CN114501617A

CN114501617A - Terminal positioning method, device, base station, positioning system, medium and product

Info

Publication number: CN114501617A
Application number: CN202210101018.5A
Authority: CN
Inventors: 王绍磊; 齐望东; 黄永明; 郭毅; 许航天; 徐佳
Original assignee: Network Communication and Security Zijinshan Laboratory
Current assignee: Network Communication and Security Zijinshan Laboratory
Priority date: 2022-01-27
Filing date: 2022-01-27
Publication date: 2022-05-13
Anticipated expiration: 2042-01-27
Also published as: CN114501617B

Abstract

The application relates to a terminal positioning method, a device, a base station, a positioning system, a medium and a product. The method comprises the following steps: the source base station determines a target base station from adjacent base stations according to communication quality information between the source base station and the adjacent base stations around the source base station, wherein the communication quality information is reported by the terminal, and the source base station sends a switching instruction to the terminal when the communication quality between the terminal and the source base station does not meet a set requirement, and simultaneously sends a measurement termination request to the adjacent base stations so as to stop positioning measurement of the source base station and the adjacent base stations. When the terminal is switched to the target base station, the positioning reference signal can be automatically transmitted to the target base station and adjacent base stations around the target base station, so that the positioning measurement of the terminal is realized, and the result of the positioning measurement can be sent to the core network equipment to obtain the positioning of the terminal. The positioning ending process of the source base station, the positioning starting process of the target base station and the positioning interruption time are reduced, the positioning result is continuous, and the accuracy is high.

Description

Terminal positioning method, device, base station, positioning system, medium and product

Technical Field

The present application relates to the field of communications technologies, and in particular, to a method, an apparatus, a base station, a positioning system, a medium, and a product for positioning a terminal.

Background

With the continuous development of mobile communication technology, mobile communication networks have gradually advanced from the 3g era, the 4g era, and the 5g era. Unlike other networks such as radar, the mobile communication network is cellular. The terminal always moves from one physical cell to another physical cell during the use process. The positioning process of the terminal is always interrupted during the physical cell handover and a new terminal positioning process needs to be re-initiated in the new serving cell. This situation has a significant impact on the positioning accuracy and positioning delay. Therefore, how to shorten the positioning interruption time of the terminal in the moving process is important.

However, Enhanced Cell-ID positioning methods (E-CIDs) which are mostly used by terminals during mobility are currently directed to 4g mobile communication networks. Therefore, a terminal positioning method for shortening the positioning interruption time during movement of a terminal using a 5g mobile communication network is required.

Disclosure of Invention

In view of the above, it is necessary to provide a terminal positioning method, apparatus, base station, positioning system, medium, and product capable of shortening a positioning interruption time during movement of a terminal using a 5g mobile communication network in view of the above technical problems.

In a first aspect, the present application provides a terminal positioning method. The method comprises the following steps:

the source base station determines a target base station from adjacent base stations according to communication quality information reported by the terminal and between the source base station and the adjacent base stations around the source base station;

when the communication quality between the terminal and the source base station does not meet the set requirement, the source base station sends a switching instruction to the terminal; the switching instruction is used for indicating the terminal to switch from the source base station to the target base station and sending a positioning reference signal to the target base station; the communication quality between the target base station and the terminal meets the set requirement;

the source base station sends a measurement termination request to the neighboring base station to stop the source base station and the neighboring base station from positioning measurement.

In one embodiment, the positioning reference signals at least include physical layer uplink positioning reference signals, and the method further includes:

determining the target base station as a new source base station;

the source base station measures the arrival time and the signal receiving angle of the uplink positioning reference signal of the physical layer and determines the positioning measurement result of the terminal;

and the source base station sends the positioning measurement result to the core network equipment.

In one embodiment, before the source base station sends the handover instruction to the terminal, the method further includes:

a source base station sends a switching request to a target base station; the switching request comprises a positioning measurement identity of the terminal, and the identity is allocated to the terminal when the core network equipment positions the terminal at the initial moment so that the target base station uses the identity when positioning the terminal;

the source base station receives a switching response sent by the target base station; the handover response is used to characterize whether the target base station allows the terminal to handover to the target base station.

In one embodiment, the sending, by the source base station, the resource release request to the neighboring base station includes:

and the source base station sends a resource release request to the adjacent base station through the core network equipment.

In one embodiment, the determining, by the source base station, the target base station from the neighboring base stations according to the communication quality information reported by the terminal and between the source base station and the neighboring base stations around the source base station includes:

a source base station acquires communication quality information between a terminal and an adjacent base station; the communication quality information includes a communication quality value;

the source base station sorts the communication quality values and determines the maximum communication quality value from the sorting result;

and the source base station determines the adjacent base station corresponding to the maximum communication quality value as the target base station.

In one embodiment, the step of determining that the communication quality between the terminal and the source base station does not meet the set requirement includes: the communication quality value between the terminal and the source base station is less than the communication quality threshold.

In a second aspect, the present application further provides a terminal positioning device. The device includes:

the target base station determining module is used for determining a target base station from adjacent base stations according to the communication quality information reported by the terminal and between the source base station and the adjacent base stations around the source base station;

the instruction sending module is used for sending a switching instruction to the terminal when the communication quality between the terminal and the source base station does not meet the set requirement; the switching instruction is used for indicating the terminal to switch from the source base station to the target base station and sending a positioning reference signal to the target base station, and the communication quality between the target base station and the terminal meets the set requirement;

and the request sending module is used for sending a measurement termination request to the adjacent base station so as to enable the source base station and the adjacent base station to stop positioning measurement.

In a third aspect, the present application further provides a base station. The base station comprises a memory storing a computer program and a processor implementing the steps of the method in any of the embodiments of the first aspect described above when the processor executes the computer program.

