CN117242838A

CN117242838A - Method, device, equipment and storage medium for configuring uplink positioning reference signals

Info

Publication number: CN117242838A
Application number: CN202280001194.XA
Authority: CN
Inventors: 李小龙
Original assignee: Beijing Xiaomi Mobile Software Co Ltd
Current assignee: Beijing Xiaomi Mobile Software Co Ltd
Priority date: 2022-04-15
Filing date: 2022-04-15
Publication date: 2023-12-15
Also published as: WO2023197322A1

Abstract

The application discloses a configuration method, a device, equipment and a storage medium of an uplink positioning reference signal, and relates to the field of mobile communication. The method comprises the following steps: transmitting a reservation message to a second base station; the reservation message is used for requesting the second base station to reserve the configuration of the uplink positioning reference signal. The first base station requests the second base station to reserve the uplink positioning reference signal configuration, so that when the terminal equipment which uses the uplink positioning reference signal configuration to send the uplink positioning reference signal reselects to the cell of the second base station, the uplink positioning reference signal configuration can still be continuously used, frequent information interaction with network equipment is avoided, and the positioning time delay and the power consumption of the terminal equipment can be reduced.

Description

Method, device, equipment and storage medium for configuring uplink positioning reference signals

Technical Field

The present application relates to the field of mobile communications, and in particular, to a method, an apparatus, a device, and a storage medium for configuring a reference signal.

Background

The fifth generation mobile communication technology (5th Generation Mobile Communication Technology,5G) introduces a plurality of positioning technologies for positioning the terminal device.

For the uplink positioning technology and the uplink and downlink hybrid positioning technology, the network equipment is required to configure an uplink positioning reference signal for the terminal equipment, so that the terminal equipment sends the uplink positioning reference signal to the network equipment according to the uplink positioning reference signal configuration, and the positioning of the terminal equipment is realized.

Further discussion of the manner in which uplink positioning reference signals are configured to terminal devices is required.

Disclosure of Invention

The embodiment of the application provides a configuration method, a device, equipment and a storage medium of an uplink positioning reference signal. The technical scheme is as follows:

according to an aspect of the present application, there is provided a method for configuring an uplink positioning reference signal, the method being performed by a first base station, the method comprising:

transmitting a reservation message to a second base station;

the reservation message is used for requesting the second base station to reserve uplink positioning reference signal configuration.

According to another aspect of the present application, there is provided a method for configuring an uplink positioning reference signal, the method being performed by a second base station, the method comprising:

receiving a reservation message sent by a first base station;

According to another aspect of the present application, there is provided a method for configuring an uplink positioning reference signal, the method being performed by a positioning management function LMF network element, the method comprising:

instructing the first base station to send a reservation message to the second base station;

According to another aspect of the present application, there is provided a method for configuring an uplink positioning reference signal, the method being performed by a terminal device, the method comprising:

receiving at least one of the following information sent by a first base station:

configuring an uplink positioning reference signal;

an effective time period of uplink positioning reference signal configuration;

an effective range of uplink positioning reference signal configuration;

the effective range is determined by the first base station according to a cell configured by successfully reserving the uplink positioning reference signal, information sent by the first base station to the terminal equipment is determined by the first base station according to a response message sent by the second base station, the response message is sent by the second base station in response to a reservation message sent by the first base station, and the reservation message is used for requesting the second base station to reserve the uplink positioning reference signal configuration.

According to another aspect of the present application, there is provided an apparatus for configuring an uplink positioning reference signal, the apparatus including:

a sending module, configured to send a reservation message to a second base station;

the receiving module is used for receiving the reserved message sent by the first base station;

a sending module, configured to instruct a first base station to send a reservation message to a second base station;

the receiving module is used for receiving at least one of the following information sent by the first base station:

configuring an uplink positioning reference signal;

An effective time period of uplink positioning reference signal configuration;

an effective range of uplink positioning reference signal configuration;

According to another aspect of the present application, there is provided a base station comprising: a processor; a transceiver coupled to the processor; a memory for storing executable instructions of the processor; wherein the processor is configured to load and execute the executable instructions to implement the method of configuring uplink positioning reference signals as described in the above aspect.

According to another aspect of the present application, there is provided a network device comprising: a processor; a transceiver coupled to the processor; a memory for storing executable instructions of the processor; wherein the processor is configured to load and execute the executable instructions to implement the method of configuring uplink positioning reference signals as described in the above aspect.

According to another aspect of the present application, there is provided a terminal device including: a processor; a transceiver coupled to the processor; a memory for storing executable instructions of the processor; wherein the processor is configured to load and execute the executable instructions to implement the method of configuring uplink positioning reference signals as described in the above aspect.

According to another aspect of the present application, there is provided a computer readable storage medium having stored therein executable instructions loaded and executed by a processor to implement the method of configuring an uplink positioning reference signal as described in the above aspect.

According to another aspect of the present application, there is provided a chip comprising programmable logic circuits and/or program instructions for implementing the method of configuring an uplink positioning reference signal according to the above aspect when the chip is run on a computer device.

According to another aspect of the present application, there is provided a computer program product or computer program comprising computer instructions stored in a computer readable storage medium, from which a processor reads and executes the computer instructions, causing a computer device to perform the method of configuring an uplink positioning reference signal as described in the above aspect.

The technical scheme provided by the application at least comprises the following beneficial effects:

the first base station requests the second base station to reserve the uplink positioning reference signal configuration, so that when the terminal equipment which uses the uplink positioning reference signal configuration to send the uplink positioning reference signal reselects to the cell of the second base station, the uplink positioning reference signal configuration can still be continuously used, frequent information interaction with network equipment is avoided, and the positioning time delay and the power consumption of the terminal equipment can be reduced.

Drawings

In order to more clearly illustrate the technical solutions of the embodiments of the present application, the drawings required for the description of the embodiments will be briefly described below, and it is apparent that the drawings in the following description are only some embodiments of the present application, and other drawings may be obtained according to these drawings without inventive effort for a person skilled in the art.

FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram of a system architecture of a communication system provided by an exemplary embodiment of the present application;

fig. 2 is a flowchart of a method for configuring an uplink positioning reference signal according to an exemplary embodiment of the present application;

fig. 3 is a flowchart of a method for configuring an uplink positioning reference signal according to an exemplary embodiment of the present application;

Fig. 4 is a flowchart of a method for configuring an uplink positioning reference signal according to an exemplary embodiment of the present application;

fig. 5 is a flowchart of a method for configuring an uplink positioning reference signal according to an exemplary embodiment of the present application;

fig. 6 is a flowchart of a method for configuring an uplink positioning reference signal according to an exemplary embodiment of the present application;

fig. 7 is a flowchart of a method for configuring an uplink positioning reference signal according to an exemplary embodiment of the present application;

fig. 8 is a flowchart of a method for configuring an uplink positioning reference signal according to an exemplary embodiment of the present application;

fig. 9 is a flowchart of a method for configuring an uplink positioning reference signal according to an exemplary embodiment of the present application;

fig. 10 is a schematic diagram of a cell provided by an exemplary embodiment of the present application;

fig. 11 is a block diagram of a configuration apparatus for uplink positioning reference signals according to an exemplary embodiment of the present application;

fig. 12 is a block diagram of a configuration apparatus for uplink positioning reference signals according to an exemplary embodiment of the present application;

fig. 13 is a block diagram of a configuration apparatus for uplink positioning reference signals according to an exemplary embodiment of the present application;

fig. 14 is a block diagram of a configuration apparatus for uplink positioning reference signals according to an exemplary embodiment of the present application;

Fig. 15 is a schematic structural diagram of a communication device according to an exemplary embodiment of the present application.

Detailed Description

For the purpose of making the objects, technical solutions and advantages of the present application more apparent, the embodiments of the present application will be described in further detail with reference to the accompanying drawings.

Reference will now be made in detail to exemplary embodiments, examples of which are illustrated in the accompanying drawings. When the following description refers to the accompanying drawings, the same numbers in different drawings refer to the same or similar elements, unless otherwise indicated. The implementations described in the following exemplary examples do not represent all implementations consistent with the application. Rather, they are merely examples of apparatus and methods consistent with aspects of the application as detailed in the accompanying claims.

The terminology used in the present disclosure is for the purpose of describing particular embodiments only and is not intended to be limiting of the disclosure. As used in this disclosure and the appended claims, the singular forms "a," "an," and "the" are intended to include the plural forms as well, unless the context clearly indicates otherwise. It should also be understood that the term "and/or" as used herein refers to and encompasses any or all possible combinations of one or more of the associated listed items.

