WO2024113539A1 - Positioning method and apparatus - Google Patents

Abstract

The present application relates to the technical field of communications, and provides a positioning method and apparatus. The method comprises: a positioning server sends first information, wherein the first information is related to a positioning service based on an unlicensed spectrum. In embodiments of the present application, the positioning server can coordinate resources of the unlicensed spectrum by means of the first information to support the positioning service, so as to achieve on-demand use of the unlicensed spectrum for positioning.

Description

Method and device for positioning

This application claims priority to the Chinese patent application filed with the China Patent Office on November 30, 2022, with application number 2022115185768 and application name “Method and Device for Positioning”, the entire contents of which are incorporated by reference into this application.

Technical Field

The present application relates to the field of communication technology, and more specifically, to a method and device for positioning.

Background technique

Since the resources of the licensed spectrum are very limited, offloading the positioning function to the unlicensed spectrum has become a development direction. For example, in the licensed assisted mode, the transmission overhead of the positioning reference signal and/or positioning measurement report is offloaded from the licensed spectrum to the unlicensed spectrum. However, the relevant technology does not specify how to support positioning services in the unlicensed spectrum.

Summary of the invention

The present application provides a method and apparatus for positioning, which can solve the problem of how to support positioning services in unlicensed spectrum.

In a first aspect, a method for positioning is provided, including: a positioning server sends first information, where the first information is related to a positioning service based on an unlicensed spectrum.

According to a second aspect, a method for positioning is provided, including: a first device receives first information, where the first information is related to a positioning service based on an unlicensed spectrum.

According to a third aspect, a device for positioning is provided. The device is a positioning server. The positioning server includes: a sending unit, configured to send first information, where the first information is related to a positioning service based on an unlicensed spectrum.

In a fourth aspect, a device for positioning is provided. The device is a first device, and the first device includes: a receiving unit, configured to receive first information, where the first information is related to a positioning service based on an unlicensed spectrum.

In a fifth aspect, a communication device is provided, comprising a memory and a processor, wherein the memory is used to store a program, and the processor is used to call the program in the memory to execute the method described in the first aspect or the second aspect.

According to a sixth aspect, a device is provided, comprising a processor, configured to call a program from a memory to execute the method described in the first aspect or the second aspect.

In a seventh aspect, a chip is provided, comprising a processor for calling a program from a memory so that a device equipped with the chip executes the method described in the first aspect or the second aspect.

According to an eighth aspect, a computer-readable storage medium is provided, on which a program is stored, wherein the program enables a computer to execute the method described in the first aspect or the second aspect.

According to a ninth aspect, a computer program product is provided, comprising a program, wherein the program enables a computer to execute the method described in the first aspect or the second aspect.

According to a tenth aspect, a computer program is provided, wherein the computer program enables a computer to execute the method described in the first aspect or the second aspect.

In the embodiment of the present application, the positioning server determines and sends the first information, wherein the first information is related to the positioning service based on the unlicensed spectrum. By sending the first information, the positioning server can effectively coordinate the resources of the unlicensed spectrum to support the positioning service. The positioning server uses the unlicensed spectrum for positioning as needed, which helps to reduce the overhead of the licensed spectrum while meeting the positioning requirements.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG1 is a wireless communication system applied in an embodiment of the present application.

FIG2 is a flow chart of a method for positioning provided in an embodiment of the present application.

FIG3 is a flow chart of another method for positioning provided in an embodiment of the present application.

FIG4 is a flow chart of a possible implementation method provided in an embodiment of the present application.

FIG5 is a flow chart of another possible implementation method provided in an embodiment of the present application.

FIG. 6 is a schematic diagram of the structure of a device for positioning provided in an embodiment of the present application.

FIG. 7 is a schematic diagram of the structure of another device for positioning provided in an embodiment of the present application.

FIG8 is a schematic diagram of the structure of a communication device provided in an embodiment of the present application.

Detailed ways

The following will describe the technical solutions in the embodiments of the present application in conjunction with the drawings in the embodiments of the present application. Obviously, the described embodiments are part of the embodiments of the present application, not all of the embodiments. For the embodiments in the present application, all other embodiments obtained by ordinary technicians in this field without creative work are within the scope of protection of this application.

The technical solution of the embodiment of the present application can be applied to various communication systems. For example: global system of mobile communication (GSM) system, code division multiple access (CDMA) system, wideband code division multiple access (WCDMA) system, general packet radio service (GPRS), long term evolution (LTE) system, advanced long term evolution (LTE-A) system, new radio (NR) system, NR system evolution system, LTE-based access to unlicensed spectrum (LTE-U) system, NR-based access to unlicensed spectrum (NR-U) system, non-terrestrial network (NTN) system, universal mobile telecommunication system (UMTS), wireless local area network (WLAN), wireless fidelity (WiFi), fifth-generation communication (5th-generation, The technical solution of the embodiment of the present application can also be applied to other communication systems, such as future communication systems. The future communication system can be, for example, a sixth-generation (6G) mobile communication system, or a satellite communication system.

Generally speaking, traditional communication systems support a limited number of connections and are easy to implement. However, with the development of communication technology, communication systems can not only support traditional cellular communications, but also support one or more other types of communications. For example, a communication system can support one or more of the following communications: device to device (D2D) communication, machine to machine (M2M) communication, machine type communication (MTC), vehicle to vehicle (V2V) communication, and vehicle to everything (V2X) communication, etc. The embodiments of the present application can also be applied to communication systems that support the above communication methods.

The communication system in the embodiments of the present application can be applied to carrier aggregation (CA) scenarios, dual connectivity (DC) scenarios, and stand-alone (SA) networking scenarios.

The communication system in the embodiment of the present application may be applied to an unlicensed spectrum. The unlicensed spectrum may also be considered as a shared spectrum. Alternatively, the communication system in the embodiment of the present application may also be applied to an authorized spectrum. The authorized spectrum may also be considered as a dedicated spectrum.

The embodiments of the present application may be applied to NTN systems and terrestrial networks (TN) systems. As an example but not limitation, NTN systems may include NR-based NTN systems and Internet of Things (IoT)-based NTN systems.