In a fourth aspect, the present application further provides a positioning system. The system comprises: a terminal, a source base station, and an adjacent base station;

the terminal is used for reporting communication quality information between the terminal and the source base station and between adjacent base stations around the source base station to the source base station;

the source base station is used for determining a target base station from adjacent base stations according to the communication quality information reported by the terminal and between the source base station and the adjacent base stations around the source base station; when the communication quality between the terminal and the source base station does not meet the set requirement, sending a switching instruction to the terminal; the switching instruction is used for indicating the terminal to switch from the source base station to the target base station and sending a positioning reference signal to the target base station, and the communication quality between the target base station and the terminal meets the set requirement; sending a resource release request to the adjacent base station so that the source base station and the adjacent base station release resources;

and the adjacent base station is used for receiving the positioning reference signal sent by the terminal.

In a fifth aspect, the present application further provides a computer-readable storage medium. The computer-readable storage medium having stored thereon a computer program which, when being executed by a processor, carries out the steps of the method according to any of the above-mentioned embodiments of the first aspect.

In a sixth aspect, the present application further provides a computer program product. The computer program product comprising a computer program that, when executed by a processor, performs the steps of the method according to any of the embodiments of the first aspect described above.

According to the terminal positioning method, the device, the base station, the positioning system, the medium and the product, the target base station is determined from the adjacent base stations through the source base station according to the communication quality information between the source base station and the adjacent base stations around the source base station, when the communication quality between the terminal and the source base station does not meet the set requirement, the source base station sends a switching instruction to the terminal, and meanwhile, the source base station sends a measurement termination request to the adjacent base stations so that the source base station and the adjacent base stations stop positioning measurement. When the terminal is switched to the target base station, the positioning reference signal can be automatically transmitted to the target base station and the adjacent base stations around the target base station, so that the target base station and the adjacent base stations around the target base station realize the positioning measurement of the terminal, and the positioning measurement result can be sent to the core network equipment, so that the core network equipment can obtain the positioning of the terminal according to the positioning measurement result. The signaling interaction of positioning completion of the source base station is not needed before the terminal is switched to the target base station as in the conventional technology, and the positioning starting process of the target base station and the adjacent base stations around the target base station is also needed again under the condition that the terminal is switched to the target base station. The positioning ending process of the source base station and the positioning starting process of the target base station are compressed, and the positioning interruption time of the terminal switched from the source base station to the target base station is shortened. The positioning is more continuous, and the positioning accuracy is enhanced.

Drawings

Fig. 1 is an application environment diagram of a terminal location method in one embodiment;

fig. 2 is a flowchart illustrating a terminal positioning method according to an embodiment;

FIG. 2-a is a schematic flow chart of positioning initiation in one embodiment;

FIG. 2-b is a schematic flow chart illustrating end of positioning in one embodiment;

FIG. 2-c is a schematic diagram of a positioning handover process in one embodiment;

FIG. 2-d is a schematic flow chart of positioning handover in another embodiment;

fig. 2-e is a schematic flow chart of a terminal switching target cell according to a conventional technique in an embodiment;

fig. 2-f is a schematic flow chart of a terminal switching a target cell according to a conventional technique in another embodiment;

fig. 3 is a flowchart illustrating a terminal positioning method according to another embodiment;

fig. 4 is a flowchart illustrating a terminal positioning method according to another embodiment;

fig. 5 is a flowchart illustrating a terminal positioning method according to another embodiment;

fig. 6 is a flowchart illustrating a terminal positioning method according to another embodiment;

FIG. 7 is a block diagram of a terminal positioning device in one embodiment;

FIG. 8 is an internal block diagram of a base station in one embodiment;

FIG. 9 is an internal block diagram of a positioning system in one embodiment.

Detailed Description

In order to make the objects, technical solutions and advantages of the present application more apparent, the present application is described in further detail below with reference to the accompanying drawings and embodiments. It should be understood that the specific embodiments described herein are merely illustrative of and not restrictive on the broad application.

The method for positioning by using wireless signals is widely applied to wireless signal systems such as radar, mobile communication, Bluetooth, UWB and the like. Among them, the mobile communication network has started to perform positioning using angle and time in the 3G era. With the development of decades, in the 5G era, positioning methods have become diverse. Generally, the positioning method can be divided into an uplink-based network side positioning method, a downlink-based terminal side positioning method, and an uplink-based terminal auxiliary positioning method. As high-precision positioning technology becomes more and more important in future intelligent life and intelligent factories, mobile positioning is also more and more strictly required in performance. In the commercial scenario of Release16, 5G, the horizontal positioning accuracy requirement is less than 3m and the end-to-end delay requirement is less than 1 s. In the IIOT (industry Internet of Things) scene of 5G Release17 version, the horizontal positioning accuracy requirement is less than 20cm, and the end-to-end delay requirement is less than 100 ms. End-to-end delay is getting smaller and smaller, requiring physical layer delay and higher layer signaling delay to minimize unnecessary delay.

Unlike other networks such as radar, mobile communication networks are deployed in cellular fashion. The user always moves from one physical cell to another, the positioning process of the terminal is always interrupted during the cell switching process, and a new terminal positioning process needs to be initiated again in a new serving cell. This situation has a significant impact on the positioning accuracy and positioning delay.

Based on this, in the positioning method of the network side based on the uplink positioning reference signal, the time of positioning interruption caused by cell switching is reduced as much as possible, and the continuity of terminal positioning and position tracking is ensured.

The terminal positioning method provided by the embodiment of the application can be applied to the application environment shown in fig. 1. The application environment includes a terminal 11, a base station 12 and a core network device 13. The terminal 11 communicates with the base station 12 through a network, and the base station 12 communicates with the core network device 13 through the network. The data storage system may store data that the core network device 13 needs to process. The data storage system may be integrated on the core network device 13, or may be placed on the cloud or other network server. The base station 12 can obtain the communication quality information of the terminal 11 from the base station 12, and when the communication quality information does not meet the set requirement, send a switching instruction to the terminal 11, so that the terminal is switched and accessed to a target base station whose communication quality information meets the set requirement, and inform the core network device that the access base station of the terminal device is switched, and send the positioning information of the terminal from the base station to the core network device to position the terminal. The terminal 11 may be but not limited to various personal computers, notebook computers, smart phones, tablet computers, internet of things devices and portable wearable devices, and the internet of things devices may be smart speakers, smart televisions, smart air conditioners, smart car-mounted devices, and the like. The portable wearable device can be a smart watch, a smart bracelet, a head-mounted device, and the like. The terminal 11 can access the base station 12 through an NR-Uu interface, and a network for performing communication is a 5g mobile communication network. The base station 12 may include at least two base stations. The base station 12 includes a gNB (generation NodeB, 5G base station) that can access the core network device 13 through an NG interface, and performs an NRPPa protocol on the base station side to communicate with the core network device. The base station 12 includes a Radio Unit (RU), a Distributed Unit (DU), and a Central Unit (CU), among others. The core network device 13 includes a core network element AMF (Access and Mobility Management Function, core network Access and Mobility Management unit) and an LMF (Location Management Function, core network element Location Management unit). And the AMF network element is used for transmitting the data information sent by the base station to the LMF network element. The AMF network element and the LMF network element can be connected through an NL s interface.

