CN113950068A

CN113950068A - Positioning signal sending method and device

Info

Publication number: CN113950068A
Application number: CN202010681131.6A
Authority: CN
Inventors: 王艺; 于莹洁; 黄甦
Original assignee: Huawei Technologies Co Ltd
Current assignee: Huawei Technologies Co Ltd
Priority date: 2020-07-15
Filing date: 2020-07-15
Publication date: 2022-01-18
Also published as: WO2022012549A1

Abstract

The application discloses a method and a device for sending a positioning signal, wherein the method comprises the following steps: a terminal selects a first resource from a first resource pool, wherein the first resource pool is a resource pool corresponding to a first cell, and the terminal is communicated with network equipment through the first cell; the terminal sends a Sounding Reference Signal (SRS) to the network equipment through the first resource, wherein the SRS is used for positioning the terminal; and the network equipment receives a Sounding Reference Signal (SRS) sent by the terminal through a first resource, and positions the terminal through the SRS. According to the embodiment of the application, the first resource pool based on the serving cell is provided for the terminal, so that the terminal can select the first resource from the first resource pool to send the SRS to the network equipment, and the network equipment can position the terminal through the SRS. The process simplifies the communication process in the positioning technology, reduces the resource consumption in the positioning process and further reduces the positioning cost.

Description

Positioning signal sending method and device

Technical Field

The present application relates to the field of positioning technologies, and in particular, to a method and an apparatus for sending a positioning signal.

Background

The 3GPP NR standard standardizes wireless positioning technology in R16 for indoor and outdoor positioning scenarios. The standardized location techniques cover six typical location techniques, namely, uplink-time difference of arrival (UL-TDOA) location, downlink-time difference of arrival (DL-TDOA) location, uplink angle of arrival (UL-AoA) location, downlink angle of departure (DL-AoD) location, multiple-trip time (multi-RTT) location, and enhanced cell identification (E-CID) location. Among them, UL-TDOA location is widely implemented in wireless products.

The environment oriented to industrial factories, such as positioning and tracking of materials and valuable equipment, requires that the terminal not only has high positioning precision, but also requires less power consumption of the positioning terminal and has low terminal implementation cost. In the prior art, communication and signaling transmission are required for obtaining the positioning signal for many times, so that the terminal overhead is high and the positioning cost is high. Therefore, new positioning technologies need to be designed to simplify the communication process and signal transmission of the air interface.

Disclosure of Invention

The embodiment of the application provides a positioning signal sending method and device, which are used for promoting and simplifying a communication process in a positioning technology, reducing resource consumption in a positioning process and reducing positioning cost.

In a first aspect, a method for sending a positioning signal is provided, where the method includes: the terminal selects a first resource from a first resource pool, the first resource pool is a resource pool corresponding to a first cell, and the terminal communicates with the network equipment through the first cell; and the terminal sends a Sounding Reference Signal (SRS) to the network equipment through the first resource, wherein the SRS is used for positioning the terminal.

In the embodiment of the application, the network device divides resource pools for different serving cells, and after the terminal establishes communication connection with the network device through the serving cell, the terminal selects resources from the resource pools for sending the uplink SRS, so that the process that the network device allocates specific resources to the terminal is omitted, the communication process is simplified, and the communication efficiency is improved. Meanwhile, the terminal does not have the capability of carrying out complex communication with the network equipment, and the communication cost of the terminal can be reduced.

In one possible implementation, the method further includes: and the terminal acquires a second resource from a second resource pool according to the first resource, wherein the second resource is used for sending the identification information of the terminal, and the identification information of the terminal is used for the network equipment to determine the terminal for sending the SRS.

In the embodiment of the application, the terminal acquires, from the second resource pool, the second resource corresponding to the first resource according to the first resource, and is used for the terminal to transmit the identification information of the terminal itself while transmitting the uplink SRS, so that the network device can determine the identity of the terminal corresponding to the received SRS according to the identification information, and then position the terminal according to the SRS. The process ensures that the terminal can also quickly determine the terminal equipment and position the terminal under the condition that the terminal does not carry out other prior communication with the network equipment to acquire the terminal identity in advance, further improves the positioning efficiency and reduces the communication cost in the positioning process.

In one possible implementation manner, the first resource and the second resource have a one-to-one correspondence relationship; or the first resource and the second resource have one-to-many correspondence.

In a possible implementation, the correspondence is a correspondence in number and/or a correspondence in position.

In one possible implementation, the method further includes: the terminal receives a first system message, and determines a first resource pool according to the first system message; and/or the terminal receives the second system message and determines the second resource pool according to the second system message.

In one possible implementation, the first system message and/or the second system message are obtained by demodulating the terminal from a synchronization signal-broadcast channel resource block SSBP used for positioning.

In one possible implementation, the SRS is generated based on the cell identity.

In one possible implementation, the first resource is indicated by one or more of the following items of information: the number of OFDM symbols occupied by the first resource, a starting symbol, frequency offset and frequency interval; the second resource is indicated by one or more of the following information: the number of OFDM symbols occupied by the second resource, the initial symbol, the frequency offset and the frequency interval.

In one possible implementation, the first resource and the second resource are located in the same radio frame.

In one possible implementation, the method further includes: after the terminal sends the SRS to the network equipment, the active state is switched to the inactive state or the idle state.

In one possible implementation, the SRS is used for one or more of the following positioning procedures: uplink arrival time difference location UL-TDOA, uplink arrival angle location UL-AoA, multi-range time location multi-RTT and enhanced cell identification number location E-CID.

In a second aspect, a method for sending a positioning signal is provided, the method including: the method comprises the steps that network equipment receives a Sounding Reference Signal (SRS) sent by a terminal through a first resource in a first resource pool, wherein the first resource pool is a resource pool corresponding to a first cell, and the terminal is communicated with the network equipment through the first cell; and the network equipment positions the terminal through the SRS.

In a possible implementation manner, the network device is further configured to receive identification information of the terminal, which is sent by the terminal through a second resource in the second resource pool, where the identification information of the terminal is used to determine the terminal that sends the SRS.

In one possible implementation manner, in a case that there is a one-to-many correspondence relationship between the first resource and the second resource, the method further includes: when the network device receives the SRS and the identification information of the plurality of terminals corresponding to the SRS, it is determined that the SRS transmission is unsuccessful.

In one possible implementation, the method further includes: the network equipment sends a first system message, wherein the first system message is used for the terminal to determine a first resource pool; and/or the network equipment sends a second system message, wherein the second system message is used for the terminal to determine the second resource pool.

In one possible implementation, the network device sends the first system message and/or the second system message via a synchronization signal-broadcast channel resource block SSBP for positioning.

The implementation process can enable the network equipment to quickly solve the problem that the SRS signal sent by the terminal cannot accurately correspond to the terminal identification information, other judgment mechanisms are not needed, the terminal does not need to carry out redundant communication with the network equipment, the communication overhead is reduced, and the positioning cost is reduced.

In a third aspect, a communication device is provided, which is applied to a terminal and comprises a processing module and a sending module, wherein,

the terminal comprises a processing module, a network device and a processing module, wherein the processing module is used for selecting a first resource from a first resource pool, the first resource pool is a resource pool corresponding to a first cell, and the terminal is communicated with the network device through the first cell;

a sending module, configured to send, to the network device through the first resource, a sounding reference signal SRS, where the SRS is used to locate the terminal.

In one possible implementation, the processing module is further configured to: and acquiring a second resource from a second resource pool according to the first resource, wherein the second resource is used for sending the identification information of the terminal, and the identification information of the terminal is used for the network equipment to determine the terminal for sending the SRS.

In a possible implementation manner, the apparatus further includes a receiving module, configured to receive a first system message; the processing module is used for determining a first resource pool according to the first system message; and/or the receiving module is used for receiving a second system message, and the processing module is used for determining a second resource pool according to the second system message.

In one possible implementation, the processing module is further configured to: and after the sending module sends the SRS to the network equipment, the terminal is switched from the active state to the inactive state or the idle state.

In a fourth aspect, a communication apparatus is provided, which is applied to a network device and includes a receiving module and a processing module, wherein,

a receiving module, configured to receive a sounding reference signal SRS sent by a terminal through a first resource in a first resource pool, where the first resource pool is a resource pool corresponding to a first cell, and the terminal communicates with a network device through the first cell;

and the processing module is used for positioning the terminal through the SRS.