The communication system in the embodiment of the present application may include one or more terminal devices. The terminal device may also be referred to as user equipment (UE), access terminal, user unit, user station, mobile station, mobile station (MS), mobile terminal (MT), remote station, remote terminal, mobile device, user terminal, terminal, wireless communication device, user agent or user device, etc.

In an embodiment of the present application, the terminal device may be a station (STATION, ST) in a WLAN, a cellular phone, a cordless phone, a session initiation protocol (SIP) phone, a wireless local loop (WLL) station, a personal digital assistant (PDA) device, a handheld device with 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 a next-generation communication system (such as an NR system), or a terminal device in a future-evolved public land mobile network (PLMN) network, etc.

In the embodiments of the present application, the terminal device may be a device that provides voice and/or data connectivity to a user, and may be used to connect people, objects, and machines, such as a handheld device with a wireless connection function, a vehicle-mounted device, etc. The terminal device in the embodiments of the present application may be a mobile phone, a tablet computer (Pad), a laptop computer, a PDA, a mobile internet device (MID), a wearable device, a virtual reality (VR) device, an augmented reality (AR) device, a wireless terminal in industrial control, a wireless terminal in self-driving, a wireless terminal in remote medical surgery, or a wireless terminal in a wearable device. The terminal device may be used to connect to a wireless terminal in a smart grid, a wireless terminal in transportation safety, a wireless terminal in a smart city, a wireless terminal in a smart home, etc. Optionally, the terminal device may be used to act as a base station. For example, the terminal device may act as a scheduling entity that provides sidelink signals between terminal devices in V2X or D2D, etc. For example, a cellular phone and a car communicate with each other using sidelink signals. Cellular phones and smart home devices communicate with each other without relaying communication signals through a base station.

In the embodiments of the present application, the terminal device can be deployed on land, including indoors or outdoors, wearable or vehicle-mounted; it can also be deployed on the water, such as on a ship; it can also be deployed in the air, such as on an airplane, balloon, and satellite.

In addition to the terminal device, the communication system may also include one or more network devices. The network device in the embodiment of the present application may be a device for communicating with the terminal device, and the network device may also be referred to as an access network device or a wireless access network device. The network device may be, for example, a base station. The network device in the embodiment of the present application may refer to a radio access network (RAN) node (or device) that connects the terminal device to a wireless network. Base station can broadly cover various names as follows, or be replaced with the following names, such as: NodeB, evolved NodeB (eNB), next generation NodeB (gNB), relay station, access point, transmitting and receiving point (TRP), transmitting point (TP), master station MeNB, auxiliary station SeNB, multi-standard radio (MSR) node, home base station, network controller, access node, wireless node, access point (AP), transmission node, transceiver node, base band unit (BBU), remote radio unit (RRU), active antenna unit (AAU), remote radio head (RRH), central unit (CU), distributed unit (DU), positioning node, etc. The base station can be a macro base station, a micro base station, a relay node, a donor node or the like, or a combination thereof. The base station may also refer to a communication module, modem or chip used to be set in the aforementioned equipment or device. The base station may also be a mobile switching center and a device that performs the base station function in D2D, V2X, and M2M communications, a network-side device in a 6G network, and a device that performs the base station function in a future communication system. The base station may support networks with the same or different access technologies. The embodiments of the present application do not limit the specific technology and specific device form used by the network equipment.

Base stations can be fixed or mobile. For example, a helicopter or drone can be configured to act as a mobile base station, and one or more cells can move based on the location of the mobile base station. In other examples, a helicopter or drone can be configured to act as a device that communicates with another base station.

In some deployments, the network device in the embodiments of the present application may refer to a CU or a DU, or the network device includes a CU and a DU. The gNB may also include an AAU.

As an example but not limitation, in the embodiments of the present application, the network device may have a mobile feature, for example, the network device may be a mobile device. In some embodiments of the present application, the network device may be a satellite or a balloon station. In some embodiments of the present application, the network device may also be a base station set up in a location such as land or water.

In the embodiment of the present application, the network device can provide services for the cell, and the terminal device communicates with the network device through the transmission resources (for example, frequency domain resources, or spectrum resources) used by the cell. The cell can be a cell corresponding to the network device (for example, a base station), and the cell can belong to a macro base station or a small cell. The small cells here may include: metro cells, micro cells, pico cells, femto cells, etc. These small cells have the characteristics of small coverage and low transmission power, and are suitable for providing high-speed data transmission services.

Exemplarily, FIG1 is a schematic diagram of the architecture of a communication system provided in an embodiment of the present application. As shown in FIG1, the communication system 100 may include a network device 110, and the network device 110 may be a device that communicates with a terminal device 120 (or referred to as a communication terminal, terminal). The network device 110 may provide communication coverage for a specific geographical area, and may communicate with terminal devices located in the coverage area.

FIG1 exemplarily shows a network device and two terminal devices. In some embodiments of the present application, the communication system 100 may include multiple network devices and each network device may include other number of terminal devices within its coverage area, which is not limited in the embodiments of the present application.

It should be understood that the device with communication function in the network/system in the embodiment of the present application can be called a communication device. Taking the communication system 100 shown in Figure 1 as an example, the communication device may include a network device 110 and a terminal device 120 with communication function. The network device 110 and the terminal device 120 may be the specific devices described above, which will not be repeated here; the communication device may also include other devices in the communication system 100, such as a network controller, a mobility management entity (mobility management entity, MME), an access and mobility management function (access and mobility management function, AMF) and other network entities, which are not limited in the embodiment of the present application.

For ease of understanding, some related technical knowledge involved in the embodiments of the present application is first introduced. The following related technologies can be arbitrarily combined with the technical solutions of the embodiments of the present application as optional solutions, and they all belong to the protection scope of the embodiments of the present application. The embodiments of the present application include at least part of the following contents.

Positioning method and interface protocol

At present, there are many common positioning methods, such as the positioning method based on time of arrival (TOA) and the positioning method based on time difference of arrival (TDOA). Regardless of the positioning method used for positioning, positioning measurement is required. Different communication equipment is required for positioning measurement according to different positioning measurement reference signals.