In an embodiment, as shown in fig. 2, a method for positioning a terminal is provided, which is described by taking the method as an example for being applied to the base station in fig. 1, and includes the following steps:

s202, the source base station determines a target base station from adjacent base stations according to the communication quality information between the source base station and the adjacent base stations around the source base station, which is reported by the terminal.

The source base station is a base station to which the terminal is accessed. The communication quality information is information such as link quality, link reliability and the like of information interaction between the terminal and each base station.

Specifically, in the process of performing communication interaction between the terminal and each base station, the communication quality information interacting with each base station may be transmitted to the source base station, and the source base station may determine whether the communication quality between the source base station and the terminal is the best base station when the terminal performs information interaction according to the communication quality information of the terminal. And if the communication quality information between the adjacent base stations around the source base station is better, determining the base station with the optimal communication quality information in the adjacent base stations around the source base station as the target base station.

Alternatively, in the case that the terminal accesses the source base station, positioning initiation may be performed, and a positioning initiation process may be referred to fig. 2-a. When the terminal is accessed to the source base station, the source base station and the neighboring base stations around the source base station may send the source base station and the coordinate position information of the neighboring base stations around the source base station to a Location Management Function (LMF) in the core network device. So as to locate the terminal by using a UL-AOA (Uplink-Angle of Arrival) positioning method or a UL-TDOA (Uplink-time difference of Arrival) positioning method. The base station may communicate with the location network element LMF through a core network element (AMF) in the core network device.

Optionally, the terminal may perform lpp (lte Positioning protocol) l capability transmission through the source base station and a Positioning network element of the core network device, and determine the Positioning capability of the terminal. After obtaining the positioning capability of the terminal, the LMF may send a positioning information request to the source base station, and allocate configuration information of UL SRS resources to the terminal through the source base station, including: period, symbol length, bandwidth, etc.

Optionally, if the SRS (Sounding reference signal) of the terminal is detected to be semi-continuous or aperiodic, the positioning network element is required to send an SRS measurement activating request to the source base station, and activate SRS transmission of the terminal through the source base station. After activation, the LMF sends positioning measurement requests to the source base station and the adjacent base stations around the source base station, the source base station and the adjacent base stations around the source base station measure the SRS of the terminal, and the measurement result is fed back to the LMF.

S204, when the communication quality between the terminal and the source base station does not meet the set requirement, the source base station sends a switching instruction to the terminal; the switching instruction is used for indicating the terminal to switch from the source base station to the target base station and sending a positioning reference signal to the target base station; the communication quality between the target base station and the terminal meets the set requirement.

The positioning reference signal is an SRS signal transmitted by a terminal.

Optionally, the step of determining that the communication quality between the terminal and the source base station does not meet the set requirement includes: the communication quality value between the terminal and the source base station is less than the communication quality threshold.

Specifically, when the communication quality between the terminal and the source base station does not meet the set requirement, the source base station sends a handover instruction to the terminal, instructs the terminal to access the target base station, and sends a positioning reference signal (SRS signal) to the target base station and neighboring base stations around the target base station while completing handover.

Further, the target base station and the neighboring base stations around the target base station adopt a UL-TDOA positioning method and a UL-AOA positioning method according to the positioning Reference signal, determine an Arrival Time difference UL-RTOA (Uplink Relative Time of Arrival) between the SRS signal sent by the terminal to the target base station and the TRP (TRP Transmission Reference Point Transmission Point) of the neighboring base stations around the target base station, obtain a positioning test result of the terminal, and forward the result to the LMF through the AMF.

S206, the source base station sends a measurement termination request to the adjacent base station so as to enable the source base station and the adjacent base station to stop positioning measurement.

Specifically, when the source base station sends a handover instruction to the terminal, a measurement termination request is sent to the neighboring base station of the source base station, so that the source base station and the neighboring base station stop positioning measurement, and relevant context information of the base station and the neighboring base station for positioning, such as a gNB measurement ID, SRS-Pos resource allocation, and the like, is released.

Optionally, when the source base station sends the handover instruction to the terminal, the measurement termination request may be reported to the positioning network element LMF through the AMF network element, where the measurement termination request includes a measurement termination reason, which is cell handover.

Optionally, if the base stations cannot directly communicate with each other, the measurement termination request may be forwarded to the neighboring base station through a core network element AMF in the core network device. That is, the source base station sends a measurement termination request to the neighboring base station through the core network device, where the measurement termination request includes a measurement termination reason for cell handover.