In a possible implementation manner, the receiving module is further configured to receive identification information of the terminal, which is sent by the terminal through a second resource in a second resource pool, where the identification information of the terminal is used to determine the terminal that sends the SRS.

In a possible implementation manner, in a case that there is a one-to-many correspondence between the first resource and the second resource, the module is configured to: when the network device receives the SRS and the identification information of the plurality of terminals corresponding to the SRS, it is determined that the SRS transmission is unsuccessful.

In a possible implementation manner, the apparatus further includes a sending module, configured to: sending a first system message, wherein the first system message is used for a terminal to determine a first resource pool; and/or sending a second system message, wherein the second system message is used for the terminal to determine a second resource pool.

In one possible implementation, the sending module sends the first system message and/or the second system message through a synchronization signal-broadcast channel resource block SSBP for positioning.

In a fifth aspect, embodiments of the present application provide an apparatus, which includes a communication interface and a processor, where the communication interface is used for the apparatus to communicate with other devices, such as to receive and transmit data or signals. Illustratively, the communication interface may be a transceiver, circuit, bus, module, or other type of communication interface, and the other device may be a network device. The processor is arranged to invoke a set of programs, instructions or data to perform the method described in the first aspect above. The apparatus may also include a memory for storing programs, instructions or data called by the processor. The memory is coupled to the processor, which when executing instructions or data stored in the memory, may carry out the method described in the first aspect above.

Exemplarily, the processor is configured to select a first resource from a first resource pool, where the first resource pool is a resource pool corresponding to a first cell, and the terminal communicates with the network device through the first cell;

a communication interface, configured to send a sounding reference signal SRS to a network device through a first resource.

In a sixth aspect, an embodiment of the present application provides an apparatus, which includes a communication interface and a processor, where the communication interface is used for the apparatus to communicate with other devices, for example, to receive and transmit data or signals. The communication interface may illustratively be a transceiver, circuit, bus, module, or other type of communication interface, and the other device may be a terminal. The processor is arranged to call a set of programs, instructions or data to perform the method described in the second aspect above. The apparatus may also include a memory for storing programs, instructions or data called by the processor. The memory is coupled to the processor, which when executing instructions or data stored in the memory, may implement the method described in the second aspect above.

Exemplarily, the communication interface is configured to receive a sounding reference signal SRS sent by a terminal through a first resource, where the first resource pool is a resource pool corresponding to a first cell, and the terminal communicates with the network device through the first cell;

a processor configured to locate a terminal through SRS.

In a seventh aspect, an embodiment of the present application further provides a communication apparatus, where the communication apparatus includes a processor, a transceiver, a memory, and computer-executable instructions stored in the memory and executable on the processor, and when the computer-executable instructions are executed, the communication apparatus is caused to perform the method according to the first aspect or any one of the possible implementation manners of the first aspect.

In an eighth aspect, the present application further provides a communication apparatus, which includes a processor, a transceiver, a memory, and computer executable instructions stored in the memory and executable on the processor, and when the computer executable instructions are executed, the communication apparatus is caused to perform the method according to any one of the possible implementation manners of the second aspect or the second aspect.

In a ninth aspect, this application further provides a computer-readable storage medium, which stores computer-readable instructions that, when executed on a computer, cause the computer to perform the method according to the first aspect or any one of the possible implementation manners of the first aspect.

In a tenth aspect, embodiments of the present application further provide a computer-readable storage medium, which includes instructions that, when executed on a computer, cause the computer to perform the method according to the second aspect or any one of the possible implementation manners of the second aspect.

In an eleventh aspect, an embodiment of the present application provides a chip system, where the chip system includes a processor and may further include a memory, and is configured to implement the method in the first aspect or any one of the possible implementation manners of the first aspect. The chip system may be formed by a chip, and may also include a chip and other discrete devices.

Optionally, the chip system further includes a transceiver.

The processor is used for selecting a first resource from a first resource pool, the first resource pool is a resource pool corresponding to a first cell, and the terminal is communicated with the network equipment through the first cell;

and the transceiver is used for sending a Sounding Reference Signal (SRS) to the network equipment through the first resource, wherein the SRS is used for positioning the terminal.

In a twelfth aspect, an embodiment of the present application provides a chip system, where the chip system includes a processor and may further include a memory, and is configured to implement the method in any one of the foregoing second aspects or possible implementation manners of the second aspect. The chip system may be formed by a chip, and may also include a chip and other discrete devices.

Optionally, the chip system further includes a transceiver.

Exemplarily, the transceiver is configured to receive a sounding reference signal SRS that is sent by a terminal through a first resource, where the first resource pool is a resource pool corresponding to a first cell, and the terminal communicates with the network device through the first cell;

the processor is configured to locate the terminal via the SRS.

In a thirteenth aspect, this application further provides a computer program product, which includes instructions that, when executed on a computer, cause the computer to perform the method according to the first aspect or any one of the possible implementations of the first aspect, or perform the method according to the second aspect or any one of the possible implementations of the second aspect.

In a fourteenth aspect, the present embodiments provide a system, which includes the apparatus provided in the third aspect or the fifth aspect, and the apparatus provided in the fourth aspect or the sixth aspect.

Drawings

In order to more clearly illustrate the embodiments of the present application or the technical solutions in the prior art, the drawings required for the embodiments will be briefly described below.

Fig. 1A is a schematic structural diagram of a positioning system according to an embodiment of the present application;

FIG. 1B is a block diagram of a positioning system in a 5G mobile communication system;

FIG. 1C is a block diagram of another positioning system in a 5G mobile communication system;

fig. 1D is a schematic structural diagram of a communication device according to an embodiment of the present application;

fig. 2A is a flowchart of a method for sending a positioning signal according to an embodiment of the present application;

fig. 2B is a schematic diagram of an uplink positioning process provided in the embodiment of the present application;

fig. 2C is a schematic diagram of SRS resource allocation provided in an embodiment of the present application;

fig. 2D is a schematic view of another uplink positioning process provided in the embodiment of the present application;

fig. 2E is a schematic diagram of a first resource provided in the embodiment of the present application;

fig. 2F is a schematic diagram of a first resource distribution according to an embodiment of the present application;

fig. 2G is a schematic diagram of another first resource distribution situation provided in the embodiment of the present application;

fig. 3A is a flowchart of another method for sending a positioning signal according to an embodiment of the present application;

fig. 3B is a schematic diagram of a correspondence relationship between a first resource and a second resource according to an embodiment of the present application;

fig. 3C is a schematic diagram of another corresponding relationship between a first resource and a second resource according to an embodiment of the present application;

fig. 3D is a schematic diagram of another corresponding relationship between a first resource and a second resource provided in the embodiment of the present application;

fig. 3E is a schematic diagram of a conflict process provided in the embodiment of the present application;

fig. 4 is a communication apparatus according to an embodiment of the present application;

fig. 5 is another communication apparatus provided in an embodiment of the present application;

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

Detailed Description

The technical solutions in the embodiments of the present application will be described below with reference to the drawings in the embodiments of the present application.

The technical scheme of the embodiment of the application can be applied to various communication systems. For example: a Long Term Evolution (LTE) system, an LTE Frequency Division Duplex (FDD) system, an LTE Time Division Duplex (TDD) system, a fifth generation (5th generation,5G) system or a New Radio (NR), or a next generation communication system, such as 6G, the 5G mobile communication system related in the present application includes a non-independent group (NSA) 5G mobile communication system or an independent group (SA) 5G mobile communication system. The technical scheme provided by the application can also be applied to future communication systems, such as a sixth generation mobile communication system. The communication system may also be a Public Land Mobile Network (PLMN) network, a device-to-device (D2D) communication system, a machine-to-machine (M2M) communication system, an Internet of Things (IoT), an Internet of vehicles (Internet of Things) communication system, or other communication systems.

Fig. 1A is a schematic structural diagram of a positioning system according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. As shown in fig. 1A, the positioning system includes a terminal, one or more network devices (fig. 1A illustrates a network device as an example), and a positioning device. The terminal, the network device, or the positioning device may communicate with each other directly or via forwarding of other devices, which is not specifically limited in this embodiment of the present application. Although not shown, the positioning system may further include other network elements such as a mobility management network element, which is not specifically limited in this embodiment of the present application.