In downlink signal-based positioning methods, the terminal device measures downlink reference signals from multiple network devices (e.g., gNB). Downlink reference signals are usually dedicated pilot signals used for positioning, that is, positioning reference signals (PRS).

In the positioning method based on uplink signals, multiple network devices measure the uplink reference signal from the terminal device. The uplink reference signal is usually a sounding reference signal (SRS) sent by the terminal device at a specific time.

In the positioning method based on round-trip time (RTT), it is necessary to measure the uplink reference signal and the downlink reference signal separately. Multiple network devices first send downlink reference signals, and the terminal device receives and then returns the corresponding multiple uplink reference signals, thus forming a round trip. In other words, the terminal device and multiple network devices perform round-trip transmission.

According to the above positioning measurement, the location of the terminal device can be estimated. Generally, the location estimation method requires the participation of at least three network devices. The more data from the network devices involved in the positioning measurement, the higher the measurement accuracy and the better the positioning performance. The good becomes more obvious.

The location service (LCS) provided by the communication system to the terminal device is also called "positioning service". The communication system can provide relevant positioning services through the positioning server. The positioning server can be understood as an entity that handles the positioning of the LCS target device, responsible for providing auxiliary information and performing position calculation.

At present, the positioning protocols supported in the communication protocol include LTE positioning protocol (LPP) and NR positioning protocol a (NRPPa). Among them, LPP can be used as a general positioning communication protocol, which is mainly used for the exchange of positioning capability information, auxiliary data, measurement information related to positioning, and location information between the positioning server and the terminal device. Generally, LPP supports point-to-point communication between the terminal device and the positioning server. In addition, LPP can be used for user plane and control plane positioning, and allows multiple LPP processes to be executed simultaneously to reduce positioning delays. At present, NRPPa is often used for control plane positioning, supporting communication between network devices and positioning servers. NRPPa can help user plane positioning by querying data and measurements of network devices.

Licensed spectrum-assisted access

License assisted access (LAA) is a feature that has been studied and supported since the LTE protocol (e.g., Rel-13). LAA can utilize the unlicensed 5GHz band in combination with the licensed spectrum (also called the licensed band) to increase the available spectrum resources of the system and provide performance improvement for mobile broadband services. In the LAA scenario, the serving base station (e.g., gNB) can decide whether to offload from the licensed spectrum to the unlicensed spectrum based on its actual load status.

Taking LTE-LAA as an example, LTE-LAA is based on the framework of carrier aggregation. The licensed spectrum is used as the primary cell (PCell) to provide the main access and control, and the unlicensed spectrum (also known as unlicensed frequency band, unlicensed frequency band) can be used as the secondary cell (SCell) to support only data service transmission. When the load of the serving base station is large, the traffic of the data service can be unloaded to the secondary cell. When the load of the serving base station is small, all services can be performed through the primary cell.

With the development of communication technology, the types of services that can be transmitted in unlicensed spectrum are constantly expanding. For example, in Rel-13, unlicensed spectrum only supports downlink (DL) transmission. In subsequent versions (Rel-14 and Rel-15), uplink (UL) operations have been introduced into the unlicensed spectrum.

For the licensed spectrum and unlicensed spectrum in LAA, different communication systems will set corresponding deployment scenarios. For example, in 5G NR-U, there are the following five deployment scenarios:

Scenario A: Carrier aggregation between licensed spectrum NR (PCell) and unlicensed spectrum NR-U (SCell). NR-U as SCell can have both downlink and uplink, or only downlink.

Scenario B: Dual connectivity between licensed LTE (PCell) and unlicensed NR-U, where NR-U is the primary secondary cell (PSCell).

Scenario C: NR-U working independently.

Scenario D: An NR cell with downlink transmission in unlicensed spectrum and uplink transmission in licensed spectrum.

Scenario E: Dual connectivity between licensed NR (PCell) and unlicensed NR-U (PSCell).

Positioning support for unlicensed spectrum

Since the resources of the licensed spectrum are very limited, in the licensed-assisted mode, it is also considered to offload other communications to the unlicensed spectrum. For example, the 3rd Generation Partnership Project (3GPP) proposed a project to support positioning services in the unlicensed spectrum in RP-192527. RP-192527 proposed to offload the positioning function to the unlicensed spectrum in the licensed-assisted mode. The specific possible operations include: transmitting positioning reference signals on the unlicensed spectrum; and transmitting positioning measurement reports in the unlicensed spectrum.

By offloading the transmission overhead of positioning reference signaling from the licensed spectrum to the unlicensed spectrum, the impact of positioning services on the quality of service (QoS) of application scenarios in the licensed spectrum can be reduced. Application scenarios such as traditional enhanced mobile broadband (eMBB) and ultra reliable and low latency communication (uRLLC) can be reduced.

However, how to support positioning services in unlicensed spectrum is an issue that needs to be considered, for example, when to activate positioning services based on unlicensed spectrum, how to activate them, and how to transmit them.

As mentioned above, in traditional LAA scenarios, network devices (e.g., serving gNBs) can decide when to offload traffic to unlicensed spectrum based on their load conditions. If this mechanism is applied to positioning services based on unlicensed spectrum, there will be multiple problems. For ease of understanding, the following example uses positioning measurements based on downlink reference signals as an example. For the absence of other devices involved, the base station may autonomously decide when to offload positioning reference signals to unlicensed spectrum, which may cause the following problems.

As mentioned above, the terminal device needs to measure the positioning reference signals of multiple network devices. The multiple network devices include the serving base station and the neighboring base stations corresponding to the terminal device. Among them, the terminal device and the neighboring base stations do not have the ability to communicate directly. Therefore, when the neighboring base station decides to transmit the positioning reference signal in the unlicensed spectrum according to its own situation, the terminal device may not know when the positioning reference signal is transmitted in the unlicensed spectrum.

Furthermore, since it is uncertain whether to transmit the positioning reference signal in the unlicensed spectrum, the terminal may need to keep trying between the licensed spectrum and the unlicensed spectrum. In other words, the uncertain use of the unlicensed spectrum may bring additional blind decoding complexity at the receiving end (terminal device).