It should be noted that, in the conventional technology, the process of accessing the terminal to the target base station through the 5g mobile communication network is to complete the positioning of the original source base station and the neighboring base stations around the source base station when the base station to which the terminal is accessed needs to be switched and the terminal is to be positioned after the switching, and to perform the positioning measurement on the terminal after the positioning of the target base station is started. The process of positioning ending can be referred to fig. 2-b, and the process of positioning starting can be referred to fig. 2-a, which needs to be described that the target base station at this time is equivalent to the new source base station. The process of locating the end may include: and the positioning network element LMF sends a measurement termination message to the source base station and the adjacent base stations around the source base station. Then the source base station and the adjacent base stations around the source base station stop the positioning measurement of the terminal and report the positioning measurement value, and release the context information and the resource allocation related to the user positioning. If the SRS measurement is semi-continuous, the positioning network element LMF is needed to inform the source base station to remove the activated SRS, and the source base station informs the terminal to deactivate the SRS configuration. Taking the case that the base stations can directly communicate through the XN link as an example, when the terminal completes handover to the target base station, that is, after RRC reconfiguration is performed according to the handover request, handover completion information is fed back to the target base station, and the target base station sends the channel handover request to the AMF network element and receives a response agreement of the channel handover request sent by the AMF, the process of the terminal handover to the target base station is completed. The positioning switching process can be seen in fig. 2-c. The handover procedure may include: the source base station sends a handover request to the destination base station, performs authorization Control on the terminal, provides RRC (Radio Resource Control) configuration information (for example, identity information, channel information, and the like divided to the terminal) of the terminal, and sends the handover request response information (i.e., handover request reply information) to the source base station. And the source base station sends a switching instruction to the terminal and sends RRC information to the terminal. And the terminal initiates access to the target base station according to the RRC information to execute the switching of the target base station, and if the switching is completed (namely the terminal is accessed to the target base station), the terminal informs the target base station through an RRC reconfiguration completion or switching completion command. And based on the completion of the positioning ending process, starting the positioning starting process of the target base station. If there is no XN link between the source cell and the destination cell, the handover request message may be sent to the core network element AMF over the N2 link. After the terminal receives the handover command sent by the source base station and before the terminal does not perform handover to the target cell, a positioning end procedure of the source cell is executed (see fig. 2-b), and a procedure of performing terminal handover to the target cell is performed after the positioning end, and a positioning handover flowchart can be shown in fig. 2-d. When the terminal is handed over to the target cell, i.e. the handover is completed, the target base station needs to perform the positioning starting procedure again as shown in fig. 2-a.

For example, if the base stations can directly communicate with each other through the XN link, the whole terminal performs the positioning measurement by switching the target base station, as shown in fig. 2-e. Before cell switching, the terminal Positioning measurement and reporting process is executed in a source base station, and the reporting result is sent to a core network Positioning network element through an NRPPa (NR Positioning Protocol A) Protocol. And the source base station starts to execute the switching process according to the measurement information reported by the terminal. And the target base station requests a path switching request and replies a request confirmation to the AMF network element. The LMF network element learns that the terminal performs cell switching through the AMF network element, and performs NRPPa positioning measurement and reporting termination procedures at the source base station, as shown in fig. 2-b, the LMF network element starts to perform positioning measurement and reporting procedures to the target base station, that is, completes the positioning start procedure of the target base station, as shown in fig. 2-a.

If the base stations cannot communicate directly, the communication may be implemented through an N2 link between the base station and a core network element AMF in the core network device, and at this time, the whole terminal performs a flow chart for performing positioning measurement by switching a target base station, as shown in fig. 2-f. Obviously, before the terminal is switched to access the target base station, the terminal positioning measurement and reporting process is executed at the source base station, and the reporting result is sent to the core network positioning network element through the NRPPa protocol. And the source base station carries out a target base station switching request according to the measurement information reported by the terminal. When the AMF network element replies to the switching command of the source base station, the terminal of the positioning network element can be informed to switch the target base station. The positioning network element LMF performs a source base station NRPPa positioning termination procedure, refer to fig. 2-b. And the terminal sends a switching completion to the target base station, and the target base station sends a switching notice to a core network element AMF. The AMF may notify the location network element that the LMF terminal is switched, and at this time, the location network element may start the location start process as shown in fig. 2-a at the target base station again, and complete the location measurement of the terminal.

In the terminal positioning method, the source base station determines the target base station from the adjacent base stations according to the communication quality information between the source base station and the adjacent base stations around the source base station, which is reported by the terminal, and when the communication quality between the terminal and the source base station does not meet the set requirement, the source base station sends a switching instruction to the terminal, and meanwhile, the source base station sends a measurement termination request to the adjacent base stations, so that the source base station and the adjacent base stations stop positioning measurement. When the terminal is switched to the target base station, the positioning reference signal (SRS signal) can be automatically transmitted to the target base station and the neighboring base stations around the target base station, so that the target base station and the neighboring base stations around the target base station can perform positioning measurement on the terminal, and the result of the positioning measurement can be sent to the core network device, so that the core network device can obtain the positioning of the terminal according to the positioning measurement result. The signaling interaction of positioning completion of the source base station is not needed before the terminal is switched to the target base station as in the traditional technology, and when the terminal is switched to the target base station and the target base station realizes the positioning measurement of the terminal, the flow of positioning starting of the target base station and the adjacent base stations around the target base station is needed again. The method enables the LMF to sense the terminal switching at the first time, compresses the positioning ending process of the source base station and the positioning starting process of the target base station, and reduces the positioning interruption time of the terminal switching from the source base station to the target base station. The positioning is more continuous, and the positioning accuracy is enhanced.

In the foregoing embodiment, a terminal positioning method is described, and in an embodiment, as shown in fig. 3, a positioning reference signal includes a physical layer uplink positioning reference signal, and the method further includes:

s302, the target base station is determined as a new source base station.

S304, the source base station measures the arrival time and the signal receiving angle of the physical layer uplink positioning reference signal and determines the positioning measurement result of the terminal.

S306, the source base station sends the positioning measurement result to the core network equipment.

Wherein, the physical layer uplink positioning reference signal (SRS) is a 5G NR uplink Sounding reference signal. It can be used not only for measuring the channel RSRP (reference Signal received power), SINR (Signal to Interference plus Noise Ratio), beam direction, but also for measuring the time Of Arrival toa (time Of Arrival) and Angle Of Arrival AOA/zo (AOA/zo Angle Of Arrival/Zenith Angles Of Arrival) Of signals. The network side (i.e. core network device) is used for trilateration or triangulation positioning of the terminal according to the information such as the time of arrival TOA or the angle of arrival AOA/ZOA of the terminal.

