WO2025015529A1 - Signal sending method, terminal, network device, communication device, and storage medium - Google Patents

Abstract

The present disclosure relates to the technical field of communications, and specifically relates to a signal sending method, a terminal, a network device, a communication device, and a storage medium. The signal sending method comprises: receiving at least one piece of uplink positioning reference signal configuration information sent by a network device, wherein the uplink positioning reference signal configuration information is used by a terminal to send a positioning reference signal. The present disclosure facilitates improvement of the configuration efficiency of configuration information, and alleviates the delay of a positioning operation.

Description

Signal transmission method, terminal, network device, communication device and storage medium Technical Field

The present disclosure relates to the field of communication technology, and in particular, to a signal sending method, a terminal, a network device, a communication device, and a storage medium.

Background Art

In order to realize the positioning of the terminal, a variety of positioning technologies have been proposed. For example, a network device can determine the position of the terminal according to a positioning reference signal sent by the terminal. However, in the current positioning technology, there are some technical problems that need to be solved urgently.

Summary of the invention

The embodiments of the present disclosure propose a signal sending method, a terminal, a network device, a communication device and a storage medium to solve the technical problems in the positioning technology.

According to a first aspect of an embodiment of the present disclosure, a signal sending method is proposed, comprising: receiving at least one uplink positioning reference signal configuration information sent by a network device, wherein the uplink positioning reference signal configuration information is used by a terminal to send a positioning reference signal.

According to a second aspect of an embodiment of the present disclosure, a signal sending method is proposed, comprising: sending at least one uplink positioning reference signal configuration information to a terminal, wherein the uplink positioning reference signal configuration information is used by the terminal to send a positioning reference signal.

According to a third aspect of an embodiment of the present disclosure, a signal sending method is proposed, comprising: a network device sends at least one uplink positioning reference signal configuration information to a terminal, wherein the uplink positioning reference signal configuration information is used by the terminal to send a positioning reference signal; the network device sends an activation indication to the terminal, wherein the activation indication is used to activate one of the uplink positioning reference signal configuration information; and the terminal sends a positioning reference signal according to the activated uplink positioning reference signal configuration information.

According to a fourth aspect of an embodiment of the present disclosure, a terminal is proposed, comprising: one or more processors; wherein the terminal is used to execute the signal sending method described in the first aspect.

According to a fifth aspect of an embodiment of the present disclosure, a network device is proposed, comprising: one or more processors; wherein the network device is used to execute the signal sending method described in the second aspect.

According to a sixth aspect of an embodiment of the present disclosure, a communication device is proposed, comprising: one or more processors; wherein the processor is used to call instructions so that the communication device executes the signal sending method described in the first aspect and the second aspect.

According to the seventh aspect of an embodiment of the present disclosure, a communication system is proposed, comprising a terminal and a network device, wherein the terminal is configured to implement the signal sending method described in the first aspect, and the network device is configured to implement the signal sending method described in the second aspect.

According to an eighth aspect of an embodiment of the present disclosure, a storage medium is proposed, wherein the storage medium stores instructions, and when the instructions are executed on a communication device, the communication device executes the signal sending method described in the first aspect and the second aspect.

According to an embodiment of the present disclosure, a network device sends at least one uplink positioning reference signal configuration information to a terminal. After that, the terminal can save the uplink positioning reference signal configuration information. When the network device subsequently sends an activation indication for activating the configuration information to the terminal, the amount of information in the activation indication is smaller than that in the configuration information (for example, the uplink positioning reference signal configuration information can be activated by a pre-configuration identifier, and the pre-configuration identifier accounts for a small number of bits). Compared with the configuration information, the network device can generate the activation indication faster, and the terminal can parse the activation indication faster, which is conducive to improving the configuration efficiency of the configuration information and alleviating the delay of the positioning operation.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

In order to more clearly illustrate the technical solutions in the embodiments of the present disclosure, the drawings required for use in the description of the embodiments will be briefly introduced below. Obviously, the drawings described below are only some embodiments of the present disclosure. For ordinary technicians in this field, other drawings can be obtained based on these drawings without paying any creative labor.

FIG1 is a schematic diagram of the architecture of a communication system according to an embodiment of the present disclosure.

FIG. 2 is an interactive schematic diagram showing a signal sending method according to an embodiment of the present disclosure.

FIG3 is a schematic flowchart of a signal sending method according to an embodiment of the present disclosure.

FIG. 4 is a schematic flowchart showing another signal sending method according to an embodiment of the present disclosure.

FIG5 is a schematic flowchart showing yet another signal sending method according to an embodiment of the present disclosure.

FIG6 is a schematic flowchart of a signal sending method according to an embodiment of the present disclosure.

FIG. 7 is a schematic flowchart showing another signal sending method according to an embodiment of the present disclosure.

FIG8 is a schematic flowchart showing yet another signal sending method according to an embodiment of the present disclosure.

FIG9 is a schematic block diagram of a terminal according to an embodiment of the present disclosure.

FIG. 10 is a schematic block diagram of a network device according to an embodiment of the present disclosure.

FIG. 11 is a schematic diagram of the structure of a communication device proposed in an embodiment of the present disclosure.

FIG. 12 is a schematic diagram of the structure of a chip proposed in an embodiment of the present disclosure.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

Embodiments of the present disclosure provide a signal sending method, a terminal, a network device, a communication device, and a storage medium.

In a first aspect, an embodiment of the present disclosure proposes a signal sending method, the method comprising: receiving at least one uplink positioning reference signal configuration information sent by a network device, wherein the uplink positioning reference signal configuration information is used by a terminal to send a positioning reference signal.

In the above embodiment, after the network device sends at least one uplink positioning reference signal configuration information to the terminal, the terminal can save the uplink positioning reference signal configuration information. When the network device subsequently sends an activation indication for activating the configuration information to the terminal, the activation indication has a smaller amount of information than the configuration information (for example, the uplink positioning reference signal configuration information can be activated by a pre-configuration identifier, and the pre-configuration identifier accounts for a smaller number of bits). Compared with the configuration information, the network device can generate the activation indication faster, and the terminal can parse the activation indication faster, which is conducive to improving the configuration efficiency of the configuration information and alleviating the delay of the positioning operation.

In combination with some embodiments of the first aspect, in some embodiments, the uplink positioning reference signal configuration information is pre-configured uplink positioning reference signal configuration information.

In combination with some embodiments of the first aspect. In some embodiments, the uplink positioning reference signal configuration information It includes at least one of the following: a pre-configuration identifier of the uplink positioning reference signal configuration information; and an area identifier associated with the uplink positioning reference signal configuration information.

In combination with some embodiments of the first aspect, in some embodiments, the area identifier includes at least one of the following: a cell identifier; a tracking area identifier; a radio access network notification area identifier.

In combination with some embodiments of the first aspect, in some embodiments, the uplink positioning reference signal configuration information does not include at least one of the following: spatial relationship information; power control parameters; reference signals for calculating path loss; timer duration of a timing advance value.

In the above embodiment, it is helpful for the network device to provide the terminal with more suitable parameters later.

In combination with some embodiments of the first aspect, in some embodiments, the method further comprises: sending a request message to the network device, wherein the request message is used to request the network device to activate one uplink positioning reference signal configuration information among the at least one uplink positioning reference signal configuration information.

In combination with some embodiments of the first aspect, in some embodiments, the request message includes a pre-configured identifier of uplink positioning reference signal configuration information requested to be activated.

In combination with some embodiments of the first aspect, in some embodiments, the method further comprises: receiving a response message to the request message sent by the network device.

In combination with some embodiments of the first aspect. In some embodiments, the response message includes at least one of the following: a pre-configuration identifier of uplink positioning reference signal configuration information; spatial relationship information; power control parameters; a reference signal for calculating path loss; a timer duration of a timing advance value; configuration information of an uplink positioning reference signal; and rejection information, wherein the rejection information is used to indicate a rejection of activating the uplink positioning reference signal configuration information.

In combination with some embodiments of the first aspect. In some embodiments, the rejection information includes at least one of the following: a rejection reason, wherein the rejection reason is used to indicate the reason why the network device indicates the rejection of activating the uplink positioning reference signal configuration information; a waiting time, wherein the waiting time is used to indicate the time for prohibiting the terminal from sending the request message again.

In combination with some embodiments of the first aspect, in some embodiments, the uplink positioning reference signal configuration information is carried in at least one of the following: system information; or a radio resource control message.

In a second aspect, an embodiment of the present disclosure proposes a signal sending method, the method comprising: sending at least one uplink positioning reference signal configuration information to a terminal, wherein the uplink positioning reference signal configuration information is used by the terminal to send a positioning reference signal.

In the above embodiment, after the network device sends at least one uplink positioning reference signal configuration information to the terminal, the terminal can save the uplink positioning reference signal configuration information. When the network device subsequently sends an activation indication for activating the configuration information to the terminal, the activation indication has a smaller amount of information than the configuration information (for example, the uplink positioning reference signal configuration information can be activated by a pre-configuration identifier, and the pre-configuration identifier accounts for a smaller number of bits). Compared with the configuration information, the network device can generate the activation indication faster, and the terminal can parse the activation indication faster, which is conducive to improving the configuration efficiency of the configuration information and alleviating the delay of the positioning operation.

In combination with some embodiments of the first aspect, in some embodiments, the uplink positioning reference signal configuration information is pre-configured uplink positioning reference signal configuration information.

In combination with some embodiments of the second aspect, in some embodiments, the uplink positioning reference signal configuration information includes at least one of the following: a pre-configuration identifier of the uplink positioning reference signal configuration information; and an area identifier associated with the uplink positioning reference signal configuration information.

In combination with some embodiments of the second aspect, in some embodiments, the area identifier includes at least one of the following: Cell ID; Tracking area ID; Radio access network notification area ID.

In combination with some embodiments of the second aspect, in some embodiments, the uplink positioning reference signal configuration information does not include at least one of the following: spatial relationship information; power control parameters; reference signals for calculating path loss; timer duration of a timing advance value.

In the above embodiment, it is helpful for the network device to provide the terminal with more suitable parameters later.

In combination with some embodiments of the second aspect, in some embodiments, the method further comprises: receiving a request message sent by the terminal, wherein the request message is used to request a network device to activate one uplink positioning reference signal configuration information among the at least one uplink positioning reference signal configuration information.

In combination with some embodiments of the second aspect, in some embodiments, the request message includes a pre-configured identifier of uplink positioning reference signal configuration information requested to be activated.

In combination with some embodiments of the second aspect, in some embodiments, the method further includes: sending a response message to the request message to the terminal.

In combination with some embodiments of the second aspect. In some embodiments, the response message includes at least one of the following: a pre-configuration identifier of uplink positioning reference signal configuration information; spatial relationship information; power control parameters; a reference signal for calculating path loss; a timer duration of a timing advance value; configuration information of an uplink positioning reference signal; and rejection information, wherein the rejection information is used to indicate a rejection of activating the uplink positioning reference signal configuration information.

In combination with some embodiments of the second aspect. In some embodiments, the rejection information includes at least one of the following: a rejection reason, wherein the rejection reason is used to indicate the reason why the network device indicates the rejection of activating the uplink positioning reference signal configuration information; a waiting time, wherein the waiting time is used to indicate the time for prohibiting the terminal from sending the request message again.