At the same time, without any coordination, some base stations may transmit positioning reference signals in the licensed spectrum, while some base stations may transmit positioning reference signals in the unlicensed frequency band. For terminal devices, it is necessary to receive positioning reference signals at different frequencies, which may also increase the operational complexity of the receiver.

In order to avoid the above problems, an embodiment of the present application proposes a method for positioning. The method uses a positioning server to coordinate the use of unlicensed spectrum to support positioning services, which can achieve an effective way to use unlicensed spectrum for positioning on demand. The method for positioning in an embodiment of the present application is described below in conjunction with Figure 2.

The method shown in FIG. 2 is introduced from the perspective of interaction between the positioning server and the first device.

In step S210, the positioning server sends first information to the first device, wherein the first information is related to a positioning service based on an unlicensed spectrum.

The positioning server may be a core network device for LCS in a communication system. The positioning server may include a positioning network element in the core network, such as a location management function (LMF) device.

The first device may be one or more communication devices involved in positioning. The communication device may be any terminal device described above, or any network device. The terminal device may be a target device for positioning, and the network device may be used as a reference device to assist in completing the positioning of the target device. In other words, the method for positioning may be to locate the terminal device.

In some embodiments, the first device may be a device capable of supporting positioning using an unlicensed spectrum. For example, the first device is a network device that can send a PRS in an unlicensed spectrum, or can receive a positioning reference signal in an unlicensed spectrum. For another example, the first device is a terminal device that can send a positioning reference signal (SRS-pos) in an unlicensed spectrum, or can receive a positioning reference signal in an unlicensed spectrum. For another example, the first device is a terminal device that can report positioning measurement results through an unlicensed spectrum.

As described above, in the positioning scenario, the interaction between the positioning server and the terminal device can be performed through the LPP protocol, so if the first device includes a terminal device, the above first information can be LPP information. Correspondingly, the interaction between the positioning server and the network device can be performed through the NRPPa protocol, so if the first device includes a network device, the above first information is NRPPa information.

The first information may be used to implement one or more functions. The following describes the content and functions that the first information may include. It should be noted that the first information may also include other information than that described below, and the embodiments of the present application do not limit this.

In some embodiments, the first information may include activation information of a positioning service based on an unlicensed spectrum. Accordingly, the first information may be used to implement a function of activating a positioning service based on an unlicensed spectrum, so that the positioning server can control when to activate the unlicensed spectrum. For example, the first information may include indication information for activating an unlicensed spectrum positioning service.

In some embodiments, the first information may include configuration information of a positioning reference signal in an unlicensed spectrum, thereby realizing a function of indicating configuration information of a positioning reference signal in an unlicensed spectrum. As a possible implementation, the first information may include downlink positioning reference signal configuration information provided by a positioning server to the first device. For example, the positioning server may provide configuration information of PRS to a network device, and may provide configuration information of PRS to a terminal device. As another possible implementation, the first information may include uplink positioning reference signal configuration information provided by a positioning server to the first device. For example, the positioning server may suggest configuration information of SRS to a terminal device, and may provide configuration information of SRS to a network device.

In some embodiments, the first information may include transmission information of a positioning reference signal in an unlicensed spectrum, so as to implement the function of the positioning server instructing or triggering the transmission of a positioning reference signal in an unlicensed spectrum. That is, the positioning server can control which devices should send downlink or uplink positioning reference signals through the first information, and synchronously send and receive transmission information at both ends. Therefore, the positioning server can centrally control the resources for transmitting positioning-related information by different devices involved in positioning, thereby reducing the reception complexity of the receiving end. For example, for a downlink positioning reference signal, the positioning server can instruct the relevant network device to send a PRS on the time-frequency resources of the unlicensed spectrum through the first information, and can also instruct the terminal device to receive the PRS on the corresponding resources. For another example, for an uplink positioning reference signal, the positioning server can instruct the terminal device to send an SRS on the time-frequency resources of the unlicensed spectrum through the first information, and can also instruct the network device to receive the SRS on the corresponding resources. SRS.

In some embodiments, the positioning server may also trigger the first device to measure the positioning reference signal through the first information. As a possible implementation method, the positioning server may indicate to the first device the transmission information of the positioning reference signal in the unlicensed spectrum, and trigger the first device to measure the positioning reference signal. For example, when the first device is a terminal device, the positioning server may trigger the relevant terminal device to measure the downlink positioning reference signal in the unlicensed spectrum. For another example, when the first device is a network device, the positioning server may trigger the relevant network device to measure the uplink positioning reference signal in the unlicensed spectrum through the first information.

In some embodiments, the first information may include a transmission method of a measurement report of a positioning reference signal in an unlicensed spectrum to determine whether to perform positioning measurement and reporting in the unlicensed spectrum. As a possible implementation method, the positioning server may instruct the terminal device to report its positioning measurement results in the unlicensed spectrum through the first information. In other words, the terminal device may transmit a positioning measurement report through the unlicensed spectrum.

In some embodiments, the first information may also include positioning-related measurement and auxiliary information to facilitate the terminal device or the network device to calculate the location of the target device.

By offloading the transmission overhead of the positioning reference signal and positioning measurement report from the licensed spectrum to the unlicensed spectrum, the service quality of more critical services and data on the licensed spectrum can be guaranteed.

As shown in FIG. 2 , the positioning method proposed in the embodiment of the present application can allow the positioning server to decide when to activate the unlicensed spectrum for positioning, thereby providing effective authorized and unlicensed spectrum for positioning services. Furthermore, in order to uniformly schedule the authorized spectrum and the unlicensed spectrum, it is also necessary to consider and determine under what circumstances the positioning server activates the unlicensed spectrum for positioning.

Based on this, an embodiment of the present application also proposes a method for positioning. In this method, the positioning server can determine whether to activate the unlicensed spectrum for positioning based on the activation request of the unlicensed spectrum. For ease of understanding, the method for activating the unlicensed spectrum by the positioning server is described in detail below in conjunction with Figure 3. The method shown in Figure 3 is related to Figure 2, so for the sake of brevity, Figure 3 no longer explains in detail the terms that have appeared in Figure 2.

Referring to FIG. 3 , in step S310 , the positioning server initiates and/or receives a first request, wherein the first request is used to request activation of a positioning service based on an unlicensed spectrum.