Optionally, the positioning device in this embodiment may be a Location Management Function (LMF) network element or a Location Management Component (LMC) network element, or may be a Local Location Management Function (LLMF) network element located in the network device.

Optionally, the positioning system provided in the embodiment of the present application may be applicable to the above-mentioned various communication systems. Taking the 5G mobile communication system as an example, the network element or the entity corresponding to the network device in fig. 1A may be a next-generation radio access network (NG-RAN) device in the 5G mobile communication system. The network element or the entity corresponding to the mobility management network element may be an access and mobility management function (AMF) network element in the 5G mobile communication system, which is not specifically limited in this embodiment of the present application.

For example, fig. 1B is a schematic diagram of an architecture of a positioning system in a 5G mobile communication system. As shown in fig. 1B, in the positioning system, a terminal is connected to a radio access network via a next-generation evolved node B (ng-eNB) through LTE-Uu or via a next-generation node B (gNB) through an NR-Uu interface; the radio access network is connected to the core network via the AMF network elements over the NG-C interface. Wherein the NG-RAN comprises one or more NG-enbs (fig. 1B illustrates one NG-eNB as an example); the NG-RAN may also include one or more gnbs (fig. 1B illustrates one gNB as an example); the NG-RAN may also include one or more NG-enbs and one or more gnbs. The ng-eNB is an LTE base station accessed to the 5G core network, and the gNB is a 5G base station accessed to the 5G core network. The core network comprises an AMF network element and an LMF network element. The AMF network element is used for realizing functions such as access management and the like, and the LMF network element is used for realizing functions such as positioning or positioning assistance and the like. The AMF network element is connected with the LMF network element through an NLs interface.

For example, fig. 1C is a schematic diagram of an architecture of another positioning system in a 5G mobile communication system. The difference between the positioning system architecture of fig. 1C and fig. 1B is that the means or components of the positioning management function of fig. 1B (such as LMF network elements) are deployed in the core network and the means or components of the positioning management function of fig. 1C (such as LMC network elements) may be deployed in the NG-RAN equipment. As shown in fig. 1C, the gNB includes an LMC network element. The LMC network element is part of the functional components of the LMF network element and may be integrated in the gNB of the NG-RAN device.

It should be understood that the devices or function nodes included in the positioning system of fig. 1B or fig. 1C are only exemplary descriptions and do not limit the embodiments of the present application, and in fact, other network elements or devices or function nodes having an interactive relationship with the devices or function nodes illustrated in the drawings may also be included in the positioning system of fig. 1B or fig. 1C, and are not specifically limited herein.

Alternatively, a terminal in the embodiments of the present application may refer to an access terminal, a subscriber unit, a subscriber station, a mobile station, a relay station, a remote terminal, a mobile device, a user terminal (user equipment), a User Equipment (UE), a terminal (terminal), the present invention relates to a wireless communication device, a user agent, a user device, a cellular phone, a cordless phone, a Session Initiation Protocol (SIP) phone, a Wireless Local Loop (WLL) station, a personal Digital Assistant (DA), a handheld device with a wireless communication function, a computing device or other processing device connected to a wireless modem, a vehicle-mounted device, a wearable device, a terminal in a future 5G network or a terminal in a future evolved PLMN or a terminal in a future vehicle-mounted network, and the like, and the present invention is not limited thereto.

By way of example and not limitation, in the embodiment of the present application, the terminal may be a mobile phone, a tablet computer, a computer with a wireless transceiving function, a virtual reality terminal, an augmented reality terminal, a wireless terminal in industrial control, a wireless terminal in unmanned driving, a wireless terminal in tele-surgery, a wireless terminal in a smart grid, a wireless terminal in transportation security, a wireless terminal in a smart city, a wireless terminal in a smart home, and the like.

By way of example and not limitation, in the embodiments of the present application, a wearable device may also be referred to as a wearable smart device, which is a generic term for intelligently designing daily wearing and developing wearable devices, such as glasses, gloves, watches, clothing, shoes, and the like, by applying wearable technology. A wearable device is a portable device that is worn directly on the body or integrated into the clothing or accessories of the user. The wearable device is not only a hardware device, but also realizes powerful functions through software support, data interaction and cloud interaction. The generalized wearable smart device includes full functionality, large size, and can implement full or partial functionality without relying on a smart phone, such as: smart watches or smart glasses and the like, and only focus on a certain type of application functions, and need to be used in cooperation with other devices such as smart phones, such as various smart bracelets for physical sign monitoring, smart jewelry and the like.

In addition, in the embodiment of the present application, the terminal may also be a terminal in an internet of things (IoT) system, the IoT is an important component of future information technology development, and the main technical feature of the present application is to connect an article with a network through a communication technology, so as to implement an intelligent network with interconnected human-computer and interconnected objects. In the embodiment of the present application, the IOT technology may achieve massive connection, deep coverage, and power saving for the terminal through a Narrowband (NB) technology, for example.

In addition, in the embodiment of the present application, the terminal may further include sensors such as an intelligent printer, a train detector, and a gas station, and the main functions include collecting data (part of the terminal), receiving control information and downlink data of the network device, and sending electromagnetic waves to transmit uplink data to the network device.

Optionally, the network device in this embodiment may be any communication device with a wireless transceiving function, which is used for communicating with a terminal. The network devices include, but are not limited to: an evolved node B (eNB), a baseband unit (BBU), an Access Point (AP) in a wireless fidelity (WIFI) system, a wireless relay node, a wireless backhaul node, a Transmission Point (TP), or a Transmission Reception Point (TRP). The network device may also be a gNB or a TRP or a TP in a 5G system, or one or a set (including multiple antenna panels) of antenna panels of a base station in a 5G system. In addition, the network device may also be a network node forming a gNB or TP, such as a BBU, or a Distributed Unit (DU).

In some deployments, the gNB may include a Centralized Unit (CU) and a DU. Furthermore, the gNB may also include an Active Antenna Unit (AAU). The CU implements part of the function of the gNB and the DU implements part of the function of the gNB. For example, the CU is responsible for processing non-real-time protocols and services, and implementing functions of a Radio Resource Control (RRC) layer and a Packet Data Convergence Protocol (PDCP) layer. The DU is responsible for processing a physical layer protocol and a real-time service, and realizes functions of a Radio Link Control (RLC) layer, a Media Access Control (MAC) layer, and a physical layer (PHY). The AAU implements part of the physical layer processing functions, radio frequency processing and active antenna related functions. Since the information of the RRC layer eventually becomes or is converted from the information of the PHY layer, the higher layer signaling, such as the RRC layer signaling, may also be considered to be transmitted by the DU or by the DU + AAU under this architecture. It is to be understood that the network device may be a device comprising one or more of a CU node, a DU node, an AAU node.

Optionally, in this embodiment of the present application, the network device and the terminal may communicate through a licensed spectrum, may also communicate through an unlicensed spectrum, and may also communicate through the licensed spectrum and the unlicensed spectrum at the same time. The network device and the terminal may communicate with each other through a frequency spectrum of 6 gigahertz (GHz) or less, through a frequency spectrum of 6GHz or more, or through both a frequency spectrum of 6GHz or less and a frequency spectrum of 6GHz or more. The embodiment of the present application does not limit the spectrum resources used between the network device and the terminal 101.

Optionally, the terminal, the network device, or the positioning device in the embodiment of the present application may be deployed on land, including indoors or outdoors, handheld, or vehicle-mounted; can also be deployed on the water surface; it may also be deployed on airborne airplanes, balloons and satellite vehicles. The embodiment of the application does not limit the application scenarios of the terminal, the network device or the positioning device.

Optionally, in this embodiment of the present application, the terminal or the network device or the positioning device includes a hardware layer, an operating system layer running on the hardware layer, and an application layer running on the operating system layer. The hardware layer includes hardware such as a Central Processing Unit (CPU), a Memory Management Unit (MMU), and a memory (also referred to as a main memory). The operating system may be any one or more computer operating systems that implement business processing through processes (processes), such as a Linux operating system, a Unix operating system, an Android operating system, an iOS operating system, or a windows operating system. The application layer comprises applications such as a browser, an address list, word processing software, instant messaging software and the like. Furthermore, the embodiment of the present application does not particularly limit the specific structure of the execution subject of the method provided by the embodiment of the present application, as long as the execution subject can communicate with the method provided by the embodiment of the present application by running the program recorded with the code of the method provided by the embodiment of the present application, for example, the execution subject of the method provided by the embodiment of the present application may be a terminal, a network device, or a positioning device, or a functional module in the terminal, the network device, or the positioning device, which can call the program and execute the program.