It should be noted that, in the 3GPP R16 standard, SRS-Pos (SRS-positioning) part is newly added for positioning purpose. The SRS-Pos is strengthened on the basis of an SRS signal system and is used for meeting the requirement of positioning precision. It is strengthened in the aspects of the monitoring ability of the adjacent base station, the mapping symbol length of the SRS resource, the comb structure of the frequency domain, etc. Table 1 compares the R15 standard to the R16 standard.

TABLE 1

The SRS signal is used for positioning purposes, and is measured in an access network RAN (radio access network), and then the measured value is reported to a positioning network element for positioning. The measurement values supported by SRS are specified in table 2 in the 3GPP R16 release:

TABLE 2

The UL-TDOA (Uplink-Time difference of Arrival) positioning method is to measure the Time difference of Arrival (UL-RTOA) between TRPs (TRP Transmission Reference Point Transmission points) by sending SRS signals from a receiving terminal. The positioning network element performs positioning according to trilateral positioning or other positioning principles.

The UL-AOA positioning method is to measure the uplink arrival angle AOA/ZOA of the signal reaching each TRP by receiving the SRS signal sent by the terminal. The positioning network element performs positioning according to triangulation or other positioning principles.

The Multi-RTT Multi-Round Trip Time (multiple Round Trip Time) Positioning method is to measure the gNB Rx-Tx Time difference of a base station by sending SRS signals and sending downlink PRS signals (Positioning Reference signals) through a receiving terminal, and calculate and obtain the transmission Time of an air interface by combining the UE Rx-Tx Time difference measured by the receiving terminal. The positioning network element performs positioning by using trilateral positioning or other positioning principles.

Specifically, after the terminal accesses the target base station, the terminal reports handover completion information to the target base station, and determines the target base station as a new source base station. The new source base station measures the arrival time and the signal receiving angle of the uplink positioning reference signal (SRS) of the physical layer by adopting a preset positioning method, determines the positioning measurement result of the terminal and sends the positioning measurement result to the core network equipment. Wherein the positioning method may include a UL-TDOA positioning method, a UL-AOA positioning method, etc. When the terminal completes switching, the SRS signals are simultaneously sent to a new source base station and adjacent base stations around the new source base station, at the moment, the new source base station measures the arrival time and the signal receiving angle of the uplink positioning reference signal (SRS) of the physical layer by adopting a preset positioning method, the positioning measurement result of the terminal is obtained, and is sent to the core network equipment, the adjacent base stations around the new source base station also measure the arrival time and the signal receiving angle of the uplink positioning reference signal (SRS) of the physical layer by adopting the preset positioning method, the positioning measurement result of the terminal is obtained, and the positioning measurement result is sent to the core network equipment.

Optionally, after receiving the measurement termination indication of the source base station, the positioning network element LMF may temporarily interrupt the positioning of the terminal, or may continue positioning according to other positioning means, for example, GPS, IMU, or the like. The location position prediction may also be made from previous location measurements, for example using a kalman filtering method. After receiving the positioning measurement result reported by the target base station, the positioning network element LMF can continue to perform positioning estimation according to the information such as AOA/ZOA, RTOA and the like reported by the positioning measurement result or by fusing other positioning GPS, IMU and the like.

Optionally, the core network location network element LMF should have a mapping table of the location source base station and its neighboring stations. The table is used for positioning reference signal reception and positioning measurement of the terminal on the network side, and contains the TRP information of the source base station and the TRP information of the neighbor base stations. The access network source base station should have a table containing its positioning neighbour TRP information, also used for end user positioning measurements.

In this embodiment, the target base station is determined as a new source base station; the new source base station measures the arrival time and the signal receiving angle of the uplink positioning reference signal of the physical layer, determines the positioning measurement result of the terminal, and sends the positioning measurement result to the core network equipment, and directly sends the SRS signal without positioning and starting the target base station after the terminal is accessed to the target base station, so that the target base station and adjacent base stations around the target base station measure the SRS signal to obtain the positioning measurement result, the positioning starting process of the target base station is saved, and the positioning interruption time is shortened.

The above embodiment describes the positioning measurement performed on the terminal after the terminal is handed over to the target base station, and before the terminal is handed over to the target base station, the relevant information of the terminal needs to be sent to the target base station. In one embodiment, as shown in fig. 4, before the source base station sends the handover instruction to the terminal, the method further includes:

s402, the source base station sends a switching request to the target base station; the switching request comprises a positioning measurement identity of the terminal, and the identity is allocated to the terminal when the core network equipment positions the terminal at the initial moment so that the target base station uses the identity when positioning the terminal.

The initial time is a positioning measurement identity which is allocated to the terminal by the core network equipment when the core network equipment is accessed to the source base station for the first time by the terminal. The switching instruction may include an LMF positioning measurement ID, an SRS bandwidth, an SRS period, and the like.

Specifically, when the source base station determines the target base station according to the communication quality information, a handover request may be sent to the target base station, so that the terminal is handed over to the target base station, where the handover instruction needs to include an identity assigned by the core network device to the terminal when the terminal is based on a certain source base station for the first time. And the target base station receives the switching request and agrees to the switching request, and sends the LMF positioning measurement ID, the SRS bandwidth, the SRS period and the like in the switching request to adjacent base stations around the target base station.

Alternatively, if the base stations cannot communicate directly through the XN link, the communication may be implemented through the N2 link between the base station and the core network device. That is, when the source base station determines the target base station according to the communication quality information, the source base station may send a handover request to the core network element AMF, and the AMF forwards the handover request to the target base station, so that the terminal is handed over to the target base station, where the handover instruction needs to include an identity allocated by the core network device to the terminal when the terminal is based on a certain source base station for the first time.

S404, the source base station receives a switching response sent by the target base station; the handover response is used to characterize whether the target base station allows the terminal to handover to the target base station.

Specifically, after receiving the handover request from the source base station, the target base station may determine whether the terminal can be accessed according to its resource allocation condition, and reply to the source base station, that is, a handover response. The handover response may be that the target base station allows the terminal to handover to the target base station, or the handover response may be that the target base station does not allow the terminal to handover to the target base station.

Alternatively, if the base stations cannot communicate directly through the XN link, the communication may be implemented through the N2 link between the base station and the core network device. After the target base station sends the switching response to the AMF network element, the AMF network element forwards the switching response to the source base station; the handover response is used to characterize whether the target base station allows the terminal to handover to the target base station.