The positioning server initiates and/or receives the first request, which means that the first request may come from the first device involved in positioning, or from the corresponding function of the positioning server. As a possible implementation, when the first request comes from a network device or a terminal device, the positioning server needs to receive the first request. As a possible implementation, when the initiator of the first request is the positioning server, the positioning server directly executes the subsequent process based on the first request.

In some embodiments, the first device or the positioning server may request activation of the unlicensed spectrum for positioning based on positioning service QoS, traffic load conditions, link quality, and other information.

As a possible implementation, the initiator of the first request may be a positioning server. This situation may occur in a user-assisted positioning solution (UE-assisted positioning). In the user-assisted positioning method, the positioning server may evaluate whether the current positioning capability meets the positioning service requirements of the first request. In other words, the positioning server may The use of unlicensed spectrum is requested based on the QoS of the licensed spectrum positioning service.

For example, the positioning server finds that the positioning accuracy requirement cannot be met when only using the licensed spectrum due to limited bandwidth. The positioning server can initiate a first request to activate more bandwidth in the unlicensed spectrum to achieve the transmission of the positioning reference signal. By utilizing the high available bandwidth of the unlicensed spectrum, the positioning accuracy can be improved.

For another example, if the positioning server finds that insufficient positioning measurement reports are transmitted in the licensed spectrum, resulting in excessive delay in the positioning service, the positioning server may initiate a first request to activate more positioning measurement reports in the unlicensed spectrum, thereby reducing the delay in the positioning service.

For another example, the positioning server identifies in some way that there is a synchronization problem between network devices, and the time synchronization gap is large, which is not conducive to positioning measurement. The positioning server can initiate a first request to implement additional UL/DL positioning methods by activating unlicensed spectrum to achieve RTT positioning of multiple cells.

As a possible implementation, the initiator of the first request may be a terminal device. That is, the first request may come from a terminal device. This situation may occur in a user-based positioning solution (UE-based positioning). In the user-based positioning method, the terminal device may evaluate whether the current positioning capability meets the positioning service requirements of the first request. That is, the terminal device may initiate the first request based on different positioning KPI conditions. Positioning KPIs are, for example, the above-mentioned positioning accuracy, positioning service delay, synchronization issues and other related conditions.

For example, when the terminal device finds that only using the licensed spectrum cannot meet the positioning accuracy requirements due to bandwidth limitation, the terminal device can initiate a first request to the positioning server to activate more bandwidth in the unlicensed spectrum to achieve the transmission of positioning reference signals and improve positioning accuracy.

As a possible implementation, the initiator of the first request may be a network device. That is, the first request may come from a network device. Unlike terminal devices and positioning servers, network devices may also request the use of unlicensed spectrum based on their load requests. The network device may decide on the configuration based on the positioning method. If there is a huge traffic load in the licensed spectrum, the network device may want to offload certain services to the unlicensed spectrum. Taking NR positioning in some protocols (Rel-16/17) as an example, the configuration and scheduling of DL PRS (for downlink positioning methods) and UL SRS (for uplink positioning methods) are entirely dependent on the decision of the serving base station. Therefore, depending on the actual load situation, the serving base station may request to transmit a positioning reference signal in the unlicensed spectrum and/or send a positioning measurement report in the unlicensed spectrum.

For example, when the data transmission service load is high, the network device finds that using only the licensed spectrum cannot provide enough resources to transmit the positioning reference signal. In this case, the network device can initiate a first request to the positioning server to activate the resources of the unlicensed spectrum to transmit the positioning reference signal.

As a possible implementation, the initiator of the first request may be one or more of the above three. For example, the network device and the terminal device may initiate the first request for the same positioning service. The positioning server may collect requests from different positioning participants or stakeholders and then make a final decision.

The first request may be used to request activation of a positioning service based on an unlicensed spectrum, which means that the first request may correspond to a positioning service for a target device, and the positioning service request transmits relevant information in the unlicensed spectrum. As a possible implementation, the first request may include relevant information of the above positioning service, and may also include an unlicensed spectrum requested for activation. Information about the spectrum.

After receiving the first request, the final decision of the positioning server may be to activate the unlicensed spectrum for positioning services. However, the use of unlicensed spectrum needs to meet certain requirements. For example, it is necessary to monitor the channel of the unlicensed spectrum, and the unlicensed spectrum can only be used when the monitoring result is idle. However, the positioning server may not be able to perform channel monitoring, or it may not be able to determine whether the unlicensed spectrum can be used. Therefore, an embodiment of the present application proposes that the positioning server can determine whether to activate/use the unlicensed spectrum by collecting channel usage information of the unlicensed spectrum. For details, please refer to step S320 and step S330 shown in Figure 3.

In step S320, the positioning server requests the first device for second information. The positioning server may collect channel usage information of the unlicensed spectrum from the first device participating in positioning.

The second information may include channel usage information indicating whether the unlicensed spectrum may be used. In some embodiments, the first information described above may also be determined based on the second information.

As a possible implementation, the second information may include a channel busy rate of the unlicensed spectrum, that is, a channel utilization rate. The channel busy rate may be determined by a relevant report of the first device. For example, an NR-U received signal strength indication (RSSI) report provided by the terminal device may display the channel busy rate of the unlicensed spectrum.

As a possible implementation, the second information may include link quality of the unlicensed spectrum. The link quality may be determined by a measurement result of the link by the first device. The link quality is, for example, reference signal receiving power (RSRP), or reference signal receiving quality (RSRQ).

As a possible implementation, the second information may include a monitoring result of the unlicensed spectrum. The monitoring result is, for example, a result of the first device performing listen before talk (LBT) on the unlicensed spectrum. The first device participating in the positioning may send the LBT result to the positioning server.

As a possible implementation, the second information may include the capability of the first device to use unlicensed spectrum for positioning. The capability of the first device to use unlicensed spectrum for positioning has been described above. The positioning server may collect capabilities from the first device before the first request, or may collect capabilities after the first request as shown in FIG3. After receiving the capability collection request from the positioning server, the first device may provide its capability information accordingly.

As a possible implementation, the second information may include one or more of the above information. For example, the first device may report the channel utilization and link quality of the unlicensed spectrum to the positioning server, or may directly report the LBT result.

