CN114584916A

CN114584916A - Communication method and related equipment

Info

Publication number: CN114584916A
Application number: CN202011375714.2A
Authority: CN
Inventors: 刘慧锋; 郝金平
Original assignee: Shanghai Huawei Technologies Co Ltd
Current assignee: Shanghai Huawei Technologies Co Ltd
Priority date: 2020-11-30
Filing date: 2020-11-30
Publication date: 2022-06-03
Also published as: WO2022110946A1

Abstract

The embodiment of the application discloses a communication method. The method comprises the following steps: the method comprises the steps that core network equipment acquires a channel Sounding Reference Signal (SRS) resource occupied by positioning terminal equipment, receives a first measurement report sent by first access network equipment, and determines a second adjacent cell according to second signal quality if the first measurement report comprises the first signal quality and the second signal quality; the core network device sends a first measurement request to the first access network device and sends a second measurement request to the second access network device, wherein the first measurement request and the second measurement request are used for indicating the first access network device and the second access network device to carry out TOA measurement on the time of arrival of the terminal device. Before the core network device sends the positioning measurement request, the core network device may determine the second neighboring cell assisting the positioning measurement according to the first measurement report, and compared with the prior art in which all neighboring cells measure the terminal device, resource consumption of the access network device may be reduced.

Description

Communication method and related equipment

Technical Field

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

Background

Wireless positioning refers to estimating the geographical position of a mobile terminal in a wireless mobile communication network by measuring characteristic parameters of received radio waves and using a specific algorithm by using measured wireless signal data.

Uplink time difference of arrival (UTDOA) is a method in wireless positioning, which requires at least three base stations to participate in measurement, and converts the time difference between two base stations into a distance difference, and the trajectory of a constant distance to a fixed point is a hyperbola according to the geometric principle, and then the location of a mobile terminal is calculated by intersecting a plurality of hyperbolas. Currently, the R16 protocol already gives the overall process of UTDOA positioning, but does not give a choice for neighbor selection when performing neighbor-assisted measurement. In the perspective of the R16 protocol, all neighboring cells of the serving cell accessed by the mobile terminal need to perform measurement on the terminal device in order to achieve positioning.

However, all neighboring cells measure the mobile terminal, which results in too large resource consumption of the network side device.

Disclosure of Invention

The embodiment of the present application provides a communication method, where a core network device may determine, according to a measurement report, a neighboring cell required for positioning a terminal device, and compared with the prior art where all neighboring cells measure the terminal device, resource consumption of an access network device may be reduced.

A first aspect of the embodiments of the present application provides a communication method, where the method may be performed by a core network device, or may be performed by a component (e.g., a processor, a chip, or a system-on-chip) of the core network device. The method comprises the following steps: the method comprises the steps that core network equipment obtains a channel Sounding Reference Signal (SRS) resource occupied by positioning terminal equipment; the core network equipment receives a first measurement report sent by first access network equipment, wherein the first measurement report comprises first signal quality corresponding to a service cell where the terminal equipment is located, or the first measurement report comprises the first signal quality and second signal quality, the second signal quality is the signal quality corresponding to a first adjacent cell, the first adjacent cell is an adjacent cell of the service cell, and the service cell is a cell served by the first access network equipment; if the first measurement report comprises the first signal quality and the second signal quality, the core network equipment determines a second adjacent cell according to the second signal quality, and the second adjacent cell is used for determining the position of the terminal equipment; the core network device sends a first measurement request to the first access network device and sends a second measurement request to the second access network device, the second access network device is an access network device providing service for the second adjacent cell, the first measurement request is used for indicating the first access network device to carry out time of arrival (TOA) measurement on the terminal device, and the second measurement request is used for indicating the second access network device to carry out TOA measurement on the terminal device.

In the embodiment of the application, a core network device acquires a channel Sounding Reference Signal (SRS) resource occupied by a positioning terminal device, receives a first measurement report sent by a first access network device, and if the first measurement report comprises a first signal quality and a second signal quality, the core network device determines a second adjacent cell according to the second signal quality, and the second adjacent cell is used for determining the position of the terminal device; the core network device sends a first measurement request to the first access network device and sends a second measurement request to the second access network device, wherein the first measurement request and the second measurement request are used for indicating the first access network device and the second access network device to carry out TOA measurement on the time of arrival of the terminal device. Before the core network device sends the positioning measurement request, the core network device may determine, according to the first measurement report, a second neighboring cell that assists in positioning measurement in the first neighboring cell.

Optionally, in a possible implementation manner of the first aspect, the determining, by the core network device according to the second signal quality, the second neighboring cell by the core network device in the above step includes: and the core network equipment determines the adjacent cell of which the value corresponding to the second signal quality in the first adjacent cell is greater than or equal to the first threshold value as a second adjacent cell.

In this possible implementation manner, before the core network device sends the positioning measurement request, the core network device may determine the second neighboring cell according to the value of the second signal quality in the first measurement report and the first threshold, and compared with the prior art in which all neighboring cells measure the terminal device, resource consumption of the access network device may be reduced.

Optionally, in a possible implementation manner of the first aspect, if the first measurement report includes a first signal quality and a second signal quality, the determining, by the core network device, the second neighboring cell according to the second signal quality by the core network device includes: if the first measurement report includes the first signal quality and the second signal quality, and the numerical difference between the first signal quality and the second signal quality is less than or equal to the second threshold, the core network device determines the second neighboring cell according to the second signal quality.

In this possible implementation manner, compared with the prior art in which the neighbor cell is blindly selected based on the serving cell where the terminal device is located, the neighbor cell that is matched with the measurement user position is unchanged after the neighbor cell is determined. Therefore, in the case where the user moves, positioning inaccuracy may be caused. According to the communication method, when the terminal equipment is located at the edge of the service cell, the core network equipment selects the appropriate second adjacent cell to perform positioning measurement on the terminal equipment, and therefore the accuracy of positioning the terminal equipment is improved.

Optionally, in a possible implementation manner of the first aspect, the step further includes: and if the first measurement report does not comprise the second signal quality and the serving cell comprises a plurality of Transmission Receiving Points (TRPs), the core network equipment sends a third measurement request to the first access network equipment, wherein the third measurement request is used for indicating the plurality of TRPs to carry out TOA measurement on the terminal equipment.

In this possible implementation manner, compared to the prior art, when the terminal device is located at the center of the serving cell, the neighbor cell measurement is also triggered, and actually, the neighbor cell measurement is not needed, which may cause waste of the user specification and SRS resource. According to the communication method, when the terminal equipment is located in the center of the serving cell, only the serving cell is measured, and the waste of SRS resources is reduced.

Optionally, in a possible implementation manner of the first aspect, the step further includes: if the first measurement report includes the first signal quality and the second signal quality, and the numerical difference between the first signal quality and the second signal quality is greater than the third threshold, and the serving cell includes a plurality of transmission receiving points TRP, the core network device sends a third measurement request to the first access network device, where the third measurement request is used to instruct the plurality of TRPs to perform TOA measurement on the terminal device.

A second aspect of the embodiments of the present application provides a communication method, which may be performed by a first access network device, or may be performed by a component (e.g., a processor, a chip, or a system-on-chip) of the first access network device. The method comprises the following steps: the method comprises the steps that first access network equipment receives a first measurement report sent by terminal equipment, wherein the first measurement report comprises first signal quality corresponding to a service cell where the terminal equipment is located, or the first measurement report comprises the first signal quality and second signal quality, the second signal quality is the signal quality corresponding to a first adjacent cell, the first adjacent cell is an adjacent cell of the service cell, and the service cell is a cell served by the first access network equipment; the first access network equipment sends a first measurement report to the core network equipment, and the first measurement report is used for the core network equipment to determine a second adjacent cell required by the positioning terminal equipment.