In other words, the functions related to the terminal, the network device, or the positioning device in the embodiment of the present application may be implemented by one device, or may be implemented by multiple devices together, or may be implemented by one or more functional modules in one device, which is not specifically limited in this embodiment of the present application. It is understood that the above functions may be network elements in a hardware device, or software functions running on dedicated hardware, or a combination of hardware and software, or virtualization functions instantiated on a platform (e.g., a cloud platform).

For example, the related functions of the terminal, the network device or the positioning device in the embodiment of the present application may be implemented by the communication apparatus 100 in fig. 1D. Fig. 1D is a schematic structural diagram of a communication device 100 according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. The communication device 100 includes one or more processors 101, a communication line 102, and at least one communication interface (which is only exemplary in fig. 1D to include a communication interface 104 and one processor 101 for illustration), and optionally may further include a memory 103.

The processor 101 may be a Central Processing Unit (CPU), a microprocessor, an application-specific integrated circuit (ASIC), or one or more ics for controlling the execution of programs in accordance with the present disclosure.

The communication link 102 may include a path for connecting different components.

The communication interface 104, which may be a transceiver module, is used to communicate with other devices or communication networks, such as ethernet, RAN, Wireless Local Area Networks (WLAN), etc. For example, the transceiver module may be a transceiver, or the like. Optionally, the communication interface 104 may also be a transceiver circuit located in the processor 101, so as to implement signal input and signal output of the processor.

The memory 103 may be a device having a storage function. Such as, but not limited to, read-only memory (ROM) or other types of static storage devices that may store static information and instructions, Random Access Memory (RAM) or other types of dynamic storage devices that may store information and instructions, electrically erasable programmable read-only memory (EEPROM), compact disk read-only memory (CD-ROM) or other optical disk storage, optical disk storage (including compact disk, laser disk, optical disk, digital versatile disk, blu-ray disk, etc.), magnetic disk storage or other magnetic storage devices, 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. The memory may be separate and coupled to the processor via communication line 102. The memory may also be integral to the processor.

The memory 103 is used for storing computer-executable instructions for executing the scheme of the application, and is controlled by the processor 101 to execute. The processor 101 is configured to execute computer-executable instructions stored in the memory 103, so as to implement the positioning method provided in the embodiment of the present application.

Alternatively, in this embodiment of the present application, the processor 101 may also execute functions related to processing in the positioning method provided in the following embodiments of the present application, and the communication interface 104 is responsible for communicating with other devices or a communication network, which is not specifically limited in this embodiment of the present application.

The computer-executable instructions in the embodiments of the present application may also be referred to as application program codes, which are not specifically limited in the embodiments of the present application.

In particular implementations, processor 101 may include one or more CPUs such as CPU0 and CPU1 in fig. 1D for one embodiment.

In particular implementations, communication device 100 may include multiple processors, such as multiple processors 101 in fig. 1D, for example, as an example. Each of these processors may be a single-core (single-CPU) processor or a multi-core (multi-CPU) processor. A processor herein may refer to one or more devices, circuits, and/or processing cores for processing data (e.g., computer program instructions).

In one implementation, the communication apparatus 100 may further include an output device 105 and an input device 106. The output device 105 is in communication with the processor 101 and may display information in a variety of ways.

The communication device 100 may be a general-purpose device or a special-purpose device. For example, the communication device 100 may be a desktop computer, a portable computer, a web server, a Personal Digital Assistant (PDA), a mobile phone, a tablet computer, a wireless terminal, an embedded device, or a device with a similar structure as in fig. 1D. The embodiment of the present application does not limit the type of the communication apparatus 100.

The terminal positioning method provided in the embodiment of the present application will be specifically described below with reference to fig. 1A to 1D.

Referring to fig. 2A, fig. 2A is a flowchart of a method for sending a positioning signal according to an embodiment of the present application, and as shown in fig. 2A, the method includes the following steps:

201. a terminal selects a first resource from a first resource pool, wherein the first resource pool is a resource pool corresponding to a first cell, and the terminal is communicated with network equipment through the first cell;

202. the terminal sends a Sounding Reference Signal (SRS) to the network equipment through the first resource, wherein the SRS is used for positioning the terminal;

203. and the network equipment receives a Sounding Reference Signal (SRS) sent by the terminal through a first resource, and positions the terminal through the SRS.

An uplink Sounding Reference Signal (SRS) is used for uplink positioning and uplink and downlink positioning, such as uplink-time difference of arrival (UTDOA) positioning in LTE, or UL-TDOA positioning, UL-AOA positioning, Multi-RTT positioning in NR, and the like. The basic principle is that a base station allocates a semi-static SRS resource pool for each cell, and after a terminal accesses a cell, the base station schedules and configures a special wireless resource for the terminal to transmit an uplink SRS, specifically, taking UTDOA positioning process as an example, first, the terminal obtains configuration information of an SRS resource corresponding to a serving cell through SIB2, and the SRS resource pool allocated to each cell has the following characteristics:

the system is semi-static and is configured by a system message SIB2, and the configuration comprises bandwidth, period, occupied uplink symbols and the like;

the uplink data channel PUSCH of the cell will not occupy Resource Elements (REs) of the SRS resource pool.

After the positioning device initiates positioning, referring to fig. 2B, fig. 2B is a schematic diagram of an uplink positioning process provided in the embodiment of the present application, and as shown in fig. 2B, taking UL-TDOA as an example, a network device first allocates an SRS resource pool corresponding to a serving cell. After the positioning device sends a new radio positioning protocol (NRPPa) positioning information request to the network device, the network device determines SRS resources of a specific terminal (UE-specific), where the SRS resources belong to a part of resources in an SRS resource pool. Then, Radio Resource Control (RRC) configuration information is transmitted to the terminal through the network device, and an SRS resource corresponding to the terminal is generated. And finally, the serving cell activates the terminal equipment to send the SRS.

In the process, the base station allocates special uplink SRS resources for each terminal, and different terminals can be ensured to occupy different wireless resources for sending SRS. Specifically, referring to fig. 2C, fig. 2C is a schematic diagram of SRS resource allocation provided in the embodiment of the present application, and as shown in fig. 2C, a period corresponding to an SRS resource pool configured for a cell is 10 milliseconds (ms), and the SRS resource occupies a last Orthogonal Frequency Division Multiplexing (OFDM) symbol of a 3 rd subframe. The SRS periods of the user 1 and the user 2 are 20ms, and the user 1 occupies OFDM symbols of the system frame number SFN being 0,2,4, …; user 2 occupies the OFDM symbol of

SFN

1,3,5, …. Or, the SRS resources of user 1 and user 2 may occupy different frequency domains corresponding to the same slot symbol.

According to the above positioning process, when the terminal device sends the SRS for positioning, the physical layer needs to transmit related messages on uplink and downlink data channels. Therefore, the terminal needs to have a 5G uplink and downlink communication function, such as all uplink and downlink physical layer channels, support an initial access procedure, and support message transmission in an RRC connected state, which results in high cost and power consumption of the terminal.

In order to solve this problem, in a positioning signal sending method provided in this embodiment of the present application, a network device allocates a first resource pool to a terminal, and then the terminal selects a first resource from the first resource for sending an SRS, specifically referring to fig. 2D, where fig. 2D is another uplink positioning flow diagram provided in this embodiment of the present application, as shown in fig. 2D, similarly taking UL-TDOA as an example, the terminal acquires the first resource pool, and the first resource pool includes all first resources capable of being used for sending the SRS and corresponding to a first cell, where the first cell is a serving cell for communication between the terminal and the network device. Compared with the hard uplink positioning process shown in fig. 2B, the network device does not need to determine the SRS resource of a specific terminal device in step 2, that is, does not need to perform downlink communication with the terminal and configure and send the SRS resource to the terminal in step 2a, thereby reducing the communication dependency on the PDCCH or PDSCH, reducing the resource consumption in the positioning process, and further reducing the positioning cost.

