US-12628109-B2 - Positioning method and apparatus

US12628109B2US 12628109 B2US12628109 B2US 12628109B2US-12628109-B2

Abstract

Disclosed are a positioning method and apparatus, which are used for eliminating a clock skew between base stations and improving the UE positioning accuracy of an UL-TDOA/DL-TDOA positioning technical scheme. The method comprises: determining positioning reference signal configuration information; for a downlink time difference of arrival (DL-TDOA) positioning technical scheme, receiving and measuring downlink positioning reference signals from different base stations on the basis of the positioning reference signal configuration information, determining downlink positioning measurement quantity information, and reporting the downlink positioning measurement quantity information and location information of a reference terminal; and for an uplink time difference of arrival (UL-TDOA) positioning technical scheme, sending an uplink positioning reference signal on the basis of the positioning reference signal configuration information, and sending the location information of the reference terminal.

Inventors

Bin Ren
Ren Da
Xiaotao REN
Zheng Zhao
Gang Li
Hui Li
Zhenyu Zhang
Rongyi FANG

Assignees

DATANG MOBILE COMMUNICATIONS EQUIPMENT CO., LTD.

Dates

Publication Date: 20260512
Application Date: 20210625
Priority Date: 20200629

Claims (18)

1 . A positioning method, comprising: determining positioning reference signal configuration information; receiving and measuring downlink positioning reference signals from different base stations based on the positioning reference signal configuration information, determining downlink positioning measurement information, and reporting the downlink positioning measurement information and location information of a reference terminal, wherein the downlink positioning measurement information and the location information of the reference terminal are used for a Location Management Function (LMF) entity to determine a clock offset between base stations, modify downlink positioning measurement information of a target terminal according to the clock offset to determine modified downlink positioning measurement information of the target terminal, and determine location information of the target terminal according to the modified downlink positioning measurement information of the target terminal, wherein, (i) the downlink positioning measurement information of the target terminal is modified by notifying a base station of the clock offset so that the base station sends a downlink positioning reference signal to the target terminal after correcting the clock offset between base stations, and assigning a reference signal time difference (RSTD) reported by the target terminal or a difference between downlink times of arrival (TOAs) from base stations reported by the target terminal directly to a modified RSTD; or (ii) the downlink positioning measurement information of the target terminal is modified by taking a difference between an RSTD value reported by the target terminal and the clock offset as the modified downlink positioning measurement information in a location calculation process.
2 . The method according to claim 1 , wherein the downlink positioning measurement information comprises: a downlink positioning measurement and/or a reliability indication of the downlink positioning measurement, wherein the reliability indication is a standard deviation and/or a variance of an error estimate value of the downlink positioning measurement to indicate reliability of the downlink positioning measurement.
3 . The method according to claim 1 , wherein the location information of the reference terminal is determined by the reference terminal based on pre-configured location information or through a Radio Access Technology-independent (RAT-independent) positioning scheme.
4 . The method according to claim 1 , wherein the positioning reference signal configuration information is provided by the LMF entity or a base station.
5 . A positioning method, comprising: receiving downlink positioning measurement information and location information of a reference terminal reported by the reference terminal, and receiving downlink positioning measurement information reported by a target terminal; and positioning the target terminal based on the downlink positioning measurement information and the location information of the reference terminal reported by the reference terminal as well as the downlink positioning measurement information reported by the target terminal; and/or receiving the location information of the reference terminal reported by the reference terminal, and receiving uplink positioning measurement information of the reference terminal reported by a base station and uplink positioning measurement information of the target terminal reported by the base station; and positioning the target terminal based on the uplink positioning measurement information of the reference terminal, the location information of the reference terminal, and the uplink positioning measurement information of the target terminal; wherein the positioning the target terminal based on the downlink positioning measurement information and the location information of the reference terminal reported by the reference terminal as well as the downlink positioning measurement information reported by the target terminal, comprises: determining a clock offset between base stations according to the obtained location information and the downlink positioning measurement information of the reference terminal; modifying the downlink positioning measurement information of the target terminal according to the clock offset to determine modified downlink positioning measurement information of the target terminal; determining location information of the target terminal according to the modified downlink positioning measurement information of the target terminal; wherein modifying the downlink positioning measurement information of the target terminal according to the clock offset to determine the modified downlink positioning measurement information of the target terminal, comprises: notifying the base station of the clock offset so that the base station sends a downlink positioning reference signal to the target terminal after correcting the clock offset between base stations; and assigning a reference signal time difference (RSTD) reported by the target terminal or a difference between downlink times of arrival (TOAs) from base stations reported by the target terminal directly to a modified RSTD; or taking a difference between an RSTD value reported by the target terminal and the clock offset as the modified downlink positioning measurement information in a location calculation process.
6 . The method according to claim 5 , wherein the positioning the target terminal based on the uplink positioning measurement information of the reference terminal and the location information of the reference terminal reported by the base station as well as the uplink positioning measurement information of the target terminal reported by the base station, comprises: determining a clock offset between base stations according to the obtained location information and the uplink positioning measurement information of the reference terminal; modifying the uplink positioning measurement information of the target terminal according to the clock offset to determine modified uplink positioning measurement information of the target terminal; determining location information of the target terminal according to the modified uplink positioning measurement information of the target terminal; wherein the modifying the uplink positioning measurement information of the target terminal according to the clock offset to determine the modified uplink positioning measurement information of the target terminal, comprises: notifying the base station of the clock offset so that the base station receives an uplink sounding reference signal from the target terminal after correcting the clock offset between base stations; and assigning an uplink Relative Time Of Arrival (RTOA) reported by the base station directly to a modified RTOA; or taking a difference between an uplink RTOA value reported by the base station with respect to the target terminal and the clock offset as the modified uplink positioning measurement information in a location calculation process.