In this embodiment of the present application, a first access network device sends a first measurement report to a core network device, where the first measurement report is used for the core network device to determine a second neighboring cell required by a positioning terminal device. And then before the core network device sends the positioning measurement request, the core network device can determine a second neighbor cell assisting in positioning measurement in the first neighbor cell according to the first measurement report.

Optionally, in a possible implementation manner of the second aspect, the sending, by the first access network device, the first measurement report to the core network device in the above step includes: and if the adjacent cell of the serving cell in the first measurement report changes, the first access network equipment sends the first measurement report to the core network equipment.

In this possible implementation manner, after receiving the measurement result, the first access network device makes a determination, and reports the measurement result to the core network device when the determination is changed, otherwise, does not report the measurement result, which may reduce message forwarding and reduce the processing complexity of the core network device.

Optionally, in a possible implementation manner of the second aspect, after the first access network device sends the first measurement report to the core network device in the above step, the method further includes: the first access network equipment receives a first measurement request sent by the core network equipment, wherein the first measurement request is used for indicating the first access network equipment to carry out TOA measurement on the time of arrival (TOA) of the terminal equipment.

In this possible implementation manner, the first access network device may perform TOA measurement according to the first measurement request, that is, measure an SRS time-frequency position where the terminal device is located, obtain a TOA measurement result, and send the TOA measurement result to the core network device. And then the core network device determines the location of the terminal device according to the TOA measurement result (for example, the location of the terminal device is determined by the distance difference and the hyperbola).

Optionally, in a possible implementation manner of the second aspect, before the first access network device receives the first measurement report sent by the terminal device in the above step, the method further includes: the method comprises the steps that first access network equipment receives a positioning information request sent by core network equipment, wherein the positioning information request is used for requesting a channel Sounding Reference Signal (SRS) resource occupied by positioning terminal equipment; and the first access network equipment transmits the SRS resource to the core network equipment.

A third aspect of the embodiments of the present application provides a communication apparatus, where the communication apparatus may be a core network device, or may be a component (for example, a processor, a chip, or a chip system) of the core network device, and the communication apparatus includes:

a receiving and sending unit, configured to acquire a channel sounding reference signal SRS resource occupied by a positioning terminal device;

the receiving and sending unit is further configured to receive a first measurement report sent by the first access network device, where the first measurement report includes a first signal quality corresponding to a serving cell where the terminal device is located, or the first measurement report includes the first signal quality and a second signal quality, where the second signal quality is a signal quality corresponding to a first neighboring cell, the first neighboring cell is a neighboring cell of the serving cell, and the serving cell is a cell served by the first access network device;

a processing unit, configured to determine a second neighboring cell according to a second signal quality if the first measurement report includes the first signal quality and the second signal quality, where the second neighboring cell is used to determine a location of the terminal device;

the transceiver unit is further configured to send a first measurement request to the first access network device, and send a second measurement request to the second access network device, where the second access network device is an access network device that provides a service for the second neighboring cell, the first measurement request is used to instruct the first access network device to perform TOA measurement on the terminal device, and the second measurement request is used to instruct the second access network device to perform TOA measurement on the terminal device.

Optionally, in a possible implementation manner of the third aspect, the processing unit in the communication device is specifically configured to determine, as the second neighboring cell, a neighboring cell in the first neighboring cell, where a value corresponding to the second signal quality is greater than or equal to the first threshold.

Optionally, in a possible implementation manner of the third aspect, the processing unit in the communication device is specifically configured to determine the second neighboring cell according to the second signal quality if the first measurement report includes the first signal quality and the second signal quality, and a difference between values of the first signal quality and the second signal quality is less than or equal to a second threshold.

Optionally, in a possible implementation manner of the third aspect, the transceiver unit in the communication apparatus is further configured to send a third measurement request to the first access network device if the first measurement report does not include the second signal quality and the serving cell includes a plurality of transmission reception points TRP, where the third measurement request is used to instruct the plurality of TRPs to perform TOA measurement on the terminal device.

Optionally, in a possible implementation manner of the third aspect, the transceiver unit in the communication apparatus is further configured to send a third measurement request to the first access network device if the first measurement report includes the first signal quality and the second signal quality, a difference between values of the first signal quality and the second signal quality is greater than a third threshold, and the serving cell includes a plurality of transmission reception points TRP, where the third measurement request is used to instruct the plurality of TRPs to perform TOA measurement on the terminal device.

A fourth aspect of the embodiments of the present application provides a communication apparatus, which may be a first access network device or a component (e.g., a processor, a chip, or a system-on-chip) of the first access network device, and the communication apparatus includes:

a receiving and sending unit, configured to receive a first measurement report sent by a terminal device, where the first measurement report includes a first signal quality corresponding to a serving cell where the terminal device is located, or the first measurement report includes the first signal quality and a second signal quality, where the second signal quality is a signal quality corresponding to a first neighboring cell, the first neighboring cell is a neighboring cell of the serving cell, and the serving cell is a cell served by the communication apparatus;

the receiving and sending unit is further configured to send a first measurement report to the core network device, where the first measurement report is used by the core network device to determine a second neighboring cell required by the positioning terminal device.

Optionally, in a possible implementation manner of the fourth aspect, the transceiver unit in the communication device is specifically configured to send the first measurement report to the core network device if a neighboring cell of the serving cell in the first measurement report changes.

Optionally, in a possible implementation manner of the fourth aspect, the transceiver unit in the communication apparatus is further configured to receive a first measurement request sent by a core network device, where the first measurement request is used to instruct the communication apparatus to perform time of arrival TOA measurement on the terminal device.

Optionally, in a possible implementation manner of the fourth aspect, the transceiver unit in the communication apparatus is further configured to receive a positioning information request sent by a core network device, where the positioning information request is used to request a channel sounding reference signal SRS resource occupied by a positioning terminal device;

and the transceiving unit is further used for transmitting the SRS resource to the core network equipment.

A fifth aspect of the embodiments of the present application provides a communication apparatus, where the communication apparatus may be a core network device, or may also be a component (e.g., a processor, a chip, or a chip system) of the core network device, and the communication apparatus executes the method in the first aspect or any possible implementation manner of the first aspect.

A sixth aspect of the embodiments of the present application provides a communication apparatus, which may be a first access network device or a component (e.g., a processor, a chip, or a chip system) of the first access network device, and the communication apparatus executes the method in any possible implementation manner of the foregoing second aspect or second aspect.

A seventh aspect of embodiments of the present application provides a computer-readable storage medium, which stores instructions that, when executed on a computer, cause the computer to perform the method of the foregoing first aspect or any possible implementation manner of the first aspect, the second aspect or any possible implementation manner of the second aspect.

An eighth aspect of embodiments of the present application provides a computer program product, which, when executed on a computer, causes the computer to execute the method in the foregoing first aspect or any possible implementation manner of the first aspect, or any possible implementation manner of the second aspect.

A ninth aspect of an embodiment of the present application provides a communication apparatus, including: a processor coupled to a memory for storing a program or instructions which, when executed by the processor, cause the apparatus to carry out the method of the first aspect or any possible implementation of the first aspect.

A tenth aspect of an embodiment of the present application provides a communication apparatus, including: a processor coupled to a memory, the memory being configured to store a program or instructions that, when executed by the processor, cause the apparatus to carry out the method of the second aspect or any possible implementation of the second aspect.