The network device needs to send information of the first resource pool to the terminal, so that the terminal determines the first resource pool and selects the first resource from the first resource pool. In a possible implementation manner, a terminal acquires first information, and determines the first resource pool according to the first information. Optionally, the first information may be carried in a first message, and the terminal determines the first resource pool according to the received first message. The type of the first message may be a system message, MAC signaling, RRC signaling, other higher layer or physical layer signaling, etc. Alternatively, the first message may be a new system message or an existing system message (referred to as a first system message), for example, the first message is added in an existing Master Information Block (MIB) message or a System Information Block (SIB) message. The first information may be time-frequency information of the first resource pool, or may also be time-frequency information of the third resource pool, and an index of part of the time-frequency information, and the first resource pool may be determined from the third resource pool according to the index, and the third resource pool may be a resource pool of the first cell and all neighboring cells; or the first information may also be a resource pool that changes according to different times or different periods, and the terminal determines the first resource pool according to the current time. After the terminal is started, when the terminal synchronizes with the network equipment, the network equipment sends the MIB and the SIB to the terminal, and adds the information of the first resource pool in the MIB or the SIB, so that the communication flow or steps between the access network and the terminal cannot be additionally increased.

Optionally, the first system message sent by the network device to the first cell only includes information of the first resource pool corresponding to the first cell, and after receiving the first system message, the network device directly parses the first system message to obtain the information of the first resource pool. Or the first system message sent by the network device to the first cell includes first resource pool information of all serving cells capable of establishing wireless connection for the network device, and after receiving the first system message, the terminal parses the first system message to obtain a plurality of pieces of first resource pool information, and obtains the first resource pool information corresponding to the first cell according to matching of the currently accessed first cell.

Optionally, the network device sends a first system message to the terminal according to the period T to update the information of the first resource pool. Because the first cell can provide communication services between multiple terminals and the network device, the available resources in the first resource pool corresponding to the first cell also change in real time, and therefore the network device updates the information of the first resource pool to the terminal according to the period T, which can reduce the possibility that the first resource selected by the terminal from the first resource pool is occupied by other terminals, and improve the efficiency of the terminal for sending the SRS through the first resource.

Optionally, the network device may send the first system message over a synchronization signal-broadcast channel resource block (SSBP) for positioning. The resource block may be a resource block dedicated to transmitting positioning information, and may not overlap with other resource blocks, and the resource block may be transmitted when the terminal accesses the network device. Optionally, the first system message is sent using an existing synchronization signal-broadcast channel resource block (SSB), but the information in the first system message is changed. Taking the first system message as the MIB as an example, when a reserved (spare) bit in the SSB is set to 1 (location), in the vicinity of the SSB, time-frequency resources of the SSB are fixed relative to each other, and the located MIB information is sent, where the MIB information may be:

optionally, after acquiring the first resource pool, the terminal may first determine a corresponding relationship between the first resource pool and the first cell. On one hand, it may be determined by the current communication situation, for example, that the terminal receives the first system message through the first cell, and the first resource pool obtained by demodulating the first system message may be defaulted to the resource pool corresponding to the first cell. Or the correspondence between the first resource pool and the first cell may be indicated in the first system message, for example, the first system message may include one or more resource pools and cell identifiers (cell-IDs) corresponding to the resource pools.

After receiving the first system message, the terminal demodulates the first system message to obtain a first resource pool. The first resource pool may be indicated by information such as a period, a time slot, the number of OFDM symbols, a start symbol or an end symbol, and a bandwidth. Referring to fig. 2E, fig. 2E is a first resource diagram provided in the embodiment of the present application, and as shown in fig. 2E, it is assumed that a Subcarrier spacing (SCS) is 30kHz, a slot length is 0.5ms, each radio frame includes 20 slots, and a first resource pool occupies an 8 th slot and is a Physical Resource Block (PRB). SSBP occupies the middle 20 PRBs (4 symbols) of slot 1.

Fig. 2F is a schematic view of first resource distribution provided in this embodiment, and fig. 2F is a schematic view of the first resource distribution, as shown in fig. 2F, each first resource occupies 2 symbols, a frequency interval is a configuration of 4 subcarriers, and a filling portion in the diagram is one first resource. Since a slot has 14 OFDM symbols, and each 2 symbols corresponds to 4 different first resource allocation methods, a slot corresponds to 28 different first resources at most.

Optionally, the first resource in the first resource pool may be configured by the network device, and after receiving the first resource pool, the terminal may obtain the configuration situation of the multiple first resources in the first resource pool at the same time, for example, in fig. 2E, each first resource occupies 2 symbols, and the frequency interval is 4 subcarriers. Then, the terminal selects one first resource from the plurality of first resources, including selecting the time-frequency information of the first resource or selecting the number of the first resource.

Optionally, the first resource pool received by the terminal does not include configuration information of the first resource pool, and after the terminal receives the first resource pool, the terminal selects a first resource corresponding to the time-frequency information from the first resource pool as needed. Since different terminals have different communication conditions and different resources corresponding to SRS transmission, the size of the first resource selected by each terminal may be different. Specifically referring to fig. 2G, fig. 2G is a schematic diagram of another first resource distribution situation provided in the embodiment of the present application, as shown in fig. 2G, a first resource selected by a first terminal occupies 2 symbols and is separated by 4 subcarriers in frequency, and a first resource selected by a second terminal occupies 4 symbols and is separated by 4 subcarriers in frequency. In this case, the corresponding plurality of first resources in the first resource pool is not of a fixed size.

In addition, under the condition that the resources in the first resource pool have no specific correspondence with the terminal, the terminal may randomly select the first resource, for example, select one first resource from a plurality of first resources with the same size corresponding to the first resource pool. Or when the network equipment sends the system message, the corresponding rule between the resource in the first resource pool and the terminal is carried, and the terminal selects the first resource according to the corresponding rule; or when the terminal establishes connection with the network equipment, the protocol appoints a rule that the terminal acquires the first resource in the first resource pool, and the terminal acquires the first resource in the first resource pool according to the protocol.

After acquiring the first resource in the first resource pool, the terminal may generate an SRS and send the SRS to the network device through the first resource. In the process of generating the SRS, since the first resource is a Cell-specific resource, not a terminal-specific resource, a Cell-specific (Cell-specific) SRS signal may be generated based on the first resource. For example, a common pseudo-random sequence such as an M sequence, a Gold sequence and the like is generated based on a cell identifier, a ZC sequence is selected from the pseudo-random sequence, placed on a corresponding first resource, and then subjected to OFDM variation to generate a time domain signal.

Optionally, the cell identifier needs to be obtained before generating the cell-specific SRS signal, and the terminal may obtain the identifier information of the first cell according to the current communication condition, for example, it is determined that the current serving cell of the network device is the first cell, and obtain the corresponding cell identifier. Or the first system message sent by the network device includes information of the first resource pool and a cell identifier corresponding to the first resource pool, and the terminal acquires the identifier information of the first cell while acquiring the information of the first resource pool.

Therefore, in the embodiment of the application, the network device allocates the resource pools for different serving cells, and after the terminal establishes communication connection with the network device through the serving cell, the terminal selects the resource from the resource pools for sending the uplink SRS, so that the process that the network device allocates the specific resource for the terminal is omitted, the communication process is simplified, and the communication efficiency is improved. Meanwhile, the terminal does not have the capability of carrying out complex communication (transmitting PDCCH/PUCCH or PDSCH/PUSCH) with the network equipment, and the communication cost of the terminal can be reduced.

In the above embodiment, the terminal sends the SRS to the network device through the first resource, but because the first resource is selected by the terminal, if the network device does not perform other communications with the terminal before the terminal sends the SRS, the network device may not be able to know the identity of the terminal that sends the SRS through the first resource, and may not be able to perform a subsequent positioning process on the network device according to the received SRS.

Referring to fig. 3A, fig. 3A is a flowchart of another method for sending a positioning signal according to an embodiment of the present application, where the method includes the following steps:

301. the method comprises the steps that a terminal selects a first resource from a first resource pool, acquires a second resource from a second resource pool according to the first resource, wherein the first resource pool is a resource pool corresponding to a first cell, and the terminal is communicated with network equipment through the first cell;

302. the terminal sends a Sounding Reference Signal (SRS) to the network equipment through the first resource, and sends identification information of the terminal through the second resource;

303. the network equipment receives a Sounding Reference Signal (SRS) sent by the terminal through a first resource, receives identification information of the terminal sent by the terminal through a second resource, determines the terminal sending the SRS through the identification information of the terminal, and positions the terminal through the SRS.