It should be understood that although the terms first, second, third, etc. may be used in this disclosure to describe various information, these information should not be limited to these terms. These terms are only used to distinguish one type of information from another. For example, first information may also be referred to as second information, and similarly, second information may also be referred to as first information, without departing from the scope of the present disclosure. The word "if" as used herein may be interpreted as "at … …" or "at … …" or "responsive to a determination", depending on the context.

The fifth generation mobile communication technology (5th Generation Mobile Communication Technology,5G) introduces a plurality of positioning technologies for positioning the terminal device. For the uplink positioning technology and the uplink and downlink hybrid positioning technology, an uplink positioning reference signal sent by a terminal device to a network device is required to be used for positioning the terminal device. The uplink positioning reference signal is a sounding reference signal (Sounding Reference Signal, SRS), and the network device needs to configure the uplink positioning reference signal for the terminal device first to receive the uplink positioning reference signal sent by the terminal device. The network device can configure the uplink positioning reference signal for the terminal device by sending the uplink positioning reference signal configuration to the terminal device. The uplink positioning reference signal configuration includes time-frequency resources used when the terminal device transmits the uplink positioning reference signal.

In the NR of Release 16, R16, the following method for terminal equipment positioning based on SRS is introduced:

enhanced cell identity (Identity Document, ID) positioning method;

uplink arrival time difference positioning method;

multi-cell round trip time positioning method;

uplink angular of arrival positioning method.

In the above method, an uplink positioning reference signal needs to be used. In R16, when the terminal device is located by the above method, the terminal device needs to be in a radio resource control (Radio Resource Control, RRC) connected state, which results in a large power consumption overhead of the terminal device.

In the NR of R17, positioning of terminal equipment in an RRC inactive (inactive) state is supported. The terminal device may send an uplink positioning reference signal to the network device when in the RRC inactive state. Specifically, when the network device transitions the terminal device from the RRC connected state to the RRC inactive state, the network device configures an uplink positioning reference signal for the terminal device through an RRC release (release) message. The detailed configuration corresponding to the uplink positioning reference signal is contained in the positioning reference signal radio resource control inactive state configuration (srs-PosRRC-inactive config) of the RRC release message, and in the case that the terminal device performs cell reselection, the terminal device needs to release the uplink positioning reference signal configured by the network device, i.e. release the uplink positioning reference signal configuration. For example, after cell reselection, the terminal device deletes the locally stored uplink positioning reference signal configuration.

When the terminal equipment in the RRC inactive state performs cell reselection, the network equipment releases the uplink positioning reference signal configured for the terminal equipment, so that the uplink positioning reference signal needs to be reconfigured for the terminal equipment. At this time, the terminal device may interact with the network device, so as to obtain the configuration of the uplink positioning reference signal. In the above case, if the moving speed of the terminal device at this time is high (for example, the internet of vehicles device), the terminal device may frequently perform cell reselection, so that the terminal device may frequently interact with the network device to obtain the uplink positioning reference signal configuration, which may increase the power consumption of the terminal device.

In the related art, after cell reselection occurs, the terminal device in the RRC non-connected state (including the RRC non-active state and the RRC idle state) releases the stored uplink positioning reference signal configuration. In order to solve the potential problems caused by the scheme, the scheme that the uplink positioning reference signal configured for the terminal equipment can be continuously applied to a certain area (a plurality of cells) needs to be considered, so that frequent information interaction between the terminal equipment and the network equipment is avoided, and further, the uplink positioning time delay and the power consumption of the terminal equipment can be reduced. The solution needs to solve the problem how to determine the configuration of the uplink positioning reference signal by the network device, so that the terminal device can use the configuration of the uplink positioning reference signal in a plurality of cells.

The method provided by the embodiment of the application can provide a solution to the problems. And the first base station instructs the second base station to reserve the uplink positioning reference signal configuration. Therefore, when the terminal equipment which uses the uplink positioning reference signal configuration to send the uplink positioning reference signal reselects to the cell of the network equipment, the uplink positioning reference signal configuration can still be used continuously, frequent information interaction with the network equipment is avoided, and the positioning time delay and the power consumption of the terminal equipment can be reduced.

Fig. 1 is a schematic diagram of a system architecture of a communication system according to an embodiment of the present application. The system architecture may include: a terminal device 10, a first access network device 20, a second access network device 30 and a core network device 40.

The terminal device 10 may refer to a UE (User Equipment), an access terminal device, a subscriber unit, a subscriber station, a mobile station, a remote terminal device, a mobile device, a wireless communication device, a User agent, or a User Equipment. Alternatively, the terminal device may also be a cellular phone, a cordless phone, a SIP (Session Initiation Protocol ) phone, a WLL (Wireless Local Loop, wireless local loop) station, a PDA (Personal digital Assistant), a handheld device with a wireless communication function, a computing device, or other processing device connected to a wireless modem, a vehicle-mounted device, a wearable device, a terminal device in 5GS (5 th Generation System, fifth generation mobile communication system), or a terminal device in a future evolved PLMN (Pub 1ic Land Mobi1e Network), or the like, to which the embodiment of the present application is not limited. For convenience of description, the above-mentioned devices are collectively referred to as terminal devices. The number of terminal devices 10 is typically plural, and one or more terminal devices 10 may be distributed within a cell managed by each access network device 20.

The first access network device 20 is a device deployed in the access network to provide wireless communication functionality for the terminal device 10. The first access network device 20 may include various forms of macro base stations, micro base stations, relay stations, access points, and the like. The names of devices with the functionality of the first access network device may be different in systems employing different radio access technologies, e.g. in 5G NR systems called gndeb or gNB. The name "first access network device" may change as the communication technology evolves. For convenience of description, in the embodiment of the present application, the above-mentioned apparatus for providing the terminal device 10 with the wireless communication function is collectively referred to as a first access network device. Alternatively, a communication relationship may be established between the terminal device 10 and the core network device 30 through the first access network device 20. Illustratively, in an LTE system, the first access network device 20 may be EUTRAN (Evolved Universal Terrestrial Radio Access Network, evolved universal terrestrial radio network) or one or more enodebs in EUTRAN; in a 5G NR system, the first access network device 20 may be a RAN or one or more gnbs in the RAN.

The second access network device 30 is a device deployed in the access network to provide wireless communication functionality for the terminal device 10. The second access network device 30 may include various forms of macro base stations, micro base stations, relay stations, access points, and the like. The names of devices with the functionality of the second access network device may be different in systems employing different radio access technologies, e.g. in 5G NR systems called gndeb or gNB. The name "second access network device" may change as the communication technology evolves. For convenience of description, in the embodiment of the present application, the above-mentioned apparatus for providing the terminal device 10 with the wireless communication function is collectively referred to as a second access network device. Alternatively, a communication relationship may be established between the terminal device 10 and the core network device 30 via the second access network device 30. Illustratively, in an LTE system, the second access network device 30 may be EUTRAN (Evolved Universal Terrestrial Radio Access Network, evolved universal terrestrial radio network) or one or more enodebs in EUTRAN; in a 5G NR system, the second access network device 30 may be a RAN or one or more gnbs in the RAN.

The core network device 40 mainly functions to provide user connection, management of users, and completion of bearer for services, and provides an interface to an external network as a bearer network. For example, core network devices in the 5G NR system may include AMF (Access and Mobility Management Function ) entities, UPF (User Plane Function, user plane function) entities, SMF (Session Management Function ) entities, and location management function (Location Management Function, LMF) entities, among others. The access network device 20 and the core network device 40 may be collectively referred to as network devices. In the embodiment of the present application, the core network device 40 is taken as an LMF network element for illustration.

In one example, the first access network device 20 and the second access network device 30 communicate with the core network device 30 via some over-the-air technology, such as an NG interface in a 5G NR system. The first access network device 20 and the second access network device 30 communicate with the terminal device 10 via some over-the-air technology, e.g. Uu interface.

Fig. 2 is a flowchart of a method for configuring an uplink positioning reference signal according to an embodiment of the present application. The method may be applied in the first access network device shown in fig. 1. The method comprises the following steps:

Step 202: and sending a reservation message to the second base station.

The reservation message is used for requesting the second base station to reserve the configuration of the uplink positioning reference signal. Optionally, the second base station reserves the uplink positioning reference signal configuration, which means that the second base station will not allocate the uplink positioning reference signal configuration to the terminal device. That is, the second base station will keep the configuration of the uplink positioning reference signal and cannot be used as a terminal device to configure the uplink positioning reference signal. The uplink positioning reference signal configuration is used for the terminal device to transmit the uplink positioning reference signal, for example, the uplink positioning reference signal configuration includes time-frequency resources used by the terminal device to transmit the uplink positioning reference signal.

