angle, are obtained from the downlink channel impulse response, so that the downlink measurement results and the downlink channel propagation paths are bound.

Further, the measurement result of each downlink channel propagation path may further include a downlink weighting factor, and the downlink weighting factor may include one or more of the following items: a downlink arrival time weighting factor, a downlink arrival angle weighting factor, a downlink power weighting factor, or a downlink path weighting factor. Wherein the downlink arrival time weighting factor is inversely related to the value of the downlink arrival time; the downlink arrival time weighting factor is positively correlated with the bandwidth occupied by the downlink reference signal; the downlink power weighting factor is positively correlated with the value of the downlink received power; the downlink power weighting factor is positively correlated with the downlink transmission power value of the downlink reference signal; the downlink power weighting factor is inversely related to the value of a central frequency point or a frequency band for sending the downlink reference signal; the downlink arrival angle weighting factor is positively correlated with the number of downlink receiving antennas; the downlink path weighting factor is positively correlated with one or more of: a downlink time-of-arrival weighting factor, a downlink angle-of-arrival weighting factor, or a downlink power weighting factor. For specific implementation, reference may be made to the related content of the weighting factor in S301, which is not described herein again.

S503, the terminal device sends a first message to the core network device, and the core network device receives the first message from the terminal device.

The first message includes the measurement results of the N downlink channel propagation paths described in S502 above, and the specific content of the first message may refer to S502, which is not described herein again.

In this way, the core network device or the access network device may determine the location of the terminal device based on the measurement results of the N downlink channel propagation paths, i.e., perform the following S504.

Optionally, the first message may also include a downlink channel impulse response and does not include measurement results of the N downlink channel propagation paths. Accordingly, the operation of "determining the measurement results of the N downlink channel propagation paths according to the downlink channel impulse response" in S502 may be performed by the core network device before performing S504 described below, and is not described herein again.

It should be noted that the content of the first message may be determined by the core network device according to the first capability information, and specific implementation may refer to the content related to the second request and the first capability information in S501, which is not described herein again.

And S504, the core network equipment determines the position of the terminal equipment according to the measurement results of the N downlink channel propagation paths.

In a possible design, in S504, the determining, by the core network device, the location of the terminal device according to the measurement results of the N downlink channel propagation paths may include the following steps S504-1 to S504-3:

s504-1, according to the measurement results of the N downlink channel propagation paths, a plurality of candidate positions are determined.

Specifically, a candidate position may be determined according to all measurement results corresponding to one downlink channel propagation path, or a candidate position may be determined according to the same single measurement result in the measurement results of multiple downlink channel propagation paths, for example, according to the downlink arrival time of one downlink channel propagation path and the downlink arrival time of another downlink channel propagation path, or a candidate position may be determined according to a set of multiple single measurement results in one downlink channel propagation path, for example, according to the downlink arrival time + the downlink arrival angle of the same downlink channel propagation path. That is to say, the downlink channel propagation paths and the candidate positions may be in one-to-one correspondence, or one downlink channel propagation path may correspond to multiple candidate positions.

S504-2, determining downlink weighted values of a plurality of candidate positions according to the weighted factors of the measurement results of the N downlink channel propagation paths.

For example, the weighting factors of the measurement results of the N downlink channel propagation paths may be determined according to the positioning measurement result used by the positioning algorithm, and the ratio of the weighting factor corresponding to the downlink channel propagation path at which a certain candidate position is determined to the sum of the weighting factors corresponding to all the downlink channel propagation paths is determined as the downlink weighting value of the candidate position.

S504-3, determining the downlink weighted average value of the candidate positions as the position of the terminal equipment according to the downlink weighted values of the candidate positions.

Therefore, the larger the value of the downlink weighting factor is, the higher the accuracy of part or all of the measurement results of the downlink channel propagation path corresponding to the downlink weighting factor is, so that when different measurement results of the same downlink channel propagation path are used or the measurement results of different downlink channel propagation paths are used to position the terminal device, the downlink weighting factor can be used to further adjust the positioning result, so as to further improve the accuracy of the positioning result.

It should be noted that the communication method shown in fig. 5 is described by taking the core network device as the positioning computing device and the requester of the positioning measurement task as an example. It should be understood that in the downlink scenario, the location calculation device and the requester of the location measurement task may also be terminal devices. Further, the location calculation device and the location measurement task requester may be different devices or the same device. When the positioning measurement device and the positioning computing device are the same device, the interaction between the positioning measurement device and the positioning computing device may be considered as an internal operation of the same device.

TABLE 2

Illustratively, table 2 is an example of a correspondence between the positioning computing device and the requester of the positioning measurement task in the downlink scheme. As shown in table 2, in the downlink scheme, the downlink reference signal sender is an access network device, the downlink measurement task executor is a terminal device, and a location measurement task requester is also determined in a specific application scenario. In practical application, different positioning computing devices can be flexibly selected according to different scenes, for example, the positioning computing devices can be flexibly selected according to the load condition of the core network device, the positioning capability and/or the load condition of the terminal device, and the positioning capability and/or the load condition of the access network device. For example, for the three alternatives with sequence numbers 1, 4, and 7 shown in table 2, the positioning computing device may be a core network device, an access network device, or a terminal device, respectively.

