CN117849836A

CN117849836A - Positioning method and device based on low-orbit satellite, core network element and storage medium

Info

Publication number: CN117849836A
Application number: CN202410067597.5A
Authority: CN
Inventors: 吴维芝
Original assignee: Guangzhou Aipu Road Network Technology Co Ltd
Current assignee: Guangzhou Aipu Road Network Technology Co Ltd
Priority date: 2024-01-16
Filing date: 2024-01-16
Publication date: 2024-04-09

Abstract

The application provides a positioning method and device based on a low-orbit satellite, a core network element and a storage medium, and relates to the technical field of satellites. The method comprises the following steps: receiving a first stop service time of a positioning service of a low-orbit satellite aiming at a preset cell; according to the first service stopping time, controlling terminal equipment and a low-orbit satellite in a preset cell to transmit a plurality of groups of positioning measurement signals, and acquiring receiving and transmitting time information of the plurality of groups of positioning measurement signals; and determining the position information of the terminal equipment according to the receiving and transmitting time information of the plurality of groups of positioning measurement signals. The method and the device can realize accurate positioning of the low-orbit satellite to the terminal equipment based on the cell stop service time and the multi-round trip time technology.

Description

Positioning method and device based on low-orbit satellite, core network element and storage medium

Technical Field

The invention relates to the technical field of satellites, in particular to a positioning method and device based on a low-orbit satellite, a core network element and a storage medium.

Background

With the development of the fifth generation mobile communication technology (5 th-Generation Mobile Communication Technology, 5G), round-Trip Time (RTT) positioning technology is a widely used positioning method.

The non-terrestrial network (non-terrestrial network, NTN) technology is a technology that a terminal device based on a new air interface technology formulated by a 3GPP protocol in an R17 stage directly communicates with a satellite, and can use a low-orbit satellite technology to position a terrestrial terminal, but due to high-speed movement of the low-orbit satellite, multiple positioning measurements cannot be performed, and positioning accuracy is poor.

Disclosure of Invention

The invention aims to overcome the defects in the prior art and provide a positioning method and device based on a low-orbit satellite, a core network element and a storage medium, so as to realize accurate positioning of the low-orbit satellite to terminal equipment based on a cell stop service time and multi-round trip time technology.

In order to achieve the above purpose, the technical solution adopted in the embodiment of the present application is as follows:

in a first aspect, an embodiment of the present application provides a positioning method based on a low-orbit satellite, which is applied to an LMF network element, where the method includes:

receiving a first stop service time of a positioning service of a low-orbit satellite aiming at a preset cell;

according to the first service stopping time, controlling terminal equipment in the preset cell and the low-orbit satellite to transmit a plurality of groups of positioning measurement signals, and acquiring receiving and transmitting time information of the plurality of groups of positioning measurement signals;

And determining the position information of the terminal equipment according to the receiving and transmitting time information of the plurality of groups of positioning measurement signals.

Optionally, the controlling, according to the first service stopping time, the terminal device in the preset cell and the low-orbit satellite to perform transmission of a plurality of groups of positioning measurement signals, and acquiring transceiver time information of the plurality of groups of positioning measurement signals includes:

according to the first service stopping time, respectively sending a plurality of positioning requests to the terminal equipment so as to enable the terminal equipment and the low-orbit satellite to transmit the plurality of groups of positioning measurement signals;

and receiving a plurality of positioning responses returned by the terminal equipment and the low-orbit satellite, wherein each positioning response comprises receiving and transmitting time information of a group of positioning measurement signals transmitted by the terminal equipment and the low-orbit satellite.

transmitting a positioning request to the terminal device once so as to enable a group of positioning measurement signals to be transmitted between the terminal device and the low-orbit satellite;

Judging whether the first stop service time meets the requirement of transmission of a next set of positioning measurement signals between the terminal equipment and the low-orbit satellite according to the first stop service time and the receiving and transmitting time information of the set of positioning measurement signals;

and if the first service stopping time is determined to be satisfied, the next group of positioning measurement signals are transmitted between the terminal equipment and the low-orbit satellite, and a positioning request is sent to the terminal equipment again until the transmission of the plurality of groups of positioning measurement signals is completed.

Optionally, the method further comprises:

if the first stopping service time is determined not to meet the requirement of transmission of a next set of positioning measurement signals between the terminal equipment and the low-orbit satellite, waiting for expiration of the first stopping service time;

after the first stop service time expires, receiving a second stop service time of the positioning service of the low-orbit satellite aiming at the preset cell;

and sending a positioning request to the terminal equipment again in the second service stopping time.

Optionally, the determining the location information of the terminal device according to the transceiving time information of the multiple sets of positioning measurement signals includes:

Calculating a plurality of graph areas centering on the low-orbit satellite according to the receiving and transmitting time information of the plurality of groups of positioning measurement signals;

and determining the position information of the terminal equipment according to the intersection points of the plurality of graphic areas.

Optionally, before the controlling, according to the first service stopping time, the terminal device in the preset cell and the low-orbit satellite to transmit the multiple sets of positioning measurement signals, the method further includes:

and respectively transmitting signal configuration information of the positioning measurement signals to the terminal equipment and the low-orbit satellite.