In this embodiment, a source base station sends, to a target base station, a handover request including a location measurement identity allocated to a terminal when a core network device locates the terminal at an initial time, so that the target base station uses the identity when locating the terminal, and the source base station receives a handover response sent by the target base station to indicate whether the target base station allows the terminal to be handed over to the target base station. It should be noted that, in the conventional technology, after a terminal accesses a base station, an LMF is randomly allocated to the terminal for an identity, and a positioning measurement result bound with the identity is obtained. However, in the conventional technology, the situation that the randomly allocated identity is bound with the measured positioning result may cause that the positioning measurement result on the LMF network side is not continuous, and if the positioning track information of the terminal needs to be examined, a certain amount of time and resources need to be consumed to determine each base station to which the terminal is accessed and the identity allocated after the base station is accessed, and determine the positioning information bound by different identities corresponding to the same terminal, thereby increasing the amount of calculation. Therefore, in this embodiment, when the switching instruction is sent to the target base station again, the unique identity of the terminal is sent to the target base station, and the subsequently generated positioning measurement result is also bound to the unique identity, so that the positioning test results corresponding to the terminals received by the LMF are all continuous positioning information, and it is not necessary to search multiple identities and positioning test results corresponding to the same terminal, thereby saving the time of LMF positioning analysis and the amount of calculation.

In an embodiment, as shown in fig. 5, the determining, by a source base station, a target base station from neighboring base stations according to communication quality information between the source base station and the neighboring base stations around the source base station, where the communication quality information is reported by a terminal, includes:

s502, the source base station acquires communication quality information between the terminal and an adjacent base station; the communication quality information includes a communication quality value.

S504, the source base station ranks the communication quality values and determines the maximum communication quality value from the ranking result.

S506, the source base station determines the adjacent base station corresponding to the maximum communication quality value as the target base station.

The communication quality value may include a link reliability value and a quality value between the terminal and the source base station and neighboring base stations around the source base station.

Specifically, when the terminal and the source base station are in communication, and there is a certain communication with other base stations, the terminal may feed back the communication quality information of each base station to the source base station, that is, the source base station obtains the communication quality information between the terminal and the adjacent base station. After the source base station acquires the communication quality information between the terminal and the adjacent base station, the source base station can perform ranking according to the size of the communication quality value, and determine the maximum communication quality value from the ranking result. And the source base station determines the adjacent base station corresponding to the maximum communication quality value as the target base station.

In this embodiment, the communication quality information between the terminal and the adjacent base station is acquired by the source base station, the source base station ranks the communication quality values, and determines the maximum communication quality value from the ranking result, and the source base station determines the adjacent base station corresponding to the maximum communication quality value as the target base station. The target base station capable of meeting the communication requirement of the terminal can be accurately determined, so that stable communication and positioning results of the subsequent terminal can be conveniently obtained.

To facilitate understanding of those skilled in the art, the terminal positioning method will be further described in an embodiment, where as shown in fig. 6, the terminal positioning method includes:

s10, the source base station acquires the communication quality information between the terminal and the adjacent base station; the communication quality information includes a communication quality value.

S20, the source base station ranks the respective communication quality values, and determines the maximum communication quality value from the ranking result.

And S30, the source base station determines the adjacent base station corresponding to the maximum communication quality value as the target base station.

And S40, determining the target base station as a new source base station.

S50, the source base station sends a switching request to the target base station; the switching request comprises a positioning measurement identity of the terminal, and the identity is allocated to the terminal when the core network equipment positions the terminal at the initial time, so that the target base station uses the identity when positioning the terminal.

S60, the source base station receives the switching response sent by the target base station; the handover response is used to characterize whether the target base station allows the terminal to handover to the target base station.

S70, when the communication quality between the terminal and the source base station does not meet the set requirement, the source base station sends a switching instruction to the terminal; and the switching instruction is used for indicating the terminal to switch from the source base station to the target base station and sending a positioning reference signal to the target base station, and the communication quality between the target base station and the terminal meets the set requirement.

S80, the source base station sends a measurement termination request to the neighboring base station to stop the positioning measurement of the source base station and the neighboring base station.

S90, the source base station sends a measurement termination request to the core network device.

S100, the terminal completes switching and sends physical layer uplink positioning reference signals to the source base station and the adjacent base station of the source base station.

S110, the source base station and the adjacent base station of the source base station respectively measure the arrival time and the signal receiving angle of the physical layer uplink positioning reference signal, and determine the positioning measurement result of the terminal.

And S120, the source base station and the adjacent base station of the source base station respectively send the positioning measurement result to the core network equipment.

In this embodiment, a target base station is determined from neighboring base stations according to communication quality information reported by a terminal and between the source base station and neighboring base stations around the source base station, and when the communication quality between the terminal and the source base station does not meet a set requirement, the source base station sends a handover instruction to the terminal, and at the same time, the source base station sends a measurement termination request to the neighboring base stations, so that the source base station and the neighboring base stations stop positioning measurement. When the terminal is switched to the target base station, the positioning reference signal (SRS signal) can be automatically transmitted to the target base station and the neighboring base stations around the target base station, so that the target base station and the neighboring base stations around the target base station can perform positioning measurement on the terminal, and the result of the positioning measurement can be sent to the core network device, so that the core network device can obtain the positioning of the terminal according to the positioning measurement result. The signaling interaction of positioning ending for the source base station is not needed before the terminal is switched to the target base station in the traditional technology, and when the terminal is switched to the target base station and the target base station realizes the positioning measurement of the terminal, the positioning starting process for the target base station and the adjacent base stations around the target base station is needed again, so that the positioning ending process of the source base station and the positioning starting process of the target base station are compressed, and the positioning interruption time of the terminal switched from the source base station to the target base station is shortened. The positioning is more continuous, and the positioning accuracy is enhanced.