In combination with some embodiments of the second aspect, in some embodiments, the uplink positioning reference signal configuration information is carried in at least one of the following: system information; or a radio resource control message.

In a third aspect, an embodiment of the present disclosure proposes a signal sending method, comprising: a network device sends at least one uplink positioning reference signal configuration information to a terminal, wherein the uplink positioning reference signal configuration information is used by the terminal to send a positioning reference signal; the network device sends an activation indication to the terminal, wherein the activation indication is used to activate one of the uplink positioning reference signal configuration information; and the terminal sends a positioning reference signal according to the activated uplink positioning reference signal configuration information.

In a fourth aspect, an embodiment of the present disclosure proposes a terminal, comprising: one or more processors; wherein the terminal is used to execute the signal sending method described in the first aspect and the optional embodiment of the first aspect.

In a fifth aspect, an embodiment of the present disclosure proposes a network device, comprising: one or more processors; wherein the network device is used to execute the signal sending method described in the second aspect and the optional embodiment of the second aspect.

In a sixth aspect, an embodiment of the present disclosure proposes a communication device, wherein the communication device includes: one or more processors; one or more memories for storing instructions; wherein the processor is used to call the instructions so that the communication device executes the signal sending method described in the first and second aspects, and the optional implementation methods of the first and second aspects.

In the seventh aspect, an embodiment of the present disclosure proposes a communication system, which includes: a terminal and a network device; wherein the terminal is configured to execute the method described in the first aspect and the second aspect, and the optional implementation of the first aspect and the second aspect, and the network device is configured to execute the method described in the first aspect and the second aspect, and the optional implementation of the first aspect and the second aspect.

In an eighth aspect, the present disclosure provides a storage medium, wherein the storage medium stores instructions. When the command is executed on a communication device, the communication device is caused to execute the method described in the first aspect and the second aspect, and the optional implementation manner of the first aspect and the second aspect.

In a ninth aspect, an embodiment of the present disclosure proposes a program product. When the program product is executed by a communication device, the communication device executes the method described in the first and second aspects and the optional implementation methods of the first and second aspects.

In a tenth aspect, an embodiment of the present disclosure proposes a computer program, which, when executed on a computer, enables the computer to execute the method described in the first and second aspects, and the optional implementations of the first and second aspects.

It is understandable that the above-mentioned terminals, network devices, communication devices, communication systems, storage media, program products, and computer programs are all used to execute the methods proposed in the embodiments of the present disclosure. Therefore, the beneficial effects that can be achieved can refer to the beneficial effects in the corresponding methods, which will not be repeated here.

The embodiments of the present disclosure provide a signal transmission method, a terminal, a network device, a communication device, and a storage medium. In some embodiments, the terms such as the signal transmission method, the information processing method, and the communication method can be replaced with each other, the terms such as the terminal, the network device, the information processing device, and the communication device can be replaced with each other, and the terms such as the information processing system and the communication system can be replaced with each other.

The embodiments of the present disclosure are not exhaustive, but are only illustrative of some embodiments, and are not intended to be a specific limitation on the scope of protection of the present disclosure. In the absence of contradiction, each step in a certain embodiment can be implemented as an independent embodiment, and the steps can be arbitrarily combined. For example, a solution after removing some steps in a certain embodiment can also be implemented as an independent embodiment, and the order of the steps in a certain embodiment can be arbitrarily exchanged. In addition, the optional implementation methods in a certain embodiment can be arbitrarily combined; in addition, the embodiments can be arbitrarily combined, for example, some or all of the steps of different embodiments can be arbitrarily combined, and a certain embodiment can be arbitrarily combined with the optional implementation methods of other embodiments.

In each embodiment of the present disclosure, unless otherwise specified or there is a logical conflict, the terms and/or descriptions between the embodiments are consistent and can be referenced to each other, and the technical features in different embodiments can be combined to form a new embodiment based on their internal logical relationships.

The terms used in the embodiments of the present disclosure are only for the purpose of describing specific embodiments and are not intended to limit the present disclosure.

In the embodiments of the present disclosure, unless otherwise specified, elements expressed in the singular form, such as "one", "an", "the", "above", "said", "foregoing", "this", etc., may mean "one and only one", or may mean "one or more", "at least one", etc.

For example, when using articles such as "a", "an", "the" in English in translation, the noun following the article can be understood as a singular expression or a plural expression.

In the embodiments of the present disclosure, “plurality” refers to two or more.

In some embodiments, terms such as "at least one of", "one or more", "a plurality of", "multiple" and the like can be used interchangeably.

In some embodiments, "at least one of A and B", "A and/or B", "A in one case, B in another case", "in response to one case A, in response to another case B", etc., may include the following technical solutions according to the situation: in some embodiments, A (execute A independently of B); in some embodiments, B (execute B independently of A); in some embodiments, select execution from A and B (A and B are selectively executed); in some embodiments, A and B (both A and B are executed). When there are more branches such as A, B, C, etc., it is similar to the above.

In some embodiments, the recording method of "A or B" may include the following technical solutions according to the situation: in some embodiments, A (A is executed independently of B); in some embodiments, B (B is executed independently of A); in some embodiments, execution is selected from A and B (A and B are selectively executed). When there are more branches such as A, B, C, etc., the above is also similar.

The prefixes such as "first" and "second" in the embodiments of the present disclosure are only for distinguishing different description objects and do not constitute any restrictions on the position, order, priority, quantity or content of the description objects. For the statement of the description objects, please refer to the description in the context of the claims or embodiments, and no unnecessary restrictions should be constituted due to the use of prefixes.

For example, if the description object is "field", the ordinal number before "field" in "first field" and "second field" does not limit the position or order between "fields", "first" and "second" do not limit whether the "fields" they modify are in the same message, nor do they limit the order of "first field" and "second field". For another example, if the description object is "level", the ordinal number before "level" in "first level" and "second level" does not limit the priority between "levels". For another example, the number of description objects is not limited by ordinal numbers and can be one or more. For example, "first device" can be one or more. In addition, the objects modified by different prefixes can be the same or different. For example, if the description object is "device", "first device" and "second device" can be the same device or different devices, and their types can be the same or different. For another example, if the description object is "information", "first information" and "second information" can be the same information or different information, and their contents can be the same or different.

In some embodiments, “including A”, “comprising A”, “used to indicate A”, and “carrying A” can be interpreted as directly carrying A or indirectly indicating A.

In some embodiments, terms such as "in response to ...", "in response to determining ...", "in the case of ...", "at the time of ...", "when ...", "if ...", "if ...", etc. can be used interchangeably.

In some embodiments, terms such as "greater than", "greater than or equal to", "not less than", "more than", "more than or equal to", "not less than", "higher than", "higher than or equal to", "not lower than", and "above" can be replaced with each other, and terms such as "less than", "less than or equal to", "not greater than", "less than", "less than or equal to", "no more than", "lower than", "lower than or equal to", "not higher than", and "below" can be replaced with each other.

In some embodiments, devices and the like can be interpreted as physical or virtual, and their names are not limited to those in the embodiments.

The recorded names, terms such as "device", "equipment", "device", "circuit", "network element", "node", "function", "unit", "section", "system", "network", "chip", "chip system", "entity", and "subject" can be used interchangeably.

In some embodiments, "network" may be interpreted as devices included in the network (eg, access network equipment, core network equipment, etc.).

In some embodiments, the terms "access network device (AN device)", "radio access network device (RAN device)", "base station (BS)", "radio base station (radio base station)", "fixed station (fixed station)", "node (node)", "access point (access point)", "transmission point (TP)", "reception point (reception point, RP)", "transmission/reception point (transmission/reception point, TRP)", "panel (panel)", "antenna panel (antenna panel)", "antenna array (antenna array)", "cell (cell)", "macro cell (macro cell)", "small cell (small cell)", "femto cell (femto cell)", "pico cell (pico cell)", "sector (sector)", "cell group (cell)", "serving cell (serving cell)", "carrier (carrier)", "component carrier (component carrier)", "bandwidth part (bandwidth part, BWP)" and the like can be used interchangeably.

In some embodiments, the terms "terminal", "terminal device", "user equipment (UE)", "user terminal", "mobile station (MS)", "mobile terminal (MT)", subscriber station, mobile unit, subscriber unit, wireless unit, remote unit, mobile device, wireless device, wireless communication device, remote device, mobile subscriber station, access terminal, mobile terminal, wireless terminal, remote terminal, handset, user agent, mobile client, client, etc. can be used interchangeably.

In some embodiments, the access network device, the core network device, or the network device can be replaced by a terminal. For example, the various embodiments of the present disclosure can also be applied to a structure in which the access network device, the core network device, or the network device and the communication between the terminals is replaced by the communication between multiple terminals (for example, device-to-device (D2D), vehicle-to-everything (V2X), etc.). In this case, it can also be set as a structure in which the terminal has all or part of the functions of the access network device. In addition, terms such as "uplink" and "downlink" can also be replaced by terms corresponding to communication between terminals (for example, "side"). For example, uplink channels, downlink channels, etc. can be replaced by side channels, and uplinks, downlinks, etc. can be replaced by side links.

In some embodiments, the terminal may be replaced by an access network device, a core network device, or a network device. In this case, the access network device, the core network device, or the network device may also be configured to have a structure that has all or part of the functions of the terminal.

In some embodiments, acquisition of data, information, etc. may comply with the laws and regulations of the country where the data is obtained.

In some embodiments, data, information, etc. may be obtained with the user's consent.

In addition, each element, each row, or each column in the table of the embodiments of the present disclosure may be implemented as an independent embodiment, and the combination of any elements, any rows, and any columns may also be implemented as an independent embodiment.

FIG1 is a schematic diagram of the architecture of a communication system according to an embodiment of the present disclosure.

As shown in Figure 1, the communication system 100 includes a terminal 101 and a network device 102, wherein the network device includes at least one of the following: an access network device and a core network device.

In some embodiments, the terminal 101 includes, for example, a mobile phone, a wearable device, an Internet of Things device, a car with communication function, a smart car, a tablet computer (Pad), a computer with wireless transceiver function, a virtual reality (VR) terminal device, an augmented reality (AR) terminal device, a wireless terminal device in industrial control (industrial control), a wireless terminal device in self-driving, a wireless terminal device in remote medical surgery, a wireless terminal device in a smart grid (smart grid), a wireless terminal device in transportation safety (transportation safety), a wireless terminal device in a smart city (smart city), and at least one of a wireless terminal device in a smart home (smart home), but is not limited to these.

In some embodiments, the access network device is, for example, a node or device that accesses a terminal to a wireless network. The access network device may include an evolved NodeB (eNB), a next generation evolved NodeB (ng-eNB), a next generation NodeB (gNB), a node B (NB), a home node B (HNB), a home evolved node B (HeNB), a wireless backhaul device, a radio network controller (RNC), a base station controller (BSC), a base transceiver station (BTS), a base band unit (BBU), a mobile switching center, a base station in a 6G communication system, an open base station (Open RAN), a cloud base station (Cloud RAN), a base station in other communication systems, and an access point in a Wi-Fi system. At least one of the nodes, but not limited to this.

In some embodiments, the core network device may be a device including one or more network elements, or may be multiple devices or device groups, each including all or part of the one or more network elements. The network element may be virtual or physical. The core network may include, for example, at least one of the Evolved Packet Core (EPC), the 5G Core Network (5GCN), and the Next Generation Core (NGC).