The second base station is different from the first base station. Optionally, the first cell in which the first base station is located is a serving cell of the terminal device, and the second cell in which the second base station is located is a neighboring cell of the terminal device.

Optionally, the configuration of the uplink positioning reference signal reserved by the second base station is indicated by the first base station or determined by the second base station. For example, the reservation message includes a first uplink positioning reference signal configuration, which is an uplink positioning reference signal configuration determined by the first base station for the terminal device, and the first uplink positioning reference signal configuration is used to configure the first uplink positioning reference signal for the terminal device. In case the reservation message comprises a first uplink positioning reference signal configuration, the reservation message is used to request the second base station to reserve the first uplink positioning reference signal configuration.

The reservation message can also exclude the uplink positioning reference signal configuration, i.e. the first uplink positioning reference signal configuration described above. In case the reservation message does not comprise the first uplink positioning reference signal configuration, the reservation message is used for requesting the second base station to determine the reserved uplink positioning reference signal configuration thereof by itself. The second base station responds to the reservation message and determines a second uplink positioning reference signal configuration and reserves the second uplink positioning reference signal configuration. The second uplink positioning reference signal configuration is the same as or different from the first uplink positioning reference signal configuration, and the second uplink positioning reference signal configuration is used for configuring a second uplink positioning reference signal for the terminal equipment.

It should be noted that, when the reservation message includes the first uplink positioning reference signal configuration, the second base station may not reserve the first uplink positioning reference signal configuration, but determine the second uplink positioning reference signal configuration and reserve the second uplink positioning reference signal configuration after receiving the reservation message. Optionally, the reservation message further includes time information for indicating that the second base station reserves the configuration of the uplink positioning reference signal. And under the condition that the second base station reserves the uplink positioning reference signal configuration, if the current moment is not within the reserved time period or the reserved time length, the second base station can release the first uplink positioning reference signal configuration or the second uplink positioning reference signal configuration. The reserved time period and the reserved time length can both indicate the time period for the second base station to reserve the configuration of the uplink positioning reference signal. The reserved time period or the reserved time length is determined according to the time information, and the time period corresponding to the reserved time period or the reserved time length is the same as or different from the time period indicated by the time information.

Optionally, the first base station and the second base station communicate through an Xn interface, that is, the first base station sends a reservation message to the second base station through the Xn interface.

After receiving the reservation message, the second base station determines whether to reserve the configuration of the uplink positioning reference signal, so as to send a response message to the first base station, where the response message is sent by the second base station in response to the reservation message sent by the first base station. The first base station can determine whether the second base station successfully reserves the uplink positioning reference signal configuration and the uplink positioning reference signal configuration reserved by the second base station (namely, the first uplink positioning reference signal configuration or the second uplink positioning reference signal configuration) according to the response message. Optionally, the first base station can also determine a reservation time period or a reservation duration of the second base station for reserving the configuration of the uplink positioning reference signal according to the response message, and/or successfully reserve a cell identifier of a cell configured by the uplink positioning reference signal.

Alternatively, the second base station can include one or more base stations. The first base station can determine at least one of uplink positioning reference signal configuration reserved by the second base station, cell identification of a cell successfully reserved with the uplink positioning reference signal configuration (i.e. a cell of the second base station) and an effective time period or an effective duration of the uplink positioning reference signal configuration according to the response message sent by the second base station. The effective time period and the effective duration can both indicate the period in which the uplink positioning reference signal configuration reserved by the second base station is effective. The effective time period or the effective duration is a reserved time period or a reserved duration of the configuration of reserving the uplink positioning reference signal by the second base station. Optionally, for a different second base station, the reserved uplink positioning reference signal configuration and the reserved time period or reserved time length of the reserved uplink positioning reference signal configuration are the same or different. Under the condition that the uplink positioning reference signal configurations reserved by different second base stations and/or the reserved time periods or reserved time durations of the reserved uplink positioning reference signal configurations are different, the first base station also determines the corresponding relation between the reserved time periods or reserved time durations of the reserved uplink positioning reference signal configurations and the reserved time periods or reserved time durations of the reserved uplink positioning reference signal configurations reserved by the second base stations and the cell identifications of the cells successfully reserved the uplink positioning reference signal configurations.

After determining the information according to the response message sent by the second base station, the first base station can send the determined information to the terminal equipment and/or the LMF network element. And under the condition that the uplink positioning reference signal configuration is valid, the terminal equipment can use the uplink positioning reference signal configuration to send the uplink positioning reference signal to the second base station. Optionally, the uplink positioning reference signal configuration effectively includes that the identifier of the cell accessed by the terminal device after cell reselection belongs to the cell identifier, that is, the cell accessed by the second base station, and/or the current moment is within the effective time period or the effective duration of the uplink positioning reference signal configuration. Because the second base station also reserves the configuration of the uplink positioning reference signal, the second base station equipment can receive the uplink positioning reference signal sent by the terminal equipment according to the configuration of the uplink positioning reference signal. Under the condition that the LMF network element also receives the information sent by the first base station, the LMF network element can also acquire the uplink positioning reference signal configuration reserved by the second base station and related information according to the information, so that the positioning of the terminal equipment is realized according to the information.

In summary, in the method provided in this embodiment, the first base station requests the second base station to reserve the configuration of the uplink positioning reference signal, so that when the terminal device that uses the configuration of the uplink positioning reference signal to send the uplink positioning reference signal reselects to the cell of the second base station, the configuration of the uplink positioning reference signal can still be continuously used, frequent information interaction with the network device is avoided, and thus, the positioning delay and the power consumption of the terminal device can be reduced.

Fig. 3 is a flowchart of a method for configuring an uplink positioning reference signal according to an embodiment of the present application. The method may be applied in the second access network device shown in fig. 1. The method comprises the following steps:

step 302: and receiving a reservation message sent by the first base station.

The reservation message is used for requesting the second base station to reserve the configuration of the uplink positioning reference signal. The second base station is different from the first base station. Optionally, the first cell in which the first base station is located is a serving cell of the terminal device, and the second cell in which the second base station is located is a neighboring cell of the terminal device.

Optionally, the configuration of the uplink positioning reference signal reserved by the second base station is indicated by the first base station or determined by the second base station. For example, the reservation message includes a first uplink positioning reference signal configuration, which is an uplink positioning reference signal configuration determined by the first base station for the terminal device. In case the reservation message comprises a first uplink positioning reference signal configuration, the reservation message is used to request the second base station to reserve the first uplink positioning reference signal configuration. The reservation message can also exclude the uplink positioning reference signal configuration, i.e. the first uplink positioning reference signal configuration described above. In case the reservation message does not comprise the first uplink positioning reference signal configuration, the reservation message is used for requesting the second base station to determine the reserved uplink positioning reference signal configuration thereof by itself. The second base station responds to the reservation message and determines a second uplink positioning reference signal configuration and reserves the second uplink positioning reference signal configuration. The second uplink positioning reference signal configuration is the same as or different from the first uplink positioning reference signal configuration.

After receiving the reservation message, the second base station determines whether to reserve the configuration of the uplink positioning reference signal, so as to send a response message to the first base station, where the response message is sent by the second base station in response to the reservation message sent by the first base station. The first base station can determine whether the second base station successfully reserves the uplink positioning reference signal configuration and the uplink positioning reference signal configuration reserved by the second base station according to the response message. Optionally, the first base station can also determine a reservation time period or a reservation duration of the second base station for reserving the configuration of the uplink positioning reference signal according to the response message, and/or successfully reserve a cell identifier of a cell configured by the uplink positioning reference signal.

Alternatively, the second base station can include one or more base stations. The first base station can determine at least one of uplink positioning reference signal configuration reserved by the second base station, cell identification of a cell successfully reserved with the uplink positioning reference signal configuration and an effective time period or an effective duration of the uplink positioning reference signal configuration according to the response message sent by the second base station. The effective time period and the effective duration can both indicate a time period in which the configuration of the uplink positioning reference signal reserved by the second base station is effective. The effective time period or the effective duration is a reserved time period or a reserved duration of the configuration of reserving the uplink positioning reference signal by the second base station.

After determining the information according to the response message sent by the second base station, the first base station can send the determined information to the terminal equipment and/or the LMF network element. And under the condition that the uplink positioning reference signal configuration is valid, the terminal equipment can use the uplink positioning reference signal configuration to send the uplink positioning reference signal to the second base station. Because the second base station also reserves the configuration of the uplink positioning reference signal, the second base station equipment can receive the uplink positioning reference signal sent by the terminal equipment according to the configuration of the uplink positioning reference signal. Under the condition that the LMF network element also receives the information sent by the first base station, the LMF network element can also acquire the uplink positioning reference signal configuration reserved by the second base station and related information according to the information, so that the positioning of the terminal equipment is realized according to the information.