It should be noted that the communication methods shown in fig. 4 and 5 may also be used in combination. For example, in a Frequency Division Duplex (FDD) scenario, radio propagation characteristics of the uplink and downlink, such as maximum propagation distance and attenuation speed, are different due to different operating frequency bands of the uplink and downlink. In order to avoid the problem that the positioning measurement result is inaccurate due to the difference of the radio wave propagation characteristics when only the uplink scheme or the downlink scheme is used, the access network device and the terminal device may be instructed to transmit the reference signal in the same specified time period, and the obtained channel impulse response or the positioning measurement result is gathered together, and then the position of the terminal device is determined by the positioning computing device, for example, one of the core network device, the access network device and the terminal device.

In addition, after determining the location of the terminal device, the positioning computing device may send the location of the terminal device to a device that needs to know the current location of the terminal device, such as the positioned terminal device, the access network device, an application server deployed by a third party, another terminal device that needs to know the location of the positioned terminal device.

Based on the communication method shown in any one of fig. 3 to fig. 5, the positioning measurement device may report measurement results of N channel propagation paths of the terminal device, such as arrival time, arrival angle, or reception power, that is, there is a binding relationship between the reported measurement results of the N channel propagation paths and the N channel propagation paths, so that the positioning calculation device determines the position of the terminal device based on the measurement results bound to the channel propagation paths, and the problem of poor positioning accuracy caused by different types of measurement results used in the positioning process, such as arrival time and arrival angle, not belonging to the same channel propagation path can be solved, thereby improving the accuracy of the positioning result of the terminal device.

The communication method provided by the embodiment of the present application is described in detail above with reference to fig. 3 to 5. The communication device provided by the embodiment of the present application is described in detail below with reference to fig. 6 to 7.

Exemplarily, fig. 6 is a schematic structural diagram of a communication device provided in an embodiment of the present application. As shown in fig. 6, the communication apparatus 600 includes: a processing module 601 and a transceiver module 602. For ease of illustration, fig. 6 shows only the main components of the communication device.

In one possible design, the communications apparatus 600 may be applied to the communications system shown in fig. 1 or fig. 2, and may be used to locate the function of the computing device, or the function of the core network device or the terminal device in the communications method shown in fig. 4, or the function of the core network device or the access network device in the communications method shown in fig. 5.

The processing module 601 is configured to obtain measurement results of N channel propagation paths of the terminal device, where the measurement result of each channel propagation path includes an identifier of each channel propagation path and one or more of the following items of information: the arrival time corresponding to each channel propagation path, the arrival angle corresponding to each channel propagation path, and the received power corresponding to each channel propagation path, where N is a positive integer.

A transceiver module 602 for sending a first message to a positioning computing device; the first message comprises measurement results of N channel propagation paths, and the measurement results of the N channel propagation paths are used for determining the position of the terminal equipment.

In one possible design, the processing module 601 is further configured to obtain a channel impulse response; the processing module 601 is further configured to determine measurement results of the N channel propagation paths according to the channel impulse response.

Optionally, the processing module 601 is further configured to screen out N channel propagation paths from the channel impulse response, and determine measurement results of the N channel propagation paths.

Still further, the measurements of the N channel propagation paths may further include weighting factors, which may include one or more of: a time of arrival weighting factor, an angle of arrival weighting factor, a power weighting factor, or a path weighting factor. Wherein the time-of-arrival weighting factor is inversely related to the value of the time-of-arrival; the time-of-arrival weighting factor is positively correlated with the bandwidth occupied by the reference signal; the power weighting factor is positively correlated with the value of the received power; the power weighting factor is positively correlated with the value of the transmission power of the reference signal; the power weighting factor is inversely related to the value of the central frequency point or the frequency band of the transmitted reference signal; the arrival angle weighting factor is positively correlated with the number of receiving antennas; the path weighting factor is positively correlated with one or more of: a time-of-arrival weighting factor, an angle-of-arrival weighting factor, or a power weighting factor.

In one possible design, communications apparatus 600 may be an access network device, and the positioning computing device may be a core network device or a terminal device, where the N channel propagation paths include N uplink channel propagation paths, and a measurement result of each uplink channel propagation path includes an identifier of each uplink channel propagation path and one or more of the following information: the uplink arrival time corresponding to each uplink channel propagation path, the uplink arrival angle corresponding to each uplink channel propagation path, and the uplink receiving power corresponding to each uplink channel propagation path. Accordingly, the transceiver module 602 is further configured to the access network device send the first message to the core network device or the terminal device.

In another possible design, the communication apparatus 600 may be a terminal device, the positioning computing device may be a core network device or an access network device, the N channel propagation paths include N downlink channel propagation paths, and the measurement result of each downlink channel propagation path includes an identifier of each downlink channel propagation path and one or more of the following information: the downlink arrival time corresponding to each downlink channel propagation path, the downlink arrival angle corresponding to each downlink channel propagation path, and the downlink receiving power corresponding to each downlink channel propagation path. Correspondingly, the transceiver module 602 is further configured to send the first message to the core network device or the access network device by the terminal device.

In one possible design, the transceiver module 602 is further configured to receive a first request from a positioning computing device; wherein the first request is used for requesting the measurement results of the N channel propagation paths of the terminal device, the first request is determined according to the first capability information, and the first capability information is used for indicating the positioning measurement capability of the communication apparatus 600.