According to the description in the foregoing embodiment, the terminal may obtain the first resource in the first resource pool and use the first resource for sending the SRS, if the method for the terminal to select the first resource is configured by the network device or agreed by a protocol between the network device and the terminal, the network device may determine the identity of the terminal according to the first resource, and if the first resource is randomly selected by the terminal, the network device may not know the identity information of the terminal that sends the SRS, and may not perform the positioning process of the terminal.

In a possible implementation manner, a terminal acquires first information, and determines the first resource pool according to the first information; and/or the terminal acquires second information and determines the second resource pool according to the second information. Optionally, the first information may be carried in a first message, and the terminal determines the first resource pool according to the received first message. The type of the first message may be a system message, MAC signaling, RRC signaling, other higher layer or physical layer signaling, etc. Optionally, the first message may be a new system message or an existing system message (which may be referred to as a first system message), for example, the first information is added to an existing MIB message. Similarly, the second information may be carried in the second message, and the terminal determines the second resource pool according to the received second message. The type of the second message may be a system message, MAC signaling, RRC signaling, other higher layer or physical layer signaling, etc. Optionally, the second message is an additional system message or an existing system message (which may be referred to as a second system message), for example, the second information is added to the existing SIB2 message. The type of message is not limited in this application. In another possible implementation manner, the first information and the second information may be carried in the same message, for example, both the first information and the second information are carried in a first system message, and the first system message may be an additional system message or an existing system message, for example, the first system message is an MIB message.

In this case, the terminal sends the uplink SRS through the first resource and sends the identification information of the terminal through the second resource, so that the network device can determine the identity of the terminal corresponding to the received SRS according to the identification information, and then locate the terminal according to the SRS. The process ensures that the terminal can also quickly determine the terminal equipment and position the terminal under the condition that the terminal does not carry out other prior communication with the network equipment to acquire the terminal identity in advance, further improves the positioning efficiency and reduces the communication cost in the positioning process.

The second resource pool may be configured by the network device, or may be obtained by the terminal from an existing resource pool. Under the condition that the second resource pool is configured by the network equipment, the second resource pool can be synchronously configured when the access network configures the first resource pool. The network device may send information of the second resource pool to the terminal, so that the terminal selects the second resource from the second resource pool after determining the first resource. Optionally, after the terminal establishes a connection with the network device through the first cell, the network device sends a second system message to the terminal, where the second system message includes a second system message sent through the MIB or the system message block SIB, and the second system message includes second information. The second information may be time-frequency information of the second resource pool, or may also be an index of time-frequency information and partial time-frequency information of a fourth resource pool, where the fourth resource pool is a resource pool of the first cell and all neighboring cells, and the second resource pool may be determined from the fourth resource pool according to the index; or the second information may also be used to indicate a resource pool that changes at different times or different periods, and the terminal determines the second resource pool according to the current time. After the terminal is started, when the terminal synchronizes with the network equipment, the network equipment sends the MIB and the SIB to the terminal, and adds the information of the first resource pool in the MIB or the SIB, so that the communication flow or steps between the access network and the terminal cannot be additionally increased.

Optionally, the network device may send the second system message via SSBP. The resource block may be a resource block dedicated to transmitting positioning information, and may not overlap with other resource blocks, and the resource block may be transmitted when the terminal accesses the network device.

The first system message for sending the information of the first resource pool and the second system message for sending the information of the second resource pool may be the same system message or different system messages, and when the first system message and the second system message are different system messages, the sending order thereof is not limited in the embodiment of the present application.

According to the content transmitted by the second resource, the second resource may be named as a Physical Uplink Positioning Channel (PUPCH). The second resource pool includes a plurality of resources, and these resources can be indicated by information such as period, time slot, number of OFDM symbols, start symbol or end symbol, bandwidth, and the like. Each resource in the second resource pool may correspond to a fixed size, such as a Physical Resource Block (PRB); or each resource in the second resource pool may correspond to a non-fixed size, that is, the number of OFDM symbols and frequency domain subcarriers occupied by different resources may be different. In addition, since the first resource is used for transmitting the SRS and the second resource is used for transmitting the identification information of the terminal corresponding to the SRS, the first resource and the second resource have a one-to-one correspondence relationship; or the first resource and the second resource have one-to-many correspondence.

When the first resource and the second resource have a one-to-one correspondence, the terminal transmits the SRS through the first resource, and may schedule the second resource corresponding to the first resource to transmit the identification information of the terminal. Referring to fig. 3B, fig. 3B is a schematic diagram illustrating a correspondence relationship between a first resource and a second resource provided in the present embodiment, assuming that the first resource occupies 2 symbols, the frequency interval is 4 subcarriers, and the second resource occupies 1/2 PRBs, where the first resource on the left side in fig. 3B and the second resource on the right side in fig. 3B have a one-to-one correspondence relationship.

When the first resource and the second resource have a one-to-many correspondence relationship, the terminal transmits the SRS through the first resource, and may schedule any one of the plurality of second resources corresponding to the first resource to transmit the identification information of the terminal. Referring to fig. 3C, fig. 3C is a schematic diagram of another corresponding relationship between a first resource and a second resource provided in the present embodiment, assuming that the first resource occupies 2 symbols, the frequency interval is 4 subcarriers, and the second resource occupies 1/2 PRBs, where one first resource on the left side in fig. 3C has a corresponding relationship with two second resources (a second resource a and a second resource b) on the right side in fig. 3C.

The correspondence between the first resource and the second resource includes a number correspondence and a position correspondence. Assuming that a first resource pool occupies a 4 th time slot, each resource in the first resource pool occupies 2 symbols, the frequency interval is 4 subcarriers, and there is a one-to-one number correspondence relationship between the first resource and the second resource, please refer to fig. 3D, fig. 3D is a schematic diagram of another correspondence relationship between the first resource and the second resource provided in this embodiment of the present application, as shown in (a) in fig. 3D, because the 4 th time slot (in the first resource pool) may include 28 resources (each resource may be one first resource), and correspondingly, the second resource pool includes 28 resources (each resource may be one second resource), and in a case where each second resource occupies 1/2 PRBs, the second resource pool may occupy a 5th time slot to an 18 th time slot. When the first resource and the second resource have a one-to-one positional correspondence relationship, a first resource on the 4 th time slot may correspond to a first second resource on the 5th time slot.

When there is a one-to-many number correspondence relationship between the first resource and the second resource, as shown in (b) of fig. 3D, it is assumed that one first resource corresponds to two second resources, because the 4 th slot (in the first resource pool) may include 28 first resources, and correspondingly, the second resource pool includes 56 second resources, and in the case that each second resource occupies 2 symbols, one slot may include 7 second resources, and the second resource pool occupies 8 slots, which corresponds to the 5th slot to the 12 th slot in the figure. When the first resource and the second resource have a one-to-many positional correspondence relationship, the first resource on the 4 th time slot may correspond to the first second resource and the second resource on the 5th time slot.

Optionally, the first resource and the second resource are located in a same Radio Frame (Radio Frame). According to the above description, the second resource is a resource corresponding to the first resource, after the network device receives the first resource and obtains the SRS, the network device needs to obtain the identifier information of the terminal corresponding to the first resource, and the first resource and the second resource are in the same radio frame, so that the network device can more conveniently and accurately obtain the identifier information of the terminal corresponding to the SRS without causing incorrect correspondence. In addition, the efficiency of obtaining the two signals simultaneously can be ensured in the same frame without redundant waiting, and the positioning efficiency is improved.

In addition, the size of the second resource may also be a non-fixed size, that is, different terminals may correspondingly obtain second resources with different sizes. For example, when the sizes of the first resources corresponding to different terminals are different, the sizes of the second resources are changed in a positive correlation with the sizes of the first resources so that the second resources correspond to the first resources.

In this embodiment of the present application, because the number of terminals communicating with the network device is large, the number of the first resources is usually smaller than the number of terminals capable of communicating with the network device, in this case, the terminals need to compete for the first resources, and by configuring a plurality of second resources for the first resources, a situation that the network device competes for the second resources without competing for the first resources may occur.