7 . The method according to claim 6 , wherein the modified uplink positioning measurement information comprises an uplink Relative Time Of Arrival (RTOA) measurement; or wherein before obtaining the location information and the uplink positioning measurement information of the reference terminal, the method further comprises: sending uplink positioning reference signal configuration information to a terminal; or sending the uplink positioning reference signal configuration information to the base station, so that the base station forwards the uplink positioning reference signal configuration information to the terminal.
8 . The method according to claim 5 , wherein the modified downlink positioning measurement information comprises: a downlink Reference Signal Time Difference (RSTD) measurement; or wherein before obtaining the location information and the downlink positioning measurement information of the reference terminal, the method further comprises: sending downlink positioning reference signal configuration information to a terminal; or sending the downlink positioning reference signal configuration information to the base station, so that the base station forwards the downlink positioning reference signal configuration information to the terminal.
9 . A positioning apparatus, comprising: a memory configured to store program instructions; a processor configured to invoke the program instructions stored in the memory and execute the method according claim 5 .
10 . The apparatus according to claim 9 , wherein when positioning the target terminal based on the uplink positioning measurement information of the reference terminal and the location information of the reference terminal reported by the base station as well as the uplink positioning measurement information of the target terminal reported by the base station, the processor is configured to invoke the program instructions stored in the memory and execute according to an obtained program: determining a clock offset between base stations according to the obtained location information and the uplink positioning measurement information of the reference terminal; modifying the uplink positioning measurement information of the target terminal according to the clock offset to determine modified uplink positioning measurement information of the target terminal; determining location information of the target terminal according to the modified uplink positioning measurement information of the target terminal; wherein the modifying the uplink positioning measurement information of the target terminal according to the clock offset to determine the modified uplink positioning measurement information of the target terminal, comprises: notifying the base station of the clock offset so that the base station receives an uplink sounding reference signal from the target terminal after correcting the clock offset between base stations; and assigning an uplink Relative Time Of Arrival (RTOA) reported by the base station directly to a modified RTOA; or taking a difference between an uplink RTOA value reported by the base station with respect to the target terminal and the clock offset as the modified uplink positioning measurement information in a location calculation process.
11 . A positioning method, comprising: determining positioning reference signal configuration information; receiving and measuring downlink positioning reference signals from different base stations based on the positioning reference signal configuration information, determining downlink positioning measurement information, and reporting the downlink positioning measurement information, wherein the downlink positioning measurement information is used for a Location Management Function (LMF) entity to modify the downlink positioning measurement information of a target terminal according to a clock offset between base stations to determine modified downlink positioning measurement information of the target terminal, and determine location information of the target terminal according to the modified downlink positioning measurement information of the target terminal, wherein the clock offset is determined according to location information of a reference terminal and downlink positioning measurement information of the reference terminal, wherein, (i) the downlink positioning measurement information of the target terminal is modified by notifying a base station of the clock offset so that the base station sends a downlink positioning reference signal to the target terminal after correcting the clock offset between base stations, and assigning a reference signal time difference (RSTD) reported by the target terminal or a difference between downlink times of arrival (TOAs) from base stations reported by the target terminal directly to a modified RSTD; or (ii) the downlink positioning measurement information of the target terminal is modified by taking a difference between an RSTD value reported by the target terminal and the clock offset as the modified downlink positioning measurement information in a location calculation process.
12 . The method according to claim 11 , wherein the downlink positioning measurement information comprises: a downlink positioning measurement and/or a reliability indication of the downlink positioning measurement, wherein the reliability indication is a standard deviation and/or a variance of an error estimate value of the downlink positioning measurement to indicate reliability of the downlink positioning measurement.
13 . The method according to claim 11 , wherein the positioning reference signal configuration information is provided by a Location Management Function (LMF) entity or a base station.
14 . A positioning apparatus, comprising: a memory configured to store program instructions; a processor configured to invoke the program instructions stored in the memory and execute the method according to claim 11 .
15 . A positioning apparatus, comprising: a memory configured to store program instructions; a processor configured to invoke the program instructions stored in the memory and execute according to an obtained program: determining positioning reference signal configuration information; receiving and measuring downlink positioning reference signals from different base stations based on the positioning reference signal configuration information, determining downlink positioning measurement information, and reporting the downlink positioning measurement information and location information of a reference terminal, wherein the downlink positioning measurement information and the location information of the reference terminal are used for a Location Management Function (LMF) entity to determine a clock offset between base stations, modify downlink positioning measurement information of a target terminal according to the clock offset to determine modified downlink positioning measurement information of the target terminal, and determine location information of the target terminal according to the modified downlink positioning measurement information of the target terminal, wherein, (i) the downlink positioning measurement information of the target terminal is modified by notifying a base station of the clock offset so that the base station sends a downlink positioning reference signal to the target terminal after correcting the clock offset between base stations, and assigning a reference signal time difference (RSTD) reported by the target terminal or a difference between downlink times of arrival (TOAs) from base stations reported by the target terminal directly to a modified RSTD; or (ii) the downlink positioning measurement information of the target terminal is modified by taking a difference between an RSTD value reported by the target terminal and the clock offset as the modified downlink positioning measurement information in a location calculation process.
16 . The apparatus according to claim 15 , wherein the downlink positioning measurement information comprises: a downlink positioning measurement and/or a reliability indication of the downlink positioning measurement, wherein the reliability indication is a standard deviation and/or a variance of an error estimate value of the downlink positioning measurement to indicate reliability of the downlink positioning measurement.
17 . The apparatus according to claim 15 , wherein the location information of the reference terminal is determined by the reference terminal based on pre-configured location information or through a Radio Access Technology-independent (RAT-independent) positioning scheme.
18 . The apparatus according to claim 15 , wherein the positioning reference signal configuration information is provided by the LMF entity or a base station.