Optionally, the transceiver module 602 is further configured to send the first capability information to the positioning computing device before receiving the first request from the positioning computing device.

Further, the transceiver module 602 is further configured to receive a second request from the positioning computing device before sending the first capability information to the positioning computing device; wherein the second request is for requesting the first capability information.

Alternatively, the transceiver module 602 may include a receiving module and a transmitting module (not separately shown in fig. 6). The receiving module 602 is configured to perform a receiving function of the communication apparatus 600, and the transmitting module is configured to perform a transmitting function of the communication apparatus 600. The embodiment of the present application does not limit the specific implementation manner of the transceiving function.

Optionally, the communication device 600 may also include a memory module (not shown in fig. 6) that stores programs or instructions. The processing 601 module, when executing the program or instructions, enables the communications apparatus 600 to function as a location computing device in the communications method shown in fig. 3, or a core network device or a terminal device in the communications method shown in fig. 4, or a core network device or an access network device in the communications method shown in fig. 5.

It should be noted that the communication apparatus 600 may be a positioning measurement device, or may be a chip (system) or other component or assembly disposed on the positioning measurement device, which is not specifically limited in this embodiment of the application. For example, in an uplink measurement scheme, the communication apparatus 600 may be an access network device. For another example, in the downlink measurement scheme, the communication apparatus 600 may be a terminal device.

In addition, the technical effect of the communication apparatus 600 may refer to the technical effect of the communication method shown in any one of fig. 3 to 5, and is not described herein again.

In another possible embodiment, the communications apparatus 600 may also be applied in the communications system shown in fig. 1 or fig. 2, and perform the function of locating a measurement device in the communications method shown in fig. 3, or the function of an access network device in the communications method shown in fig. 4, or the function of a terminal device in the communications method shown in fig. 5.

The transceiver module 602 is configured to receive a first message from a positioning measurement device; the first message includes channel impulse response or measurement results of N channel propagation paths of the terminal device, and the measurement result of each channel propagation path includes an identifier of each channel propagation path and one or more of the following information: the arrival time corresponding to each channel propagation path, the arrival angle corresponding to each channel propagation path, and the received power corresponding to each channel propagation path, where N is a positive integer.

The processing module 601 is configured to determine the location of the terminal device according to the measurement results of the N channel propagation paths.

In one possible design, the processing module 601 is further configured to determine measurement results of the N channel propagation paths according to the channel impulse response.

In one possible embodiment, the processing module 601 is further configured to perform the following steps: determining a plurality of candidate positions according to the measurement results of the N channel propagation paths; determining weighted values of a plurality of candidate positions according to the weighting factors of the measurement results of the N channel propagation paths; and determining the weighted average value of the candidate positions as the position of the terminal equipment according to the weighted values of the candidate positions.

In one possible design, the positioning measurement device may be an access network device, the communication apparatus 600 may be a core network device or a terminal device, the N channel propagation paths include N uplink channel propagation paths, and a measurement result of each uplink channel propagation path includes an identifier of each uplink channel propagation path and one or more of the following information: the uplink arrival time corresponding to each uplink channel propagation path, the uplink arrival angle corresponding to each uplink channel propagation path, and the uplink receiving power corresponding to each uplink channel propagation path. Accordingly, the transceiver module 602 is further configured to receive the first message from the access network device by the core network device or the terminal device.

In another possible design, the positioning measurement device may be a terminal device, the communication apparatus 600 may be a core network device or an access network device, the N channel propagation paths include N downlink channel propagation paths, and a measurement result of each downlink channel propagation path includes an identifier of each downlink channel propagation path and one or more of the following information: the downlink arrival time corresponding to each downlink channel propagation path, the downlink arrival angle corresponding to each downlink channel propagation path, and the downlink receiving power corresponding to each downlink channel propagation path. Accordingly, the transceiver module 602 is further configured to receive the first message from the terminal device by the core network device or the access network device.

In one possible design, the transceiver module 602 is further configured to send a first request to the positioning and measuring device; the first request is used for requesting the measurement results of the N channel propagation paths of the terminal equipment, the first request is determined according to first capability information, and the first capability information is used for indicating the positioning measurement capability of the positioning measurement equipment.

Optionally, the transceiver module 602 is further configured to receive the first capability information before sending the first request to the positioning measurement device.

Further, the transceiver module 602 is further configured to send a second request before receiving the first capability information; wherein the second request is for requesting the first capability information.

Alternatively, the transceiver module 602 may include a receiving module and a transmitting module (not separately shown in fig. 6). Wherein the receiving module is configured to perform a receiving function of the communication apparatus 600, and the transmitting module is configured to perform a transmitting function of the communication apparatus 600. The embodiment of the present application does not limit the specific implementation manner of the transceiving function.

Optionally, the communication device 600 may also include a memory module (not shown in fig. 6) that stores programs or instructions. The program or instructions, when executed by the processing module 601, enable the communications apparatus 600 to perform the function of positioning the measurement device in the communications method shown in fig. 3, or the function of the access network device in the communications method shown in fig. 4, or the function of the terminal device in the communications method shown in fig. 5.

It should be noted that the communication apparatus 600 may be a positioning computing device, or may be a chip (system) or other component or assembly disposed on the positioning computing device, which is not specifically limited in this embodiment of the present application. For example, in the uplink measurement scheme, the communication apparatus 600 may be a core network device or a terminal device. For another example, in the downlink measurement scheme, the communication apparatus 600 may be a core network device or an access network device.