In some embodiments, the first device may send the second information according to the request of step S320, or may directly send the second information when sending the first request. That is, when the first device directly sends the second information, the positioning server does not need to execute the process of step S320.

In step S330, the first device sends the second information to the positioning server. The positioning server can make an appropriate decision on whether to activate the unlicensed spectrum for positioning by collecting the channel usage information included in the second information.

In some embodiments, the second information may be reports from different devices participating in the positioning. The second information can be a report from a terminal device or a report from a network device. Taking NR-U as an example, NR-U can support the measurement and reporting of average RSSI and statistical RSSI from terminal devices. NR network devices can obtain information about the busyness of unlicensed spectrum channels and identify potential hidden node problems by collecting multiple measurements from different terminal devices and combining these measurements with their own measurements.

As a possible implementation, the second information may be a report from the terminal device. In order to understand the channel usage information of the unlicensed spectrum, the positioning server may request the terminal device to report similar measurement results. For example, the positioning server may send a request to the terminal device through the LPP protocol. The terminal device may provide its measured channel utilization accordingly. As a possible implementation, the terminal device may reuse the existing measurement results or perform new measurements upon request.

As a possible implementation, the second information may be a report from a network device. In order to understand the channel usage information of the unlicensed spectrum, the positioning server may request the network device to report. For example, the positioning server may send a request to the network device through the NRPPa protocol. As a possible implementation, the network device may generate such information based on a traditional RSSI report and/or its own measurement results, and then report the combined measurement results to the positioning server.

In step S340, the positioning server determines whether to use unlicensed spectrum. The positioning server can determine whether to use/activate unlicensed spectrum for the first device participating in positioning based on the channel usage information obtained in step S330 and certain criteria. The first device can be a network device and/or a terminal device that is a positioning candidate based on the first request.

In some embodiments, step S340 may be coordinated and scheduled by an advanced scheduler in the positioning server. The advanced scheduler may be a logic function in the positioning server.

Step S350 is consistent with step S210 in FIG. 2 , and will not be described again herein.

As shown in Figure 3, the embodiment of the present application proposes a new framework for positioning to support on-demand deployment of unlicensed spectrum positioning technology. The core part of the framework is to coordinate the use of unlicensed spectrum through a positioning server to support positioning services. The positioning server can comprehensively consider the conditions of the licensed spectrum, unlicensed spectrum and related equipment, and unload the positioning-related information to the unlicensed spectrum as needed, thereby better ensuring the effective use of the licensed spectrum and the unlicensed spectrum.

Figures 2 and 3 are both introduced from the perspective of interaction between the positioning server and the first device. In conjunction with Figure 4, a possible implementation process of the positioning server using the methods shown in Figures 2 and 3 is introduced below.

Referring to FIG. 4 , in step S410 , capability collection. The positioning server may request the network device and/or the terminal device to report whether they support positioning using unlicensed spectrum. The report provided by the network device and the terminal device includes capability information on whether positioning reference signals and positioning measurement reports can be sent and received in the unlicensed spectrum.

In step S420, an unlicensed spectrum activation request is initiated or received. As described above, the positioning server may initiate an unlicensed spectrum activation request based on the quality of service of the positioning service, or may receive an activation request from other devices.

In step S430, channel usage information is collected from the network device and/or the terminal device. The positioning server may collect relevant information by initiating a channel usage information request to the network device or the terminal device.

In step S440, it is determined whether to use/activate unlicensed spectrum for the communication device. The communication device is a network device and a terminal device involved in positioning. If it is determined to use/activate unlicensed spectrum, step S450 is executed. If it is determined not to use/activate unlicensed spectrum, steps S420 to S440 are repeated.

In step S450, unlicensed spectrum positioning reference signal configuration is provided to trigger corresponding transmission. The positioning server can provide the configuration information of the positioning reference signal in the unlicensed spectrum to the corresponding device according to the uplink positioning method or the downlink positioning method, and trigger the transmission of the positioning reference signal.

The following is a more complete description of the embodiment of the present application in conjunction with the specific example Figure 5. It should be noted that the examples of Figures 2 to 4 are only intended to help those skilled in the art understand the embodiment of the present application, rather than to limit the embodiment of the present application to the specific numerical values or specific scenarios illustrated. It is obvious that those skilled in the art can make various equivalent modifications or changes based on the examples of Figures 2 to 4 given, and such modifications or changes also fall within the scope of the embodiment of the present application.

FIG5 is a flow chart of a possible implementation method provided by an embodiment of the present application. The dotted line in FIG5 indicates that the process is an optional process. As can be seen from FIG5, the positioning server mainly interacts with the network device. The interaction between the positioning server and the terminal device can be known based on the interaction with the network device.

Referring to FIG. 5 , in step S510 , the network device provides a capability report to the positioning server.

In step S520, the positioning server receives an unlicensed spectrum activation request. Specifically, the activation request may have multiple options depending on the initiator. Option 1 is step S521, where the initiator is the positioning server. Option 2 is step S522, where the initiator is the terminal device. Option 3 is step S523, where the initiator is the network device.

In step S530, the positioning server requests channel usage information from the network device.

In step S540, the network device feeds back channel usage information to the positioning server.

In step S550, the positioning server determines whether to use unlicensed spectrum.

In step S560, the positioning server activates/configures an unlicensed spectrum for the network device for the positioning service.

In step S570, when the positioning mode is a downlink positioning mode, the positioning server provides the terminal device with positioning reference signal configuration information in the unlicensed spectrum.

In step S580, when the positioning mode is the uplink positioning mode, the network device provides the terminal device with positioning reference configuration information in the unlicensed spectrum.

The method embodiment of the present application is described in detail above in conjunction with Figures 2 to 5. The device embodiment of the present application is described in detail below in conjunction with Figures 6 to 8. It should be understood that the description of the device embodiment corresponds to the description of the method embodiment, and therefore, the part not described in detail can refer to the previous method embodiment.

FIG6 is a schematic block diagram of a device for positioning according to an embodiment of the present application. The device 600 may be the positioning server described above. The device 600 shown in FIG6 includes a sending unit 610.