An eleventh aspect of embodiments of the present application provides a communication system, including the communication apparatus provided in the third, fifth, or ninth aspect, and the communication apparatus of the fourth, sixth, or tenth aspect.

For technical effects brought by any one of the third, fifth, seventh, eighth, and ninth aspects or any one of possible implementation manners, reference may be made to technical effects brought by the first aspect or different possible implementation manners of the first aspect, and details are not described here again.

For example, the technical effect brought by any one of the fourth, sixth, seventh, eighth, and tenth aspects or any one of the possible implementation manners of the fourth aspect may refer to the technical effect brought by the different possible implementation manners of the second aspect or the second aspect, and is not described herein again.

According to the technical scheme, the embodiment of the application has the following advantages: the method comprises the steps that core network equipment acquires a channel Sounding Reference Signal (SRS) resource occupied by positioning terminal equipment, the core network equipment receives a first measurement report sent by first access network equipment, and if the first measurement report comprises first signal quality and second signal quality, the core network equipment determines a second adjacent cell according to the second signal quality, and the second adjacent cell is used for determining the position of the terminal equipment; the core network device sends a first measurement request to the first access network device and sends a second measurement request to the second access network device, wherein the first measurement request and the second measurement request are used for indicating the first access network device and the second access network device to carry out TOA measurement on the time of arrival of the terminal device. Before the core network device sends the positioning measurement request, the core network device may determine, according to the first measurement report, a second neighboring cell that assists in positioning measurement in the first neighboring cell.

Drawings

Fig. 1 is a schematic diagram of a communication system in an embodiment of the present application;

fig. 2 is a schematic diagram of a positioning scenario in which the communication system according to the embodiment of the present application is applied;

FIG. 3 is a flow chart illustrating a communication method according to an embodiment of the present application;

fig. 4 is another schematic flow chart of the communication method in the embodiment of the present application;

fig. 5 is a schematic structural diagram of a communication device in an embodiment of the present application;

fig. 6 is another schematic structural diagram of a communication device in the embodiment of the present application;

fig. 7 is another schematic structural diagram of a communication device in the embodiment of the present application;

fig. 8 is another schematic structural diagram of the communication device in the embodiment of the present application.

Detailed Description

The following describes in detail the implementation principle, specific embodiments and corresponding beneficial effects of the technical solutions of the present application with reference to the drawings.

The present application may be applied to a protocol framework of various wireless communication systems, which may include, but are not limited to, General Packet Radio Service (GPRS), LTE system, New Radio (NR) system, future evolved communication system, such as a future network or a sixth generation communication system, and the like.

Fig. 1 is a schematic diagram of a communication system to which an embodiment of the present application is applicable. The communication system may include a terminal device 101, an access network device 102, and a core network device 103.

In the embodiment of the present application, only one terminal device 101, one access network device 102, and one core network device 103 are taken as an example for description, and in practical applications, there may be more terminal devices, access network devices, and core network devices, which is not limited herein.

Communication between the terminal equipment 101 and the access network equipment 102 is typically over the Uu air interface. The access network device 102 and the core network device 103 typically communicate via NG, N2, or S1 interfaces.

The access network device 102 in the embodiment of the present application may include CUs and DUs in some scenarios (e.g., NR scenarios). The CU and the DU are generally communicated through an F1 interface, and a Control Panel (CP) and a User Panel (UP) in the CU are communicated through an E1 interface, that is, the gNB-CU-CP and the gNB-CU-UP are communicated through an E1 interface.

The terminal device in this embodiment may be a User Equipment (UE), an access terminal, a UE unit, a UE station, a mobile station, a remote terminal, a mobile device, a UE terminal, a wireless communication device, a multimedia device, a streaming media device, a UE agent, or a UE apparatus. An access terminal may be a cellular telephone, a cordless telephone, a Session Initiation Protocol (SIP) phone, a Wireless Local Loop (WLL) station, a Personal Digital Assistant (PDA), a handheld device with wireless communication capabilities, 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 Public Land Mobile Network (PLMN) network, etc. The terminal device 101 may also be fixed or mobile.

The access network device in the embodiment of the present application is a device that communicates with a terminal device, and may be a base station, a relay station, or an access point. The base station may be a Base Transceiver Station (BTS) in a global system for mobile communications (GSM) or Code Division Multiple Access (CDMA) network, or may be a node base station (NB) in a Wideband Code Division Multiple Access (WCDMA), or may be an evolved node NB (eNB or eNodeB) in LTE, or may be a radio controller in a Cloud Radio Access Network (CRAN) scenario, or may be a base station device in a 5G network, for example: the access network device may also be an access network device in a PLMN network that is evolved in the future, and may also be a wearable device or a vehicle-mounted device.

The core network device in the embodiment of the application corresponds to different devices in different systems. For example, the 3G may correspond to a Serving GPRS Support Node (SGSN) and/or a Gateway GPRS Support Node (GGSN); the 4G may correspond to a Mobility Management Entity (MME) and/or a serving gateway (S-GW); in 5G, access and mobility management function (AMF), Session Management Function (SMF), or user plane management function (UPF) may be corresponded.

Fig. 2 is a diagram of a communication system for locating a UE in an NR system. The communication system may include core network devices (e.g., AMFs and LMFs), a first access network device, a second access network device, and a terminal device (e.g., a UE). Here, the following description is schematically made taking the access network device (the first access network device and the second access network device) as the gNB as an example.

The AMF is mainly responsible for managing all processes and message interaction of the UE in the positioning process.

The LMF is mainly responsible for managing the overall coordination of resources required by UE (user equipment) for initiating positioning in a network, issuing an adjacent cell for assisting measurement, calculating the position of the UE and the like.

The UE is mainly responsible for sending a Sounding Reference Signal (SRS) signal of a positioning measurement channel.

The gNB is mainly responsible for measuring the SRS signals sent by the UE and reporting the measurement results to the AMF.

It can be understood that fig. 2 is only an example of positioning the UE in the NR system, and in practical application, the method provided in the embodiment of the present application may also be applied to a scenario of positioning the UE in LTE and the like.

Currently, uplink time difference of arrival (UTDOA) is a method in wireless positioning, which requires at least three base stations to participate in measurement, and converts the time difference between two base stations into a distance difference, and a locus where a distance to a fixed point is constant is a hyperbolic curve according to a geometric principle, so that the position of a mobile terminal is calculated by intersecting the hyperbolic curves. Currently, the R16 protocol already gives the overall process of UTDOA positioning, but does not give a choice for neighbor selection when performing neighbor-assisted measurement.

From the perspective of the R16 protocol, all neighboring cells of the serving cell accessed by the mobile terminal need to make measurements on the terminal device. However, all neighboring cells measure the terminal device, which is too large for the resource consumption of the network side.

In order to solve the above problem, the present application provides a communication method, where before sending a positioning measurement request, a core network device may determine a neighboring cell assisting positioning measurement according to a measurement report. Compared with the prior art that all the adjacent cells measure the terminal equipment, the resource consumption of the access network equipment can be reduced.

The following describes a communication method in the embodiment of the present application with reference to the network framework of fig. 1:

referring to fig. 3, an embodiment of a communication method in the embodiment of the present application includes:

301. the core network equipment acquires SRS resources occupied by the positioning terminal equipment.

In this embodiment of the application, the core network device may obtain, through the first access network device, the SRS resource occupied by the terminal device requesting positioning, and may also obtain, through another device, the SRS resource occupied by the terminal device positioning, which is not specifically limited herein.

The SRS in the embodiment of the present application may be an SRS in R15, an SRS used for positioning in an R16 protocol, or an SRS in another protocol version, and is not limited herein.