Optionally, when the network device receives one SRS and the identification information of the plurality of terminals corresponding to the SRS, the SRS is discarded, and it is determined that the SRS is not successfully transmitted. Specifically referring to fig. 3E, fig. 3E is a schematic diagram of a collision process provided in the embodiment of the present application, as shown in fig. 3E, a network device receives an SRS1 corresponding to a first resource, and an identifier 1 in a second resource a and an identifier 2 in a second resource B, and the network device cannot determine, according to the received information, whether the SRS is transmitted by a terminal corresponding to the identifier 1 or a terminal corresponding to the identifier 2, so that the network device may discard the SRS1 or does not process the SRS1, and determine that the SRS1 fails to be transmitted. The terminal may obtain the first resource and the second resource again after a certain time, and perform the next positioning process.

The corresponding relationship between the first resource and the second resource may be preset by the network device when configuring the first resource pool and the second resource pool, or agreed by the network device through a protocol. For the latter case, if the first resource is a resource of a time-frequency position randomly selected by the terminal, the network device may obtain a rule of the second resource according to an agreed rule of the communication sequence or the communication time with the terminal.

Optionally, after the terminal completes sending the SRS, the terminal is automatically switched from an active state (active) to an idle state (idle) or an inactive state (inactive), and the terminal stops sending the SRS to the network device, so that the terminal does not perform redundant energy consumption any more in a process of positioning the terminal by the network device and the positioning device, and the positioning cost is reduced.

Fig. 4 is a communication apparatus 400 according to an embodiment of the present application, which can be used to execute the positioning signal sending method applied to a terminal in fig. 2A to fig. 2G or fig. 3A to fig. 3E and a specific embodiment thereof, where the terminal may be a terminal device or a chip configured in the terminal device. The communication device comprises a processing module 402 and a sending module 403.

The processing module 402 is configured to select a first resource from a first resource pool, where the first resource pool is a resource pool corresponding to a first cell, and the terminal communicates with a network device through the first cell;

the sending module 403 is configured to send, to the network device through the first resource, a sounding reference signal SRS, where the SRS is used to locate the terminal.

Optionally, the processing module 402 is further configured to: and acquiring a second resource from a second resource pool according to the first resource, wherein the second resource is used for sending the identification information of the terminal, and the identification information of the terminal is used for the network equipment to determine the terminal for sending the SRS.

Optionally, the apparatus further includes a receiving module 401, configured to receive a first system message; the processing module is configured to determine the first resource pool according to the first system message; and/or the receiving module is configured to receive a second system message, and the processing module is configured to determine the second resource pool according to the second system message.

Optionally, the processing module 402 is further configured to: and after the sending module sends the SRS to the network equipment, switching the terminal from an active state to an inactive state or an idle state.

Alternatively, the processing module 402 may be a chip, an encoder, a coding circuit or other integrated circuits that can implement the method of the present application.

Alternatively, the receiving module 401 and the transmitting module 403 may be interface circuits or transceivers. The receiving module 401 and the sending module 403 may be independent modules, or may be integrated into a transceiver module (not shown), and the transceiver module may implement the functions of the receiving module 401 and the sending module 403. May be an interface circuit or a transceiver.

Since the specific method and embodiment have been described above, the apparatus 400 is used to perform the positioning signal processing method corresponding to the terminal, and thus, the functions related to the method may refer to relevant parts of the corresponding embodiment, and are not described herein again.

Optionally, the apparatus 400 may further include a storage module (not shown in the figure), which may be used for storing data and/or signaling, and the storage module may be coupled to the processing module 402, and may also be coupled to the receiving module 401 or the sending module 403. For example, the processing module 402 may be configured to read data and/or signaling in the storage module, so that the key obtaining method in the foregoing method embodiment is executed.

Fig. 5 is another communication apparatus 500 provided in this embodiment of the present application, which may be used to execute the positioning signal sending method applied to a network device and the specific embodiments of fig. 2A to 2G or fig. 3A to 3E, where the apparatus may be a positioning device or a chip that may be configured on the positioning device. In one possible implementation, as shown in fig. 5, the communication device 500 includes a receiving module 502 and a processing module 503.

The receiving module 502 is configured to receive a sounding reference signal SRS, which is sent by the terminal through a first resource in a first resource pool, where the first resource pool is a resource pool corresponding to a first cell, and the terminal communicates with a network device through the first cell;

the processing module 503 is configured to locate the terminal through the SRS.

Optionally, the receiving module 502 is further configured to receive identifier information of the terminal, which is sent by the terminal through a second resource in a second resource pool, where the identifier information of the terminal is used to determine the terminal that sends the SRS.

Optionally, the apparatus further includes a sending module 501, configured to: sending a first system message, wherein the first system message is used for the terminal to determine the first resource pool; and/or sending a second system message, wherein the second system message is used for the terminal to determine the second resource pool.

Optionally, the first resource and the second resource have a one-to-one correspondence; or the first resource and the second resource have one-to-many correspondence.

Optionally, in a case that the first resource and the second resource have a one-to-many correspondence, the processing module 503 is configured to: determining that the SRS transmission is unsuccessful when the network device receives the SRS and identification information of a plurality of terminals corresponding to the SRS.

Alternatively, the processing module 503 may be a chip, an encoder, an encoding circuit or other integrated circuits that can implement the method of the present application.

Alternatively, the receiving module 502 and the transmitting module 501 may be interface circuits or transceivers. The receiving module 502 and the sending module 501 may be independent modules, or may be integrated into a transceiver module (not shown), and the transceiver module may implement the functions of the receiving module 502 and the sending module 501. May be an interface circuit or a transceiver.

Since the specific method and embodiment have been described above, the apparatus 500 is used to execute the positioning signal processing method corresponding to the positioning device, and thus, the functions related to the method, especially the functions of the receiving module 502 and the sending module 501, may refer to relevant parts of the corresponding embodiment, and are not described herein again.

Optionally, the apparatus 500 may further include a storage module (not shown in the figure), which may be used for storing data and/or signaling, and the storage module may be coupled to the processing module 503, and may also be coupled to the receiving module 502 or the sending module 501. For example, the processing module 503 may be configured to read data and/or signaling in the storage module, so that the key obtaining method in the foregoing method embodiment is executed.

As shown in fig. 6, fig. 6 is a schematic structural diagram of a communication apparatus in an embodiment of the present application. The structure of the terminal or the pointing device can refer to the structure shown in fig. 6. The communication apparatus 900 includes: a processor 111 and a transceiver 112, the processor 111 and the transceiver 112 being electrically coupled;

the processor 111 is configured to execute some or all of the computer program instructions in the memory, and when the computer program instructions are executed, the apparatus is enabled to perform the method according to any of the embodiments.

The transceiver 112, which is used for communicating with other devices; for example, a sounding reference signal, SRS, is transmitted to the network device through the first resource, and the SRS is used for positioning the terminal.

Optionally, a Memory 113 is further included for storing computer program instructions, and optionally, the Memory 113(Memory #1) is located inside the apparatus, the Memory 113(Memory #2) is integrated with the processor 111, or the Memory 113(Memory #3) is located outside the apparatus.

It should be understood that the communication device 900 shown in fig. 6 may be a chip or a circuit. Such as a chip or circuit that may be provided within a terminal device or a communication device. The transceiver 112 may also be a communication interface. The transceiver includes a receiver and a transmitter. Further, the communication device 900 may also include a bus system.

The processor 111, the memory 113, and the transceiver 112 are connected via a bus system, and the processor 111 is configured to execute instructions stored in the memory 113 to control the transceiver to receive and transmit signals, so as to complete steps of the first device or the second device in the implementation method related to the present application. The memory 113 may be integrated in the processor 111 or may be provided separately from the processor 111.

As an implementation manner, the function of the transceiver 112 may be considered to be implemented by a transceiver circuit or a transceiver dedicated chip. The processor 111 may be considered to be implemented by a dedicated processing chip, processing circuitry, a processor, or a general purpose chip. The processor may be a Central Processing Unit (CPU), a Network Processor (NP), or a combination of a CPU and an NP. The processor may further include a hardware chip or other general purpose processor. The hardware chip may be an application-specific integrated circuit (ASIC), a Programmable Logic Device (PLD), or a combination thereof. The aforementioned PLDs may be Complex Programmable Logic Devices (CPLDs), field-programmable gate arrays (FPGAs), General Array Logic (GAL) and other programmable logic devices, discrete gate or transistor logic devices, discrete hardware components, etc., or any combination thereof. 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 referred to in the embodiments of the application may be either volatile memory or nonvolatile memory, or may 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 RAM are available, such as Static random access memory (Static RAM, SRAM), Dynamic Random Access Memory (DRAM), Synchronous Dynamic Random Access Memory (SDRAM), double data rate synchronous SDRAM (DDR SDRAM), Enhanced SDRAM (ESDRAM), synchlink DRAM (SLDRAM), and direct rambus RAM (DR RAM). It should be noted that the memory described herein is intended to comprise, without being limited to, these and any other suitable types of memory.