The sending unit 610 may be configured to send first information, where the first information is related to a positioning service based on an unlicensed spectrum.

Optionally, the first information is used to implement one or more of the following functions: activating a positioning service based on an unlicensed spectrum; indicating configuration information of a positioning reference signal in an unlicensed spectrum; indicating or triggering the transmission of a positioning reference signal in an unlicensed spectrum; and indicating a transmission method for a measurement report of a positioning reference signal in an unlicensed spectrum.

Optionally, the apparatus 600 is further configured to initiate and/or receive a first request, where the first request is used to request activation of a positioning service based on an unlicensed spectrum.

Optionally, the first request comes from a positioning server and/or a terminal device, and the first request performs positioning service based on the authorized spectrum. The service quality of the service is determined.

Optionally, the first request comes from a network device, and the first request is determined based on a load condition of the network device.

Optionally, the first information is determined based on second information, and the second information includes one or more of the following: channel busy rate of unlicensed spectrum; link quality of unlicensed spectrum; monitoring results of unlicensed spectrum; and the ability of the first device receiving the first information to use the unlicensed spectrum for positioning.

Optionally, the positioning server is a location management function device.

FIG7 is a schematic block diagram of an apparatus for positioning according to another embodiment of the present application. The apparatus 700 may be any of the first devices described above. The apparatus 700 shown in FIG7 includes a receiving unit 710 .

The receiving unit 710 may be configured to receive first information, where the first information is related to a positioning service based on an unlicensed spectrum.

Optionally, the first information is used to implement one or more of the following functions: activating a positioning service based on an unlicensed spectrum; indicating configuration information of a positioning reference signal in an unlicensed spectrum; indicating or triggering the transmission of a positioning reference signal in an unlicensed spectrum; and indicating a transmission method for a measurement report of a positioning reference signal in an unlicensed spectrum.

Optionally, the apparatus 700 further includes a sending unit, configured to send a first request, where the first request is used to request activation of a positioning service based on an unlicensed spectrum.

Optionally, the first device is a terminal device, and the first request determines the quality of service of the positioning service based on the authorized spectrum.

Optionally, the first device is a network device, and the first request is determined based on a load condition of the network device.

Optionally, the first information is determined based on second information, and the second information includes one or more of the following: channel busy rate of unlicensed spectrum; link quality of unlicensed spectrum; monitoring results of unlicensed spectrum; and the ability of the first device to use unlicensed spectrum for positioning.

Optionally, the positioning server is a location management function device.

FIG8 is a schematic structural diagram of a communication device according to an embodiment of the present application. The dotted lines in FIG8 indicate that the unit or module is optional. The device 800 may be used to implement the method described in the above method embodiment. The device 800 may be a chip or a terminal device.

The device 800 may include one or more processors 810. The processor 810 may support the device 800 to implement the method described in the above method embodiment. The processor 810 may be a general-purpose processor or a special-purpose processor. For example, the processor may be a central processing unit (CPU). Alternatively, the processor may also be other general-purpose processors, digital signal processors (DSP), application specific integrated circuits (ASIC), field programmable gate arrays (FPGA) or other programmable logic devices, discrete gate or transistor logic devices, discrete hardware components, etc. A general-purpose processor may be a microprocessor or the processor may also be any conventional processor, etc.

The apparatus 800 may further include one or more memories 820. The memory 820 stores a program, which can be executed by the processor 810, so that the processor 810 executes the method described in the above method embodiment. The memory 820 may be independent of the processor 810 or integrated in the processor 810.

The apparatus 800 may further include a transceiver 830. The processor 810 may communicate with other devices or chips via the transceiver 830. For example, the processor 810 can transmit and receive data with other devices or chips through the transceiver 830.

The present application also provides a computer-readable storage medium for storing a program. The computer-readable storage medium can be applied to a terminal or network device provided in the present application, and the program enables a computer to execute the method performed by the terminal or network device in each embodiment of the present application.

It should be understood that the computer-readable storage medium mentioned in the embodiments of the present application can be any available medium that can be read by a computer or a data storage device such as a server or a data center that includes one or more available media integrated. The available medium can be a magnetic medium (e.g., a floppy disk, a hard disk, a tape), an optical medium (e.g., a digital versatile disk (digital video disc, DVD)) or a semiconductor medium (e.g., a solid state disk (solid state disk, SSD)), etc.

The embodiment of the present application also provides a computer program product. The computer program product includes a program. The computer program product can be applied to the terminal or network device provided in the embodiment of the present application, and the program enables the computer to execute the method performed by the terminal or network device in each embodiment of the present application.

In the above embodiments, it can be implemented in whole or in part by software, hardware, firmware or any combination thereof. When implemented using software, it can be implemented in whole or in part in the form of a computer program product. The computer program product includes one or more computer instructions. When the computer program instructions are loaded and executed on a computer, the process or function described in the embodiment of the present application is generated in whole or in part. The computer can be a general-purpose computer, a special-purpose computer, a computer network, or other programmable device. The computer instructions can be stored in a computer-readable storage medium, or transmitted from one computer-readable storage medium to another computer-readable storage medium. For example, the computer instructions can be transmitted from a website site, computer, server or data center to another website site, computer, server or data center by wired (e.g., coaxial cable, optical fiber, digital subscriber line (DSL)) or wireless (e.g., infrared, wireless, microwave, etc.) mode.

The embodiment of the present application also provides a computer program. The computer program can be applied to the terminal or network device provided in the embodiment of the present application, and the computer program enables a computer to execute the method executed by the terminal or network device in each embodiment of the present application.

The terms "system" and "network" in this application can be used interchangeably. In addition, the terms used in this application are only used to explain the specific embodiments of the present application, and are not intended to limit the present application. The terms "first", "second", "third" and "fourth" in the specification and claims of this application and the accompanying drawings are used to distinguish different objects, rather than to describe a specific order. In addition, the terms "including" and "having" and any of their variations are intended to cover non-exclusive inclusions.

In the embodiments of the present application, the "indication" mentioned can be a direct indication, an indirect indication, or an indication of an association relationship. For example, A indicates B, which can mean that A directly indicates B, for example, B can be obtained through A; it can also mean that A indirectly indicates B, for example, A indicates C, B can be obtained through C; it can also mean that there is an association relationship between A and B.