Optionally, the process that the core network device obtains the SRS resource occupied by the positioning terminal device through the first access network device may specifically be that the core network device sends positioning request information (positioning information request) to the first access network device, where the positioning request information is used to request the SRS resource occupied by the positioning terminal device. The first access network device sends location information (location information response) to the core network device, where the location information response carries SRS resources occupied by the location terminal device.

302. The first access network device sends a first measurement report to the core network device. Correspondingly, the core network device receives the first measurement report sent by the first access network device.

Since the terminal device performs mobility management, the terminal device measures signal qualities of the serving cell and a neighboring cell (which may also be referred to as a first neighboring cell), and sends a measurement result (which may also be referred to as a measurement report) to the access network device corresponding to the cell. The access network device may forward the measurement result to the core network device, and the core network device may adjust the measurement request according to the measurement result.

The first access network device receives a first measurement report sent by the terminal device, and the first access network device may forward the first measurement report to the core network device, where the first measurement report includes a first signal quality corresponding to a serving cell where the terminal device is located, or the first measurement report includes the first signal quality and a second signal quality, the second signal quality is a signal quality corresponding to a first neighboring cell, the first neighboring cell is a neighboring cell of the serving cell, and the serving cell is a cell served by the first access network device.

In this embodiment, the signal quality (the first signal quality and/or the second signal quality) may be a Reference Signal Receiving Power (RSRP), the signal quality may also be a Reference Signal Receiving Quality (RSRQ), and in practical applications, the signal quality may also be other parameters, for example: the signal quality may be a signal to interference plus noise ratio (SINR), which is not limited herein.

Optionally, after the first access network device receives the positioning information request sent by the core network device, the first access network device receives a first measurement report sent by the terminal device, and forwards the first measurement report to the core network device, and the core network device may adjust a measurement request to be sent according to a measurement result, where the measurement request is used to instruct the access network device to perform time of arrival (TOA) measurement.

In the embodiment of the present application, an example is given only that the measurement request is used to instruct the access network device to perform TOA measurement, and it may be understood that the measurement request may also be used to instruct the access network device to perform angle of arrival measurement or RSRP measurement, which is not limited herein.

Optionally, the forwarding, by the first access network device, the first measurement report to the core network device may also be conditional, where the condition may be at least one of:

first, the neighbor cells in the first measurement report are changed compared to the neighbor cells in the last measurement report.

Optionally, after the first access network device receives the first measurement report sent by the terminal device, it may be determined whether an adjacent cell in the first measurement report changes compared with an adjacent cell in the last measurement report, and if so, the first access network device forwards the first measurement report to the core network device. If no change occurs, the first access network device may not send the first measurement report to the core network device.

Illustratively, the neighbor cells in the previous measurement report include A, B and C, but the neighbor cells in the latest measurement report (i.e., the first measurement report) include B, C and D, i.e., the neighbor cells change from ABC to BCD, and the neighbor cells change, the first access network device forwards the latest measurement report to the core network device.

Illustratively, the neighboring cells in the previous measurement report include A, B and C, and the neighboring cells in the latest measurement report (i.e., the first measurement report) include A, B and C, i.e., the neighboring cells do not change, the first access network device may not forward the latest measurement report to the core network device.

Second, the difference between the signal quality of the neighboring cell in the first measurement report and the signal quality of the neighboring cell in the last measurement report is greater than or equal to a certain threshold (i.e., the signal quality of the neighboring cell changes or changes greatly).

Alternatively, after the first access network device receives the first measurement report sent by the terminal device, it may determine a value of a difference between a value of the signal quality corresponding to the neighboring cell in the latest measurement report (i.e., the first measurement report) and a threshold value (i.e., determine whether the signal quality has changed or has changed significantly) and a value of a difference between the value of the signal quality corresponding to the neighboring cell in the last measurement report. And if the first measurement report changes or changes greatly, the first access network equipment forwards the first measurement report to the core network equipment. If no or a small change occurs, the first access network device may not send the first measurement report to the core network device. The threshold is set according to actual needs, and is not limited herein.

Illustratively, the value difference between the signal quality of the neighboring cell in the latest measurement report and the signal quality of the neighboring cell in the last measurement report is 20, and the threshold value is 10, that is, the signal quality of the neighboring cell in the latest measurement report is greatly changed from the signal quality of the neighboring cell in the last measurement report, the first access network device forwards the first measurement report to the core network device.

For example, the value difference between the signal quality of the neighboring cell in the latest measurement report and the signal quality of the neighboring cell in the last measurement report is 5, and the threshold is 10, that is, the signal quality of the neighboring cell in the latest measurement report does not change greatly from the signal quality of the neighboring cell in the last measurement report, the first access network device may not forward the first measurement report to the core network device.

Therefore, after the access network equipment receives the measurement result, the judgment is made, and when the judgment is changed, the measurement result is reported to the core network equipment, otherwise, the measurement result is not reported, so that the message forwarding can be reduced, and the processing complexity of the core network equipment can be reduced.

In this embodiment of the present application, after the core network device receives the first measurement report, according to a difference of the first measurement report, subsequent actions of the core network device are slightly different, which are described below:

firstly, the terminal equipment is located at the edge of a service cell.

303. And if the terminal equipment is positioned at the edge of the service cell, the core network equipment determines a new adjacent cell.

The condition that the core network device determines that the terminal device is located at the edge of the serving cell may be any one of the following:

1. the first measurement report includes a first signal quality and a second signal quality.

That is, the terminal device measures the first signal quality of the serving cell and the second signal quality of the first neighboring cell, the core network device may determine that the terminal device is located at the edge of the serving cell.

2. The first measurement report comprises a first signal quality and a second signal quality, and the numerical difference between the first signal quality and the second signal quality is less than or equal to a second threshold value.

That is, the terminal device measures the first signal quality of the serving cell and the second signal quality of the first neighboring cell, and the difference between the first signal quality and the second signal quality is not large, the core network device may determine that the terminal device is located at the edge of the serving cell.

The second threshold in the embodiment of the present application is set according to actual needs, and is not limited herein.

After the core network device determines that the terminal device is located at the edge of the serving cell, the core network device may determine a second neighboring cell according to the second signal quality, where the second neighboring cell is used to determine the location of the terminal device. That is, the core network device may determine, according to the first measurement report, a new neighboring cell (i.e., a second neighboring cell) required for positioning the terminal device, where the access network device corresponding to the second neighboring cell is the second access network device, that is, the second access network device is an access network device that provides a service for the second neighboring cell. And the number of the first adjacent cells is greater than or equal to the number of the second adjacent cells.

Optionally, the core network device may determine a new neighboring cell according to the value corresponding to the second signal quality in the first measurement report and the size of the first threshold. In other words, the core network device may determine, as a new neighboring cell, a neighboring cell in the first neighboring cell, where a value corresponding to the second signal quality is greater than or equal to the first threshold.

In this way, the core network device may determine a new neighboring cell for determining the location of the terminal device according to the first measurement report, and on one hand, may improve the accuracy of positioning the terminal device. On the other hand, compared with the prior art in which all the neighboring cells measure the terminal device, the resource consumption of the access network device can be reduced.

304. The core network device sends a first measurement request to the first access network device.

The core network device sends a first measurement request to a first access network device corresponding to the serving cell, where the first measurement request is used to instruct the first access network device to perform TOA measurement on the terminal device. If the first access network device corresponds to multiple cells or multiple TRPs (that is, the first access network device serves multiple cells or multiple TRPs), the first measurement request may include a cell identifier (cell ID) and/or a TRP ID corresponding to the first access network device.