It should be understood that, although the steps in the flowcharts related to the embodiments are shown in sequence as indicated by the arrows, the steps are not necessarily executed in sequence as indicated by the arrows. The steps are not performed in the exact order shown and described, and may be performed in other orders, unless explicitly stated otherwise. Moreover, at least a part of the steps in the flowcharts related to the above embodiments may include multiple steps or multiple stages, which are not necessarily performed at the same time, but may be performed at different times, and the order of performing the steps or stages is not necessarily sequential, but may be performed alternately or alternately with other steps or at least a part of the steps or stages in other steps.

Based on the same inventive concept, the embodiment of the present application further provides a terminal positioning apparatus for implementing the above-mentioned terminal positioning method. The implementation scheme for solving the problem provided by the device is similar to the implementation scheme recorded in the method, so the specific limitations in one or more embodiments of the terminal positioning device provided below can refer to the limitations on the terminal method in the foregoing, and are not described herein again.

In one embodiment, as shown in fig. 7, there is provided a terminal positioning device including:

a target base station determining module 701, configured to determine a target base station from neighboring base stations according to communication quality information reported by a terminal and between the source base station and the neighboring base stations around the source base station;

an instruction sending module 702, configured to send a switching instruction to the terminal when the communication quality between the terminal and the source base station does not meet a set requirement; the switching instruction is used for indicating the terminal to switch from the source base station to the target base station and sending a positioning reference signal to the target base station; the communication quality between the target base station and the terminal meets the set requirement;

a request sending module 703 is configured to send a measurement termination request to the neighboring base station, so that the source base station and the neighboring base station stop the positioning measurement.

The apparatus for determining a target object provided in this embodiment may implement the method embodiments described above, and the implementation principle and the technical effect are similar, which are not described herein again.

In one embodiment, the positioning reference signal at least includes a physical layer uplink positioning reference signal, and the terminal positioning apparatus further includes:

a switching target base station determining module, configured to determine a target base station as a new source base station;

the terminal position information determining module is used for measuring the arrival time and the signal receiving angle of the uplink positioning reference signal of the physical layer and determining the positioning measurement result of the terminal;

and the position information sending module is used for sending the positioning measurement result to the core network equipment.

In one embodiment, the terminal positioning apparatus further includes:

a switching request sending module for sending a switching request to a target base station; the switching request comprises a positioning measurement identity of the terminal, and the identity is allocated to the terminal when the core network equipment positions the terminal at the initial moment so that the target base station uses the identity when positioning the terminal;

a receiving switching response module, configured to receive a switching response sent by a target base station; the handover response is used to characterize whether the target base station allows the terminal to handover to the target base station.

In one embodiment, the request sending module includes:

a release request sending unit, configured to send a measurement termination request to the neighboring base station through the core network device.

In one embodiment, the target base station determining module includes:

a communication quality information acquiring unit, configured to acquire communication quality information between a terminal and an adjacent base station; the communication quality information includes a communication quality value;

the sorting unit is used for sorting the communication quality values and determining the maximum communication quality value from the sorting result;

and the target base station determining unit is used for determining the adjacent base station corresponding to the maximum communication quality value as the target base station.

The modules in the terminal positioning device can be wholly or partially implemented by software, hardware and a combination thereof. The modules can be embedded in a hardware form or independent from a processor in the base station, and can also be stored in a memory in the base station in a software form, so that the processor can call and execute operations corresponding to the modules.

In one embodiment, a base station is provided, which may be a server, and the internal structure thereof may be as shown in fig. 8. The base station includes a processor, a memory, and a network interface connected by a system bus. Wherein the processor of the base station is configured to provide computational and control capabilities. The memory of the base station includes a non-volatile storage medium and an internal memory. The non-volatile storage medium stores an operating system, a computer program, and a database. The internal memory provides an environment for the operation of an operating system and computer programs in the non-volatile storage medium. The database of the base station is used for storing the position information data of the terminal. The network interface of the base station is used for connecting and communicating with an external terminal through a network. The computer program is executed by a processor to implement a terminal positioning method.

Those skilled in the art will appreciate that the architecture shown in fig. 8 is a block diagram of only a portion of the architecture associated with the subject application and is not intended to limit the base stations to which the subject application applies, and that a particular base station may include more or less components than those shown, or may combine certain components, or have a different arrangement of components.

In one embodiment, a base station is provided, comprising a memory and a processor, the memory having stored therein a computer program, the processor implementing the steps of the above method embodiments when executing the computer program.

In one embodiment, a positioning system is provided, as shown in fig. 9, the positioning system includes a terminal 901, a source base station 902, a neighboring base station 903;

a terminal 901, configured to report, to a source base station, communication quality information between the source base station and neighboring base stations around the source base station;

the source base station 902 is configured to determine a target base station from neighboring base stations according to communication quality information reported by the terminal and between the source base station and the neighboring base stations around the source base station; when the communication quality between the terminal and the source base station does not meet the set requirement, sending a switching instruction to the terminal; the switching instruction is used for indicating the terminal to switch from the source base station to the target base station and sending a positioning reference signal to the target base station, and the communication quality between the target base station and the terminal meets the set requirement; sending a measurement termination request to the adjacent base station so that the source base station and the adjacent base station stop positioning measurement;

and the neighboring base station 903 is configured to receive the positioning reference signal sent by the terminal.

The positioning system provided in this embodiment may implement the above method embodiments, and the implementation principle and technical effect are similar, which are not described herein again.

In one embodiment, the positioning system further comprises a core network device 904;

and the core network device 904 is configured to receive the target base station determined as a new source base station, and the new source base station performs data processing on the arrival time and the signal receiving angle of the physical layer uplink positioning reference signal to determine a positioning measurement result of the terminal, so that the core network device positions the terminal according to the positioning result information of the terminal.

In one embodiment, before the source base station sends the handover command to the terminal, the source base station is configured to send a handover request to the target base station; the switching request comprises a positioning measurement identity of the terminal, and the identity is allocated to the terminal when the core network equipment positions the terminal at the initial moment so that the target base station uses the identity when positioning the terminal;

the source base station is used for receiving the switching response sent by the target base station; the handover response is used to characterize whether the target base station allows the terminal to handover to the target base station.