Optionally, before sending the positioning request to the terminal device again in the second out-of-service time, the method further includes:

and re-transmitting signal configuration information of the positioning measurement signals to the terminal equipment and the low-orbit satellite.

In a second aspect, an embodiment of the present application further provides a positioning device based on a low-orbit satellite, which is applied to an LMF network element, where the device includes:

the service time acquisition module is used for receiving a first stop service time of the positioning service of the low-orbit satellite aiming at a preset cell;

the receiving and transmitting time acquisition module is used for controlling the terminal equipment in the preset cell and the low-orbit satellite to transmit a plurality of groups of positioning measurement signals according to the first service stopping time and acquiring receiving and transmitting time information of the plurality of groups of positioning measurement signals;

And the position information determining module is used for determining the position information of the terminal equipment according to the receiving and transmitting time information of the plurality of groups of positioning measurement signals.

Optionally, the transceiver time obtaining module is specifically configured to send a plurality of positioning requests to the terminal device according to the first service stopping time, so that the terminal device and the low-orbit satellite perform transmission of the plurality of sets of positioning measurement signals; and receiving a plurality of positioning responses returned by the terminal equipment and the low-orbit satellite, wherein each positioning response comprises receiving and transmitting time information of a group of positioning measurement signals transmitted by the terminal equipment and the low-orbit satellite.

Optionally, the transceiver time acquisition module is specifically configured to send a positioning request to the terminal device, so that a set of positioning measurement signals are transmitted between the terminal device and the low-orbit satellite; judging whether the first stop service time meets the requirement of transmission of a next set of positioning measurement signals between the terminal equipment and the low-orbit satellite according to the first stop service time and the receiving and transmitting time information of the set of positioning measurement signals; and if the first service stopping time is determined to be satisfied, the next group of positioning measurement signals are transmitted between the terminal equipment and the low-orbit satellite, and a positioning request is sent to the terminal equipment again until the transmission of the plurality of groups of positioning measurement signals is completed.

Optionally, the transceiver time obtaining module is further configured to, if it is determined that the first out-of-service time does not meet the requirement for transmission of a next set of positioning measurement signals between the terminal device and the low-earth satellite, wait for expiration of the first out-of-service time; after the first stop service time expires, receiving a second stop service time of the positioning service of the low-orbit satellite aiming at the preset cell; and sending a positioning request to the terminal equipment again in the second service stopping time.

Optionally, the location information determining module is specifically configured to calculate, according to the time information of the reception and transmission of the plurality of sets of positioning measurement signals, a plurality of pattern areas centered on the low-orbit satellite; and determining the position information of the terminal equipment according to the intersection points of the plurality of graphic areas.

Optionally, before the transceiver time obtaining module, the apparatus further includes:

and the signal configuration module is used for respectively transmitting the signal configuration information of the positioning measurement signals to the terminal equipment and the low-orbit satellite.

Optionally, before sending the positioning request to the terminal device again in the second out-of-service time, the signal configuration module is further configured to send signal configuration information of the positioning measurement signal to the terminal device and the low-orbit satellite again.

In a third aspect, an embodiment of the present application further provides a core network element, including: a processor, a storage medium and a bus, the storage medium storing program instructions executable by the processor, the processor and the storage medium communicating over the bus when the core network element is running, the processor executing the program instructions to perform the steps of the low orbit satellite based positioning method according to any one of the first aspects.

In a fourth aspect, embodiments of the present application also provide a computer-readable storage medium, on which a computer program is stored, which computer program, when being executed by a processor, performs the steps of the low-orbit satellite based positioning method according to any of the first aspects.

The beneficial effects of this application are:

according to the positioning method, the positioning device, the core network element and the storage medium based on the low-orbit satellite, according to the first stop service time of the low-orbit satellite for providing positioning service for the preset cell, the terminal equipment in the preset cell and the low-orbit satellite are controlled to transmit a plurality of groups of positioning measurement signals, the position information of the terminal equipment is determined according to the receiving and transmitting time information of the plurality of groups of positioning measurement signals, the low-orbit satellite is utilized to stop service time of the preset cell and the receiving and transmitting time information of the positioning measurement signals, the low-orbit satellite is utilized to realize multiple positioning measurement of the terminal equipment, so that the terminal equipment is positioned based on the receiving and transmitting time information of the plurality of groups of positioning measurement signals, and the positioning precision of the terminal equipment can be improved.

Drawings

In order to more clearly illustrate the technical solutions of the embodiments of the present invention, the drawings that are needed in the embodiments will be briefly described below, it being understood that the following drawings only illustrate some embodiments of the present invention and therefore should not be considered as limiting the scope, and other related drawings may be obtained according to these drawings without inventive effort for a person skilled in the art.