In some embodiments, the technical solution of the present disclosure may be applicable to the Open RAN architecture. In this case, the interfaces between access network devices or within access network devices involved in the embodiments of the present disclosure may become internal interfaces of Open RAN, and the processes and information interactions between these internal interfaces may be implemented through software or programs.

In some embodiments, the access network device may be composed of a centralized unit (central unit, CU) and a distributed unit (distributed unit, DU), wherein the CU may also be called a control unit (control unit). The CU-DU structure may be used to split the protocol layer of the access network device, with some functions of the protocol layer being centrally controlled by the CU, and the remaining part or all of the functions of the protocol layer being distributed in the DU, and the DU being centrally controlled by the CU, but not limited to this.

It can be understood that the communication system described in the embodiment of the present disclosure is for the purpose of more clearly illustrating the technical solution of the embodiment of the present disclosure, and does not constitute a limitation on the technical solution proposed in the embodiment of the present disclosure. A person of ordinary skill in the art can know that with the evolution of the system architecture and the emergence of new business scenarios, the technical solution proposed in the embodiment of the present disclosure is also applicable to similar technical problems.

The following embodiments of the present disclosure may be applied to the communication system 100 shown in FIG1 , or part of the subject, but are not limited thereto. The subjects shown in FIG1 are examples, and the communication system may include all or part of the subjects in FIG1 , or may include other subjects other than FIG1 , and the number and form of the subjects are arbitrary, and the subjects may be physical or virtual, and the connection relationship between the subjects is an example, and the subjects may be connected or disconnected, and the connection may be in any manner, and may be a direct connection or an indirect connection, and may be a wired connection or a wireless connection.

The embodiments of the present disclosure may be applied to Long Term Evolution (LTE), LTE-Advanced (LTE-A), LTE-Beyond (LTE-B), SUPER 3G, IMT-Advanced, the fourth generation mobile communication system (4G), the fifth generation mobile communication system (5G), 5G new radio (NR), Future Radio Access (FRA), New-Radio Access Technology (RAT), New Radio (NR), New radio access (NX), Future generation radio access (FX), etc. ), Global System for Mobile communications (GSM (registered trademark)), CDMA2000, Ultra Mobile Broadband (UMB), IEEE 802.11 (Wi-Fi (registered trademark)), IEEE 802.16 (WiMAX (registered trademark)), IEEE 802.20, Ultra-WideBand (UWB), Bluetooth (registered trademark)), Public Land Mobile Network (PLMN) network, Device to Device (D2D) system, Machine to Machine to Machine (M2M) system, Internet of Things (IoT) system, Vehicle to-Everything (V2X), system using other communication methods, next generation systems expanded based on them, and the like. In addition, a number of systems may also be applied in combination (for example, combination of LTE or LTE-A and 5G, etc.).

FIG. 2 is an interactive schematic diagram showing a signal sending method according to an embodiment of the present disclosure.

As shown in FIG2 , the signal sending method includes:

Step S201: The network device sends first information to the terminal.

In some embodiments, the terminal receives first information.

In some embodiments, the first information includes at least one uplink positioning reference signal configuration information.

In some embodiments, the first information includes at least one pre-configured uplink positioning reference signal configuration information.

In some embodiments, the pre-configured uplink positioning reference signal configuration information is carried in at least one of the following: system information; a radio resource control message.

In some embodiments, the pre-configured uplink positioning reference signal configuration information is used by the terminal to send a positioning reference signal.

In some embodiments, the pre-configured uplink positioning reference signal configuration information includes at least one of the following:

A pre-configured identifier of pre-configured uplink positioning reference signal configuration information;

The area identifier associated with the pre-configured uplink positioning reference signal configuration information.

In some embodiments, the area identifier includes at least one of the following: a cell identifier; a tracking area identifier; a radio access network notification area identifier.

In some embodiments, the pre-configured uplink positioning reference signal configuration information does not include at least one of the following: spatial relationship information; power control parameters; reference signals for calculating path loss; timer duration of the timing advance value.

Step S202: The terminal sends second information to the network device.

In some embodiments, the network device receives second information.

In some embodiments, the second information comprises a request message.

In some embodiments, the request message is used to request the network device to activate one of the at least one pre-configured uplink positioning reference signal configuration information.

In some embodiments, the request message includes a pre-configuration identifier of the pre-configured uplink positioning reference signal configuration information requested to be activated.

Step S203: The network device sends second information to the terminal.

In some embodiments, the terminal receives second information.

In some embodiments, the second information includes an activation indication, where the activation indication is used to activate a pre-configured uplink positioning reference signal configuration information.

In some embodiments, the second information includes a response message to the request message sent by the network device to the terminal.

In some embodiments, the response message may serve as an activation indication.

In some embodiments, the response message includes at least one of the following:

A pre-configured identifier of pre-configured uplink positioning reference signal configuration information;

Spatial relationship information;

Power control parameters;

Reference signal for calculating path loss;

The timer duration of the timing advance value;

Configuration information of uplink positioning reference signal;

Rejection information, wherein the rejection information is used to indicate rejection of activation of pre-configured uplink positioning reference signal configuration information.

In some embodiments, the rejection information includes at least one of the following:

A rejection reason, wherein the rejection reason is used to indicate the reason why the network device indicates that the activation of the pre-configured uplink positioning reference signal configuration information is rejected;

Waiting time, where the waiting time is used to indicate the time during which the terminal is prohibited from sending the request message again.

Step S204: The terminal sends a positioning reference signal according to the activated pre-configured uplink positioning reference signal configuration information.

The communication method involved in the embodiment of the present disclosure may include at least one of steps S201 to S204. For example, step S201 can be implemented as an independent embodiment, step S202 can be implemented as an independent embodiment, step S203 can be implemented as an independent embodiment, step S201+S202 can be implemented as an independent embodiment, step S201+S203 can be implemented as an independent embodiment, step S201+S204 can be implemented as an independent embodiment, step S202+S203 can be implemented as an independent embodiment, step S202+S204 can be implemented as an independent embodiment, step S203+S204 can be implemented as an independent embodiment, step S201+S202+S203 can be implemented as an independent embodiment, step S201+S202+S204 can be implemented as an independent embodiment, step S201+S203+S204 can be implemented as an independent embodiment, but is not limited to this.

In some embodiments, steps S201 and S202 may be exchanged in order or executed simultaneously, steps S201 and S203 may be exchanged in order or executed simultaneously, steps S201 and S204 may be exchanged in order or executed simultaneously, steps S202 and S203 may be exchanged in order or executed simultaneously, steps S202 and S204 may be exchanged in order or executed simultaneously, and steps S203 and S204 may be exchanged in order or executed simultaneously.

In some embodiments, step 202 is optional, and one or more of these steps may be omitted or replaced in different embodiments.

In some embodiments, step 203 is optional, and one or more of these steps may be omitted or replaced in different embodiments.

In some embodiments, step 204 is optional, and one or more of these steps may be omitted or replaced in different embodiments.

In some embodiments, reference may be made to other optional implementations recorded before or after the description corresponding to FIG. 2 .

In some embodiments, the network device may send configuration information of an uplink positioning reference signal to the terminal, and the terminal may send a positioning reference signal according to the configuration information. The network device may determine the location of the terminal according to the positioning reference signal sent by the terminal.

In some embodiments, in order to reduce power consumption during positioning and implement LPHA (Low Power High Accuracy) positioning, positioning of idle and inactive terminals can be supported. For example, the network device can send configuration information of an uplink positioning reference signal and a validity area of the configuration information to the terminal. The configuration information is valid in the validity area, that is, the terminal sends a positioning reference signal according to the configuration information in the validity area.

In some embodiments, for example, the network device can send the configuration information of the uplink positioning reference signal to the terminal in cell #1, but when the terminal reselects to cell #2, the configuration information may become invalid, and the network device needs to resend the configuration information of the uplink positioning reference signal to the terminal. This configuration information sending method is relatively inefficient, and the terminal needs to determine the configuration information of the uplink positioning reference signal before sending the positioning reference signal. Therefore, this configuration information sending method is also prone to delays in positioning operations.

In a first aspect, an embodiment of the present disclosure proposes a signal sending method. Fig. 3 is a schematic flow chart of a signal sending method according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. The signal sending method shown in this embodiment can be executed by a terminal.

As shown in FIG3 , the signal sending method may include the following steps:

In step S301, at least one uplink positioning reference signal configuration information sent by a network device is received, wherein the pre-configured uplink positioning reference signal configuration information is used for a terminal to send a positioning reference signal (a positioning reference signal may also be referred to as an uplink positioning reference signal).

It should be noted that the embodiment shown in FIG. 3 may be implemented independently or in combination with at least one other embodiment in the present disclosure. The specific implementation may be selected as needed and the present disclosure is not limited thereto.

In some embodiments, the network device may send at least one uplink positioning reference signal configuration information to the terminal. For example, the network device may preconfigure multiple uplink positioning reference signal configuration information and send the multiple uplink positioning reference signal configuration information to the terminal.

In some embodiments, the preconfigured configuration information refers to the configuration information that the network device preconfigures to the terminal before the terminal needs to use the configuration information. When the terminal needs to use the configuration information later, the network device can activate a configuration information in the preconfigured configuration information for the terminal to use, for example, for the terminal to send a positioning reference signal. The following embodiments mainly illustrate the technical solution of the present disclosure in the case where the uplink positioning reference signal configuration information is the preconfigured uplink positioning reference signal configuration information.

After the terminal receives multiple pre-configured uplink positioning reference signal configuration information, the network device can subsequently selectively activate one configuration information among the multiple configuration information. The terminal can then send a positioning reference signal based on the activated configuration information, thereby eliminating the need for the network device to resend the configuration information to the terminal. This is beneficial to improving the configuration efficiency of the configuration information and alleviating the delay in positioning operations.

In some embodiments, after the network device sends at least one preconfigured uplink positioning reference signal configuration information to the terminal, the terminal may save the uplink positioning reference signal configuration information. When the network device subsequently sends an activation indication for activating the configuration information to the terminal, the activation indication has a smaller amount of information than the configuration information (for example, the preconfigured uplink positioning reference signal configuration information may be activated by a preconfiguration identifier, and the preconfiguration identifier accounts for a smaller number of bits). Compared with the configuration information, the network device may generate the activation indication faster, and the terminal may parse the activation indication faster, which is beneficial to improving the configuration efficiency of the configuration information and alleviating the delay of the positioning operation.

It should be noted that regarding the usage of the pre-configured uplink positioning reference signal configuration information, in some embodiments, the terminal can send a request message to the network device, the request message is used to request the network device to activate a pre-configured uplink positioning reference signal configuration information, and then the network device sends an activation indication to the terminal to activate a pre-configured uplink positioning reference signal configuration information; in some embodiments, the network device can send an activation indication to the terminal to activate a pre-configured uplink positioning reference signal configuration information without receiving a request message.

For example, when the terminal is in area #A, the area #A identifier, such as identifier #A, can be determined, and then the identifier #A can be determined in the pre-configured uplink positioning reference signal configuration information, and the pre-configured uplink positioning reference signal configuration information associated with the identifier #A can be further determined, thereby sending an activation request to the network device for the pre-configured uplink positioning reference signal configuration information associated with the identifier #A. After the network device confirms the activation of the uplink positioning reference signal configuration information, the positioning reference signal is sent in area A according to the activated pre-configured uplink positioning reference signal configuration information.