305. And the core network equipment sends a second measurement request to the second access network equipment.

After the core network device determines the second neighboring cell, the core network device sends a second measurement request to a second access network device corresponding to the second neighboring cell, where the second measurement request is used to instruct the second access network device to perform TOA measurement on the terminal device. If the second access network device corresponds to multiple cells or multiple TRPs (i.e. the second access network device serves multiple cells or multiple TRPs), the second measurement request may include a cell identifier (cell ID) and/or a TRP ID corresponding to the second access network device.

Therefore, compared with the prior art that the neighbor cell is blindly selected based on the serving cell where the terminal device is located, the neighbor cell matched with the measured user position is unchanged after the neighbor cell is determined. Therefore, in the case where the user moves, positioning inaccuracy may be caused. According to the communication method, when the terminal equipment is located at the edge of the service cell, the core network equipment selects the appropriate second adjacent cell to perform positioning measurement on the terminal equipment, and therefore the accuracy of positioning the terminal equipment is improved.

And secondly, the terminal equipment is positioned in the center of the service cell.

306. And if the terminal equipment is positioned in the center of the service cell, the core network equipment sends a third measurement request to the first access network equipment.

The condition that the core network device judges that the terminal device is located in the center of the serving cell may be any one of the following:

1. the first measurement report includes the first signal quality but not the second signal quality.

That is, the terminal device only measures the first signal quality of the serving cell, and does not measure the second signal quality of the first neighboring cell, the core network device may determine that the terminal device is located in the center of the serving cell.

2. The first measurement report comprises a first signal quality and a second signal quality, and the numerical difference between the first signal quality and the second signal quality is greater than a third threshold value.

That is, the terminal device measures a first signal quality of the serving cell and a second signal quality of the first neighboring cell, and the first signal quality is much higher than the second signal quality, the core network device may determine that the terminal device is located in the center of the serving cell.

The third threshold in the embodiment of the present application is set according to actual needs, and is not limited herein. The third threshold may be equal to or different from the second threshold, and if the third threshold is not equal to the second threshold, the difference between the first signal quality and the second signal quality is greater than the third threshold, the following steps may be substituted: the difference between the first signal quality and the second signal quality is greater than or equal to a third threshold.

After the core network device determines that the terminal device is located in the center of the serving cell, the core network device may send a third measurement request only to the first access network device corresponding to the serving cell, and if the serving cell includes multiple Transmission Reception Points (TRPs), the third measurement request is used to instruct the multiple TRPs to perform TOA measurement on the terminal device. If the first access network device corresponds to multiple cells or multiple TRPs (i.e. the first access network device serves multiple cells or multiple TRPs), the third measurement request may include a cell identifier (cell ID) and/or a TRP ID corresponding to the first access network device. I.e. the first access network device may send the third measurement request to the plurality of TRPs after receiving the third measurement request.

Optionally, the first access network device and/or the second access network device may measure the SRS time-frequency position where the terminal device is located according to the measurement request (the first measurement request, the second measurement request, and/or the third measurement request), obtain a TOA measurement result, and send the TOA measurement result to the core network device. And then the core network device determines the location of the terminal device according to the TOA measurement result (for example, the location of the terminal device is determined by the distance difference and the hyperbola).

Therefore, compared with the prior art, when the terminal device is located at the center of the serving cell, the neighbor cell measurement is also triggered, and actually, the neighbor cell measurement is not needed, which causes the waste of user specification and SRS resource. According to the communication method, when the terminal equipment is located in the center of the serving cell, only the serving cell is measured, and the waste of SRS resources is reduced.

Optionally, if the terminal device moves (similar to the foregoing access network device determining whether to change, for example, the neighboring cell in the latest measurement report changes compared with the neighboring cell in the previous measurement report, or the neighboring cell does not change, but the signal quality becomes higher), the neighboring cell used for positioning measurement changes, and the core network device may send measurement update information (measurement update) to the access network device, where the measurement update information carries a new measurement neighboring cell (also may be referred to as a third neighboring cell). That is, the serving cell of the terminal device is not changed, but the terminal device moves to a different direction of the cell, resulting in a change of the preferred cell, and the change of the neighboring cell can be performed through the measurement update information.

In the embodiment of the present application, the steps 304 to 305 may be before the step 306, or may be after the step 306, and the timing relationship in the steps is not limited herein.

In this embodiment of the present application, in a possible implementation manner, the embodiment shown in fig. 3 may include steps 301 to 305. In another possible implementation manner, the embodiment shown in fig. 3 may include steps 301 to 306. In another possible implementation manner, the embodiment shown in fig. 3 may include step 301, step 302, and step 306.

In the embodiment of the present application, on one hand, the core network device may determine the neighboring cell required for positioning the terminal device according to the measurement report, and compared with the prior art in which all neighboring cells measure the terminal device, resource consumption of the access network device may be reduced. On the other hand, when the terminal equipment is at the edge of the serving cell, the neighbor cell measurement is triggered, and when the terminal equipment is at the center of the serving cell, the neighbor cell measurement is not triggered. The method can improve the precision of the positioning terminal equipment and reduce the resource consumption of the access network equipment.

While an embodiment of the communication method provided by the present application is described in detail above with reference to the network framework of fig. 1, the following network architecture (i.e., positioning scenario under NR system) of fig. 2 describes general steps of another embodiment of the communication method provided by the present application. The details of the flow shown in fig. 4 can be referred to the description of the embodiment shown in fig. 3.

Referring to fig. 4, one embodiment of the communication method in the embodiment of the present application includes 401 to 424, and another embodiment of the communication method can also be understood as an overall flow of UTDOA positioning.

In the following, an example in which the access network device is a gbnodeb and the terminal device is a UE is taken to schematically describe.

401. The external location service client sends a location request to a Gateway Mobile Location Center (GMLC), where the target UE is identified by a generic public user identity (GPSI) or a user permanent identifier (SUPI).

402. The GMLC calls a numm _ UECM _ Get service operation, carries GPSI or SUPI information of the target UE, and initiates a location request to a unified data management function (UDM) to which the target UE belongs.

403. The UDM returns the network address serving the AMF for the UE.

404. The GMLC initiates a location request to the AMF.

Optionally, if the UE is in a connection management IDLE (CM-IDLE) state, the AMF initiates a network-triggered service request procedure to establish a signaling connection with the UE.

405. The AMF selects an LMF serving the target location UE.

406. The AMF initiates a location request to the LMF.

407. And the LMF sends a Positioning Information Request to the AMF to Request to position the SRS resource occupied by the user.

408. And the AMF transparently transmits the locating Information Request to the gNodeB.

409. And the gNodeB replies a Response message Positioning Information Response to the AMF, wherein the Response message Positioning Information Response carries SRS resource Information occupied by the Positioning user.

410. The AMF passes through the Positioning Information Response to the LMF.

411. And the gNodeB receives a measurement report sent by the UE, wherein the measurement report comprises the first signal quality of the serving cell where the UE is located, or comprises the first signal quality and the second signal quality of a first adjacent cell of the serving cell.

412. Alternatively, the nodeb may determine whether the neighboring cell changes according to the measurement report received last time and the measurement report received this time.

Optionally, the nodeb determines whether the neighboring cell in the measurement report received this time changes from the neighboring cell in the measurement report received last time, or the nodeb determines whether the difference between the signal quality of the neighboring cell in the measurement report received this time and the signal quality of the neighboring cell in the measurement report received last time is greater than a threshold (i.e., determines whether the signal quality has changed or has changed significantly).