Fig. 1 is a flowchart of a low-orbit satellite-based positioning method according to an embodiment of the present application;

fig. 2 is a second flow chart of a positioning method based on a low-orbit satellite according to an embodiment of the present application;

fig. 3 is a first interaction schematic diagram of positioning a terminal device by using a low-orbit satellite according to an embodiment of the present application;

fig. 4 is a flowchart illustrating a low-orbit satellite-based positioning method according to an embodiment of the present disclosure;

fig. 5 is a flowchart of a low-orbit satellite-based positioning method according to an embodiment of the present application;

fig. 6 is a second interaction schematic diagram of positioning a terminal device by using a low-orbit satellite according to an embodiment of the present application;

fig. 7 is a flowchart of a low-orbit satellite based positioning method according to an embodiment of the present application;

Fig. 8 is a schematic diagram of positioning a terminal device according to an embodiment of the present application;

fig. 9 is a schematic structural diagram of a positioning device based on a low-orbit satellite according to an embodiment of the present application;

fig. 10 is a schematic diagram of a core network element according to an embodiment of the present application.

Detailed Description

For the purpose of making the objects, technical solutions and advantages of the embodiments of the present invention more apparent, the technical solutions of the embodiments of the present invention will be clearly and completely described below with reference to the accompanying drawings in the embodiments of the present invention, and it is apparent that the described embodiments are some embodiments of the present invention, but not all embodiments of the present invention.

Thus, the following detailed description of the embodiments of the present application, as provided in the accompanying drawings, is not intended to limit the scope of the application, as claimed, but is merely representative of selected embodiments of the application. All other embodiments, which can be made by one of ordinary skill in the art based on the embodiments herein without making any inventive effort, are intended to be within the scope of the present application.

Furthermore, the terms first, second and the like in the description and in the claims and in the above-described figures, are used for distinguishing between similar objects and not necessarily for describing a particular sequential or chronological order. It is to be understood that the data so used may be interchanged where appropriate such that the embodiments of the invention described herein may be implemented in sequences other than those illustrated or otherwise described herein. Furthermore, the terms "comprises," "comprising," and "having," and any variations thereof, are intended to cover a non-exclusive inclusion, such that a process, method, system, article, or apparatus that comprises a list of steps or elements is not necessarily limited to those steps or elements expressly listed but may include other steps or elements not expressly listed or inherent to such process, method, article, or apparatus.

It should be noted that, without conflict, features in embodiments of the present application may be combined with each other.

A specific implementation of the low-orbit satellite based positioning method applied to the location management function (Location Management Function, LMF) network element is described below with reference to an embodiment.

Referring to fig. 1, a first flowchart of a low-orbit satellite-based positioning method according to an embodiment of the present application is shown in fig. 1, where the method may include:

s101: a first out-of-service time of a positioning service of the low-orbit satellite for a preset cell is received.

In this embodiment, the low-orbit satellite is a satellite running on an orbit with a preset height, an area formed by the signal coverage of the low-orbit satellite on the ground is called a cell, the low-orbit satellite can perform signal transmission with terminal equipment in the cell, and according to the duration of the signal coverage of the low-orbit satellite on the preset cell, the first stop service time of the low-orbit satellite for providing positioning service for the preset cell can be determined.

The duration of signal coverage may be a fixed duration configured for the low-orbit satellite in advance, or may be a variable duration configured for the low-orbit satellite in real time.

In some embodiments, when the low-orbit satellite runs above the preset cell to provide positioning service for the terminal device of the preset cell, the first stopping service time is reported to an LMF network element in the 5G core network corresponding to the preset cell.

And if the preset cell comprises a plurality of 5G core networks, respectively reporting the first service stopping time to LMF network elements in the plurality of 5G core networks.

S102: and according to the first service stopping time, controlling the terminal equipment and the low-orbit satellite in the preset cell to transmit a plurality of groups of positioning measurement signals, and acquiring the receiving and transmitting time information of the plurality of groups of positioning measurement signals.

In this embodiment, in the first service stopping time, the LMF network element controls the terminal device and the low-orbit satellite in the preset cell to perform transmission of multiple sets of positioning measurement signals, where the transmission of each set of positioning measurement signals includes: the low-orbit satellite sends a downlink positioning measurement signal to the terminal equipment, and the terminal equipment sends an uplink positioning measurement signal to the low-orbit satellite after receiving the downlink positioning measurement signal, wherein the receiving and transmitting time information of each group of positioning measurement signals comprises: the time t0 of the low-orbit satellite transmitting the downlink positioning measurement signal, the time t1 of the terminal equipment receiving the downlink positioning measurement signal, the time t2 of the terminal equipment transmitting the uplink positioning measurement signal, and the time t3 of the low-orbit satellite receiving the uplink positioning measurement signal.

In some embodiments, the LMF network element may receive the transceiving time information as: the LMF network element receives the sending signal time t0 and the receiving signal time t3 sent by the low orbit satellite, and receives the receiving signal time t1 and the sending signal time t2 sent by the terminal equipment.

In other embodiments, the LMF network element may receive the transceiving time information as follows: the low orbit satellite transmits the transmission signal time t0 and the receiving signal time t3 to the terminal equipment, and the LMF network element uniformly receives the transmission signal time t0, the receiving signal time t1, the transmission signal time t2 and the receiving signal time t3 transmitted by the terminal equipment.