For example, when the network device determines that the terminal is in area #A, it can determine the area #A identifier, such as identifier #A, and then send an activation indication to the terminal to activate the pre-configured uplink positioning reference signal configuration information associated with identifier #A, and then the terminal can send an uplink positioning reference signal in area A according to the activated pre-configured uplink positioning reference signal configuration information.

It should be noted that in the embodiment of the present disclosure, the terminal sends a request message to the network device, and the network device sends Sending an activation indication to the terminal indicates that the terminal needs to obtain permission from the network before using the pre-configured uplink positioning reference signal configuration information to send a positioning reference signal, even if the resources configured by the pre-configured uplink positioning reference signal configuration information are periodic resources. In the embodiments of the present disclosure, the terminal sends a request message to the network device, and the network device sends an activation indication to the terminal, which can be applicable to the case where the resources configured by the uplink positioning reference signal configuration information are semi-persistent resources or non-periodic resources, and can also be applicable to the case where the resources configured by the uplink positioning reference signal configuration information are periodic resources.

In some embodiments, the positioning reference signal includes but is not limited to a sounding reference signal (Sounding Reference Signal, SRS).

In some embodiments, the pre-configured uplink positioning reference signal configuration information is carried in at least one of the following: system information (System Information, SI); radio resource control (Radio Resource Control, RRC) message.

In some embodiments, the pre-configured uplink positioning reference signal configuration information includes at least one of the following:

A pre-configured identifier of pre-configured uplink positioning reference signal configuration information;

The area identifier associated with the pre-configured uplink positioning reference signal configuration information.

For example, the preconfigured uplink positioning reference signal configuration information may include, in addition to specific configurations (such as time domain resources, frequency domain resources, etc.), a preconfigured identifier of the preconfigured uplink positioning reference signal configuration information. The preconfigured identifier is associated with the preconfigured uplink positioning reference signal configuration information. When the network device needs to activate a certain preconfigured uplink positioning reference signal configuration information, the network device may carry the preconfigured identifier of the preconfigured uplink positioning reference signal configuration information in the activation indication sent to the terminal, so that the terminal can accurately determine the preconfigured uplink positioning reference signal configuration information that needs to be activated according to the preconfigured identifier.

For example, the preconfigured uplink positioning reference signal configuration information may include, in addition to specific configurations (such as time domain resources, frequency domain resources, etc.), an area identifier associated with the preconfigured uplink positioning reference signal configuration information. The area identifier is associated with the preconfigured uplink positioning reference signal configuration information. For example, the area may be referred to as a valid area of the configuration information or as an associated area of the configuration information, which is not limited in the present disclosure.

In some embodiments, the pre-configured uplink positioning reference signal configuration information may include a pre-configuration identifier but not an area identifier.

Take the preconfigured uplink positioning reference signal configuration information applicable to any area as an example. For example, for 10 preconfigured uplink positioning reference signal configuration information, the corresponding preconfigured identifiers are identifier #1 to identifier #10 respectively. The terminal can use the preconfigured uplink positioning reference signal configuration information corresponding to any one of the preconfigured identifiers #1 to 10 in any area. Therefore, no matter which area the terminal is in, it can request the network device to activate the preconfigured uplink positioning reference signal configuration information corresponding to any one of the preconfigured identifiers #1 to 10, and the network device can activate the preconfigured uplink positioning reference signal configuration information according to the request of the terminal.

Take the example that the pre-configured uplink positioning reference signal configuration information is only applicable to the area where the terminal is located when receiving the pre-configured uplink positioning reference signal configuration information. For example, the pre-configured uplink positioning reference signal configuration information received by the terminal in cell #A is the pre-configured uplink positioning reference signal configuration information corresponding to pre-configuration identifiers #1 to #5, respectively. Then, when the terminal is in cell #A, it can request the network device to activate the pre-configured uplink positioning reference signal configuration information corresponding to any one of the pre-configuration identifiers #1 to 5, and the network device can activate the pre-configured uplink positioning reference signal configuration information according to the request of the terminal; for example, the terminal reselects from cell #A to cell #B, and the pre-configured uplink positioning reference signal configuration information received by the terminal in cell #B is the pre-configured uplink positioning reference signal configuration information corresponding to pre-configuration identifiers #3 to #9, respectively. Then, when the terminal is in cell #B, it can request the network device to activate the pre-configured uplink positioning reference signal configuration information corresponding to any one of the pre-configuration identifiers #3 to 9, and the network device can activate the pre-configured uplink positioning reference signal configuration information according to the request of the terminal. In some embodiments, the pre-configured uplink positioning reference signal configuration information is sent by the network device through system message broadcasting.

For example, when the terminal is located in area #A, the terminal may need to use the preconfigured uplink positioning reference signal configuration information corresponding to any one of the preconfiguration identifiers #1 to 3, so as to request the network device to activate the preconfigured uplink positioning reference signal configuration information corresponding to any one of the preconfiguration identifiers #1 to 3;

For example, when the terminal is located in area #C, the terminal may need to use the pre-configured uplink positioning reference signal configuration information corresponding to any one of the pre-configuration identifiers #6 to 8, so that the network device can be requested to activate the pre-configured uplink positioning reference signal configuration information corresponding to any one of the pre-configuration identifiers #6 to 8.

In some embodiments, the pre-configured uplink positioning reference signal configuration information may include a pre-configuration identifier and an area identifier.

For example, for 10 pre-configured uplink positioning reference signal configuration information, the corresponding area identifiers and pre-configuration identifiers are pre-configuration identifiers #1 to #3 in area #A, pre-configuration identifiers #1 to #2 in area #B, pre-configuration identifiers #1 to #3 in area #C, and pre-configuration identifiers #1 to #2 in area #D.

For example, when the terminal is located in area #A, the terminal can use the preconfigured uplink positioning reference signal configuration information corresponding to any one of the preconfigured identifiers #1 to 3 in area #A. Since the network device can also determine that the terminal is in area #A, the terminal can request the network device to activate the preconfigured uplink positioning reference signal configuration information corresponding to any one of the preconfigured identifiers #1 to 3. The network device can determine that the terminal requests to activate any one of the preconfigured uplink positioning reference signal configuration information associated with the preconfigured identifiers #1 to 3 in area #A, and then activate the preconfigured uplink positioning reference signal configuration information according to the request of the terminal;

For example, when the terminal is located in area #B, the terminal can use the pre-configured uplink positioning reference signal configuration information corresponding to any one of the pre-configured identifiers #1 to 2 in area #B. Since the network device can also determine that the terminal is in area #B, the terminal can request the network device to activate the pre-configured uplink positioning reference signal configuration information corresponding to any one of the pre-configured identifiers #1 to 2. The network device can determine that the terminal requests to activate any one of the pre-configured uplink positioning reference signal configuration information associated with the pre-configured identifiers #1 to 2 in area #B, and then activate the pre-configured uplink positioning reference signal configuration information according to the request of the terminal.

In some embodiments, the area identifier includes at least one of the following: a cell identifier (cell ID); a tracking area (Tracking Area, TA) identifier; a radio access network notification area (Radio access network Notification Area, RNA) identifier.

In some embodiments, the pre-configured uplink positioning reference signal configuration information does not include at least one of the following: spatial relationship information (for example, it can be called spatialRelationInfo); power control parameters; a reference signal for calculating path loss (for example, it can be called pathlossReferenceRS-Pos); the timer duration of the timing advance value (for example, it can be called the duration of TA timer).

In some embodiments, the network device may send at least one preconfigured uplink positioning reference signal configuration information to the terminal, but subsequently, each time the configuration information is activated, only one preconfigured uplink positioning reference signal configuration information will be selected for activation. Each time the terminal uses the configuration information, it will only send a positioning reference signal according to one configuration information activated by the network device.

In some embodiments, some parameters in the positioning reference signal configuration are not suitable for pre-configuration to the terminal. Considering this situation, the pre-configured uplink positioning reference signal configuration information does not include some information, such as spatial relationship information, power control parameters, reference signals for calculating path loss, timer duration of timing advance value, etc. Accordingly, it is beneficial for the network device to subsequently provide the terminal with more appropriate parameters such as spatial relationship information, power control parameters, reference signals for calculating path loss, and timer duration of timing advance value.

The subsequent network device may then send the spatial relationship information, power control parameters, reference signals for calculating path loss, timer duration of the timing advance value, etc. to the terminal. For example, when it is determined that the terminal is in a certain cell, when the terminal sends a request to activate a certain pre-configured uplink positioning reference signal configuration information, the spatial relationship information, power control parameters, reference signals for calculating path loss, and timer duration of the timing advance value corresponding to the uplink positioning reference signal configuration information requested by the terminal may be sent to the terminal, and the terminal may send a positioning reference signal based on this information and the pre-configured uplink reference signal configuration information associated with the cell.

FIG4 is a schematic flow chart of another signal transmission method according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. The signal transmission method shown in this embodiment can be executed by a terminal. As shown in FIG4, the signal transmission method can also include the following steps:

In step S401, a request message is sent to a network device, wherein the request message is used to request the network device to activate one uplink positioning reference signal configuration information among at least one uplink positioning reference signal configuration information.

It should be noted that the embodiment shown in FIG. 4 can be implemented independently or in combination with at least one other embodiment in the present disclosure. The specific selection can be made as needed, and the present disclosure is not limited thereto.

In some embodiments, when the terminal needs to send a positioning reference signal according to the configuration information, the terminal may send a request message to the network device, requesting the network device to activate a preconfigured uplink positioning reference signal configuration information in at least one preconfigured uplink positioning reference signal configuration information through the request message, so that the terminal can send the positioning reference signal according to the activated configuration information.

In some embodiments, the request message includes a pre-configuration identifier of the pre-configured uplink positioning reference signal configuration information requested to be activated.

In some embodiments, the terminal can determine the preconfigured uplink positioning reference signal configuration information required to send the positioning reference signal, and then carry the preconfiguration identifier of the preconfigured uplink positioning reference signal configuration information in a request message and send it to the network device, so that the network device can activate the preconfigured uplink positioning reference signal configuration information corresponding to the preconfiguration identifier in the request message.

In some embodiments, the preconfigured uplink positioning reference signal configuration information may include an area identifier associated with the preconfigured uplink positioning reference signal configuration information. When the terminal is in a certain area, it can determine the identifier of the area and carry the identifier of the area in a request message sent to the network device to request the network device to activate the preconfigured uplink positioning reference signal configuration information associated with the identifier of the area.

For example, if the terminal is in area #A, the area #A identifier, such as identifier #A, can be determined, and then the identifier #A can be carried in the request message to request the network device to activate the pre-configured uplink positioning reference signal configuration information associated with the identifier #A. In a further embodiment, before sending the request message, the terminal can also first determine whether the area identifier associated with the pre-configured uplink positioning reference signal configuration information contains the identifier #A. If the identifier #A is contained, the identifier #A is carried in the request message. If the identifier #A is not contained, the identifier #A does not need to be carried in the request message.