Fig. 7 is a schematic structural diagram of a communication device according to an embodiment of the present application. The communication device may be the positioning measurement device, the positioning calculation device, the core network device, the access network device, or the terminal device, or may be a chip (system) or other component or assembly that may be disposed on the positioning measurement device, the positioning calculation device, the core network device, the access network device, or the terminal device.

As shown in fig. 7, the communication device 700 may include a processor 701. Optionally, the communication device 700 may further comprise a memory 702 and/or a transceiver 703. The processor 701 is coupled to a memory 702 and a transceiver 703, such as may be connected by a communication bus.

The following describes the components of the communication device 700 in detail with reference to fig. 7:

the processor 701 is a control center of the communication apparatus 700, and may be a single processor or a collective term for a plurality of processing elements. For example, the processor 701 is one or more Central Processing Units (CPUs), or may be an Application Specific Integrated Circuit (ASIC), or one or more integrated circuits configured to implement the embodiments of the present application, such as: one or more microprocessors (digital signal processors, DSPs), or one or more Field Programmable Gate Arrays (FPGAs).

Alternatively, the processor 701 may perform various functions of the communication device 700 by running or executing software programs stored in the memory 702, and invoking data stored in the memory 702.

In particular implementations, processor 701 may include one or more CPUs, such as CPU0 and CPU1 shown in fig. 7, as one embodiment.

In particular implementations, communication device 700 may also include multiple processors, such as processor 701 and processor 704 shown in fig. 2, for one embodiment. Each of these processors may be a single-Core Processor (CPU) or a multi-Core Processor (CPU). A processor herein may refer to one or more communication devices, circuits, and/or processing cores for processing data (e.g., computer program instructions).

The memory 702 is configured to store a software program for executing the scheme of the present application, and is controlled by the processor 701 to execute the software program.

Alternatively, the memory 702 may be a read-only memory (ROM) or other type of static storage communication device that can store static information and instructions, a Random Access Memory (RAM) or other type of dynamic storage communication device that can store information and instructions, an electrically erasable programmable read-only memory (EEPROM), a compact disc read-only memory (CD-ROM) or other optical disc storage, optical disc storage (including compact disc, laser disc, optical disc, digital versatile disc, blu-ray disc, etc.), a disk storage medium or other magnetic storage communication device, or any other medium that can be used to carry or store desired program code in the form of instructions or data structures and that can be accessed by a computer, but is not limited to such. The memory 702 may be integrated with the processor 701, or may be independent and coupled to the processor 701 through an input/output port (not shown in fig. 7) of the communication device 700, which is not specifically limited in this embodiment of the present invention.

A transceiver 703 for communication with other communication devices. For example, the communications apparatus 700 may be a positioning measurement device, and the transceiver 703 may be used for the positioning measurement device to communicate with a positioning computing device and/or with a requester of a positioning measurement task. As another example, the communications apparatus 700 may be a positioning computing device, and the transceiver 703 may be used for the positioning computing device to communicate with a positioning measurement device and/or with a requester of a positioning measurement task. Also for example, the communication apparatus 700 may be a terminal device, and the transceiver 703 may be used for the terminal device to communicate with a network device or another terminal device. As another example, the communication apparatus 700 is a network device, and the transceiver 703 may be used for the network device to communicate with a terminal device or another network device. The network device may be a core network device or an access network device.

Optionally, the transceiver 703 may include a receiver and a transmitter (not separately shown in fig. 7). Wherein the receiver is configured to implement a receive function and the transmitter is configured to implement a transmit function.

Alternatively, the transceiver 703 may be integrated with the processor 701, or may exist independently, and is coupled to the processor 701 through an input/output port (not shown in fig. 7) of the communication device 700, which is not specifically limited in this embodiment of the present application.

It should be noted that the structure of the communication device 700 shown in fig. 7 does not constitute a limitation of the communication device, and an actual communication device may include more or less components than those shown, or combine some components, or arrange different components.

The embodiment of the application provides a communication system. The communication system includes a location measurement device and a location calculation device.

It should be understood that the processor in the embodiments of the present application may be a Central Processing Unit (CPU), and the processor may also be 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, and the like. A general purpose processor may be a microprocessor or the processor may be any conventional processor or the like.

It will also be appreciated that the memory in the embodiments of the subject application can be either volatile memory or nonvolatile memory, or can include both volatile and nonvolatile memory. The non-volatile memory may be a read-only memory (ROM), a Programmable ROM (PROM), an Erasable PROM (EPROM), an electrically Erasable EPROM (EEPROM), or a flash memory. Volatile memory can be Random Access Memory (RAM), which acts as external cache memory. By way of example, but not limitation, many forms of Random Access Memory (RAM) are available, such as Static RAM (SRAM), Dynamic RAM (DRAM), Synchronous DRAM (SDRAM), double data rate SDRAM (DDR SDRAM), Enhanced SDRAM (ESDRAM), synchlink DRAM (SLDRAM), and direct bus RAM (DR RAM).