Fig. 4 is a flowchart of a method for configuring an uplink positioning reference signal according to an embodiment of the present application. The method can be applied to the core network device shown in fig. 1. The method comprises the following steps:

step 402: the first base station is instructed to send a reservation message to the second base station.

Optionally, the LMF network element instructs the first base station to send the reservation message to the second base station by sending an instruction message to the first base station. The first base station may send a reservation message to the second base station if at least one of the following conditions is met:

when the LMF network element requests the first base station to configure the terminal device with the uplink positioning reference signal, the RRC state of the terminal device is an RRC inactive state or an RRC idle state. In this case, the LMF network element requests the first base station to configure the terminal device with the uplink positioning reference signal, which may be regarded as the LMF network element indicating the first base station to send the reservation message to the second base station;

the LMF network element instructs the first base station to send the reservation message to the second base station. For example, when the LMF network element requests the first base station to configure the uplink positioning reference signal for the terminal device, the LMF network element instructs the first base station to send a reservation message to the second base station if the uplink positioning reference signal needs to be available in a certain range (multiple cells).

Optionally, the configuration of the uplink positioning reference signal reserved by the second base station is indicated by the first base station or determined by the second base station. For example, the reservation message includes a first uplink positioning reference signal configuration, which is an uplink positioning reference signal configuration determined by the first base station for the terminal device. The reservation message can also exclude the uplink positioning reference signal configuration, i.e. the first uplink positioning reference signal configuration described above. In case the reservation message does not comprise the first uplink positioning reference signal configuration, the reservation message is used for requesting the second base station to determine the reserved uplink positioning reference signal configuration thereof by itself. The second base station responds to the reservation message and determines a second uplink positioning reference signal configuration and reserves the second uplink positioning reference signal configuration. The second uplink positioning reference signal configuration is the same as or different from the first uplink positioning reference signal configuration.

Optionally, the first base station and the second base station communicate through an Xn interface, that is, the first base station sends a reservation message to the second base station through the Xn interface, and the second base station sends a response message to the first base station through the Xn interface.

In summary, in the method provided in this embodiment, the first base station is instructed to request the second base station to reserve the configuration of the uplink positioning reference signal, so that when the terminal device that uses the configuration of the uplink positioning reference signal to send the uplink positioning reference signal reselects to the cell of the second base station, the configuration of the uplink positioning reference signal can still be used continuously, frequent information interaction with the network device is avoided, and thus, the positioning delay and the power consumption of the terminal device can be reduced.

Fig. 5 is a flowchart of a method for configuring an uplink positioning reference signal according to an embodiment of the present application. The method can be applied to the terminal device shown in fig. 1. The method comprises the following steps:

step 502: and receiving information sent by the first base station.

The information sent by the first base station to the terminal device is determined by the first base station according to the response message sent by the second base station. The response message is sent by the second base station in response to the reservation message sent by the first base station, where the reservation message is used to request the second base station to reserve the configuration of the uplink positioning reference signal. The second base station is different from the first base station. Optionally, the first cell in which the first base station is located is a serving cell of the terminal device, and the second cell in which the second base station is located is a neighboring cell of the terminal device.

The terminal equipment receives at least one of the following information sent by the first base station:

uplink positioning reference signal configuration;

the effective time period or effective duration of the uplink positioning reference signal configuration;

the effective range of the uplink positioning reference signal configuration.

Wherein the uplink positioning reference signal configuration is a configuration reserved by the second base station. The effective time period and the effective duration can both indicate a time period in which the configuration of the uplink positioning reference signal reserved by the second base station is effective. Optionally, when the terminal device determines that the current time is not within the effective time period or the effective duration of the uplink positioning reference signal configuration, the terminal device does not use the uplink positioning reference signal configuration. Optionally, the terminal device may release the uplink positioning reference signal configuration, e.g., the terminal device deletes the uplink positioning reference signal configuration locally and stops sending the uplink positioning reference signal. The effective range is determined by the first base station according to a cell configured by successfully reserving the uplink positioning reference signal (a cell of the second base station).

After receiving the uplink positioning reference signal configuration, the terminal device determines whether the uplink positioning reference signal configuration is valid according to the current position and the valid range and/or according to the current time and the valid time period or the valid duration. And under the condition that the uplink positioning reference signal configuration is valid, the terminal equipment can use the uplink positioning reference signal configuration to send the uplink positioning reference signal to the base station (second base station) of the current service cell. Because the second base station also reserves the configuration of the uplink positioning reference signal, the second base station equipment can receive the uplink positioning reference signal sent by the terminal equipment according to the configuration of the uplink positioning reference signal.

Optionally, the uplink positioning reference signal configuration includes at least one of the following:

first uplink positioning reference signal configuration;

second uplink positioning reference signal configuration.

The first uplink positioning reference signal configuration is determined by the first base station. The second uplink positioning reference signal configuration is determined by the second base station.

In summary, in the method provided in this embodiment, by receiving the configuration of the uplink positioning reference signal reserved by the second base station, when the terminal device that uses the configuration of the uplink positioning reference signal to send the uplink positioning reference signal reselects to the cell of the second base station, the configuration of the uplink positioning reference signal can still be used continuously, so that frequent information interaction with the network device is avoided, and thus, the positioning delay and the power consumption of the terminal device can be reduced.

Fig. 6 is a flowchart of a method for configuring an uplink positioning reference signal according to an embodiment of the present application. The method may be applied in the first access network device shown in fig. 1. The method comprises the following steps:

step 602: and sending a reservation message to the second base station.

The reservation message is used for requesting the second base station to reserve the configuration of the uplink positioning reference signal. The second base station is different from the first base station. Optionally, the first cell in which the first base station is located is a serving cell of the terminal device, and the second cell in which the second base station is located is a neighboring cell of the terminal device. Optionally, the first base station sends the reservation message to the second base station over the Xn interface.

Optionally, the configuration of the uplink positioning reference signal reserved by the second base station is indicated by the first base station or determined by the second base station. For example, the reservation message includes the first uplink positioning reference signal configuration, or the reservation message does not include the first uplink positioning reference signal configuration. The first uplink positioning reference signal configuration is an uplink positioning reference signal configuration determined by the first base station for the terminal device. Optionally, the reservation message further includes time information for indicating that the second base station reserves the configuration of the uplink positioning reference signal. The time information includes a start time and an end time, or the time information includes a deadline.

Optionally, the first base station may send a reservation message to the second base station if at least one of the following conditions is met:

when the LMF network element requests the first base station to configure the uplink positioning reference signal for the terminal equipment, the RRC state of the terminal equipment is an RRC inactive (inactive) state or an RRC idle (idle) state;

the LMF network element instructs the first base station to send the reservation message;

when the terminal device requests the first base station to configure the uplink positioning reference signal for the terminal device, the RRC state of the terminal device is an RRC inactive state or an RRC idle state.

The terminal device requests the first base station to configure the terminal device with an uplink positioning reference signal through an RRC resume (resume) message.

Optionally, when the LMF network element requests the first base station to configure the uplink positioning reference signal for the terminal, if the LMF network element needs to configure the uplink positioning reference signal within a certain range (multiple cells) and may be used by the terminal device, the LMF network element may instruct the first base station to send the reservation message.

Step 604: and receiving the response message sent by the second base station.

The response message is sent by the second base station in response to the reservation message. Optionally, the second base station sends the response message to the first base station through the Xn interface.

For the case that the reservation message includes a first uplink positioning reference signal configuration:

the reply message includes at least one of the following information:

information indicating that the second base station successfully reserves the first uplink positioning reference signal configuration;

the second base station reserves a reservation period or reservation duration of the first uplink positioning reference signal configuration.

The first uplink positioning reference signal configuration is determined by the first base station. The reserved time period and the reserved time length can both indicate the second base station to reserve the time period configured by the first uplink positioning reference signal. Optionally, the reservation period or reservation duration is determined according to time information in the reservation message. For example, the time information includes a start time and an end time, and the second base station determines a reserved time period or a reserved duration according to a period composed of the start time and the end time. Or the time information comprises an expiration time, and the second base station determines a reserved time period or reserved duration according to the time when the reserved message is received and the time period formed by the expiration time. The reservation period or reservation duration can also be determined by the second base station according to its own situation. I.e. the period corresponding to the reserved period or reserved duration is the same or different from the period indicated by the time information.