413. The gNodeB sends a measurement report to the AMF.

Optionally, if the neighboring cell changes, the signal quality corresponding to the neighboring cell changes, or the signal quality corresponding to the neighboring cell changes greatly, the nodeb sends a measurement report to the AMF.

414. The AMF passes the measurement report through to the LMF.

415. If the UE is in the cell center, the LMF sends third measurement request information (only aiming at the service base station) to the AMF.

If the UE is at the cell edge, the LMF may determine a new neighboring cell (i.e., a second neighboring cell) according to the measurement report, and the LMF sends the first measurement request information (for the serving base station) and the second measurement request information (for the new neighboring cell) to the AMF.

Optionally, the measurement request may include information such as positioning SRS configuration, measurement reporting mode, positioning measurement amount, and the like.

416. The AMF transparently transmits a measurement request message to the gdnodeb, and 1 or more of the gdnodebs may be involved in the TRP that needs to participate in the measurement, and the AMF may route the message to the corresponding gdnodeb, respectively.

Optionally, the AMF transparently transmits the third measurement request information to the serving base station.

Optionally, the AMF transparently transmits the first measurement request information to the serving base station, and the AMF transparently transmits the second measurement request information to the neighboring base station (the base station corresponding to the second neighboring cell).

417. After receiving the Measurement Request message, the serving base station and/or the neighboring base station measures the SRS time-frequency position where the UE is located according to the parameter indication therein, so as to obtain the TOA Measurement result.

418. And the gNodeB reports the TOA Measurement result and replies a Measurement Response message to the AMF, wherein the measured TOA is carried.

419. The AMF transparently transmits a Measurement Response message to the LMF.

420. The LMF analyzes the Measurement Response message to obtain a Measurement result TOA, and then performs position calculation to obtain position information.

421. And the LMF sends the obtained position information to the AMF.

422. And the AMF transmits the position information obtained by resolving to the GMLC.

423. And the GMLC sends the position information obtained by resolving to an external positioning service client side which initiates a positioning request.

The flow of steps 411 to 417 in this embodiment is similar to the flow of steps 302 to 306 in the embodiment corresponding to fig. 3, and the detailed description refers to the embodiment corresponding to fig. 3.

Steps 411 to 416 in this embodiment of the application may be repeatedly executed, optionally, in the process of moving the terminal device, after step 416, the measurement report sent by the base station may be received, that is, after step 416, step 411 is executed, and a timing relationship in the above steps is not limited herein.

In this embodiment, in the UTDOA positioning procedure, an interaction message between the base station and the core network device is added, after receiving a neighbor cell signal measurement report reported by the UE, the gNB side forwards the measurement report to the core network device, and the LMF may select a neighbor cell that needs to perform assistance measurement according to the measurement report. On one hand, the LMF can determine the adjacent cell required by the UE positioning according to the measurement report, and compared with the prior art that all the adjacent cells measure the terminal equipment, the LMF can reduce the resource consumption of the access network equipment. On the other hand, when the UE is at the edge of the serving cell, the neighbor cell measurement is triggered, and when the UE is at the center of the serving cell, the neighbor cell measurement is not triggered. The method and the device can improve the precision of positioning the UE and reduce the resource consumption of the access network equipment.

Corresponding to the method provided by the above method embodiment, the embodiment of the present application further provides a corresponding apparatus, which includes a module for executing the above embodiment. The module may be software, hardware, or a combination of software and hardware.

Referring to fig. 5, in an embodiment of a communication apparatus 500 in the embodiment of the present application, the communication apparatus 500 may be a core network device, or may be a component (e.g., a processor, a chip, or a chip system) of the core network device, where the communication apparatus 500 includes:

a transceiving unit 501, configured to acquire a channel sounding reference signal SRS resource occupied by a positioning terminal device;

the transceiving unit 501 is further configured to receive a first measurement report sent by a first access network device, where the first measurement report includes a first signal quality corresponding to a serving cell where the terminal device is located, or the first measurement report includes the first signal quality and a second signal quality, where the second signal quality is a signal quality corresponding to a first neighboring cell, the first neighboring cell is a neighboring cell of the serving cell, and the serving cell is a cell served by the first access network device;

a processing unit 502, configured to determine a second neighboring cell according to a second signal quality if the first measurement report includes the first signal quality and the second signal quality, where the second neighboring cell is used to determine a location of the terminal device;

the transceiving unit 501 is further configured to send a first measurement request to a first access network device, and send a second measurement request to a second access network device, where the second access network device is an access network device that provides a service for a second neighboring cell, the first measurement request is used to instruct the first access network device to perform TOA measurement on the terminal device, and the second measurement request is used to instruct the second access network device to perform TOA measurement on the terminal device.

Optionally, the processing unit 502 is specifically configured to determine, as the second neighboring cell, a neighboring cell in the first neighboring cell, where a value corresponding to the second signal quality is greater than or equal to the first threshold.

Optionally, the processing unit 502 is specifically configured to determine the second neighboring cell according to the second signal quality if the first measurement report includes the first signal quality and the second signal quality, and a difference between values of the first signal quality and the second signal quality is less than or equal to a second threshold.

Optionally, the transceiver unit 501 is further configured to send a third measurement request to the first access network device if the first measurement report does not include the second signal quality and the serving cell includes a plurality of transmission reception points TRP, where the third measurement request is used to instruct the plurality of TRPs to perform TOA measurement on the terminal device.

Optionally, the transceiver unit 501 is further configured to send a third measurement request to the first access network device if the first measurement report includes the first signal quality and the second signal quality, a numerical difference between the first signal quality and the second signal quality is greater than a third threshold, and the serving cell includes multiple transmission reception points TRP, where the third measurement request is used to instruct the multiple TRPs to perform TOA measurement on the terminal device.

In this embodiment, operations performed by each unit in the communication apparatus are similar to those performed by the core network device in the embodiments shown in fig. 3 and fig. 4, and are not described again here.

In this embodiment, before the transceiver unit 501 sends the positioning measurement request, the processing unit 502 may determine, according to the first measurement report, a second neighboring cell in the first neighboring cell, where the second neighboring cell assists in positioning measurement.

Referring to fig. 6, in an embodiment of a communication apparatus 600 in this application, the communication apparatus 600 may be a first access network device, or may be a component (e.g., a processor, a chip, or a system-on-chip) of the first access network device, where the communication apparatus 600 includes:

a transceiver 601, configured to receive a first measurement report sent by a terminal device, where the first measurement report includes a first signal quality corresponding to a serving cell where the terminal device is located, or the first measurement report includes the first signal quality and a second signal quality, where the second signal quality is a signal quality corresponding to a first neighboring cell, the first neighboring cell is a neighboring cell of the serving cell, and the serving cell is a cell served by a communication apparatus;

the transceiver 601 is further configured to send a first measurement report to the core network device, where the first measurement report is used by the core network device to determine a second neighboring cell required by the positioning terminal device.

Optionally, the transceiver 601 is specifically configured to send the first measurement report to the core network device if a neighboring cell of the serving cell in the first measurement report changes.

Optionally, the transceiver 601 is further configured to receive a first measurement request sent by the core network device, where the first measurement request is used to instruct the communication apparatus to perform time of arrival, TOA, measurement on the terminal device.

Optionally, the transceiver 601 is further configured to receive a positioning information request sent by the core network device, where the positioning information request is used to request a channel sounding reference signal SRS resource occupied by the positioning terminal device;

the transceiver 601 is further configured to transmit the SRS resource to the core network device.

In this embodiment, operations performed by each unit in the communication apparatus are similar to those performed by the first access network device in the embodiments shown in fig. 3 and fig. 4, and are not described again here.