S103: and determining the position information of the terminal equipment according to the receiving and transmitting time information of the plurality of groups of positioning measurement signals.

In this embodiment, RTT values are calculated according to transmission/reception time information of a plurality of sets of positioning measurement signals, that is, transmission signal time t0, reception signal time t1, transmission signal time t2, and reception signal time t3, and position information of the terminal device is determined according to the plurality of RTT values.

In some embodiments, the calculation formula of RTT value may be expressed as: rtt= (t 3-t 2) - (t 1-t 0).

In a possible implementation manner, please refer to fig. 2, which is a second schematic flow chart of the low-orbit satellite-based positioning method provided in the embodiment of the present application, as shown in fig. 2, the step S102 of controlling the terminal device and the low-orbit satellite in the preset cell to transmit a plurality of sets of positioning measurement signals according to the first service stopping time and obtaining the receiving and transmitting time information of the plurality of sets of positioning measurement signals may include:

S201: and respectively sending a plurality of positioning requests to the terminal equipment according to the first service stopping time so as to transmit a plurality of groups of positioning measurement signals between the terminal equipment and the low-orbit satellite.

S202: and receiving a plurality of positioning responses returned by the terminal equipment and the low-orbit satellite, wherein each positioning response comprises receiving and transmitting time information of a group of positioning measurement signals transmitted by the terminal equipment and the low-orbit satellite.

In this embodiment, the LMF network element sends a positioning request to the terminal device to request the terminal device to perform RTT measurement for multiple times, in this case, when the terminal device receives a downlink positioning measurement signal sent by the low-orbit satellite, the downlink positioning measurement signal is detected, when the downlink positioning measurement signal is determined to be of a type of a pre-configured positioning signal, the time of receiving the downlink positioning measurement signal is recorded, and an uplink positioning measurement signal corresponding to the downlink positioning measurement signal is sent to the low-orbit satellite, and when the low-orbit satellite detects the uplink positioning measurement signal and determines that the uplink positioning measurement signal is of a type of the pre-configured positioning signal, the time of receiving the uplink positioning measurement signal is recorded.

After the transmission of the downlink positioning measurement signals and the uplink positioning measurement signals is completed, the terminal equipment and the low-orbit satellite respectively send positioning responses corresponding to the positioning requests to the LMF network element, and the positioning responses carry transceiving time information corresponding to the transmission of each group of positioning measurement signals, so that the LMF network element determines the position information of the terminal equipment according to the transceiving time information of a plurality of groups of positioning measurement signals.

In a possible implementation manner, before the step S102 of controlling the terminal device and the low-orbit satellite in the preset cell to perform transmission of the multiple sets of positioning measurement signals according to the first out-of-service time, the method may further include:

In this embodiment, in order to enable transmission of the positioning measurement signal between the low-orbit satellite and the terminal device, it is necessary to ensure that the low-orbit satellite and the terminal device can recognize the positioning measurement signal transmitted to each other, and therefore, signal configuration information of the positioning measurement signal is transmitted to the terminal device and the low-orbit satellite, respectively, before transmission of the positioning measurement signal is performed.

According to the positioning method based on the low-orbit satellite, the terminal equipment in the preset cell and the low-orbit satellite are controlled to transmit a plurality of groups of positioning measurement signals according to the first stop service time of the low-orbit satellite for providing positioning service for the preset cell, the position information of the terminal equipment is determined according to the receiving and transmitting time information of the plurality of groups of positioning measurement signals, and the low-orbit satellite is utilized to realize the multiple positioning measurement of the terminal equipment, so that the terminal equipment is positioned based on the receiving and transmitting time information of the plurality of groups of positioning measurement signals, and the positioning precision of the terminal equipment can be improved.

In a possible implementation manner, please refer to fig. 3, which is a schematic diagram of interaction of positioning a terminal device by a low-orbit satellite according to an embodiment of the present application, as shown in fig. 3, the positioning process may include:

in phase 0, the lmf network element and the low-orbit satellite may use NRPPa DL PRS configuration information exchange (NRPPa DL PRS CONFIGURATION INFORMATION EXCHANGE) to obtain or send DL PRS configuration information (e.g., including parameters for DL PRS transmissions such as PRS frequency, bandwidth, timing, coding, muting, frequency hopping) required for a positioning method (e.g., multi-RTT positioning) from or to the low-orbit satellite. PRS configuration information may also be sent to the UE as assistance data (at stage 7). PRS configuration information may be used by: the UE assists DL PRS measurements in stage 9 a; the LMF network element requests UL SRS configuration information from the low orbit satellite for the UE in stage 2.

In phase 1, the lmf network element may request the positioning capabilities of the UE using the LPP capability delivery (LPP Capability Transfer) procedure.

In phase 2, the lmf network element transmits an NRPPa location information request message (NRPPa POSITIONING INFORMATION REQUEST) to the low orbit satellite to request UL information of the UE.