FIG5 is a schematic flow chart of another signal transmission method according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. The signal transmission method shown in this embodiment can be executed by a terminal. As shown in FIG5, the signal transmission method can also include the following steps:

In step S501, a response message to a request message sent by a network device is received.

In some embodiments, the response message includes at least one of the following: a pre-configuration identifier of a pre-configured uplink positioning reference signal configuration information; spatial relationship information; power control parameters; a reference signal for calculating path loss; a timer duration of a timing advance value; configuration information of the uplink positioning reference signal; and rejection information, wherein the rejection information is used to indicate a rejection of activating the pre-configured uplink positioning reference signal configuration information.

In some embodiments, after receiving the request message sent by the terminal, the network device may send a response message to the terminal.

In some embodiments, if the network device needs to activate the preconfigured uplink positioning reference signal configuration information, the response message may be used as an activation indication. For example, the response message may include a preconfiguration identifier of the preconfigured uplink positioning reference signal configuration information, and the terminal may determine that the preconfigured uplink positioning reference signal configuration information associated with the preconfiguration identifier in the response message is activated, and then send a positioning reference signal according to the activated preconfigured uplink positioning reference signal configuration information.

In some embodiments, the preconfiguration identifier in the response message may be the same as the preconfiguration identifier in the request message; in some embodiments, the preconfiguration identifier in the response message may be different from the preconfiguration identifier in the request message.

For example, the terminal carries the preconfiguration identifier #A in the request message, and after receiving the request message, the network device may carry the preconfiguration identifier #A in the response message sent to the terminal. For example, after receiving the request message, the network device may determine whether the preconfigured uplink positioning reference signal configuration information associated with the preconfiguration identifier #A is available. If available, the preconfiguration identifier #A may be carried in the response message and sent to the terminal (other preconfiguration identifiers may also be carried). If not available, other preconfiguration identifiers may be carried in the response message and sent to the terminal.

For example, if the network device determines that the pre-configured uplink positioning reference signal configuration information has been configured to other terminals, then the configuration information is unavailable, otherwise it is available; for example, if the network device determines that the resources in the pre-configured uplink positioning reference signal configuration information conflict with other communication processes, then the configuration information is unavailable, otherwise it is available. However, the method for determining whether the configuration information is available or unavailable is not limited to the above examples, and the present disclosure does not limit this.

In some embodiments, when the response message carries the pre-configuration identifier of the pre-configured uplink positioning reference signal configuration information, the response message may also carry relevant information of the area associated with the pre-configured uplink positioning reference signal configuration information, and may carry other parameters corresponding to the pre-configured uplink positioning reference signal configuration information, such as spatial relationship information, power control parameters, reference signals for calculating path loss, and at least one of the timer duration of the timing advance value. So that the terminal can send the positioning reference signal according to the specific configuration in the activated configuration information, as well as the spatial relationship information, power control parameters, reference signals for calculating path loss, and the timer duration of the timing advance value.

In some embodiments, after receiving the terminal request message, the network device may send a response message to the terminal including configuration information of the uplink positioning reference signal.

For example, when the network device determines that all pre-configured uplink positioning reference signal configuration information is unavailable (the method for determining whether it is available or not can refer to the previous embodiment, which will not be repeated here), in order to ensure that the terminal can smoothly send the positioning reference signal, dynamic configuration information can be sent to the terminal, such as the configuration information called uplink positioning reference signal, which is not pre-configured, so there is no pre-configuration mark, that is, the uplink positioning reference signal configuration information sent by the network device to the terminal device at this time is not any uplink positioning reference signal configuration in the pre-configured uplink positioning reference signal configuration information sent by the network device to the terminal device before. The terminal can send an uplink positioning reference signal according to the configuration information of the uplink positioning reference signal.

In some embodiments, after receiving the terminal request message, the terminal may send a response message to the terminal including rejection information.

The network device determines that all pre-configured uplink positioning reference signal configuration information is unavailable (the method for determining whether it is available or not can refer to the previous embodiment and will not be repeated here), and can send a rejection message to the terminal to refuse to activate the pre-configured uplink positioning reference signal configuration information requested by the terminal.

In some embodiments, the rejection information includes at least one of the following:

A rejection reason, wherein the rejection reason is used to indicate the reason why the network device indicates that the activation of the pre-configured uplink positioning reference signal configuration information is rejected;

Waiting time, where the waiting time is used to indicate the time during which the terminal is prohibited from sending the request message again.

The terminal can determine the reason why the network device refuses to activate the pre-configured uplink positioning reference signal configuration information requested by the terminal according to the rejection reason. The terminal can stop sending the network device to the network device again according to the waiting time. The terminal may send a request message to the network device, and/or the terminal may send a request message to the network device after the waiting time. For example, the waiting time may be characterized by a starting point and a duration, the starting point including but not limited to the time when the terminal receives the response message; for example, the waiting time may be characterized by an expectation and an end point, the starting point including but not limited to the time when the terminal receives the response message, the end point including but not limited to the position of the first number of time domain units (such as frames, time slots, symbols, etc.) after the starting point.

The embodiment of the present disclosure proposes a signal sending method. Figure 6 is a schematic flow chart of a signal sending method according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. The signal sending method shown in this embodiment can be executed by a network device.

As shown in FIG6 , the signal sending method may include the following steps:

In step S601, at least one uplink positioning reference signal configuration information is sent to a terminal, wherein the pre-configured uplink positioning reference signal configuration information is used by the terminal to send a positioning reference signal.

It should be noted that the embodiment shown in FIG. 6 can be implemented independently or in combination with at least one other embodiment in the present disclosure. The specific selection can be made as needed, and the present disclosure is not limited thereto.

In some embodiments, the network device may send at least one uplink positioning reference signal configuration information to the terminal. For example, the network device may preconfigure multiple uplink positioning reference signal configuration information and send the multiple uplink positioning reference signal configuration information to the terminal.

In some embodiments, the preconfigured configuration information refers to the configuration information that the network device preconfigures to the terminal before the terminal needs to use the configuration information. When the terminal needs to use the configuration information later, the network device can activate a configuration information in the preconfigured configuration information for the terminal to use, for example, for the terminal to send a positioning reference signal. The following embodiments mainly illustrate the technical solution of the present disclosure in the case where the uplink positioning reference signal configuration information is the preconfigured uplink positioning reference signal configuration information.

The network device can subsequently selectively activate one configuration information from these multiple configuration information, and the terminal can send a positioning reference signal based on the activated configuration information, thereby eliminating the need for the network device to resend the configuration information to the terminal, which is beneficial to improving the configuration efficiency of the configuration information and alleviating the delay of the positioning operation.

In some embodiments, after the network device sends at least one preconfigured uplink positioning reference signal configuration information to the terminal, the terminal may save the uplink positioning reference signal configuration information. When the network device subsequently sends an activation indication for activating the configuration information to the terminal, the activation indication has a smaller amount of information than the configuration information (for example, the preconfigured uplink positioning reference signal configuration information may be activated by a preconfiguration identifier, and the preconfiguration identifier accounts for a smaller number of bits). Compared with the configuration information, the network device may generate the activation indication faster, and the terminal may parse the activation indication faster, which is beneficial to improving the configuration efficiency of the configuration information and alleviating the delay of the positioning operation.

It should be noted that regarding the usage of the pre-configured uplink positioning reference signal configuration information, in some embodiments, the terminal can send a request message to the network device, the request message is used to request the network device to activate a pre-configured uplink positioning reference signal configuration information, and then the network device sends an activation indication to the terminal to activate a pre-configured uplink positioning reference signal configuration information; in some embodiments, the network device can send an activation indication to the terminal to activate a pre-configured uplink positioning reference signal configuration information without receiving a request message.

For example, when the terminal is in area #A, the area #A identifier, such as identifier #A, can be determined, and then the identifier #A can be determined in the pre-configured uplink positioning reference signal configuration information, and the pre-configured uplink positioning reference signal configuration information associated with the identifier #A can be further determined, thereby sending an activation request to the network device for the pre-configured uplink positioning reference signal configuration information associated with the identifier #A. After the network device confirms the activation of the uplink positioning reference signal configuration information, the positioning reference signal is sent in area A according to the activated pre-configured uplink positioning reference signal configuration information.

For example, when the network device determines that the terminal is in area #A, it can determine the area #A identifier, for example, called identifier #A, and then send an activation indication to the terminal to activate the pre-configured uplink positioning reference signal configuration information associated with identifier #A, and then the terminal can send the uplink positioning reference signal configuration information in area A according to the activated pre-configured uplink positioning reference signal configuration information. Line positioning reference signal.

It should be noted that, in the embodiment of the present disclosure, the terminal sends a request message to the network device, and the network device sends an activation indication to the terminal, which indicates that the terminal needs to obtain permission from the network before using the pre-configured uplink positioning reference signal configuration information to send a positioning reference signal, even if the resources configured by the pre-configured uplink positioning reference signal configuration information are periodic resources. In the embodiment of the present disclosure, the terminal sends a request message to the network device, and the network device sends an activation indication to the terminal, which can be applicable to the case where the resources configured by the uplink positioning reference signal configuration information are semi-persistent resources or non-periodic resources, and can also be applicable to the case where the resources configured by the uplink positioning reference signal configuration information are periodic resources.

In some embodiments, the positioning reference signal includes, but is not limited to, a listening reference signal (SRS).

In some embodiments, the pre-configured uplink positioning reference signal configuration information is carried in at least one of the following: system information (SI); radio resource control (RRC) message.

In some embodiments, the pre-configured uplink positioning reference signal configuration information includes at least one of the following:

A pre-configured identifier of pre-configured uplink positioning reference signal configuration information;

The area identifier associated with the pre-configured uplink positioning reference signal configuration information.

For example, the preconfigured uplink positioning reference signal configuration information may include, in addition to specific configurations (such as time domain resources, frequency domain resources, etc.), a preconfigured identifier of the preconfigured uplink positioning reference signal configuration information. The preconfigured identifier is associated with the preconfigured uplink positioning reference signal configuration information. When the network device needs to activate a certain preconfigured uplink positioning reference signal configuration information, the network device may carry the preconfigured identifier of the preconfigured uplink positioning reference signal configuration information in the activation indication sent to the terminal, so that the terminal can accurately determine the preconfigured uplink positioning reference signal configuration information that needs to be activated according to the preconfigured identifier.

For example, the preconfigured uplink positioning reference signal configuration information may include, in addition to specific configurations (such as time domain resources, frequency domain resources, etc.), an area identifier associated with the preconfigured uplink positioning reference signal configuration information. The area identifier is associated with the preconfigured uplink positioning reference signal configuration information. For example, the area may be referred to as a valid area of the configuration information or as an associated area of the configuration information, which is not limited in the present disclosure.

In some embodiments, the pre-configured uplink positioning reference signal configuration information may include a pre-configuration identifier but not an area identifier.

Take the preconfigured uplink positioning reference signal configuration information applicable to any area as an example. For example, for 10 preconfigured uplink positioning reference signal configuration information, the corresponding preconfigured identifiers are identifier #1 to identifier #10 respectively. The terminal can use the preconfigured uplink positioning reference signal configuration information corresponding to any one of the preconfigured identifiers #1 to 10 in any area. Therefore, no matter which area the terminal is in, it can request the network device to activate the preconfigured uplink positioning reference signal configuration information corresponding to any one of the preconfigured identifiers #1 to 10, and the network device can activate the preconfigured uplink positioning reference signal configuration information according to the request of the terminal.