The above embodiments may be implemented in whole or in part by software, hardware (e.g., circuitry), firmware, or any combination thereof. When implemented in software, the above-described embodiments may be implemented in whole or in part in the form of a computer program product. The computer program product comprises one or more computer instructions or computer programs. The procedures or functions according to the embodiments of the present application are wholly or partially generated when the computer instructions or the computer program are loaded or executed on a computer. The computer may be a general purpose computer, a special purpose computer, a network of computers, or other programmable device. The computer instructions may be stored on a computer readable storage medium or transmitted from one computer readable storage medium to another computer readable storage medium, for example, the computer instructions may be transmitted from one website, computer, server, or data center to another website, computer, server, or data center by wire (e.g., infrared, wireless, microwave, etc.). The computer-readable storage medium can be any available medium that can be accessed by a computer or a data storage device such as a server, data center, etc. that contains one or more collections of available media. The usable medium may be a magnetic medium (e.g., floppy disk, hard disk, magnetic tape), an optical medium (e.g., DVD), or a semiconductor medium. The semiconductor medium may be a solid state disk.

It should be understood that the term "and/or" herein is merely one type of association relationship that describes an associated object, meaning that three relationships may exist, e.g., a and/or B may mean: a exists alone, A and B exist simultaneously, and B exists alone, wherein A and B can be singular or plural. In addition, the "/" in this document generally indicates that the former and latter associated objects are in an "or" relationship, but may also indicate an "and/or" relationship, which may be understood with particular reference to the former and latter text.

In the present application, "at least one" means one or more, "a plurality" means two or more. "at least one of the following" or similar expressions refer to any combination of these items, including any combination of the singular or plural items. For example, at least one (one) of a, b, or c, may represent: a, b, c, a-b, a-c, b-c, or a-b-c, wherein a, b, c may be single or multiple.

It should be understood that, in the various embodiments of the present application, the sequence numbers of the above-mentioned processes do not mean the execution sequence, and the execution sequence of each process should be determined by its function and inherent logic, and should not constitute any limitation to the implementation process of the embodiments of the present application.

Those of ordinary skill in the art will appreciate that the various illustrative elements and algorithm steps described in connection with the embodiments disclosed herein may be implemented as electronic hardware or combinations of computer software and electronic hardware. Whether such functionality is implemented as hardware or software depends upon the particular application and design constraints imposed on the implementation. Skilled artisans may implement the described functionality in varying ways for each particular application, but such implementation decisions should not be interpreted as causing a departure from the scope of the present application.

It is clear to those skilled in the art that, for convenience and brevity of description, the specific working processes of the above-described systems, apparatuses and units may refer to the corresponding processes in the foregoing method embodiments, and are not described herein again.

In the several embodiments provided in the present application, it should be understood that the disclosed system, apparatus and method may be implemented in other ways. For example, the above-described apparatus embodiments are merely illustrative, and for example, the division of the units is only one logical division, and other divisions may be realized in practice, for example, a plurality of units or components may be combined or integrated into another system, or some features may be omitted, or not executed. In addition, the shown or discussed mutual coupling or direct coupling or communication connection may be an indirect coupling or communication connection through some interfaces, devices or units, and may be in an electrical, mechanical or other form.

The units described as separate parts may or may not be physically separate, and parts displayed as units may or may not be physical units, may be located in one place, or may be distributed on a plurality of network units. Some or all of the units can be selected according to actual needs to achieve the purpose of the solution of the embodiment.

In addition, functional units in the embodiments of the present application may be integrated into one processing unit, or each unit may exist alone physically, or two or more units are integrated into one unit.

The functions, if implemented in the form of software functional units and sold or used as a stand-alone product, may be stored in a computer readable storage medium. Based on such understanding, the technical solution of the present application or portions thereof that substantially contribute to the prior art may be embodied in the form of a software product stored in a storage medium and including instructions for causing a computer device (which may be a personal computer, a server, or a network device) to execute all or part of the steps of the method according to the embodiments of the present application. And the aforementioned storage medium includes: various media capable of storing program codes, such as a usb disk, a removable hard disk, a read-only memory (ROM), a Random Access Memory (RAM), a magnetic disk, or an optical disk.

The above description is only for the specific embodiments of the present application, but the scope of the present application is not limited thereto, and any person skilled in the art can easily conceive of the changes or substitutions within the technical scope of the present application, and shall be covered by the scope of the present application. Therefore, the protection scope of the present application shall be subject to the protection scope of the claims.

Claims

1. A method of communication, comprising:

the positioning measurement equipment obtains the measurement results of N channel propagation paths of the terminal equipment, and the measurement result of each channel propagation path comprises the identifier of each channel propagation path and one or more of the following items of information: the arrival time corresponding to each channel propagation path, the arrival angle corresponding to each channel propagation path, and the received power corresponding to each channel propagation path, where N is a positive integer;

the positioning measurement device sends a first message to a positioning computing device; wherein the first message includes measurement results of the N channel propagation paths, and the measurement results of the N channel propagation paths are used for determining the location of the terminal device.

2. The communication method according to claim 1, wherein the obtaining, by the positioning measurement device, measurement results of N channel propagation paths of the terminal device comprises:

the positioning measurement equipment acquires channel impulse response;

and the positioning measurement equipment determines the measurement results of the N channel propagation paths according to the channel impulse response.

3. The communication method according to claim 2, wherein the determining, by the positioning measurement device, the measurement results of the N channel propagation paths according to the channel impulse responses comprises:

the positioning measurement equipment screens out the N channel propagation paths from the channel impulse response;

the positioning measurement device determines measurements of the N channel propagation paths.