In stage 3, the low orbit satellite determines the resources available for UL SRS (determines UL SRS Resources) and configures UE (UE SRS Configuration) with the set of UL-SRS resources in stage 3 a.

In stage 4, the low orbit satellite provides UL SRS configuration information to the LMF network element in an NRPPa positioning information response message (NRPPa POSITIONING INFORMATION RESPONSE).

In stage 5a, in case of semi-persistent or aperiodic SRS, the LMF network element sends an NRPPa location activation request (NRPPa POSITIONING ACTIVATION REQUEST) to the low orbit satellite requesting UE SRS activation. The NRPPa location activation request message may include a time T at which the location of the UE is to be measured, and thus includes a time at which the UE needs to transmit UL SRS to enable UL measurement at phase 9b to occur at or near time T. In stage 5b, the low-orbit satellite activates UE SRS transmission at or near time T (Activate UE SRS transmission). The UE will wait until time T or close to time T to begin UL SRS transmission. In stage 5c, the low orbit satellite sends an NRPPa positioning activation response message (NRPPa POSITIONING ACTIVATION RESPONSE) to the LMF network element indicating SRS activation for the UE.

In stage 6, the lmf network element requests UL measurements of UL SRS transmissions of the UE by the selected low orbit satellite by sending an NRPPa measurement request message (NRPPa MEASUREMENT REQUEST) to the low orbit satellite. Each message may include an indication of a physical measurement time T' to perform UL measurements. The time T' ultimately defines the time at which the UE location is valid/acquired. The time T' may specify, for example, an NR or LTE System Frame Number (SFN) and/or a subframe slot number. Time T' may have a one-to-one (1:1) relationship with T (e.g., a 1:1 relationship with UTC time requested at stage A). For example, T' may be equal to T or may be slightly different (e.g., 1-100 milliseconds (ms) different). This difference may be required if it is not possible to schedule UL SRS transmission for the UE or DL PRS transmission for the low orbit satellite at exactly time T. The message includes all the information required to enable the gNB/TRP 110 to perform the UL measurements.

In stage 7, the lmf network element sends an LPP provisioning assistance data message to the UE (LPP Provide Assistance Data). The message includes any assistance data required by the UE to perform the necessary DL PRS measurements (e.g., including PRS configuration information sent or received by the LMF network element at stage 0).

In stage 8, the lmf network element sends an LPP request location information message (LPP Request Location Information) to the UE to request DL measurements (e.g., UE Rx-Tx) to support multiple RTTs. The request location information message includes an indication of time T ' as in phase 6 (e.g., where T ' =t or T ' is slightly different from T). The request location information message may further indicate the type of positioning method to be used, e.g. UE-assisted multi-RTT.

At stage 9a, at or close to the scheduled positioning time T, the UE performs position Measurements, e.g. DL PRS Measurements (DL-PRS Measurements) of all low earth satellites provided in assistance data from stage 7. The UE performs the measurements such that the measurements/locations are valid at time T' (e.g., the physical time base corresponding to T).

At or near time T, the low orbit satellite configured at stage 6 measures UL SRS transmissions from the UE at stage 9b (UL SRS Measurements). The UE and/or the low-orbit satellite thus obtain a plurality of measurements in phases 9a and 9b during a period of time that may include the scheduled positioning time T. For example, the measurement may occur over a period of time less than 1 second, less than 100ms, less than 10ms, or less than 1ms in duration.

In stage 10, the ue reports the measurements performed in stage 9a to the LMF network element in an LPP provided location information message (LPP Provide Location Information), which may identify the measurement time T. The position report at stage 10 includes the measurement/position estimate and may optionally together include a time T "(e.g., where T" is as close as possible to the requested time T '; i.e., ideally T "=t'). Positioning time error= (T "-T'). The UE may provide an indication of its speed and/or distance moved between time T' and time t″ or allow the LMF network element to determine a measurement (e.g., sensor measurement) of the UE speed or distance moved.

In stage 11, the low orbit satellite reports UE SRS measurements to the LMF network element in an NRPPa measurement response message (NRPPa MEASUREMENT RESPONSE), which may also identify the time T' "when the measurement was obtained.

In stage 12, the lmf network element sends an NRPPa location deactivation message to the low orbit satellite (NRPPa POSITIONING DEACTIVATION).

Thereafter, the LMF determines RTT from the Rx-Tx time difference measurements of the UE and the low orbit satellite, which provide the corresponding UNB measurements in stages 10 and 11, and calculates the position of the UE.

The above-mentioned stages 0-7 are the configuration of the positioning measurement signals performed by the terminal device and the low-orbit satellite before the terminal device and the low-orbit satellite are controlled to transmit the positioning measurement signals.

In a possible implementation manner, please refer to fig. 4, which is a flowchart of a low-orbit satellite-based positioning method provided in an embodiment of the present application, as shown in fig. 4, the step S102 of controlling a terminal device in a preset cell and a low-orbit satellite to perform transmission of a plurality of sets of positioning measurement signals according to a first service stopping time and obtaining transceiving time information of the plurality of sets of positioning measurement signals may include:

s301: a positioning request is sent to the terminal device for transmission of a set of positioning measurement signals between the terminal device and the low-orbit satellite.