In an embodiment, the source base station is specifically configured to send a measurement termination request to the neighboring base station through the core network device.

In an embodiment, the source base station is specifically configured to obtain communication quality information between the terminal and an adjacent base station; the communication quality information includes a communication quality value; ranking the communication quality values and determining the maximum communication quality value from the ranking result; and determining the adjacent base station corresponding to the maximum communication quality value as the target base station.

The positioning system of the target object provided in this embodiment may implement the method embodiments, and the implementation principle and technical effect are similar, which are not described herein again.

In an embodiment, a computer-readable storage medium is provided, on which a computer program is stored, which computer program, when being executed by a processor, carries out the steps of the above-mentioned method embodiments.

In an embodiment, a computer program product is provided, comprising a computer program which, when being executed by a processor, carries out the steps of the above-mentioned method embodiments.

It should be noted that, the user information (including but not limited to user device information, user personal information, etc.) and data (including but not limited to data for analysis, stored data, presented data, etc.) referred to in the present application are information and data authorized by the user or sufficiently authorized by each party.

It will be understood by those skilled in the art that all or part of the processes of the methods of the embodiments described above can be implemented by hardware instructions of a computer program, which can be stored in a non-volatile computer-readable storage medium, and when executed, can include the processes of the embodiments of the methods described above. Any reference to memory, database, or other medium used in the embodiments provided herein may include at least one of non-volatile and volatile memory. The nonvolatile Memory may include Read-Only Memory (ROM), magnetic tape, floppy disk, flash Memory, optical Memory, high-density embedded nonvolatile Memory, resistive Random Access Memory (ReRAM), Magnetic Random Access Memory (MRAM), Ferroelectric Random Access Memory (FRAM), Phase Change Memory (PCM), graphene Memory, and the like. Volatile Memory can include Random Access Memory (RAM), external cache Memory, and the like. By way of illustration and not limitation, RAM can take many forms, such as Static Random Access Memory (SRAM) or Dynamic Random Access Memory (DRAM), among others. The databases referred to in various embodiments provided herein may include at least one of relational and non-relational databases. The non-relational database may include, but is not limited to, a block chain based distributed database, and the like. The processors referred to in the embodiments provided herein may be general purpose processors, central processing units, graphics processors, digital signal processors, programmable logic devices, quantum computing based data processing logic devices, etc., without limitation.

The technical features of the above embodiments can be arbitrarily combined, and for the sake of brevity, all possible combinations of the technical features in the above embodiments are not described, but should be considered as the scope of the present specification as long as there is no contradiction between the combinations of the technical features.

The above-mentioned embodiments only express several embodiments of the present application, and the description thereof is more specific and detailed, but not construed as limiting the scope of the present application. It should be noted that, for a person skilled in the art, several variations and modifications can be made without departing from the concept of the present application, which falls within the scope of protection of the present application. Therefore, the protection scope of the present application shall be subject to the appended claims.

Claims

1. A terminal positioning method, characterized in that the method comprises:

a source base station determines a target base station from adjacent base stations according to communication quality information reported by a terminal and between the source base station and the adjacent base stations around the source base station;

2. The method of claim 1, wherein the positioning reference signal comprises a physical layer uplink positioning reference signal, and wherein the method further comprises:

determining the target base station as a new source base station;

the source base station measures the arrival time and the signal receiving angle of the physical layer uplink positioning reference signal and determines the positioning measurement result of the terminal;

and the source base station sends the positioning measurement result to core network equipment.

3. The method of claim 2, wherein before the source base station sends the handover command to the terminal, the method further comprises:

the source base station sends a switching request to the target base station; the switching request comprises a positioning measurement identity of the terminal, and the identity is allocated to the terminal when the core network equipment positions the terminal at an initial moment so as to enable the target base station to use the identity when the target base station positions the terminal;

the source base station receives a switching response sent by the target base station; and the switching response is used for representing whether the target base station allows the terminal to be switched to the target base station.

4. The method according to any of claims 1-3, wherein the source base station sending a measurement termination request to the neighboring base station comprises:

and the source base station sends a measurement termination request to the adjacent base station through the core network equipment.

5. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein the determining, by the source base station, the target base station from the neighboring base stations according to the communication quality information reported by the terminal and between the source base station and the neighboring base stations around the source base station, comprises:

the source base station acquires communication quality information between the terminal and the adjacent base station; the communication quality information comprises a communication quality value;

the source base station ranks the communication quality values and determines the maximum communication quality value from the ranking result;

6. The method of claim 5, wherein the quality of communication between the terminal and the source base station not meeting a set requirement comprises: and the communication quality value between the terminal and the source base station is less than the communication quality threshold.

7. A terminal positioning apparatus, characterized in that the apparatus comprises:

a target base station determining module, configured to determine a target base station from the neighboring base stations according to communication quality information reported by the terminal and between the source base station and the neighboring base stations around the source base station;

a request sending module, configured to send a measurement termination request to the neighboring base station, so that the source base station and the neighboring base station stop positioning measurement.

8. A base station comprising a memory and a processor, the memory storing a computer program, characterized in that the processor, when executing the computer program, implements the steps of the method of any of claims 1 to 6.

9. A positioning system is characterized in that the positioning system comprises a terminal, a source base station and an adjacent base station;

the terminal is used for reporting communication quality information between the source base station and adjacent base stations around the source base station to the source base station;

the source base station is used for determining a target base station from the adjacent base stations according to the communication quality information reported by the terminal and between the source base station and the adjacent base stations around the source base station; when the communication quality between the terminal and the source base station does not meet the set requirement, sending a switching instruction to the terminal; the switching instruction is used for indicating the terminal to switch from the source base station to the target base station and sending a positioning reference signal to the target base station, and the communication quality between the target base station and the terminal meets the set requirement; sending a resource release request to the adjacent base station so that the source base station and the adjacent base station release resources;

10. A computer-readable storage medium, on which a computer program is stored, which, when being executed by a processor, carries out the steps of the method of any one of claims 1 to 6.

11. A computer program product comprising a computer program, characterized in that the computer program realizes the steps of the method of any one of claims 1 to 6 when executed by a processor.