In this embodiment, the transceiver 601 sends a first measurement report to the core network device, where the first measurement report is used for the core network device to determine a second neighboring cell required by the positioning terminal device. And then before the core network device sends the positioning measurement request, the core network device can determine a second neighboring cell assisting the positioning measurement in the first neighboring cell according to the first measurement report.

Referring to fig. 7, an embodiment of the present application provides another communication apparatus 700, where the communication apparatus 700 may be a core network device or a component (e.g., a processor, a chip, or a system-on-a-chip) of the core network device, the communication apparatus 700 may be suitable for a dual-homing dual-active scenario of ring networking or delta-square networking, the communication apparatus 700 may include, but is not limited to, a processor 701, a communication port 702, a memory 703, and a bus 704, and in the embodiment of the present application, the processor 701 is configured to control an operation of the communication apparatus 700.

Further, the processor 701 may be a central processing unit, a general purpose processor, a digital signal processor, an application specific integrated circuit, a field programmable gate array or other programmable logic device, transistor logic, a hardware component, or any combination thereof. Which may implement or perform the various illustrative logical blocks, modules, and circuits described in connection with the disclosure. The processor may also be a combination of computing functions, e.g., comprising one or more microprocessors, a digital signal processor and a microprocessor, or the like. 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.

It should be noted that the communication apparatus shown in fig. 7 may be specifically configured to implement the functions of the steps executed by the core network device in the method embodiments corresponding to fig. 3 and fig. 4, and implement the technical effect corresponding to the core network device, and the specific implementation manner of the communication apparatus shown in fig. 7 may refer to descriptions in each of the method embodiments corresponding to fig. 3 and fig. 4, and is not described in detail here.

Referring to fig. 8, a schematic structural diagram of an access network device in the foregoing embodiment is provided in this application, where the communication device may specifically be the first access network device in the foregoing embodiment, and the structure of the communication device may refer to the structure shown in fig. 8.

The communication device includes at least one processor 811, at least one memory 812, at least one transceiver 813, at least one network interface 814, and one or more antennas 815. The processor 811, the memory 812, the transceiver 813 and the network interface 814 are connected, for example, by a bus, and in this embodiment, the connection may include various interfaces, transmission lines or buses, which is not limited in this embodiment. The antenna 815 is connected to the transceiver 813. The network interface 814 is used to connect the communication apparatus to other communication devices via communication links, for example, the network interface 814 may include a network interface between the communication apparatus and a core network device, such as an S1 interface, and the network interface may include a network interface between the communication apparatus and other network devices (such as other access network devices or core network devices), such as an X2 or Xn interface.

The processor 811 is mainly used for processing communication protocols and communication data, controlling the entire communication apparatus, executing software programs, and processing data of the software programs, for example, for supporting the communication apparatus to perform the actions described in the embodiments. The communication device may include a baseband processor for processing communication protocols and communication data, and a central processing unit for controlling the entire terminal device, executing software programs, and processing data of the software programs. The processor 811 in fig. 8 may integrate the functions of the baseband processor and the central processing unit, and those skilled in the art will understand that the baseband processor and the central processing unit may be independent processors, and are interconnected by a bus or the like. Those skilled in the art will appreciate that the terminal device may include a plurality of baseband processors to accommodate different network formats, the terminal device may include a plurality of central processors to enhance its processing capability, and various components of the terminal device may be connected by various buses. The baseband processor can also be expressed as a baseband processing circuit or a baseband processing chip. The central processing unit can also be expressed as a central processing circuit or a central processing chip. The function of processing the communication protocol and the communication data may be built in the processor, or may be stored in the memory in the form of a software program, and the processor executes the software program to realize the baseband processing function.

The memory is used primarily for storing software programs and data. The memory 812 may be separate and coupled to the processor 811. Alternatively, the memory 812 may be integrated with the processor 811, for example, within a chip. The memory 812 can store program codes for executing the technical solution of the embodiment of the present application, and the processor 811 controls the execution of the program codes, and various executed computer program codes can also be regarded as drivers of the processor 811.

Fig. 8 shows only one memory and one processor. In an actual terminal device, there may be multiple processors and multiple memories. The memory may also be referred to as a storage medium or a storage device, etc. The memory may be a memory element on the same chip as the processor, that is, an on-chip memory element, or a separate memory element, which is not limited in this embodiment.

A transceiver 813 may be used to support the reception or transmission of radio frequency signals between the communication device and the terminal, and the transceiver 813 may be connected to an antenna 815. The transceiver 813 includes a transmitter Tx and a receiver Rx. Specifically, one or more antennas 815 may receive radio frequency signals, and the receiver Rx of the transceiver 813 is configured to receive the radio frequency signals from the antennas, convert the radio frequency signals into digital baseband signals or digital intermediate frequency signals, and provide the digital baseband signals or digital intermediate frequency signals to the processor 811, so that the processor 811 performs further processing on the digital baseband signals or digital intermediate frequency signals, such as demodulation processing and decoding processing. In addition, the transmitter Tx in the transceiver 813 is also used for receiving a modulated digital baseband signal or a digital intermediate frequency signal from the processor 811, converting the modulated digital baseband signal or the digital intermediate frequency signal into a radio frequency signal, and transmitting the radio frequency signal through the one or more antennas 815. Specifically, the receiver Rx may selectively perform one or more stages of down-mixing and analog-to-digital conversion processes on the rf signal to obtain a digital baseband signal or a digital intermediate frequency signal, wherein the order of the down-mixing and analog-to-digital conversion processes is adjustable. The transmitter Tx may selectively perform one or more stages of up-mixing and digital-to-analog conversion processes on the modulated digital baseband signal or the modulated digital intermediate frequency signal to obtain the rf signal, where the order of the up-mixing and the digital-to-analog conversion processes is adjustable. The digital baseband signal and the digital intermediate frequency signal may be collectively referred to as a digital signal.

A transceiver may also be referred to as a transceiver unit, transceiver, transceiving means, etc. Optionally, a device for implementing a receiving function in the transceiver unit may be regarded as a receiving unit, and a device for implementing a sending function in the transceiver unit may be regarded as a sending unit, that is, the transceiver unit includes a receiving unit and a sending unit, the receiving unit may also be referred to as a receiver, an input port, a receiving circuit, and the like, and the sending unit may be referred to as a transmitter, a sending circuit, and the like.

It should be noted that the communication apparatus shown in fig. 8 may be specifically configured to implement the steps implemented by the first access network device in the method embodiments corresponding to fig. 3 and fig. 4, and implement the technical effect corresponding to the first access network device, and the specific implementation manner of the communication apparatus shown in fig. 8 may refer to the descriptions in the method embodiments corresponding to fig. 3 and fig. 4, and is not described in detail here.

It can be clearly understood by those skilled in the art that, for convenience and simplicity 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 manners. 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 integrated unit can be realized in a form of hardware, and can also be realized in a form of a software functional unit.

The integrated unit, if implemented in the form of a software functional unit 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 may be substantially implemented or contributed to by the prior art, or all or part of the technical solution may be embodied in a software product, which is stored in a storage medium and includes 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.