Take the example that the preconfigured uplink positioning reference signal configuration information is only applicable to the area where the terminal is located when receiving the preconfigured uplink positioning reference signal configuration information. For example, the preconfigured uplink positioning reference signal configuration information received by the terminal in cell #A is the preconfigured uplink positioning reference signal configuration information corresponding to preconfiguration identifiers #1 to #5, respectively. Then, when the terminal is in cell #A, it can request the network device to activate the preconfigured uplink positioning reference signal configuration information corresponding to any one of the preconfiguration identifiers #1 to 5, and the network device can activate the preconfigured uplink positioning reference signal configuration information according to the request of the terminal; for example, the terminal switches from cell #A to cell #B, and the preconfigured uplink positioning reference signal configuration information received by the terminal in cell #B is the preconfigured uplink positioning reference signal configuration information corresponding to preconfiguration identifiers #3 to #9, respectively. Then, when the terminal is in cell #B, it can request the network device to activate the preconfigured uplink positioning reference signal configuration information corresponding to any one of the preconfiguration identifiers #3 to 9. The network device may activate the pre-configured uplink positioning reference signal configuration information according to the request of the terminal.

For example, when the terminal is located in area #A, the terminal may need to use the preconfigured uplink positioning reference signal configuration information corresponding to any one of the preconfiguration identifiers #1 to 3, so as to request the network device to activate the preconfigured uplink positioning reference signal configuration information corresponding to any one of the preconfiguration identifiers #1 to 3;

For example, when the terminal is located in area #C, the terminal may need to use the pre-configured uplink positioning reference signal configuration information corresponding to any one of the pre-configuration identifiers #6 to 8, so that the network device can be requested to activate the pre-configured uplink positioning reference signal configuration information corresponding to any one of the pre-configuration identifiers #6 to 8.

In some embodiments, the pre-configured uplink positioning reference signal configuration information may include a pre-configuration identifier and an area identifier.

For example, for 10 pre-configured uplink positioning reference signal configuration information, the corresponding area identifiers and pre-configuration identifiers are pre-configuration identifiers #1 to #3 in area #A, pre-configuration identifiers #1 to #2 in area #B, pre-configuration identifiers #1 to #3 in area #C, and pre-configuration identifiers #1 to #2 in area #D.

For example, when the terminal is located in area #A, the terminal can use the preconfigured uplink positioning reference signal configuration information corresponding to any one of the preconfigured identifiers #1 to 3 in area #A. Since the network device can also determine that the terminal is in area #A, the terminal can request the network device to activate the preconfigured uplink positioning reference signal configuration information corresponding to any one of the preconfigured identifiers #1 to 3. The network device can determine that the terminal requests to activate any one of the preconfigured uplink positioning reference signal configuration information associated with the preconfigured identifiers #1 to 3 in area #A, and then activate the preconfigured uplink positioning reference signal configuration information according to the request of the terminal;

For example, when the terminal is located in area #B, the terminal can use the pre-configured uplink positioning reference signal configuration information corresponding to any one of the pre-configured identifiers #1 to 2 in area #B. Since the network device can also determine that the terminal is in area #B, the terminal can request the network device to activate the pre-configured uplink positioning reference signal configuration information corresponding to any one of the pre-configured identifiers #1 to 2. The network device can determine that the terminal requests to activate any one of the pre-configured uplink positioning reference signal configuration information associated with the pre-configured identifiers #1 to 2 in area #B, and then activate the pre-configured uplink positioning reference signal configuration information according to the request of the terminal.

In some embodiments, the area identifier includes at least one of the following: a cell identifier; a tracking area identifier; a radio access network notification area identifier.

In some embodiments, the pre-configured uplink positioning reference signal configuration information does not include at least one of the following: spatial relationship information; power control parameters; reference signals for calculating path loss; timer duration of the timing advance value.

FIG7 is a schematic flow chart of another signal sending method according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. The signal sending method shown in this embodiment can be executed by a network device. As shown in FIG7, the signal sending method also includes:

In step S701, a request message sent by a terminal is received, wherein the request message is used to request a network device to activate one uplink positioning reference signal configuration information among at least one uplink positioning reference signal configuration information.

It should be noted that the embodiment shown in FIG. 7 can be implemented independently or in combination with at least one other embodiment in the present disclosure. The specific selection can be made as needed, and the present disclosure is not limited thereto.

In some embodiments, the network device may send at least one preconfigured uplink positioning reference signal configuration information to the terminal, but subsequently, each time the configuration information is activated, only one preconfigured uplink positioning reference signal configuration information will be selected for activation. Each time the terminal uses the configuration information, it will only send a positioning reference signal according to one configuration information activated by the network device.

In some embodiments, some parameters in the positioning reference signal configuration are not suitable for pre-configuration to the terminal. Considering this situation, the pre-configured uplink positioning reference signal configuration information does not include some information, such as spatial relationship information. information, power control parameters, reference signals for calculating path loss, timer duration of timing advance value, etc. Accordingly, it is beneficial for the network device to provide the terminal with more appropriate parameters such as spatial relationship information, power control parameters, reference signals for calculating path loss, timer duration of timing advance value.

The subsequent network device may then send the spatial relationship information, power control parameters, reference signals for calculating path loss, timer duration of the timing advance value, etc. to the terminal. For example, when it is determined that the terminal is in a certain cell, when the terminal sends a request to activate a certain pre-configured uplink positioning reference signal configuration information, the spatial relationship information, power control parameters, reference signals for calculating path loss, and timer duration of the timing advance value corresponding to the uplink positioning reference signal configuration information requested by the terminal may be sent to the terminal, and the terminal may send a positioning reference signal based on this information and the pre-configured uplink reference signal configuration information associated with the cell.

In some embodiments, the signal sending method further includes: receiving a request message sent by the terminal, wherein the request message is used to request the network device to activate one of the at least one preconfigured uplink positioning reference signal configuration information.

In some embodiments, when the terminal needs to send a positioning reference signal according to the configuration information, the terminal may send a request message to the network device, and the network device may activate a preconfigured uplink positioning reference signal configuration information in at least one preconfigured uplink positioning reference signal configuration information according to the request message, so that the terminal may send a positioning reference signal according to the activated configuration information.

In some embodiments, the request message includes a pre-configuration identifier of the pre-configured uplink positioning reference signal configuration information requested to be activated.

In some embodiments, the terminal can determine the preconfigured uplink positioning reference signal configuration information required to send the positioning reference signal, and then carry the preconfiguration identifier of the preconfigured uplink positioning reference signal configuration information in a request message and send it to the network device. The network device can activate the preconfigured uplink positioning reference signal configuration information corresponding to the preconfiguration identifier in the request message.

In some embodiments, the preconfigured uplink positioning reference signal configuration information may include an area identifier associated with the preconfigured uplink positioning reference signal configuration information. When the terminal is in a certain area, it can determine the identifier of the area and carry the identifier of the area in the request message sent to the network device to request the network device to activate the preconfigured uplink positioning reference signal configuration information associated with the identifier of the area.

For example, if the terminal is in area #A, the area #A identifier, such as identifier #A, can be determined, and then the identifier #A can be carried in the request message to request the network device to activate the pre-configured uplink positioning reference signal configuration information associated with the identifier #A. In a further embodiment, before sending the request message, the terminal can also first determine whether the area identifier associated with the pre-configured uplink positioning reference signal configuration information contains the identifier #A. If the identifier #A is contained, the identifier #A is carried in the request message. If the identifier #A is not contained, the identifier #A does not need to be carried in the request message.

FIG8 is a schematic flow chart of another signal sending method according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. The signal sending method shown in this embodiment can be executed by a network device. As shown in FIG8, the signal sending method also includes:

In step S801, a response message of the request message is sent to the terminal.

It should be noted that the embodiment shown in FIG. 8 can be implemented independently or in combination with at least one other embodiment in the present disclosure. The specific selection can be made as needed, and the present disclosure is not limited thereto.

In some embodiments, the response message includes at least one of the following: a pre-configuration identifier of a pre-configured uplink positioning reference signal configuration information; spatial relationship information; power control parameters; a reference signal for calculating path loss; a timer duration of a timing advance value; configuration information of the uplink positioning reference signal; and rejection information, wherein the rejection information is used to indicate a rejection of activating the pre-configured uplink positioning reference signal configuration information.

In some embodiments, after receiving the request message sent by the terminal, the network device may send a request message to the terminal. Request message response message.

In some embodiments, if the network device needs to activate the preconfigured uplink positioning reference signal configuration information, the response message may be used as an activation indication. For example, the response message may include a preconfiguration identifier of the preconfigured uplink positioning reference signal configuration information, and the terminal may determine that the preconfigured uplink positioning reference signal configuration information associated with the preconfiguration identifier in the response message is activated, and then send a positioning reference signal according to the activated preconfigured uplink positioning reference signal configuration information.

In some embodiments, the preconfiguration identifier in the response message may be the same as the preconfiguration identifier in the request message; in some embodiments, the preconfiguration identifier in the response message may be different from the preconfiguration identifier in the request message.

For example, the terminal carries the preconfiguration identifier #A in the request message, and after receiving the request message, the network device may carry the preconfiguration identifier #A in the response message sent to the terminal. For example, after receiving the request message, the network device may determine whether the preconfigured uplink positioning reference signal configuration information associated with the preconfiguration identifier #A is available. If available, the preconfiguration identifier #A may be carried in the response message and sent to the terminal (other preconfiguration identifiers may also be carried). If not available, other preconfiguration identifiers may be carried in the response message and sent to the terminal.

For example, if the network device determines that the pre-configured uplink positioning reference signal configuration information has been configured to other terminals, then the configuration information is unavailable, otherwise it is available; for example, if the network device determines that the resources in the pre-configured uplink positioning reference signal configuration information conflict with other communication processes, then the configuration information is unavailable, otherwise it is available. However, the method for determining whether the configuration information is available or unavailable is not limited to the above examples, and the present disclosure does not limit this.

In some embodiments, when the response message carries the pre-configuration identifier of the pre-configured uplink positioning reference signal configuration information, the response message may also carry relevant information of the area associated with the pre-configured uplink positioning reference signal configuration information, and may carry other parameters corresponding to the pre-configured uplink positioning reference signal configuration information, such as spatial relationship information, power control parameters, reference signals for calculating path loss, and at least one of the timer duration of the timing advance value. So that the terminal can send the positioning reference signal according to the specific configuration in the activated configuration information, as well as the spatial relationship information, power control parameters, reference signals for calculating path loss, and the timer duration of the timing advance value.

In some embodiments, after receiving the terminal request message, the network device may send a response message to the terminal including configuration information of the uplink positioning reference signal.

For example, when the network device determines that all pre-configured uplink positioning reference signal configuration information is unavailable (the method for determining whether it is available or not can refer to the previous embodiment, which will not be repeated here), in order to ensure that the terminal can smoothly send the positioning reference signal, dynamic configuration information can be sent to the terminal, such as the configuration information called uplink positioning reference signal, which is not pre-configured, so there is no pre-configuration mark, that is, the uplink positioning reference signal configuration information sent by the network device to the terminal device at this time is not any uplink positioning reference signal configuration in the pre-configured uplink positioning reference signal configuration information sent by the network device to the terminal device before. The terminal can send an uplink positioning reference signal according to the configuration information of the uplink positioning reference signal.