For the case that the reservation message does not include the first uplink positioning reference signal configuration:

the reply message includes at least one of the following information:

second uplink positioning reference signal configuration;

the second base station reserves a reservation period or reservation duration of the second uplink positioning reference signal configuration.

In case the reservation message does not comprise the first uplink positioning reference signal configuration, the reservation message is used for requesting the second base station to determine the reserved uplink positioning reference signal configuration thereof by itself. The second base station responds to the reservation message and determines a second uplink positioning reference signal configuration and reserves the second uplink positioning reference signal configuration, i.e., the second uplink positioning reference signal configuration is determined by the second base station. The second uplink positioning reference signal configuration is the same as or different from the first uplink positioning reference signal configuration. The reserved time period and the reserved time length can both indicate the second base station to reserve the time period configured by the second uplink positioning reference signal.

It should be noted that, when the reservation message includes the first uplink positioning reference signal configuration, the second base station may not reserve the first uplink positioning reference signal configuration, but determine the second uplink positioning reference signal configuration and reserve the second uplink positioning reference signal configuration after receiving the reservation message. That is, in case the reservation message includes the first uplink positioning reference signal configuration, the reply message can also include at least one of the following information:

Second uplink positioning reference signal configuration;

Optionally, in the case that the second base station refuses to reserve the configuration of the uplink positioning reference signal or fails to reserve the configuration of the uplink positioning reference signal, the response message includes information indicating that the second base station refuses to reserve the configuration of the uplink positioning reference signal or fails to reserve the configuration of the uplink positioning reference signal.

Optionally, the second base station may release the first uplink positioning reference signal configuration or the second uplink positioning reference signal configuration when determining that the current time is not within the reserved time period or the reserved time duration. For example, the second base station locally deletes the first uplink positioning reference signal configuration or the second uplink positioning reference signal configuration. Optionally, the reserved period or reserved duration includes a start time and an end time. The second base station determines the current time by coordinating universal time (Universal Time Coordinated, UTC). And when the second base station determines that the current time is not in the time periods indicated by the starting time and the ending time, the reserved uplink positioning reference signal configuration is released. Alternatively, the second base station can also use the timer to determine whether to release the reserved uplink positioning reference signal configuration. For example, the second base station starts a timer at the start time and sets the timer duration of the timer to a duration between the start time and the end time. When the timer expires, the second base station releases the reserved uplink positioning reference signal configuration.

Step 606: information is determined from the reply message.

The first base station determines at least one of the following information according to the response message:

uplink positioning reference signal configuration;

cell identity successfully reserved for uplink positioning reference signal configuration;

the active time period or active duration of the uplink positioning reference signal configuration.

Wherein, the configuration of the uplink positioning reference signal is reserved by the second base station. Alternatively, the second base station can include one or more base stations. The cell identifier configured by successfully reserving the uplink positioning reference signal is composed of cell identifiers of cells where different second base stations are located. The effective time period and the effective duration can both indicate a time period in which the configuration of the uplink positioning reference signal reserved by the second base station is effective. The effective time period or the effective duration is a reserved time period or a reserved duration of the configuration of reserving the uplink positioning reference signal by the second base station.

Step 608: and transmitting information determined according to the response message to the terminal equipment and/or the LMF network element.

The first base station transmits at least one of the following information to the terminal equipment and/or the LMF network element:

uplink positioning reference signal configuration;

The effective range of the uplink positioning reference signal configuration.

Wherein, the configuration of the uplink positioning reference signal is reserved by the second base station. The effective range is determined by the first base station according to a cell (a cell of the second base station) configured by successfully reserving the uplink positioning reference signal, for example, a cell identification list (cell id list). The effective time period and the effective duration can both indicate a time period in which the configuration of the uplink positioning reference signal reserved by the second base station is effective. The effective time period or the effective duration is a reserved time period or a reserved duration of the configuration of reserving the uplink positioning reference signal by the second base station.

After receiving the information, the terminal device can judge whether the uplink positioning reference signal configuration is effective according to the current position and the effective range and/or according to the current moment and the effective time period or the effective duration. For example, when the terminal device determines that the cell identifier of the current serving cell belongs to the cell list, it determines whether the uplink positioning reference signal configuration is performed. And when the terminal equipment determines that the current time is within the effective time period or the effective duration, determining that the uplink positioning reference signal configuration is effective. Optionally, the valid period or valid duration includes a start time and an end time. And the terminal equipment determines the current moment through UTC, and judges whether the uplink positioning reference signal configuration is valid or not by combining the starting time and the ending time. The terminal device can also use the timer to determine whether the uplink positioning reference signal configuration is valid. And under the condition that the uplink positioning reference signal configuration is valid, the terminal equipment can use the uplink positioning reference signal configuration to send the uplink positioning reference signal to the base station (second base station) of the current service cell. Because the second base station also reserves the configuration of the uplink positioning reference signal, the second base station equipment can receive the uplink positioning reference signal sent by the terminal equipment according to the configuration of the uplink positioning reference signal. Under the condition that the LMF network element also receives the information sent by the first base station, the LMF network element can also acquire the uplink positioning reference signal configuration reserved by the second base station and related information according to the information, so that the positioning of the terminal equipment is realized according to the information.

Optionally, the first base station sends the above information to the terminal device through an RRC message. The RRC message is, for example, an RRC release (release) message or an RRC reconfiguration (reconfiguration) message. The first base station sends the information to the LMF network element through a new air interface positioning protocol A (NRPPa) message. The NRPPa message includes at least one of a new air interface positioning protocol A (UE association NRPPa) message associated with the terminal and a new air interface positioning protocol a (non-UE association NRPPa) message associated with the non-terminal.

first uplink positioning reference signal configuration;

second uplink positioning reference signal configuration.

The first uplink positioning reference signal configuration is determined by the first base station, and the second uplink positioning reference signal configuration is determined by the second base station.

In addition, the second base station determines the effective time period of the reserved uplink positioning reference signal configuration, so that the second base station can be prevented from continuously reserving the uplink positioning reference signal configuration and excessive occupation of network resources is avoided. The second base station can automatically determine the reserved second upper positioning reference signal configuration, so that the second base station can flexibly reserve the upper positioning reference signal configuration. The second base station sends the response message, so that the first base station can acquire whether the second base station successfully reserves the uplink positioning reference signal configuration and whether the second base station successfully reserves the uplink positioning reference signal configuration, and the first base station can conveniently send the relevant information of the uplink positioning reference signal configuration reserved by the second base station to the terminal equipment and/or the LMF network element.

Fig. 7 is a flowchart of a method for configuring an uplink positioning reference signal according to an embodiment of the present application. The method may be applied in the second access network device shown in fig. 1. The method comprises the following steps:

step 702: and receiving a reservation message sent by the first base station.

Step 704: and sending a response message to the first base station.

the reply message includes at least one of the following information:

second uplink positioning reference signal configuration;

Optionally, the second base station may release the first uplink positioning reference signal configuration or the second uplink positioning reference signal configuration when determining that the current time is not within the reserved time period or the reserved time duration. For example, the second base station locally deletes the first uplink positioning reference signal configuration or the second uplink positioning reference signal configuration.

After receiving the response message, the first base station sends at least one of the following information to the terminal equipment and/or the LMF network element:

uplink positioning reference signal configuration;

the effective range of the uplink positioning reference signal configuration.

Wherein the information is determined by the first base station according to the response message. The uplink positioning reference signal configuration is reserved by the second base station. The effective range is determined by the first base station according to a cell (a cell of the second base station) configured by successfully reserving the uplink positioning reference signal, for example, a cell id list. The effective time period and the effective duration can both indicate a time period in which the configuration of the uplink positioning reference signal reserved by the second base station is effective. The effective time period or the effective duration is a reserved time period or a reserved duration of the configuration of reserving the uplink positioning reference signal by the second base station.

After receiving the information, the terminal device can judge whether the uplink positioning reference signal configuration is effective according to the current position and the effective range and/or according to the current moment and the effective time period or the effective duration. And under the condition that the uplink positioning reference signal configuration is valid, the terminal equipment can use the uplink positioning reference signal configuration to send the uplink positioning reference signal to the base station (second base station) of the current service cell. Because the second base station also reserves the configuration of the uplink positioning reference signal, the second base station equipment can receive the uplink positioning reference signal sent by the terminal equipment according to the configuration of the uplink positioning reference signal. Under the condition that the LMF network element also receives the information sent by the first base station, the LMF network element can also acquire the uplink positioning reference signal configuration reserved by the second base station and related information according to the information, so that the positioning of the terminal equipment is realized according to the information.