Description

CROSS-REFERENCE OF RELATED APPLICATIONS The application is a US National Stage of International Application No. PCT/CN2021/102302, filed on Jun. 25, 2021, which claims the priority from Chinese Patent Application No. 202010606012.4, filed with the China National Intellectual Property Administration on Jun. 29, 2020 and entitled “Positioning Method and Apparatus”, which is hereby incorporated by reference in its entirety. TECHNICAL FIELD The application relates to the field of communication technologies, and particularly to a positioning method and apparatus. BACKGROUND The 3rd Generation Partnership Project (3GPP) defines various User Equipment (UE) positioning methods by measuring the Positioning Reference Signal (PRS) of the 3GPP wireless communication system, such as: Downlink Time Difference Of Arrival (DL-TDOA), Uplink Time Difference Of Arrival (UL-TDOA) and so on. These methods are based on the PRS of the wireless communication system itself, and can work in the environment with no positioning reference signals outside the network received. SUMMARY The embodiments of the present application provide a positioning method and apparatus, so as to eliminate the clock offset between base stations and improve the UE positioning accuracy of the UL-TDOA/DL-TDOA positioning method. At the reference terminal side, a positioning method provided by an embodiment of the present application includes: determining positioning reference signal configuration information;for a DL-TDOA positioning method: receiving and measuring downlink positioning reference signals from different base stations based on the positioning reference signal configuration information, determining downlink positioning measurement information, and reporting the downlink positioning measurement information and location information of a reference terminal, so that a Location Management Function, LMF, entity positions a target terminal based on the downlink positioning measurement information and the location information of the reference terminal;for an Uplink Time Difference Of Arrival, UL-TDOA, positioning method: sending an uplink positioning reference signal based on the positioning reference signal configuration information, and sending the location information of the reference terminal, so that the LMF entity positions the target terminal based on the uplink positioning reference signal and the location information of the reference terminal. Through this method, for the DL-TDOA positioning method, the downlink positioning reference signals from different base stations are received and measured based on the positioning reference signal configuration information, the downlink positioning measurement information is determined, and the downlink positioning measurement information and the location information of the reference terminal are reported; and for the UL-TDOA positioning method, the uplink positioning reference signal is sent based on the positioning reference signal configuration information, and the location information of the reference terminal is sent, so that the LMF entity can calculate a clock offset between base stations based on the location information of the reference UE and the uplink/downlink positioning measurement information reported by the reference UE, and thus eliminate the clock offset between base stations, improving the UE positioning accuracy of the UL-TDOA/DL-TDOA positioning method. Optionally, the downlink positioning measurement information comprises: a downlink positioning measurement and/or a reliability indication of the downlink positioning measurement, where the reliability indication is a standard deviation and/or a variance of an error estimate value of the downlink positioning measurement to indicate reliability of the downlink positioning measurement. Optionally, the location information of the reference terminal is determined by the reference terminal based on pre-configured location information or through a Radio Access Technology-independent (RAT-independent) positioning scheme. Optionally, the positioning reference signal configuration information is provided by the LMF entity or a base station. At the LMF entity side, a positioning method provided by an embodiment of the present application includes: for a DL-TDOA positioning method: receiving downlink positioning measurement information and location information of a reference terminal reported by the reference terminal, and receiving downlink positioning measurement information reported by a target terminal; and positioning the target terminal based on the downlink positioning measurement information and the location information of the reference terminal reported by the reference terminal as well as the downlink positioning measurement information reported by the target terminal; and/orfor an UL-TDOA positioning method: receiving location information of a reference terminal reported by the reference terminal, and receiving uplink positioning meas