Claims

1. A method of communication, the method comprising:

the method comprises the steps that core network equipment obtains a channel Sounding Reference Signal (SRS) resource occupied by positioning terminal equipment;

the core network device receives a first measurement report sent by the first access network device, where the first measurement report includes a first signal quality corresponding to a serving cell where the terminal device is located, or the first measurement report includes the first signal quality and a second signal quality, where the second signal quality is a signal quality corresponding to a first neighboring cell, the first neighboring cell is a neighboring cell of the serving cell, and the serving cell is a cell served by the first access network device;

if the first measurement report includes the first signal quality and the second signal quality, the core network device determines a second neighboring cell according to the second signal quality, where the second neighboring cell is used to determine the location of the terminal device;

the core network device sends a first measurement request to the first access network device, and sends a second measurement request to a second access network device, the second access network device is an access network device providing service for the second neighboring cell, the first measurement request is used for indicating the first access network device to perform time of arrival (TOA) measurement on the terminal device, and the second measurement request is used for indicating the second access network device to perform the TOA measurement on the terminal device.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein the core network device determining the second neighboring cell according to the second signal quality comprises:

and the core network equipment determines the adjacent cell of which the value corresponding to the second signal quality in the first adjacent cell is greater than or equal to a first threshold value as the second adjacent cell.

3. The method according to claim 1 or 2, wherein if the first measurement report includes the first signal quality and the second signal quality, the determining, by the core network device, a second neighboring cell according to the second signal quality comprises:

if the first measurement report includes the first signal quality and the second signal quality, and a difference between values of the first signal quality and the second signal quality is less than or equal to a second threshold, the core network device determines the second neighboring cell according to the second signal quality.

4. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 3, further comprising:

if the first measurement report does not include the second signal quality and the serving cell includes a plurality of transmission reception points TRP, the core network device sends a third measurement request to the first access network device, where the third measurement request is used to instruct the plurality of TRPs to perform the TOA measurement on the terminal device.

5. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 3, further comprising:

if the first measurement report includes the first signal quality and the second signal quality, and a difference between the first signal quality and the second signal quality is greater than a third threshold, and the serving cell includes a plurality of transmission reception points TRP, the core network device sends a third measurement request to the first access network device, where the third measurement request is used to instruct the plurality of TRPs to perform the TOA measurement on the terminal device.

6. A method of communication, the method comprising:

a first access network device receives a first measurement report sent by a terminal device, wherein the first measurement report comprises a first signal quality corresponding to a serving cell where the terminal device is located, or the first measurement report comprises the first signal quality and a second signal quality, the second signal quality is the signal quality corresponding to a first adjacent cell, the first adjacent cell is an adjacent cell of the serving cell, and the serving cell is a cell served by the first access network device;

and the first access network equipment sends the first measurement report to core network equipment, wherein the first measurement report is used for the core network equipment to determine a second adjacent cell required by positioning the terminal equipment.

7. The method of claim 6, wherein the first access network device sending the first measurement report to a core network device comprises:

and if the neighbor cell of the serving cell in the first measurement report changes, the first access network device sends the first measurement report to a core network device.

8. The method of claim 6 or 7, wherein after the first access network device sends the first measurement report to a core network device, the method further comprises:

the first access network device receives a first measurement request sent by the core network device, where the first measurement request is used to instruct the first access network device to perform time of arrival (TOA) measurement on the terminal device.

9. The method according to any of claims 6 to 8, wherein before the first access network device receives the first measurement report sent by the terminal device, the method further comprises:

the first access network equipment receives a positioning information request sent by the core network equipment, wherein the positioning information request is used for requesting a channel Sounding Reference Signal (SRS) resource occupied by positioning terminal equipment;

and the first access network equipment sends the SRS resource to the core network equipment.

10. A communication apparatus, characterized in that the communication apparatus comprises:

the transceiver unit is further configured to receive a first measurement report sent by the first access network device, where the first measurement report includes a first signal quality corresponding to a serving cell where the terminal device is located, or the first measurement report includes the first signal quality and a second signal quality, where the second signal quality is a signal quality corresponding to a first neighboring cell, the first neighboring cell is a neighboring cell of the serving cell, and the serving cell is a cell served by the first access network device;

a processing unit, configured to determine a second neighboring cell according to the second signal quality if the first measurement report includes the first signal quality and the second signal quality, where the second neighboring cell is used to determine a location of the terminal device;

the transceiver unit is further configured to send a first measurement request to the first access network device, and send a second measurement request to a second access network device, where the second access network device is an access network device that provides a service for the second neighboring cell, the first measurement request is used to instruct the first access network device to perform TOA measurement on the terminal device, and the second measurement request is used to instruct the second access network device to perform the TOA measurement on the terminal device.

11. The communication device of claim 10,

the processing unit is specifically configured to determine, as the second neighboring cell, a neighboring cell in the first neighboring cell, where a value corresponding to the second signal quality is greater than or equal to a first threshold.

12. The communication device according to claim 10 or 11,

the processing unit is specifically configured to determine the second neighboring cell according to the second signal quality if the first measurement report includes the first signal quality and the second signal quality, and a difference between values of the first signal quality and the second signal quality is less than or equal to a second threshold.

13. The communication device according to any one of claims 10 to 12,

the transceiver unit is further configured to send a third measurement request to the first access network device if the first measurement report does not include the second signal quality and the serving cell includes a plurality of transmission reception points TRP, where the third measurement request is used to instruct the plurality of TRPs to perform the TOA measurement on the terminal device.

14. The communication device according to any of claims 10 to 12, wherein the method further comprises:

the transceiver unit is further configured to send a third measurement request to the first access network device if the first measurement report includes the first signal quality and the second signal quality, a difference between values of the first signal quality and the second signal quality is greater than a third threshold, and the serving cell includes a plurality of transmission reception points TRP, where the third measurement request is used to instruct the plurality of TRPs to perform the TOA measurement on the terminal device.

15. A communication apparatus, characterized in that the communication apparatus comprises:

a transceiver unit, configured to receive a first measurement report sent by a terminal device, where the first measurement report includes a first signal quality corresponding to a serving cell where the terminal device is located, or the first measurement report includes the first signal quality and a second signal quality, where the second signal quality is a signal quality corresponding to a first neighboring cell, the first neighboring cell is a neighboring cell of the serving cell, and the serving cell is a cell served by the communication apparatus;

the transceiver unit is further configured to send the first measurement report to a core network device, where the first measurement report is used for the core network device to determine a second neighboring cell required for positioning the terminal device.

16. The communication device of claim 15,

the transceiver unit is specifically configured to send the first measurement report to a core network device if the neighboring cell of the serving cell in the first measurement report changes.

17. The communication device according to claim 15 or 16,

the transceiver unit is further configured to receive a first measurement request sent by the core network device, where the first measurement request is used to instruct the communication apparatus to perform time of arrival (TOA) measurement on the terminal device.

18. The communication device according to any one of claims 15 to 17,

the receiving and sending unit is further configured to receive a positioning information request sent by the core network device, where the positioning information request is used to request a channel Sounding Reference Signal (SRS) resource occupied by a positioning terminal device;

the transceiver unit is further configured to send the SRS resource to the core network device.

19. A communications apparatus comprising a processor coupled to a memory, the memory configured to store a computer program or instructions, the processor configured to execute the computer program or instructions in the memory such that the method of any of claims 1 to 5 is performed.

20. A communications apparatus comprising a processor coupled to a memory, the memory for storing a computer program or instructions, the processor for executing the computer program or instructions in the memory such that the method of any of claims 6 to 9 is performed.

21. A communication system, comprising: communication device according to claim 19, and/or communication device according to claim 20.

22. A chip comprising a processor and a communication interface, the communication interface being coupled to the processor, the processor being configured to execute a computer program or instructions such that the method of any of claims 1 to 5 is performed or such that the method of any of claims 6 to 9 is performed.

23. A computer storage medium having stored therein instructions that, when executed on a computer, cause the computer to perform the method of any of claims 1 to 5 or cause the computer to perform the method of any of claims 6 to 9.