In some embodiments, after receiving the terminal request message, the terminal may send a response message to the terminal including rejection information.

The network device determines that all pre-configured uplink positioning reference signal configuration information is unavailable (the method for determining whether it is available or not can refer to the previous embodiment and will not be repeated here), and can send a rejection message to the terminal to refuse to activate the pre-configured uplink positioning reference signal configuration information requested by the terminal.

In some embodiments, the rejection information includes at least one of the following:

A rejection reason, wherein the rejection reason is used to indicate the reason why the network device indicates that the activation of the pre-configured uplink positioning reference signal configuration information is rejected;

Waiting time, where the waiting time is used to indicate the time during which the terminal is prohibited from sending the request message again.

The terminal can determine the reason why the network device refuses to activate the pre-configured uplink positioning reference signal configuration information requested by the terminal to be activated based on the rejection reason. Based on the waiting time, the terminal can stop sending request messages to the network device again during the waiting time, and/or the terminal can send request messages to the network device after the waiting time. For example, the waiting time can be characterized by a starting point and a duration, and the starting point includes but is not limited to the time when the terminal receives a response message; for example, the waiting time can be characterized by an expectation and an end point, and the starting point includes but is not limited to the time when the terminal receives a response message, and the end point includes but is not limited to the position of the first number of time domain units (such as frames, time slots, symbols, etc.) after the starting point.

In some embodiments, the names of information, etc. are not limited to the names recorded in the embodiments, and terms such as "information", "message", "signal", "signaling", "report", "configuration", "indication", "instruction", "command", "channel", "parameter", "domain", "field", "symbol", "symbol", "code element", "codebook", "codeword", "codepoint", "bit", "data", "program", and "chip" can be used interchangeably.

In some embodiments, terms such as "uplink", "uplink", "physical uplink" can be interchangeable, and terms such as "downlink", "downlink", "physical downlink" can be interchangeable, and terms such as "side", "sidelink", "side communication", "sidelink communication", "direct connection", "direct link", "direct communication", "direct link communication" can be interchangeable.

In some embodiments, terms such as "moment", "time point", "time", and "time position" can be interchangeable, and terms such as "duration", "period", "time window", "window", and "time" can be interchangeable.

In some embodiments, terms such as wireless access scheme and waveform may be used interchangeably.

In some embodiments, terms such as "send", "transmit", "report", "send", "transmit", "bidirectional transmission", "send and/or receive" can be used interchangeably.

It should be noted that for other contents involved in this embodiment, please refer to the description of the relevant contents in the previous embodiments, which will not be repeated here.

Corresponding to the aforementioned embodiments of the signal sending method, the present disclosure also provides embodiments of a terminal and a network device.

An embodiment of the present disclosure further proposes a terminal, comprising: one or more processors; wherein the terminal is used to execute the signal sending method described in the first aspect and the optional embodiment of the first aspect.

Fig. 9 is a schematic block diagram of a terminal according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. As shown in Fig. 9 , the terminal includes at least one of the following: a receiving module 901 and a sending module 902 .

In some embodiments, the receiving module is used to receive at least one uplink positioning reference signal configuration information sent by a network device, wherein the pre-configured uplink positioning reference signal configuration information is used for the terminal to send a positioning reference signal.

In some embodiments, the uplink positioning reference signal configuration information is pre-configured uplink positioning reference signal configuration information.

In some embodiments, the pre-configured uplink positioning reference signal configuration information includes at least one of the following:

A pre-configuration identifier of the pre-configured uplink positioning reference signal configuration information;

The area identifier associated with the pre-configured uplink positioning reference signal configuration information.

In some embodiments, the area identifier includes at least one of: a cell identifier; a tracking area identifier; The wireless access network notifies the area identifier.

In some embodiments, the pre-configured uplink positioning reference signal configuration information does not include at least one of the following: spatial relationship information; power control parameters; reference signal for calculating path loss; timer duration of timing advance value.

In some embodiments, the sending module is used to send a request message to the network device, wherein the request message is used to request the network device to activate one preconfigured uplink positioning reference signal configuration information among the at least one preconfigured uplink positioning reference signal configuration information.

In some embodiments, the request message includes a pre-configuration identifier of pre-configured uplink positioning reference signal configuration information requested to be activated.

In some embodiments, the receiving module is used to receive a response message to the request message sent by the network device.

In some embodiments, the response message includes at least one of the following: a pre-configuration identifier of a pre-configured uplink positioning reference signal configuration information; spatial relationship information; power control parameters; a reference signal for calculating path loss; a timer duration of a timing advance value; configuration information of an uplink positioning reference signal; and rejection information, wherein the rejection information is used to indicate a rejection of activating the pre-configured uplink positioning reference signal configuration information.

In some embodiments, the rejection information includes at least one of the following:

A rejection reason, wherein the rejection reason is used to indicate a reason why the network device indicates to reject activation of the pre-configured uplink positioning reference signal configuration information;

A waiting time, wherein the waiting time is used to indicate a time during which the terminal is prohibited from sending the request message again.

In some embodiments, the pre-configured uplink positioning reference signal configuration information is carried in at least one of the following: system information; a radio resource control message.

It should be noted that the modules included in the terminal may not be limited to the modules shown in the embodiment of FIG. 9 , but may also include other modules, such as a processing module, a storage module, a display module, etc., which is not limited in the present disclosure.

An embodiment of the present disclosure further proposes a network device, comprising: one or more processors; wherein the network device is used to execute the signal sending method described in the second aspect and the optional embodiment of the second aspect.

Fig. 10 is a schematic block diagram of a network device according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. As shown in Fig. 10 , the network device includes a sending module 1001 and a receiving module 1002 .

In some embodiments, the sending module is used to send at least one pre-configured uplink positioning reference signal configuration information to the terminal, wherein the pre-configured uplink positioning reference signal configuration information is used by the terminal to send a positioning reference signal.

In some embodiments, the uplink positioning reference signal configuration information is pre-configured uplink positioning reference signal configuration information.

In some embodiments, the pre-configured uplink positioning reference signal configuration information includes at least one of the following: a pre-configuration identifier of the pre-configured uplink positioning reference signal configuration information; and an area identifier associated with the pre-configured uplink positioning reference signal configuration information.

In some embodiments, the area identifier includes at least one of the following: a cell identifier; a tracking area identifier; a radio access network notification area identifier.

In some embodiments, the pre-configured uplink positioning reference signal configuration information does not include at least the following: 1. Spatial relationship information; power control parameters; reference signal for calculating path loss; timer duration for timing advance value.

In some embodiments, the receiving module is used to receive a request message sent by the terminal, wherein the request message is used to request a network device to activate one of the at least one preconfigured uplink positioning reference signal configuration information.

In some embodiments, the request message includes a pre-configuration identifier of pre-configured uplink positioning reference signal configuration information requested to be activated.

In some embodiments, the sending module is used to send a response message to the request message to the terminal.

In some embodiments, the response message includes at least one of the following: a pre-configuration identifier of a pre-configured uplink positioning reference signal configuration information; spatial relationship information; power control parameters; a reference signal for calculating path loss; a timer duration of a timing advance value; configuration information of an uplink positioning reference signal; and rejection information, wherein the rejection information is used to indicate a rejection of activating the pre-configured uplink positioning reference signal configuration information.

In some embodiments, the rejection information includes at least one of the following:

A rejection reason, wherein the rejection reason is used to indicate a reason why the network device indicates to reject activation of the pre-configured uplink positioning reference signal configuration information;

A waiting time, wherein the waiting time is used to indicate a time during which the terminal is prohibited from sending the request message again.

In some embodiments, the pre-configured uplink positioning reference signal configuration information is carried in at least one of the following: system information; a radio resource control message.

It should be noted that the modules included in the network device may not be limited to the modules shown in the embodiment of FIG. 10 , but may also include other modules, such as a processing module, a storage module, etc., which is not limited in the present disclosure.

For the device embodiment, since it basically corresponds to the method embodiment, the relevant parts refer to the partial description of the method embodiment. The device embodiment described above is only schematic, wherein the modules described as separate components may or may not be physically separated, and the components displayed as modules may or may not be physical modules, that is, they may be located in one place, or they may be distributed on multiple network modules. Some or all of the modules may be selected according to actual needs to achieve the purpose of the scheme of this embodiment. Ordinary technicians in this field can understand and implement it without paying creative work.

An embodiment of the present disclosure also proposes a signal sending method, comprising: a network device sends at least one preconfigured uplink positioning reference signal configuration information to a terminal, wherein the preconfigured uplink positioning reference signal configuration information is used by the terminal to send a positioning reference signal; the network device sends an activation indication to the terminal, wherein the activation indication is used to activate one of the preconfigured uplink positioning reference signal configuration information; and the terminal sends a positioning reference signal according to the activated preconfigured uplink positioning reference signal configuration information.

An embodiment of the present disclosure further proposes a terminal, comprising: one or more processors; wherein the terminal is used to execute the signal sending method described in the first aspect and the optional embodiment of the first aspect.

An embodiment of the present disclosure further proposes a network device, comprising: one or more processors; wherein the network device is used to execute the signal sending method described in the second aspect and the optional embodiment of the second aspect.

An embodiment of the present disclosure further proposes a communication device, comprising: one or more processors; wherein the processor is used to call instructions so that the communication device executes the signal sending method described in the first aspect and the second aspect, and the optional embodiments of the first aspect and the second aspect.

The embodiment of the present disclosure also provides a communication system, including a terminal and a network device, wherein the terminal is The network device is configured to implement the signal sending method described in the first aspect and the optional embodiment of the first aspect, and the network device is configured to implement the signal sending method described in the second aspect and the optional embodiment of the second aspect.

An embodiment of the present disclosure further proposes a storage medium storing instructions, which, when executed on a communication device, enables the communication device to execute the signal sending method described in the first aspect and the second aspect, and the optional embodiments of the first aspect and the second aspect.

The embodiments of the present disclosure also propose a device for implementing any of the above methods, for example, a device is proposed, the above device includes a unit or module for implementing each step performed by the terminal in any of the above methods. For another example, another device is also proposed, including a unit or module for implementing each step performed by a network device (such as an access network device, a core network function node, a core network device, etc.) in any of the above methods.

It should be understood that the division of the units or modules in the above device is only a division of logical functions, which can be fully or partially integrated into one physical entity or physically separated in actual implementation. In addition, the units or modules in the device can be implemented in the form of a processor calling software: for example, the device includes a processor, the processor is connected to a memory, and instructions are stored in the memory. The processor calls the instructions stored in the memory to implement any of the above methods or implement the functions of the units or modules of the above device, wherein the processor is, for example, a general-purpose processor, such as a central processing unit (CPU) or a microprocessor, and the memory is a memory inside the device or a memory outside the device. Alternatively, the units or modules in the device may be implemented in the form of hardware circuits, and the functions of some or all of the units or modules may be implemented by designing the hardware circuits. The hardware circuits may be understood as one or more processors; for example, in one implementation, the hardware circuits are application-specific integrated circuits (ASICs), and the functions of some or all of the above units or modules may be implemented by designing the logical relationship of the components in the circuits; for another example, in another implementation, the hardware circuits may be implemented by programmable logic devices (PLDs), and Field Programmable Gate Arrays (FPGAs) may be used as an example, which may include a large number of logic gate circuits, and the connection relationship between the logic gate circuits may be configured by configuring the configuration files, thereby implementing the functions of some or all of the above units or modules. All units or modules of the above devices may be implemented in the form of software called by the processor, or in the form of hardware circuits, or in the form of software called by the processor, and the remaining part may be implemented in the form of hardware circuits.