4. The communication method according to claim 3, wherein the N channel propagation paths are any one of:

n channel propagation paths with maximum receiving power in the channel impulse response; alternatively, the first and second electrodes may be,

the N channel propagation paths with the minimum arrival time in the channel impulse response; alternatively, the first and second electrodes may be,

the N channel propagation paths with the minimum arrival time and the receiving power larger than or equal to a first power threshold value in the channel impulse response; alternatively, the first and second electrodes may be,

the N channel propagation paths with the minimum arrival time and the sum of the received powers larger than or equal to a second power threshold value in the channel impulse response; alternatively, the first and second electrodes may be,

and the N channel propagation paths with the minimum arrival time, the receiving power larger than or equal to a third power threshold and the sum of the receiving powers larger than or equal to a fourth power threshold in the channel impulse response.

5. The communication method according to claim 3 or 4, wherein the identifier of each channel propagation path is a sequence number obtained by sorting the channel propagation paths in the channel impulse response in descending order of received power; alternatively, the first and second electrodes may be,

the identifier of each channel propagation path is a sequence number obtained by sequencing the channel propagation paths in the channel impulse response from small to large according to the order of arrival time.

6. The communication method according to any of claims 1-5, wherein the measurement result of each channel propagation path further comprises a weighting factor, wherein the weighting factor comprises one or more of: a time-of-arrival weighting factor, an angle-of-arrival weighting factor, a power weighting factor, or a path weighting factor; wherein the content of the first and second substances,

the time-of-arrival weighting factor is inversely related to the value of the time-of-arrival;

the time-of-arrival weighting factor is positively correlated with the bandwidth occupied by the reference signal;

the power weighting factor is positively correlated with the value of the received power;

the power weighting factor is positively correlated with the value of the transmission power of the reference signal;

the power weighting factor is inversely related to the value of the central frequency point or the frequency band of the transmitted reference signal;

the arrival angle weighting factor is positively correlated with the number of receiving antennas;

the path weighting factor is positively correlated with one or more of: the time of arrival weighting factor, the angle of arrival weighting factor, or the power weighting factor.

7. The communication method according to claim 6, wherein the measurement results of the N channel propagation paths are used for determining the position of the terminal device, and the method comprises:

determining a plurality of candidate positions according to the measurement results of the N channel propagation paths;

determining weighted values of the candidate positions according to weighting factors in the measurement results of the N channel propagation paths;

and determining the weighted average value of the candidate positions as the position of the terminal equipment according to the weighted values of the candidate positions.

8. The communication method according to any one of claims 1 to 7, wherein the positioning measurement device is an access network device, the positioning computing device is a core network device or the terminal device, the N channel propagation paths include N uplink channel propagation paths, and the measurement result of each uplink channel propagation path includes an identifier of each uplink channel propagation path and one or more of the following information: uplink arrival time corresponding to each uplink channel propagation path, uplink arrival angle corresponding to each uplink channel propagation path, and uplink received power corresponding to each uplink channel propagation path;

the positioning measurement device sends a first message to a positioning computing device, comprising:

and the access network equipment sends the first message to the core network equipment or the terminal equipment.

9. The communication method according to any one of claims 1 to 7, wherein the positioning measurement device is the terminal device, the positioning computing device is a core network device or an access network device, the N channel propagation paths include N downlink channel propagation paths, and a measurement result of each downlink channel propagation path includes an identifier of each downlink channel propagation path and one or more of the following information: downlink arrival time corresponding to each downlink channel propagation path, downlink arrival angle corresponding to each downlink channel propagation path, and downlink receiving power corresponding to each downlink channel propagation path;

and the terminal equipment sends the first message to the core network equipment or the access network equipment.

10. The communication method according to any of claims 1-9, wherein the method further comprises:

the positioning measurement device receiving a first request from the positioning computing device; the first request is used for requesting measurement results of N channel propagation paths of the terminal device, the first request is determined according to first capability information, and the first capability information is used for indicating positioning measurement capability of the positioning measurement device.

11. The communication method of claim 10, wherein prior to the positioning measurement device receiving the first request from the positioning computing device, the method further comprises:

the positioning measurement device sends the first capability information to the positioning computing device.

12. The communications method of claim 11, wherein prior to the positioning measurement device sending the first capability information to the positioning computing device, the method further comprises:

the positioning measurement device receiving a second request from the positioning computing device; wherein the second request is for requesting the first capability information.

13. A method of communication, comprising:

the positioning computing device receives a first message from the positioning measurement device; wherein the first message includes channel impulse response or measurement results of N channel propagation paths of the terminal device, and the measurement result of each channel propagation path includes an identifier of each channel propagation path and one or more of the following information: the arrival time corresponding to each channel propagation path, the arrival angle corresponding to each channel propagation path, and the received power corresponding to each channel propagation path, where N is a positive integer;

and the positioning calculation equipment determines the position of the terminal equipment according to the measurement results of the N channel propagation paths.

14. The communication method of claim 13, wherein the method further comprises:

and the positioning calculation equipment determines the measurement results of the N channel propagation paths according to the channel impulse response.