In the embodiments of the present application, the term "corresponding" may indicate that there is a direct or indirect correspondence between the two, or an association relationship between the two, or a relationship of indication and being indicated, configuration and being configured, etc.

In an embodiment of the present application, "pre-configuration" can be achieved by pre-saving corresponding codes, tables or other methods that can be used to indicate relevant information in a device (for example, including a terminal device and a network device). The present application does not limit its specific implementation method.

In the embodiments of the present application, the “protocol” may refer to a standard protocol in the communication field, for example, it may include an LTE protocol, an NR protocol, and related protocols used in future communication systems, and the present application does not limit this.

In the embodiments of the present application, determining B based on A does not mean determining B only based on A. B can also be determined based on A and/or other information.

In the embodiments of the present application, the term "and/or" is only a description of the association relationship of the associated objects, indicating that there can be three relationships. For example, A and/or B can represent: A exists alone, A and B exist at the same time, and B exists alone. In addition, the character "/" in this article generally indicates that the associated objects before and after are in an "or" relationship.

In various embodiments of the present application, the size of the serial numbers of the above-mentioned processes does not mean the order of execution. The execution order of each process should be determined by its function and internal logic, and should not constitute any limitation on the implementation process of the embodiments of the present application.

In the several embodiments provided in the present application, it should be understood that the disclosed systems, devices and methods can be implemented in other ways. For example, the device embodiments described above are only schematic. For example, the division of the units is only a logical function division. There may be other division methods in actual implementation, such as multiple units or components can be combined or integrated into another system, or some features can be ignored or not executed. Another point is that the mutual coupling or direct coupling or communication connection shown or discussed can be through some interfaces, indirect coupling or communication connection of devices or units, which can be electrical, mechanical or other forms.

The units described as separate components may or may not be physically separated, and the components shown as units may or may not be physical units, that is, they may be located in one place or distributed on multiple 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 each embodiment of the present application may be integrated into one processing unit, or each unit may exist physically separately, or two or more units may be integrated into one unit.

The above is only a specific implementation of the present application, but the protection scope of the present application is not limited thereto. Any person skilled in the art who is familiar with the present technical field can easily think of changes or substitutions within the technical scope disclosed in the present application, which should be included in the protection scope of the present application. Therefore, the protection scope of the present application should be based on the protection scope of the claims.

Claims (22)

A method for positioning, comprising: The positioning server sends first information, where the first information is related to a positioning service based on an unlicensed spectrum. The method according to claim 1, wherein the first information is used to implement one or more of the following functions: activating the positioning service based on the unlicensed spectrum; Indicating configuration information of positioning reference signals in unlicensed spectrum; Instructing or triggering the transmission of a positioning reference signal in unlicensed spectrum; and Indicates the transmission method of the measurement report of the positioning reference signal in the unlicensed spectrum. The method according to claim 1 or 2, characterized in that before the positioning server sends the first information, the method further comprises: The positioning server initiates and/or receives a first request, where the first request is used to request activation of the positioning service based on the unlicensed spectrum. The method according to claim 3 is characterized in that the first request comes from the positioning server and/or the terminal device, and the first request determines the service quality of the positioning service based on the authorized spectrum. The method according to claim 3 is characterized in that the first request comes from a network device, and the first request is determined based on a load condition of the network device. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 5, characterized in that the first information is determined according to second information, and the second information includes one or more of the following: A channel busy rate of the unlicensed spectrum; link quality of the unlicensed spectrum; Monitoring results of the unlicensed spectrum; and The first device receiving the first information has the capability of using unlicensed spectrum for positioning. The method according to claim 1 is characterized in that the positioning server is a location management function device. A method for positioning, characterized in that the method comprises: The first device receives first information sent by a positioning server, where the first information is related to a positioning service based on an unlicensed spectrum. The method according to claim 8, wherein the first information is used to implement one or more of the following functions: activating the positioning service based on the unlicensed spectrum; Indicating configuration information of positioning reference signals in unlicensed spectrum; Instructing or triggering the transmission of a positioning reference signal in unlicensed spectrum; and Indicates the transmission method of the measurement report of the positioning reference signal in the unlicensed spectrum. The method according to claim 8 or 9, characterized in that the first device receives a positioning server Before sending the first information, the method further includes: The first device sends a first request, where the first request is used to request activation of the positioning service based on the unlicensed spectrum. The method according to claim 10 is characterized in that the first device is a terminal device, and the first request determines the quality of service of the positioning service based on the authorized spectrum. The method according to claim 10 is characterized in that the first device is a network device, and the first request is determined based on a load condition of the network device. The method according to any one of claims 8 to 12, characterized in that the first information is determined according to second information, and the second information includes one or more of the following: A channel busy rate of the unlicensed spectrum; link quality of the unlicensed spectrum; Monitoring results of the unlicensed spectrum; and The first device has the capability of using unlicensed spectrum for positioning. The method according to claim 8 is characterized in that the positioning server is a location management function device. A device for positioning, characterized in that the device is a positioning server, and the positioning server comprises: The sending unit is used to send first information, where the first information is related to a positioning service based on an unlicensed spectrum. A device for positioning, characterized in that the device is a first device, and the first device includes: The receiving unit is configured to receive first information sent by a positioning server, where the first information is related to a positioning service based on an unlicensed spectrum. A communication device, characterized in that it includes a memory and a processor, the memory is used to store a program, and the processor is used to call the program in the memory to execute the method according to any one of claims 1 to 14. A communication device, characterized in that it comprises a processor, which is used to call a program from a memory to execute the method according to any one of claims 1 to 14. A chip, characterized in that it comprises a processor for calling a program from a memory so that a device equipped with the chip executes a method as described in any one of claims 1 to 14. A computer-readable storage medium, characterized in that a program is stored thereon, wherein the program enables a computer to execute the method according to any one of claims 1 to 14. A computer program product, characterized in that it comprises a program, wherein the program enables a computer to execute the method according to any one of claims 1 to 14. A computer program, characterized in that the computer program enables a computer to execute the method according to any one of claims 1 to 14.