Fig. 8 is a flowchart of a method for configuring an uplink positioning reference signal according to an embodiment of the present application. The method can be applied to the core network device shown in fig. 1. The method comprises the following steps:

step 802: the first base station is instructed to send a reservation message to the second base station.

When the LMF network element requests the first base station to configure the uplink positioning reference signal for the terminal equipment, the RRC state of the terminal equipment is in an RRC inactive state or an RRC idle state. In this case, the LMF network element requests the first base station to configure the terminal device with the uplink positioning reference signal, which may be regarded as the LMF network element indicating the first base station to send the reservation message to the second base station;

Optionally, the configuration of the uplink positioning reference signal reserved by the second base station is indicated by the first base station or determined by the second base station. For example, the uplink positioning reference signal configuration reserved by the second base station includes at least one of the following:

first uplink positioning reference signal configuration;

second uplink positioning reference signal configuration.

Step 804: and receiving information sent by the first base station.

The information sent by the first base station to the LMF network element is determined by the first base station according to the response message sent by the second base station. The response message is transmitted by the second base station in response to the reservation message transmitted by the first base station. Optionally, the LMF network element receives at least one of the following information sent by the first base station:

uplink positioning reference signal configuration;

the effective range of the uplink positioning reference signal configuration;

wherein, the configuration of the uplink positioning reference signal is reserved by the second base station. The effective range is determined by the first base station according to a cell (a cell of the second base station) configured by successfully reserving the uplink positioning reference signal, for example, a cell id list. The effective time period and the effective duration can both indicate a time period in which the configuration of the uplink positioning reference signal reserved by the second base station is effective. The effective time period or the effective duration is a reserved time period or a reserved duration of the configuration of reserving the uplink positioning reference signal by the second base station. Optionally, the first base station sends the above information to the LMF network element through an NRPPa message. The NRPPa message includes at least one of a UE association NRPPa message and a non-UE association NRPPa message.

The first base station also sends the information to the terminal equipment, and the terminal equipment judges whether the uplink positioning reference signal configuration is effective according to the current position and the effective range and/or according to the current moment and the effective time period or the effective duration after receiving the information. And under the condition that the uplink positioning reference signal configuration is valid, the terminal equipment can use the uplink positioning reference signal configuration to send the uplink positioning reference signal to the base station (second base station) of the current service cell. Because the second base station also reserves the configuration of the uplink positioning reference signal, the second base station equipment can receive the uplink positioning reference signal sent by the terminal equipment according to the configuration of the uplink positioning reference signal. Under the condition that the LMF network element also receives the information sent by the first base station, the LMF network element can also acquire the uplink positioning reference signal configuration reserved by the second base station and related information according to the information, so that the positioning of the terminal equipment is realized according to the information.

Fig. 9 is a flowchart of a method for configuring an uplink positioning reference signal according to an embodiment of the present application. The method may be applied to the system shown in fig. 1. The method comprises the following steps:

step 902: the first base station transmits a reservation message to the second base station.

Step 904: the second base station sends a response message to the first base station.

the reply message includes at least one of the following information:

The reply message includes at least one of the following information:

second uplink positioning reference signal configuration;

In case the reservation message does not comprise the first uplink positioning reference signal configuration, the reservation message is used for requesting the second base station to determine the reserved uplink positioning reference signal configuration thereof by itself. The second base station responds to the reservation message and determines a second uplink positioning reference signal configuration and reserves the second uplink positioning reference signal configuration, i.e., the second uplink positioning reference signal configuration is determined by the second base station. The second uplink positioning reference signal configuration is the same as or different from the first uplink positioning reference signal configuration. The reserved time period or the reserved time length can indicate the second base station to reserve the time period configured by the second uplink positioning reference signal.

Second uplink positioning reference signal configuration;

Optionally, the second base station may release the first uplink positioning reference signal configuration or the second uplink positioning reference signal configuration when determining that the current time is not within the reserved time period or the reserved time duration.

Step 906: the first base station determines information according to the response message.

uplink positioning reference signal configuration;

Step 908: and the first base station sends the information determined according to the response message to the terminal equipment and/or the LMF network element.

uplink positioning reference signal configuration;

the effective range of the uplink positioning reference signal configuration.

Wherein, the configuration of the uplink positioning reference signal is reserved by the second base station. The effective range is determined by the first base station according to a cell (a cell of the second base station) configured by successfully reserving the uplink positioning reference signal, for example, a cell identification list (cell id list). The effective time period or the effective duration is a reserved time period or a reserved duration of the configuration of reserving the uplink positioning reference signal by the second base station.

Optionally, the first base station sends the above information to the terminal device through an RRC message. The RRC message is, for example, an RRC release message or RRC reconfiguration message. The first base station sends the information to the LMF network element through the NRPPa message. The NRPPa message includes at least one of a UE association NRPPa message and a non-UE association NRPPa message.

first uplink positioning reference signal configuration;

second uplink positioning reference signal configuration.

Fig. 10 is a schematic diagram of a cell provided by an exemplary embodiment of the present application. As shown in fig. 10, the cell currently accessed by the terminal device 1001 is the cell of the first base station 1002. The first base station 1002 sends a reservation message to the second base station 1003, requesting the second base station 1003 to reserve the uplink positioning reference signal configuration configured by the first base station 1002 for the terminal device 1001. The second base station 1003 may send a response message to the first base station 1002 in response to the reservation message. The first base station 1002 can determine whether the second base station 1003 successfully reserves the uplink positioning reference signal configuration and the related information of the uplink positioning reference signal configuration according to the response message. In case the second base station 1003 successfully reserves the configuration of the uplink positioning reference signal, the first base station 1002 transmits information determined according to the response message to the terminal device 1001 and the LMF network element 1004. The terminal device 1001 can continue to use the uplink positioning reference signal configuration configured for it by the first base station 1002 when reselecting to the cell of the second base station 1003, without re-acquiring the uplink positioning reference signal configuration. After reselecting the cell to the second base station 1003, the terminal device 1001 continues to transmit the uplink positioning reference signal using the saved uplink positioning reference signal configuration. The second base station 1003 can receive an uplink positioning reference signal transmitted by the terminal device 1001 according to its reserved uplink positioning reference signal configuration. The LMF network element 104 can also obtain the configuration of the uplink positioning reference signal reserved by the second base station 1003 and related information according to the above information, so as to realize positioning of the terminal device according to the above information.

It should be noted that, the sequence of the steps of the method provided in the embodiment of the present application may be appropriately adjusted, the steps may also be increased or decreased according to the situation, and any method that is easily conceivable to be changed by those skilled in the art within the technical scope of the present disclosure should be covered within the protection scope of the present disclosure, so that no further description is given.

Fig. 11 is a block diagram illustrating a configuration apparatus for an uplink positioning reference signal according to an exemplary embodiment of the present application. As shown in fig. 11, the apparatus includes:

a sending module 1101, configured to send a reservation message to a second base station;

the reservation message is used for requesting the second base station to reserve the configuration of the uplink positioning reference signal.

In an alternative design, the reservation message includes a first uplink positioning reference signal configuration, which is an uplink positioning reference signal configuration determined by the first base station for the terminal device.

In an alternative design, the reservation message further includes time information for indicating that the second base station reserves the configuration of the uplink positioning reference signal.

In an alternative design, the sending module 1101 is configured to:

and transmitting a reservation message to the second base station through the Xn interface.

In an alternative design, the apparatus further comprises:

a receiving module 1102, configured to receive a response message sent by the second base station;

wherein the response message is sent by the second base station in response to the reservation message.

In an alternative design, the reply message includes at least one of the following information:

the second base station reserves a reserved time period configured by the first uplink positioning reference signal;

the first uplink positioning reference signal configuration is determined by the first base station.

configuring a second uplink positioning reference signal;

the second base station reserves a reserved time period configured by a second uplink positioning reference signal;

wherein the second uplink positioning reference signal configuration is determined by the second base station.

In an alternative design, the reply message includes information indicating that the second base station refuses to reserve the configuration of the uplink positioning reference signal, or that the configuration of the reservation for the uplink positioning reference signal fails.

In an alternative design, the sending module 1101 is configured to:

transmitting a reservation message to the second base station in case at least one of the following conditions is satisfied:

When the LMF network element requests the first base station to configure the uplink positioning reference signal for the terminal equipment, the RRC state of the terminal equipment is an RRC inactive state or an RRC idle state;

the LMF network element instructs the first base station to send a reservation message;

when the terminal equipment requests the first base station to configure an uplink positioning reference signal for the terminal equipment, the RRC state of the terminal equipment is an RRC inactive state or an RRC idle state;

the terminal equipment requests the first base station to configure the uplink positioning reference signal for the terminal equipment through the RRC recovery message.