15. The communications method of claim 14, wherein the determining, by the location-computing device, measurements of the N channel propagation paths from the channel impulse responses comprises:

the positioning computing device screens the N channel propagation paths from the channel impulse responses;

the location calculation device determines measurements of the N channel propagation paths.

16. The communication method according to any of claims 13-15, wherein the N channel propagation paths are any of:

17. The communication method according to any one of claims 13 to 16, wherein the identifier of each channel propagation path is a sequence number obtained by sorting channel propagation paths in the channel impulse response in descending order of received power; alternatively, the first and second electrodes may be,

18. The communication method according to any of claims 13-17, wherein the measurement result of each channel propagation path further comprises a weighting factor, wherein the weighting factor comprises one or more of: a time-of-arrival weighting factor, an angle-of-arrival weighting factor, a power weighting factor, or a path weighting factor; wherein the content of the first and second substances,

19. The communication method according to claim 18, wherein the determining, by the positioning computing device, the location of the terminal device based on the measurements of the N channel propagation paths comprises:

the positioning computing equipment determines a plurality of candidate positions according to the measurement results of the N channel propagation paths;

the positioning calculation equipment determines weighted values of the candidate positions according to the weighted factors in the measurement results of the N channel propagation paths;

and the positioning calculation equipment determines the weighted average value of the candidate positions as the position of the terminal equipment according to the weighted values of the candidate positions.

20. The communication method according to any one of claims 13 to 19, wherein the positioning measurement device is an access network device, the positioning calculation device is a core network device or the terminal device, the N channel propagation paths include N uplink channel propagation paths, and the measurement result of each uplink channel propagation path includes an identifier of each uplink channel propagation path and one or more of the following information: uplink arrival time corresponding to each uplink channel propagation path, uplink arrival angle corresponding to each uplink channel propagation path, and uplink received power corresponding to each uplink channel propagation path;

the location computing device receiving a first message from a location measurement device, comprising:

and the core network equipment or the terminal equipment receives the first message from the access network equipment.

21. The communication method according to any one of claims 13 to 19, wherein the positioning measurement device is the terminal device, the positioning computing device is a core network device or an access network device, the N channel propagation paths include N downlink channel propagation paths, and a measurement result of each downlink channel propagation path includes an identifier of each downlink channel propagation path and one or more of the following information: downlink arrival time corresponding to each downlink channel propagation path, downlink arrival angle corresponding to each downlink channel propagation path, and downlink receiving power corresponding to each downlink channel propagation path;

and the core network equipment or the access network equipment receives the first message from the terminal equipment.

22. A method of communicating according to any one of claims 13-21, further comprising:

the positioning computing device sending a first request to the positioning measurement device; the first request is used for requesting measurement results of N channel propagation paths of the terminal device, the first request is determined according to first capability information, and the first capability information is used for indicating positioning measurement capability of the positioning measurement device.

23. The communications method of claim 22, wherein prior to the location computing device sending the first request to the location measurement device, the method further comprises:

the location computing device receives the first capability information.

24. The communications method of claim 23, wherein prior to the positioning computing device receiving the first capability information, the method further comprises:

the positioning computing device sending a second request; wherein the second request is for requesting the first capability information.

25. A communications apparatus, comprising: the device comprises a processing module and a transmitting-receiving module; wherein the content of the first and second substances,

the processing module is configured to obtain measurement results of N channel propagation paths of the terminal device, where the measurement result of each channel propagation path includes an identifier of each channel propagation path and one or more of the following information: the arrival time corresponding to each channel propagation path, the arrival angle corresponding to each channel propagation path, and the received power corresponding to each channel propagation path, where N is a positive integer;

the transceiver module is used for sending a first message to the positioning computing equipment; wherein the first message includes measurement results of the N channel propagation paths, and the measurement results of the N channel propagation paths are used for determining the location of the terminal device.

26. The communication device of claim 25,

the processing module is further configured to obtain a channel impulse response;

the processing module is further configured to determine measurement results of the N channel propagation paths according to the channel impulse responses.

27. The communication device of claim 26,

the processing module is further configured to screen the N channel propagation paths from the channel impulse response;

the processing module is further configured to determine measurement results of the N channel propagation paths.

28. The communications apparatus of claim 27, wherein the N channel propagation paths are any one of:

29. The communication apparatus according to claim 27 or 28, wherein the identifier of each channel propagation path is a sequence number obtained by sorting channel propagation paths in the channel impulse response according to the receiving power from large to small; alternatively, the first and second electrodes may be,

30. A communications device as claimed in any of claims 25 to 29, wherein the measurement results for each channel propagation path further comprise weighting factors including one or more of: a time-of-arrival weighting factor, an angle-of-arrival weighting factor, a power weighting factor, or a path weighting factor; wherein the content of the first and second substances,

31. The communications apparatus of claim 30, wherein the measurements of the N channel propagation paths are used to determine the location of the terminal device, comprising:

32. The communications apparatus according to any one of claims 25 to 31, wherein the communications apparatus is an access network device, the positioning computing device is a core network device or the terminal device, the N channel propagation paths include N uplink channel propagation paths, and a measurement result of each uplink channel propagation path includes an identifier of each uplink channel propagation path and one or more of the following information: uplink arrival time corresponding to each uplink channel propagation path, uplink arrival angle corresponding to each uplink channel propagation path, and uplink received power corresponding to each uplink channel propagation path;

the transceiver module is further configured to send the first message to the core network device or the terminal device by the access network device.