The embodiment of the application provides a computer storage medium, which stores a computer program, wherein the computer program comprises a program for executing the method applied to the terminal in the embodiment.

The embodiment of the application provides a computer storage medium, which stores a computer program, wherein the computer program comprises a program for executing the method applied to the network device in the embodiment.

The present application provides a computer program product containing instructions, which when run on a computer, causes the computer to execute the method applied to the terminal in the above embodiments.

Embodiments of the present application provide a computer program product containing instructions, which when run on a computer, cause the computer to execute the method applied to the network device in the above embodiments.

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 for transmitting a positioning signal, the method comprising:

a terminal selects a first resource from a first resource pool, wherein the first resource pool is a resource pool corresponding to a first cell, and the terminal is communicated with network equipment through the first cell;

and the terminal sends a Sounding Reference Signal (SRS) to the network equipment through the first resource, wherein the SRS is used for positioning the terminal.

2. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

and the terminal acquires a second resource from a second resource pool according to the first resource, wherein the second resource is used for sending the identification information of the terminal, and the identification information of the terminal is used for the network equipment to determine the terminal for sending the SRS.

3. The method of claim 2, wherein the first resource has a one-to-one correspondence with the second resource; or the first resource and the second resource have one-to-many correspondence.

4. The method according to claim 3, wherein the correspondence is a correspondence in number and/or a correspondence in position.

5. The method according to any one of claims 1-4, further comprising:

the terminal receives a first system message, and determines the first resource pool according to the first system message; and/or

And the terminal receives a second system message and determines the second resource pool according to the second system message.

6. The method of claim 5, wherein the first system message and/or the second system message is obtained by demodulating the terminal from a synchronization signal-broadcast channel resource block (SSBP) for positioning.

7. The method of claim 5 or 6, wherein the first system message and the second system message are the same system message.

8. The method of any of claims 1-7, wherein the SRS is generated based on a cell identity.

9. The method according to any of claims 2-8, wherein the first resource is indicated by one or more of the following information: the number of Orthogonal Frequency Division Multiplexing (OFDM) symbols occupied by the first resource, a starting symbol, frequency offset and frequency interval; the second resource is indicated by one or more of the following information: the number of OFDM symbols occupied by the second resource, the initial symbol, the frequency offset and the frequency interval.

10. The method of any of claims 2-9, wherein the first resource and the second resource are located in a same radio frame.

11. The method according to any one of claims 1-10, further comprising:

and after the terminal sends the SRS to the network equipment, the terminal is switched from an active state to a non-active state or an idle state.

12. The method according to any of claims 1-11, wherein the SRS is used for one or more of the following positioning procedures: uplink arrival time difference location UL-TDOA, uplink arrival angle location UL-AoA, multi-range time location multi-RTT and enhanced cell identification number location E-CID.

13. A method for transmitting a positioning signal, the method comprising:

the method comprises the steps that network equipment receives a Sounding Reference Signal (SRS) sent by a terminal through a first resource in a first resource pool, wherein the first resource pool is a resource pool corresponding to a first cell, and the terminal is communicated with the network equipment through the first cell;

and the network equipment positions the terminal through the SRS.

14. The method of claim 13, wherein the network device is further configured to receive identification information of the terminal sent by the terminal through a second resource in a second resource pool, and wherein the identification information of the terminal is used to determine the terminal sending the SRS.

15. The method of claim 14, wherein the first resource has a one-to-one correspondence with the second resource; or the first resource and the second resource have one-to-many correspondence.

16. The method according to claim 15, wherein the correspondence is a correspondence in number and/or a correspondence in position.

17. The method according to claim 15 or 16, wherein in case that there is a one-to-many correspondence of the first resource to the second resource, the method further comprises:

determining that the SRS transmission is unsuccessful when the network device receives the SRS and identification information of a plurality of terminals corresponding to the SRS.

18. The method according to any one of claims 14-17, further comprising:

the network equipment sends a first system message, wherein the first system message is used for the terminal to determine the first resource pool; and/or

And the network equipment sends a second system message, wherein the second system message is used for the terminal to determine the second resource pool.

19. The method of claim 18, wherein the network device sends the first system message and/or the second system message via a synchronization signal-broadcast channel resource block (SSBP) for positioning.

20. The method according to any of claims 14-19, wherein the first resource is indicated by one or more of the following information: the number of Orthogonal Frequency Division Multiplexing (OFDM) symbols occupied by the first resource, a starting symbol, frequency offset and frequency interval; the second resource is indicated by one or more of the following information: the number of OFDM symbols occupied by the second resource, the initial symbol, the frequency offset and the frequency interval.

21. The method of any of claims 14-20, wherein the first resource and the second resource are located in a same radio frame.

22. The method according to any of claims 13-21, wherein the SRS is used for one or more of the following positioning procedures: uplink arrival time difference location UL-TDOA, uplink arrival angle location UL-AoA, multi-range time location multi-RTT and enhanced cell identification number location E-CID.

23. A communication device, applied to a terminal, the device comprising a processing module and a transmitting module, wherein,

the processing module is configured to select a first resource from a first resource pool, where the first resource pool is a resource pool corresponding to a first cell, and the terminal communicates with the network device through the first cell;

the sending module is configured to send, to the network device through the first resource, a sounding reference signal SRS, where the SRS is used to locate the terminal.

24. The apparatus of claim 23, wherein the processing module is further configured to:

and acquiring a second resource from a second resource pool according to the first resource, wherein the second resource is used for sending the identification information of the terminal, and the identification information of the terminal is used for the network equipment to determine the terminal for sending the SRS.

25. The apparatus according to claim 23 or 24, wherein the apparatus further comprises a receiving module for receiving a first system message; the processing module is configured to determine the first resource pool according to the first system message; and/or

The receiving module is configured to receive a second system message, and the processing module is configured to determine the second resource pool according to the second system message.

26. The apparatus of any one of claims 23-25, wherein the processing module is further configured to:

and after the sending module sends the SRS to the network equipment, switching the terminal from an active state to an inactive state or an idle state.

27. A communication device, applied to a network device, comprises a receiving module and a processing module, wherein,

the receiving module is configured to receive a sounding reference signal SRS, which is sent by the terminal through a first resource in a first resource pool, where the first resource pool is a resource pool corresponding to a first cell, and the terminal communicates with a network device through the first cell;

the processing module is configured to locate the terminal through the SRS.

28. The apparatus of claim 27, wherein the receiving module is further configured to receive identification information of the terminal sent by the terminal through a second resource in a second resource pool, and the identification information of the terminal is used to determine a terminal sending the SRS.

29. The apparatus according to claim 27 or 28, wherein the apparatus further comprises a transmitting module configured to:

sending a first system message, wherein the first system message is used for the terminal to determine the first resource pool; and/or

And sending a second system message, wherein the second system message is used for the terminal to determine the second resource pool.

30. The apparatus according to any of claims 23-29, wherein the first resource has a one-to-one correspondence with the second resource; or the first resource and the second resource have one-to-many correspondence.

31. The apparatus of claim 30, wherein if the first resource and the second resource have a one-to-many correspondence, the processing module is configured to:

32. A communications device comprising a processor and interface circuitry for receiving code instructions and transmitting the code instructions to the processor, the processor being configured to execute the code instructions to perform a method according to any one of claims 1 to 12 or to execute the code instructions to perform a method according to any one of claims 13 to 22.

33. A communications device comprising a processor, a transceiver, a memory, and computer executable instructions stored on the memory and operable on the processor, which when executed cause the communications device to perform the method of any of claims 1 to 12 or to perform the method of any of claims 13 to 22.

34. A computer readable storage medium having stored therein computer readable instructions which, when run on a communication device, cause the communication device to perform the method of any of claims 1 to 12 or cause the communication device to perform the method of any of claims 13 to 22.

35. A communication system comprising a communication device according to any of claims 23 to 26 and/or a communication device according to any of claims 27 to 31.