S302: and judging whether the first stop service time meets the requirement of transmitting a next group of positioning measurement signals between the terminal equipment and the low-orbit satellite or not according to the first stop service time and the receiving and transmitting time information of the group of positioning measurement signals.

S303: and if the first service stopping time is determined to be satisfied with the transmission of the next group of positioning measurement signals between the terminal equipment and the low-orbit satellite, sending a positioning request to the terminal equipment again until the transmission of a plurality of groups of positioning measurement signals is completed.

In this embodiment, the LMF network element sends a positioning request to the terminal device once, after the low-orbit satellite arrives at the time T for measuring the position of the terminal device, sends a downlink positioning measurement signal to the terminal device, records the sending signal time T0 for sending the downlink positioning measurement signal, the terminal device detects the downlink positioning measurement signal based on the positioning request, when determining that the downlink positioning measurement signal is a pre-configured signal, records the receiving signal time T1 for receiving the downlink positioning measurement signal, then sends an uplink positioning measurement signal to the low-orbit satellite based on the downlink positioning measurement signal, records the sending signal time T2 for sending the uplink positioning measurement signal, the low-orbit satellite detects the uplink positioning measurement signal, when determining that the uplink positioning measurement signal is the pre-configured signal, records the receiving signal time T3 for receiving the uplink positioning measurement signal, the low-orbit satellite reports the sending signal time T0 and the receiving signal time T3 to the LMF network element, and the terminal device reports the receiving signal time T1 and the sending signal time T2 to the LMF network element, and calculates the receiving signal time T3 according to a set of sending signal time T0, RTT and receiving time value.

And then, the LMF network element calculates the residual service duration according to the first service stopping time and the current time, and judges whether the residual service duration is enough for the transmission of the next group of positioning measurement signals between the terminal equipment and the low-orbit satellite according to the residual service duration and the RTT value. If the remaining service duration is greater than or equal to the RTT value, it is determined that the remaining service duration is sufficient for transmission of a next set of positioning measurement signals between the terminal device and the low-orbit satellite, and if the remaining service duration is less than the RTT value, it is determined that the remaining service duration is insufficient for transmission of a next set of positioning measurement signals between the terminal device and the low-orbit satellite.

And if the remaining service duration is enough to transmit the next set of positioning measurement signals between the terminal equipment and the low-orbit satellite, transmitting a next positioning request to the terminal equipment.

Because the position of the low-orbit satellite is continuously moved, the time for transmitting the positioning signals is different each time, after the transmission of the positioning measurement signals between a group of terminal equipment and the low-orbit satellite is completed, an RTT value is calculated according to the corresponding receiving and transmitting time information, and whether the remaining service time is enough for the transmission of the next group of positioning measurement signals between the terminal equipment and the low-orbit satellite is judged until the transmission of the positioning measurement signals for the preset times is completed, so that the receiving and transmitting time information of the preset quantity is obtained.

In a possible implementation manner, please refer to fig. 5, which is a flowchart of a low-orbit satellite-based positioning method according to an embodiment of the present application, as shown in fig. 5, the method may further include:

s401: and if the first stopping service time is determined not to meet the requirement of transmission of the next set of positioning measurement signals between the terminal equipment and the low-orbit satellite, waiting for expiration of the first stopping service time.

S402: and after the first stopping service time expires, receiving a second stopping service time of the positioning service of the low-orbit satellite aiming at the preset cell.

S403: and in the second service stopping time, sending the positioning request to the terminal equipment again.

In this embodiment, if the remaining service duration is not enough for the terminal device and the low-orbit satellite to transmit the next set of positioning measurement signals, the LMF network element needs to wait to indicate that the first stop service time expires, then, when the low-orbit satellite receives the second stop service time, the LMF network element sends the second stop service time to the LMF network element, and when the second stop service time begins, the LMF network element sends the positioning request to the terminal device again until the transmission of the positioning measurement signals of the preset times is completed, so as to obtain the preset amount of transceiving time information.

In a possible implementation manner, before the step S403 of sending the positioning request to the terminal device again in the second out-of-service time, the method may further include:

In this embodiment, since the LMF network element cannot control the terminal device and the low-orbit satellite to complete transmission of the positioning measurement signal for multiple times within the first service stopping time, the configuration information of the positioning measurement signal is expired before the transmission, so after the second service stopping time is received, the signal configuration information of the positioning measurement signal needs to be sent to the terminal device and the low-orbit satellite again, and then the positioning request can be sent to the terminal device.

For example, referring to fig. 6, a second interaction diagram for positioning a terminal device by a low-orbit satellite according to an embodiment of the present application may include, as shown in fig. 6:

in stage 1, the low-orbit satellite transmits a first out-of-service time t1 to the base station gNB corresponding to the cell.

In stage 2, the base station gNB reports a first out-of-service time t1 to the LMF network element.

In phase 3, the transmission of positioning measurement signals is performed between the terminal device and the low-orbit satellite.