33. The communications apparatus according to any one of claims 25 to 31, wherein the communications apparatus is the terminal device, the positioning computing device is a core network device or an access network device, the N channel propagation paths include N downlink channel propagation paths, and a measurement result of each downlink channel propagation path includes an identifier of each downlink channel propagation path and one or more of the following information: downlink arrival time corresponding to each downlink channel propagation path, downlink arrival angle corresponding to each downlink channel propagation path, and downlink receiving power corresponding to each downlink channel propagation path;

the transceiver module is further configured to send the first message to the core network device or the access network device by the terminal device.

34. The communication device according to any of claims 25-33,

the transceiver module is further configured to receive a first request from the location computing device; wherein the first request is for requesting measurement results of N channel propagation paths of the terminal device, the first request is determined according to first capability information, and the first capability information is used for indicating positioning measurement capability of the communication apparatus.

35. The communication device of claim 34,

the transceiver module is further configured to send the first capability information to the location computing device before receiving a first request from the location computing device.

36. The communication device of claim 35,

the transceiver module is further configured to receive a second request from the location computing device before sending the first capability information to the location computing device; wherein the second request is for requesting the first capability information.

37. A communications apparatus, comprising: the device comprises a processing module and a transmitting-receiving module; wherein the content of the first and second substances,

the transceiver module is used for receiving a first message from the positioning measurement equipment; wherein the first message includes channel impulse response or measurement results of N channel propagation paths of the terminal device, and the measurement result of each channel propagation path includes an identifier of each channel propagation path and one or more of the following information: the arrival time corresponding to each channel propagation path, the arrival angle corresponding to each channel propagation path, and the received power corresponding to each channel propagation path, where N is a positive integer;

and the processing module is used for determining the position of the terminal equipment according to the measurement results of the N channel propagation paths.

38. The communication device of claim 37,

39. The communication device of claim 38,

40. A communication apparatus as claimed in any of claims 37 to 39, wherein the N channel propagation paths are any of:

41. The communications apparatus as claimed in any of claims 37-40, wherein the identifier of each channel propagation path is a sequence number obtained by sorting channel propagation paths in the channel impulse response according to the receiving power from large to small; alternatively, the first and second electrodes may be,

42. A communications device as claimed in any of claims 37 to 41, wherein the measurement results for each channel propagation path further comprise weighting factors including one or more of: a time-of-arrival weighting factor, an angle-of-arrival weighting factor, a power weighting factor, or a path weighting factor; wherein the content of the first and second substances,

43. The communication device of claim 42,

the processing module is further configured to determine a plurality of candidate positions according to the measurement results of the N channel propagation paths;

the processing module is further configured to determine weighted values of the multiple candidate positions according to weighting factors in the measurement results of the N channel propagation paths;

the processing module is further configured to determine, as the location of the terminal device, a weighted average of the multiple candidate locations according to the weighted values of the multiple candidate locations.

44. The communications apparatus according to any one of claims 37 to 43, wherein the positioning measurement device is an access network device, the communications apparatus is a core network device or the terminal device, the N channel propagation paths include N uplink channel propagation paths, and a measurement result of each uplink channel propagation path includes an identifier of each uplink channel propagation path and one or more of the following information: uplink arrival time corresponding to each uplink channel propagation path, uplink arrival angle corresponding to each uplink channel propagation path, and uplink received power corresponding to each uplink channel propagation path;

the transceiver module is further configured to receive, by the core network device or the terminal device, the first message from the access network device.

45. The communications apparatus according to any one of claims 37 to 43, wherein the positioning measurement device is the terminal device, the communications apparatus is a core network device or an access network device, the N channel propagation paths include N downlink channel propagation paths, and a measurement result of each downlink channel propagation path includes an identifier of each downlink channel propagation path and one or more of the following information: downlink arrival time corresponding to each downlink channel propagation path, downlink arrival angle corresponding to each downlink channel propagation path, and downlink receiving power corresponding to each downlink channel propagation path;

the transceiver module is further configured to receive, by the core network device or the access network device, the first message from the terminal device.

46. The communication device according to any of claims 37-45,

the transceiver module is further configured to send a first request to the positioning measurement device; the first request is used for requesting measurement results of N channel propagation paths of the terminal device, the first request is determined according to first capability information, and the first capability information is used for indicating positioning measurement capability of the positioning measurement device.

47. The communication device of claim 46,

the transceiver module is further configured to receive the first capability information before sending the first request to the positioning measurement device.

48. The communication device of claim 47,

the transceiver module is further configured to send a second request before receiving the first capability information; wherein the second request is for requesting the first capability information.

49. A communication apparatus, characterized in that the communication apparatus comprises: a processor coupled with a memory;

the memory for storing a computer program;

the processor configured to execute the computer program stored in the memory to cause the communication apparatus to perform the communication method according to any one of claims 1 to 24.

50. A computer-readable storage medium, comprising a computer program or instructions which, when run on a computer, cause the computer to perform the communication method of any one of claims 1-24.

51. A communication system, characterized in that the communication system comprises a positioning measurement device and a positioning calculation device; wherein the content of the first and second substances,

the positioning measurement device for performing the communication method of any one of claims 1-12;

the positioning computing device to perform the communication method of any of claims 13-24.