In an alternative design, the apparatus further comprises:

a determining module 1103, configured to determine at least one of the following information according to the response message:

configuring an uplink positioning reference signal;

successfully reserving a cell identifier configured by an uplink positioning reference signal;

and the effective time period of the uplink positioning reference signal configuration.

In an alternative design, the sending module 1101 is configured to:

transmitting at least one of the following information to the terminal equipment and/or the LMF network element:

configuring an uplink positioning reference signal;

an effective time period of uplink positioning reference signal configuration;

an effective range of uplink positioning reference signal configuration;

the effective range is determined according to the cell configured by successfully reserving the uplink positioning reference signal.

In an alternative design, the uplink positioning reference signal configuration includes at least one of:

a first uplink positioning reference signal configuration;

configuring a second uplink positioning reference signal;

In an alternative design, the second base station releases the first uplink positioning reference signal configuration or the second uplink positioning reference signal configuration when the second base station is not within the reserved time period at the current time.

Fig. 12 is a block diagram of an uplink positioning reference signal configuration apparatus according to an exemplary embodiment of the present application. As shown in fig. 12, the apparatus includes:

a receiving module 1201, configured to receive a reservation message sent by a first base station;

In an alternative design, the reservation message includes a first uplink positioning reference signal configuration, which is determined by the first base station for the terminal device.

In an alternative design, the receiving module 1201 is configured to:

and receiving the reservation message sent by the second base station through the Xn interface.

In an alternative design, the apparatus further comprises:

a sending module 1202, configured to send a response message to the first base station;

configuring a second uplink positioning reference signal;

In an alternative design, the apparatus further comprises:

a releasing module 1203 is configured to release the first uplink positioning reference signal configuration or the second uplink positioning reference signal configuration when the current time is not within the reserved time period.

Fig. 13 is a block diagram illustrating a configuration apparatus for uplink positioning reference signals according to an exemplary embodiment of the present application. As shown in fig. 13, the apparatus includes:

a transmitting module 1301, configured to instruct a first base station to transmit a reservation message to a second base station;

In an alternative design, the apparatus further comprises:

a receiving module 1302, configured to receive at least one of the following information sent by the first base station:

configuring an uplink positioning reference signal;

an effective time period of uplink positioning reference signal configuration;

An effective range of uplink positioning reference signal configuration;

a first uplink positioning reference signal configuration;

configuring a second uplink positioning reference signal;

Fig. 14 is a block diagram of an uplink positioning reference signal configuration device according to an exemplary embodiment of the present application. As shown in fig. 14, the apparatus includes:

a receiving module 1401, configured to receive at least one of the following information sent by the first base station:

configuring an uplink positioning reference signal;

an effective time period of uplink positioning reference signal configuration;

an effective range of uplink positioning reference signal configuration;

the effective range is determined by the first base station according to a cell configured by successfully reserving the uplink positioning reference signal, the information sent by the first base station to the terminal equipment is determined by the first base station according to a response message sent by the second base station, the response message is sent by the second base station in response to a reservation message sent by the first base station, and the reservation message is used for requesting the second base station to reserve the uplink positioning reference signal configuration.

a first uplink positioning reference signal configuration;

configuring a second uplink positioning reference signal;

It should be noted that, when the apparatus provided in the foregoing embodiment performs the functions thereof, only the division of the respective functional modules is used as an example, in practical application, the foregoing functional allocation may be performed by different functional modules according to actual needs, that is, the content structure of the device is divided into different functional modules, so as to perform all or part of the functions described above.

The specific manner in which the various modules perform the operations in the apparatus of the above embodiments have been described in detail in connection with the embodiments of the method, and will not be described in detail herein.

Fig. 15 shows a schematic structural diagram of a communication device (terminal device or network device) according to an exemplary embodiment of the present application, where the communication device 150 includes: a processor 1501, a receiver 1502, a transmitter 1503, a memory 1504 and a bus 1505.

The processor 1501 includes one or more processing cores, and the processor 1501 executes various functional applications and information processing by running software programs and modules.

The receiver 1502 and the transmitter 1503 may be implemented as one communication component, which may be a communication chip.

The memory 1504 is connected to the processor 1501 via a bus 1505.

The memory 1504 may be used to store at least one instruction that the processor 1501 executes to implement the various steps of the method embodiments described above.

Further, the memory 1504 may be implemented by any type or combination of volatile or nonvolatile storage devices including, but not limited to: magnetic or optical disks, electrically erasable programmable Read-Only Memory (Erasable Programmable Read Only Memory, EEPROM), erasable programmable Read-Only Memory (Erasable Programmable Read Only Memory, EPROM), static random access Memory (Static Random Access Memory, SRAM), read-Only Memory (ROM), magnetic Memory, flash Memory, programmable Read-Only Memory (Programmable Read-Only Memory, PROM).

When the communication device is implemented as a terminal device, the processor and the transceiver in the communication device according to the embodiment of the present application may be implemented together as one communication chip, or the transceiver may form the communication chip separately. Wherein the transmitter in the transceiver performs the transmitting step performed by the terminal device in any of the above-described methods, the receiver in the transceiver performs the receiving step performed by the terminal device in any of the above-described methods, and the processor performs steps other than the transmitting and receiving steps, which are not described herein.

When the communication device is implemented as a network device (access network device or core network device), the processor and the transceiver in the communication device according to the embodiment of the present application may be implemented together as one communication chip, or the transceiver may form a communication chip separately. Wherein, the transmitter in the transceiver performs the transmitting step performed by the network device in any of the above-mentioned methods, the receiver in the transceiver performs the receiving step performed by the network device in any of the above-mentioned methods, and the processor performs steps other than the transmitting and receiving steps, which are not described herein.

In an exemplary embodiment, there is also provided a computer readable storage medium having stored therein at least one instruction, at least one program, a code set, or an instruction set, where the at least one instruction, the at least one program, the code set, or the instruction set is loaded and executed by the processor to implement the configuration method of the uplink positioning reference signal provided in the above respective method embodiments.

In an exemplary embodiment, a chip is provided, where the chip includes a programmable logic circuit and/or program instructions, and when the chip is running on a communications device, the chip is configured to implement the method for configuring an uplink positioning reference signal provided by the foregoing method embodiments.

In an exemplary embodiment, a computer program product is also provided, which, when run on a processor of a computer device, causes the computer device to perform the above-described method of configuring an uplink positioning reference signal.

Those skilled in the art will appreciate that in one or more of the examples described above, the functions described in the embodiments of the present application may be implemented in hardware, software, firmware, or any combination thereof. When implemented in software, these functions may be stored on or transmitted over as one or more instructions or code on a computer-readable medium. Computer-readable media includes both computer storage media and communication media including any medium that facilitates transfer of a computer program from one place to another. A storage media may be any available media that can be accessed by a general purpose or special purpose computer.

The foregoing description of the exemplary embodiments of the application is not intended to limit the application to the particular embodiments disclosed, but on the contrary, the intention is to cover all modifications, equivalents, and alternatives falling within the spirit and scope of the application.

Claims

A method for configuring an uplink positioning reference signal, wherein the method is performed by a first base station, the method comprising:

transmitting a reservation message to a second base station;

the reservation message is used for requesting the second base station to reserve uplink positioning reference signal configuration.
The method of claim 1, wherein the reservation message comprises a first uplink positioning reference signal configuration, the first uplink positioning reference signal configuration being an uplink positioning reference signal configuration determined by the first base station for a terminal device.
The method of claim 1, wherein the reservation message further comprises time information for instructing the second base station to reserve the uplink positioning reference signal configuration.
The method of claim 1, wherein the sending the reservation message to the second base station comprises:

and sending the reservation message to the second base station through an Xn interface.
The method according to any one of claims 1 to 4, further comprising:

receiving a response message sent by the second base station;

wherein the response message is sent by the second base station in response to the reservation message.
The method of claim 5, wherein the reply message includes at least one of the following information:

information indicating that the second base station successfully reserves the first uplink positioning reference signal configuration;

the second base station reserves a reserved time period configured by the first uplink positioning reference signal;

the first uplink positioning reference signal configuration is determined by the first base station.
The method of claim 5, wherein the reply message includes at least one of the following information:

configuring a second uplink positioning reference signal;

the second base station reserves a reserved time period configured by the second uplink positioning reference signal;

wherein the second uplink positioning reference signal configuration is determined by the second base station.
The method of claim 5, wherein the response message includes information indicating that the second base station refuses to reserve the configuration of the uplink positioning reference signal or information that reservation fails for the configuration of the uplink positioning reference signal.
The method of claim 2, wherein the sending the reservation message to the second base station comprises:

transmitting the reservation message to the second base station if at least one of the following conditions is satisfied:

when a Location Management Function (LMF) network element requests the first base station to configure the uplink location reference signal for the terminal equipment, the Radio Resource Control (RRC) state of the terminal equipment is an RRC inactive state or an RRC idle state;

the LMF network element instructs the first base station to send the reservation message;

when the terminal equipment requests the first base station to configure the uplink positioning reference signal for the terminal equipment, the RRC state of the terminal equipment is the RRC inactive state or the RRC idle state;

and the terminal equipment requests the first base station to configure the uplink positioning reference signal for the terminal equipment through an RRC recovery message.
The method of claim 5, wherein the method further comprises:

determining at least one of the following information according to the response message:

the uplink positioning reference signal is configured;

successfully reserving a cell identifier configured by the uplink positioning reference signal;