In stage 4, it is calculated whether the first out-of-service time t1 has expired sufficiently for the next transmission of the positioning measurement signal.

In stage 5, if the transmission of the next positioning measurement signal is sufficient, a positioning request is sent again to the terminal device.

In stage 6, if the transmission of the next positioning measurement signal is not performed, the expiration of the first out-of-service time t1 is waited.

In stage 7, the low-orbit satellite transmits a second out-of-service time t2 to the base station gNB corresponding to the cell.

In stage 8, the base station gNB reports the second out-of-service time t2 to the LMF network element.

In stage 9, a positioning request is sent to the terminal device.

According to the positioning method based on the low-orbit satellite, whether the next positioning measurement signal transmission can be performed or not is judged according to the stop service time of the low-orbit satellite to the preset cell and the receiving and transmitting time information of the positioning measurement signal, if so, the next positioning measurement signal transmission can be performed, if not, the transmission of the positioning measurement signal is performed again after the new stop service time is received, and the positioning continuity and the positioning success rate of the LMF network element to the terminal equipment are ensured.

In a possible implementation manner, please refer to fig. 7, which is a flowchart of a low-orbit satellite-based positioning method provided in an embodiment of the present application, as shown in fig. 7, the step of determining, according to the time information of receiving and transmitting the plurality of sets of positioning measurement signals, the location information of the terminal device in S103 may include:

S501: and calculating a plurality of pattern areas centering on the low-orbit satellite according to the receiving and transmitting time information of the plurality of groups of positioning measurement signals.

S502: and determining the position information of the terminal equipment according to the intersection points of the plurality of graphic areas.

In this embodiment, RTT values are calculated according to transmit signal time t0, receive signal time t1, transmit signal time t2, and receive signal time t3, which are the transmit/receive time information of a plurality of sets of positioning measurement signals, for example, please refer to fig. 8, which is a schematic diagram for positioning a terminal device provided in this embodiment of the present application, as shown in fig. 8, a plurality of circular areas with a low-orbit satellite as a center and with a c×rtt as a radius (c is a light speed) are determined according to the RTT values, and location information of the terminal device is determined according to an intersection point of the plurality of circular areas.

According to the positioning method based on the low-orbit satellite, the multi-RTT positioning method is combined to transmit a plurality of groups of positioning measurement signals between the terminal equipment and the low-orbit satellite, and the intersection point of a plurality of graph areas centering on the low-orbit satellite is determined to be the position information of the terminal equipment according to the receiving and transmitting time information of the plurality of groups of positioning measurement signals, so that high-precision positioning of the terminal equipment by using the low-orbit satellite is realized.

On the basis of the method embodiment, the embodiment of the application also provides a positioning device based on the low-orbit satellite, which is applied to the LMF network element with the position management function. Referring to fig. 9, a schematic structural diagram of a positioning device based on a low-orbit satellite according to an embodiment of the present application is shown in fig. 9, where the device may include:

a service time acquisition module 101, configured to receive a first stop service time of a positioning service of a low-orbit satellite for a preset cell;

the receiving and transmitting time obtaining module 102 is configured to control a terminal device and a low-orbit satellite in a preset cell to transmit a plurality of sets of positioning measurement signals according to the first service stopping time, and obtain receiving and transmitting time information of the plurality of sets of positioning measurement signals;

the location information determining module 103 is configured to determine location information of the terminal device according to the time information of receiving and transmitting the plurality of sets of positioning measurement signals.

Optionally, the transceiver time obtaining module 102 is specifically configured to send multiple positioning requests to the terminal device according to the first service stopping time, so that multiple sets of positioning measurement signals are transmitted between the terminal device and the low-orbit satellite; and receiving a plurality of positioning responses returned by the terminal equipment and the low-orbit satellite, wherein each positioning response comprises receiving and transmitting time information of a group of positioning measurement signals transmitted by the terminal equipment and the low-orbit satellite.

Optionally, the transceiver time acquisition module 102 is specifically configured to send a positioning request to the terminal device, so that a set of positioning measurement signals are transmitted between the terminal device and the low-orbit satellite; judging whether the first stop service time meets the requirement of transmitting a next group of positioning measurement signals between the terminal equipment and the low-orbit satellite according to the first stop service time and the receiving and transmitting time information of a group of positioning measurement signals; and if the first service stopping time is determined to be satisfied with the transmission of the next group of positioning measurement signals between the terminal equipment and the low-orbit satellite, sending a positioning request to the terminal equipment again until the transmission of a plurality of groups of positioning measurement signals is completed.

Optionally, the transceiver time obtaining module 102 is further configured to wait for expiration of the first stop service time if it is determined that the first stop service time does not meet transmission of a next set of positioning measurement signals between the terminal device and the low-orbit satellite; after the first stop service time expires, receiving a second stop service time of the positioning service of the low-orbit satellite aiming at the preset cell; and in the second service stopping time, sending the positioning request to the terminal equipment again.

Optionally, the location information determining module 103 is specifically configured to calculate a plurality of pattern areas centered on the low-orbit satellite according to the time information of receiving and transmitting of the plurality of sets of positioning measurement signals; and determining the position information of the terminal equipment according to the intersection points of the plurality of graphic areas.