In the disclosed embodiments, the processor is a circuit with signal processing capability. In one implementation, the processor may be a circuit with instruction reading and running capability, such as a central processing unit (CPU), a microprocessor, a graphics processing unit (GPU) (which may be understood as a microprocessor), or a digital signal processor (DSP); in another implementation, the processor may implement certain functions through the logical relationship of a hardware circuit, and the logical relationship of the above hardware circuit may be fixed or reconfigurable, such as a hardware circuit implemented by an application-specific integrated circuit (ASIC) or a programmable logic device (PLD), such as an FPGA. In a reconfigurable hardware circuit, the process of the processor loading a configuration document to implement the hardware circuit configuration may be understood as the process of the processor loading instructions to implement the functions of some or all of the above units or modules. In addition, it can also be a hardware circuit designed for artificial intelligence, which can be understood as ASIC, such as Neural Network Processing Unit (NPU), Tensor Processing Unit (TPU), Deep Learning Processing Unit (DPU), etc.

FIG11 is a schematic diagram of the structure of a communication device 11100 proposed in an embodiment of the present disclosure. The communication device 11100 may be a network device (e.g., an access network device, a core network device, etc.), or a terminal (e.g., a user device, etc.), or a chip, a chip system, or a processor that supports a network device to implement any of the above methods, or a chip, a chip system, or a processor that supports a terminal to implement any of the above methods. The communication device 11100 may be used to implement the method described in the above method embodiment, and the details may refer to the description in the above method embodiment.

As shown in FIG. 11 , the communication device 11100 includes one or more processors 11101. The processor 11101 may It can be a general-purpose processor or a dedicated processor, for example, a baseband processor or a central processing unit. The baseband processor can be used to process the communication protocol and communication data, and the central processing unit can be used to control the communication device (such as a base station, a baseband chip, a terminal device, a terminal device chip, a DU or a CU, etc.), execute a program, and process program data. The processor 11101 is used to call instructions so that the communication device 11100 executes any of the above methods.

In some embodiments, the communication device 11100 further includes one or more memories 11102 for storing instructions. Optionally, all or part of the memory 11102 may also be outside the communication device 11100.

In some embodiments, the communication device 11100 further includes one or more transceivers 11103. When the communication device 11100 includes one or more transceivers 11103, the communication steps such as sending and receiving in the above method are executed by the transceiver 11103, and the other steps are executed by the processor 11101.

In some embodiments, the transceiver may include a receiver and a transmitter, and the receiver and the transmitter may be separate or integrated. Optionally, the terms such as transceiver, transceiver unit, transceiver, transceiver circuit, etc. may be replaced with each other, the terms such as transmitter, transmission unit, transmitter, transmission circuit, etc. may be replaced with each other, and the terms such as receiver, receiving unit, receiver, receiving circuit, etc. may be replaced with each other.

Optionally, the communication device 11100 further includes one or more interface circuits 11104, which are connected to the memory 11102. The interface circuit 11104 can be used to receive signals from the memory 11102 or other devices, and can be used to send signals to the memory 11102 or other devices. For example, the interface circuit 11104 can read instructions stored in the memory 11102 and send the instructions to the processor 11101.

The communication device 11100 described in the above embodiments may be a network device or a terminal, but the scope of the communication device 11100 described in the present disclosure is not limited thereto, and the structure of the communication device 11100 may not be limited by FIG. 11. The communication device may be an independent device or may be part of a larger device. For example, the communication device may be: 1) an independent integrated circuit IC, or a chip, or a chip system or subsystem; (2) a collection of one or more ICs, optionally, the above IC collection may also include a storage component for storing data and programs; (3) an ASIC, such as a modem; (4) a module that can be embedded in other devices; (5) a receiver, a terminal device, an intelligent terminal device, a cellular phone, a wireless device, a handheld device, a mobile unit, a vehicle-mounted device, a network device, a cloud device, an artificial intelligence device, etc.; (6) others, etc.

Fig. 12 is a schematic diagram of the structure of a chip 12200 provided in an embodiment of the present disclosure. In the case where the communication device 11120 may be a chip or a chip system, reference may be made to the schematic diagram of the structure of the chip 12200 shown in Fig. 12, but the present disclosure is not limited thereto.

The chip 12200 includes one or more processors 12201, and the processor 12201 is used to call instructions so that the chip 12200 executes any of the above methods.

In some embodiments, the chip 12200 further includes one or more interface circuits 12202, the interface circuits 12202 are connected to the memory 12203, the interface circuits 12202 can be used to receive signals from the memory 12203 or other devices, and the interface circuits 12202 can be used to send signals to the memory

12203 or other devices to send signals. For example, the interface circuit 12202 can read the instructions stored in the memory 12203 and send the instructions to the processor 12201. Optionally, the terms such as interface circuit, interface, transceiver pin, transceiver, etc. can be replaced with each other.

In some embodiments, the chip 12200 further includes one or more memories 12203 for storing instructions. Optionally, all or part of the memory 12203 may be outside the chip 12200.

The present disclosure also provides a storage medium, on which instructions are stored. When the instructions are executed on the communication device 11100, the communication device 11100 executes any of the above methods. Optionally, the storage medium is an electronic storage medium. Optionally, the storage medium is a computer-readable storage medium, but is not limited thereto. It may also be Other storage media readable by other devices. Optionally, the above storage medium may be a non-transitory storage medium, but is not limited thereto, and may also be a transient storage medium.

The present disclosure also proposes a program product, which, when executed by the communication device 11100, enables the communication device 11100 to execute any of the above methods. Optionally, the program product is a computer program product.

The present disclosure also proposes a computer program, which, when executed on a computer, causes the computer to execute any one of the above methods.

Claims (26)

A signal sending method, characterized in that the method comprises: At least one uplink positioning reference signal configuration information sent by a network device is received, wherein the uplink positioning reference signal configuration information is used by a terminal to send a positioning reference signal. The method according to claim 1, wherein the uplink positioning reference signal configuration information comprises at least one of the following: A pre-configuration identifier of the uplink positioning reference signal configuration information; The area identifier associated with the uplink positioning reference signal configuration information. The method according to claim 2, wherein the area identifier includes at least one of the following: Cell ID; Tracking area identification; The radio access network notifies the area identifier. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 3, characterized in that the uplink positioning reference signal configuration information does not include at least one of the following: Spatial relationship information; Power control parameters; Reference signal for calculating path loss; The timer duration of the timing advance value. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 4, characterized in that the method further comprises: A request message is sent to the network device, wherein the request message is used to request the network device to activate one uplink positioning reference signal configuration information among the at least one uplink positioning reference signal configuration information. The method according to claim 5 is characterized in that the request message includes a pre-configuration identifier of the uplink positioning reference signal configuration information requested to be activated. The method according to claim 5 or 6, characterized in that the method further comprises: A response message to the request message sent by the network device is received. The method according to claim 7, characterized in that the response message includes at least one of the following: A pre-configuration identifier of uplink positioning reference signal configuration information; Spatial relationship information; Power control parameters; Reference signal for calculating path loss; The timer duration of the timing advance value; Configuration information of uplink positioning reference signal; Rejection information, wherein the rejection information is used to indicate rejection of activating the uplink positioning reference signal configuration information. The method according to claim 8, wherein the rejection information includes at least one of the following: A rejection reason, wherein the rejection reason is used to indicate a reason why the network device indicates a rejection of activating the uplink positioning reference signal configuration information; A waiting time, wherein the waiting time is used to indicate a time during which the terminal is prohibited from sending the request message again. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 9, characterized in that the uplink positioning reference signal configuration information is carried in at least one of the following: System information; Radio Resource Control Message. A signal sending method, characterized in that the method comprises: At least one uplink positioning reference signal configuration information is sent to a terminal, wherein the uplink positioning reference signal configuration information is used by the terminal to send a positioning reference signal. The method according to claim 11, characterized in that the uplink positioning reference signal configuration information includes at least one of the following: A pre-configuration identifier of the uplink positioning reference signal configuration information; The area identifier associated with the uplink positioning reference signal configuration information. The method according to claim 12, wherein the area identifier comprises at least one of the following: Cell ID; Tracking area identification; The radio access network notifies the area identifier. The method according to any one of claims 11 to 13, characterized in that the uplink positioning reference signal configuration information does not include at least one of the following: Spatial relationship information; Power control parameters; Reference signal for calculating path loss; The timer duration of the timing advance value. The method according to any one of claims 11 to 14, characterized in that the method further comprises: A request message sent by the terminal is received, wherein the request message is used to request a network device to activate one uplink positioning reference signal configuration information among the at least one uplink positioning reference signal configuration information. The method according to claim 15 is characterized in that the request message includes a pre-configuration identifier of the uplink positioning reference signal configuration information requested to be activated. The method according to claim 15 or 16, characterized in that the method further comprises: A response message to the request message is sent to the terminal. The method according to claim 17, wherein the response message includes at least one of the following: A pre-configuration identifier of uplink positioning reference signal configuration information; Spatial relationship information; Power control parameters; Reference signal for calculating path loss; The timer duration of the timing advance value; Configuration information of uplink positioning reference signal; Rejection information, wherein the rejection information is used to indicate rejection of activating the uplink positioning reference signal configuration information. The method according to claim 18, wherein the rejection information includes at least one of the following: A rejection reason, wherein the rejection reason is used to indicate a reason why the network device indicates a rejection of activating the uplink positioning reference signal configuration information; A waiting time, wherein the waiting time is used to indicate a time during which the terminal is prohibited from sending the request message again. The method according to any one of claims 11 to 19, characterized in that the uplink positioning reference signal configuration information is carried in at least one of the following: System information; Radio Resource Control Message. A signal sending method, characterized by comprising: The network device sends at least one uplink positioning reference signal configuration information to the terminal, wherein the uplink positioning reference signal configuration information is used by the terminal to send a positioning reference signal; The network device sends an activation indication to the terminal, wherein the activation indication is used to activate one of the uplink positioning reference signal configuration information; The terminal sends a positioning reference signal according to the activated uplink positioning reference signal configuration information. A terminal, characterized by comprising: one or more processors; The terminal is used to execute the signal sending method according to any one of claims 1 to 10. A network device, comprising: one or more processors; Wherein, the network device is used to execute the signal sending method according to any one of claims 11-20. A communication device, comprising: one or more processors; The processor is used to call instructions so that the communication device executes the signal sending method according to any one of claims 1-10 and 11-20. A communication system, characterized in that it includes a terminal and a network device, wherein the terminal is configured to implement the signal sending method described in any one of claims 1-10, and the network device is configured to implement the signal sending method described in any one of claims 11-20. A storage medium storing instructions, characterized in that when the instructions are executed on a communication device, the communication device executes the signal sending method according to any one of claims 1-10 and 11-20.