And the effective time period of the uplink positioning reference signal configuration.
The method according to claim 10, wherein the method further comprises:

transmitting at least one of the following information to the terminal equipment and/or the LMF network element:

the uplink positioning reference signal is configured;

the effective time period of the uplink positioning reference signal configuration;

the effective range of the uplink positioning reference signal configuration;

the effective range is determined according to a cell configured by successfully reserving the uplink positioning reference signal.
The method according to claim 10 or 11, wherein the uplink positioning reference signal configuration comprises at least one of:

a first uplink positioning reference signal configuration;

configuring a second uplink positioning reference signal;

the first uplink positioning reference signal configuration is determined by the first base station, and the second uplink positioning reference signal configuration is determined by the second base station.
The method according to claims 6 and 7, wherein the second base station releases the first or second uplink positioning reference signal configuration not within the reserved period of time at the present moment.
A method for configuring an uplink positioning reference signal, wherein the method is performed by a second base station, the method comprising:

receiving a reservation message sent by a first base station;

the reservation message is used for requesting the second base station to reserve uplink positioning reference signal configuration.
The method of claim 14, wherein the reservation message comprises the first uplink positioning reference signal configuration, the first uplink positioning reference signal configuration being a first uplink positioning reference signal configuration determined by the first base station for a terminal device.
The method of claim 14, wherein the reservation message further comprises time information for instructing the second base station to reserve the configuration of the uplink positioning reference signals.
The method of claim 14, wherein receiving the reservation message sent by the first base station comprises:

and receiving the reserved message sent by the second base station through an Xn interface.
The method according to any one of claims 14 to 17, further comprising:

transmitting a response message to the first base station;

wherein the response message is sent by the second base station in response to the reservation message.
The method of claim 18, wherein the reply message includes at least one of the following information:

information indicating that the second base station successfully reserves the first uplink positioning reference signal configuration;

the second base station reserves a reserved time period configured by the first uplink positioning reference signal;

the first uplink positioning reference signal configuration is determined by the first base station.
The method of claim 18, wherein the reply message includes at least one of the following information:

configuring a second uplink positioning reference signal;

the second base station reserves a reserved time period configured by the second uplink positioning reference signal;

wherein the second uplink positioning reference signal configuration is determined by the second base station.
The method of claim 18, wherein the response message includes information indicating that the second base station refuses to reserve the configuration of the uplink positioning reference signal or information that reservation fails for the configuration of the uplink positioning reference signal.
The method according to claims 19 and 20, characterized in that the method further comprises:

and releasing the first uplink positioning reference signal configuration or the second uplink positioning reference signal configuration under the condition that the current moment is not in the reserved time period.
A method for configuring an uplink positioning reference signal, wherein the method is performed by an LMF network element, the method comprising:

instructing the first base station to send a reservation message to the second base station;

the reservation message is used for requesting the second base station to reserve uplink positioning reference signal configuration.
The method of claim 23, wherein the reservation message comprises a first uplink positioning reference signal configuration, the first uplink positioning reference signal configuration being an uplink positioning reference signal configuration determined by the first base station for a terminal device.
The method of claim 23, wherein the reservation message further comprises time information for instructing the second base station to reserve the configuration of the uplink positioning reference signals.
The method of claim 23, wherein the method further comprises:

receiving at least one of the following information sent by the first base station:

the uplink positioning reference signal is configured;

the effective time period of the uplink positioning reference signal configuration;

the effective range of the uplink positioning reference signal configuration;

the effective range is determined according to a cell configured by successfully reserving the uplink positioning reference signal.
The method of claim 26, wherein the uplink positioning reference signal configuration comprises at least one of:

a first uplink positioning reference signal configuration;

configuring a second uplink positioning reference signal;

the first uplink positioning reference signal configuration is determined by the first base station, and the second uplink positioning reference signal configuration is determined by the second base station.
A method for configuring an uplink positioning reference signal, wherein the method is performed by a terminal device, the method comprising:

receiving at least one of the following information sent by a first base station:

configuring an uplink positioning reference signal;

an effective time period of uplink positioning reference signal configuration;

an effective range of uplink positioning reference signal configuration;

the effective range is determined by the first base station according to a cell configured by successfully reserving the uplink positioning reference signal, information sent by the first base station to the terminal equipment is determined by the first base station according to a response message sent by a second base station, the response message is sent by the second base station in response to a reservation message sent by the first base station, and the reservation message is used for requesting the second base station to reserve the uplink positioning reference signal configuration.
The method of claim 28, wherein the reservation message comprises a first uplink positioning reference signal configuration, the first uplink positioning reference signal configuration being an uplink positioning reference signal configuration determined by the first base station for a terminal device.
The method of claim 28, wherein the reservation message further comprises time information for instructing the second base station to reserve the configuration of the uplink positioning reference signals.
The method according to any of claims 28 to 30, wherein the uplink positioning reference signal configuration comprises at least one of:

a first uplink positioning reference signal configuration;

configuring a second uplink positioning reference signal;

the first uplink positioning reference signal configuration is determined by the first base station, and the second uplink positioning reference signal configuration is determined by the second base station.
An apparatus for configuring an uplink positioning reference signal, wherein the apparatus comprises:

a sending module, configured to send a reservation message to a second base station;

the reservation message is used for requesting the second base station to reserve uplink positioning reference signal configuration.
An apparatus for configuring an uplink positioning reference signal, wherein the apparatus comprises:

the receiving module is used for receiving the reserved message sent by the first base station;

the reservation message is used for requesting the second base station to reserve uplink positioning reference signal configuration.
An apparatus for configuring an uplink positioning reference signal, wherein the apparatus comprises:

a sending module, configured to instruct a first base station to send a reservation message to a second base station;

the reservation message is used for requesting the second base station to reserve uplink positioning reference signal configuration.
An apparatus for configuring an uplink positioning reference signal, wherein the apparatus comprises:

the receiving module is used for receiving at least one of the following information sent by the first base station:

configuring an uplink positioning reference signal;

an effective time period of uplink positioning reference signal configuration;

an effective range of uplink positioning reference signal configuration;

the effective range is determined by the first base station according to a cell configured by successfully reserving the uplink positioning reference signal, information sent by the first base station to the terminal equipment is determined by the first base station according to a response message sent by the second base station, the response message is sent by the second base station in response to a reservation message sent by the first base station, and the reservation message is used for requesting the second base station to reserve the uplink positioning reference signal configuration.
A base station, the base station comprising:

a processor;

a transceiver coupled to the processor;

a memory for storing executable instructions of the processor;

wherein the processor is configured to load and execute the executable instructions to implement the method of configuring an uplink positioning reference signal according to any one of claims 1 to 22.
A network device, the network device comprising:

a processor;

a transceiver coupled to the processor;

a memory for storing executable instructions of the processor;

wherein the processor is configured to load and execute the executable instructions to implement the method of configuring an uplink positioning reference signal according to any one of claims 23 to 27.
A terminal device, characterized in that the terminal device comprises:

a processor;

a transceiver coupled to the processor;

a memory for storing executable instructions of the processor;

wherein the processor is configured to load and execute the executable instructions to implement the method of configuring an uplink positioning reference signal according to any one of claims 28 to 31.
A computer readable storage medium having stored therein executable instructions that are loaded and executed by a processor to implement the method of configuring an uplink positioning reference signal according to any one of claims 1 to 31.
A chip comprising programmable logic circuits or programs, the chip being configured to implement the method of configuring an uplink positioning reference signal according to any one of claims 1 to 31.