Optionally, before the transceiving time acquisition module 102, the apparatus further includes:

and the signal configuration module is used for respectively sending the signal configuration information of the positioning measurement signals to the terminal equipment and the low-orbit satellite.

Optionally, before sending the positioning request to the terminal device again in the second out-of-service time, the signal configuration module is further configured to send the signal configuration information of the positioning measurement signal to the terminal device and the low-orbit satellite again.

The foregoing apparatus is used for executing the method provided in the foregoing embodiment, and its implementation principle and technical effects are similar, and are not described herein again.

The above modules may be one or more integrated circuits configured to implement the above methods, for example: one or more application specific integrated circuits (Application Specific Integrated Circuit, abbreviated as ASICs), or one or more microprocessors, or one or more field programmable gate arrays (Field Programmable Gate Array, abbreviated as FPGAs), etc. For another example, when a module above is implemented in the form of a processing element scheduler code, the processing element may be a general-purpose processor, such as a central processing unit (Central Processing Unit, CPU) or other processor that may invoke the program code. For another example, the modules may be integrated together and implemented in the form of a system-on-a-chip (SOC).

Referring to fig. 10, a schematic diagram of a core network element provided in an embodiment of the present application, as shown in fig. 10, the core network element 200 includes: the system comprises a processor 201, a storage medium 202 and a bus, wherein the storage medium 202 stores program instructions executable by the processor 201, and when the core network element 200 runs, the processor 201 and the storage medium 202 communicate through the bus, and the processor 201 executes the program instructions to execute the method embodiment. The specific implementation manner and the technical effect are similar, and are not repeated here.

Optionally, the present invention further provides a computer readable storage medium, on which a computer program is stored, which when executed by a processor performs the above-mentioned method embodiments.

In the several embodiments provided by the present invention, it should be understood that the disclosed apparatus and method may be implemented in other manners. For example, the apparatus embodiments described above are merely illustrative, e.g., the division of the units is merely a logical function division, and there may be additional divisions when actually implemented, e.g., multiple units or components may be combined or integrated into another system, or some features may be omitted or not performed. Alternatively, the coupling or direct coupling or communication connection shown or discussed with each other may be an indirect coupling or communication connection via some interfaces, devices or units, which may be in electrical, mechanical or other form.

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

In addition, each functional unit in the embodiments of the present invention may be integrated in one processing unit, or each unit may exist alone physically, or two or more units may be integrated in one unit. The integrated units may be implemented in hardware or in hardware plus software functional units.

The integrated units implemented in the form of software functional units described above may be stored in a computer readable storage medium. The software functional unit is stored in a storage medium, and includes several instructions for causing a computer device (which may be a personal computer, a server, or a network device, etc.) or a processor (english: processor) to perform some of the steps of the methods according to the embodiments of the invention. And the aforementioned storage medium includes: u disk, mobile hard disk, read-Only Memory (ROM), random access Memory (Random Access Memory, RAM), magnetic disk or optical disk, etc.

The foregoing is merely illustrative of embodiments of the present invention, and the present invention is not limited thereto, and any changes or substitutions can be easily made by those skilled in the art within the technical scope of the present invention, and the present invention is intended to be covered by the present invention. Therefore, the protection scope of the invention is subject to the protection scope of the claims.

Claims

1. A positioning method based on low-orbit satellites, which is applied to a location management function LMF network element, the method comprising:

2. The method of claim 1, wherein controlling the terminal device in the preset cell and the low-orbit satellite to transmit the plurality of sets of positioning measurement signals according to the first out-of-service time, and acquiring the transceiving time information of the plurality of sets of positioning measurement signals, comprises:

3. The method of claim 1, wherein controlling the terminal device in the preset cell and the low-orbit satellite to transmit the plurality of sets of positioning measurement signals according to the first out-of-service time, and acquiring the transceiving time information of the plurality of sets of positioning measurement signals, comprises:

4. A method as claimed in claim 3, wherein the method further comprises:

5. The method of claim 1, wherein said determining location information of the terminal device based on the transceiving time information of the plurality of sets of positioning measurement signals comprises:

6. The method of claim 1, wherein before controlling the terminal device in the preset cell and the low-orbit satellite to transmit the plurality of sets of positioning measurement signals according to the first out-of-service time, the method further comprises:

7. The method of claim 4, wherein before sending the location request again to the terminal device during the second out-of-service time, the method further comprises:

8. A positioning device based on low-orbit satellites, applied to a location management function LMF network element, said device comprising:

9. A core network element comprising: a processor, a storage medium and a bus, the storage medium storing program instructions executable by the processor, the processor and the storage medium communicating over the bus when the core network element is running, the processor executing the program instructions to perform the steps of the low orbit satellite based positioning method according to any one of claims 1 to 7.

10. A computer readable storage medium, characterized in that the storage medium has stored thereon a computer program which, when executed by a processor, performs the steps of the low-orbit satellite based positioning method according to any one of claims 1 to 7.