Location determination method and apparatus, and communication device

A communication device, comprising:

• a processor;
• and
• a memory storing a program executable by the processor, wherein the processor is configured to:
• determine distances between a user equipment (UE) and one or more Non-Terrestrial Network (NTN) service satellites of the UE at at least three different moments;
• determine circles corresponding to the at least three different moments by taking projections, on a ground, of the one or more NTN service satellites at the at least three different moments as centers and by taking distances between the UE and the projections as radii, wherein the distance between the UE and the projection is determined based on a distance between the UE and the NTN service satellite and a height of the NTN service satellite;
• determine location information of the UE based on intersections of the circles, wherein the NTN service satellites comprise at least two NTN service satellites of different locations at the at least three different moments, the at least two NTN service satellites are located on a plurality of satellite orbits, there is one or more NTN service satellites on each satellite orbit, orbital locations of the one or more NTN service satellites on one satellite orbit are different, and the NTN service satellite is a low orbiting satellite for mobile communication,
• wherein the processor is configured to:
• determine a signal time of flight for a round trip signal between the UE and the NTN service satellite based on a combination of a first moment and a second moment or based on a combination of a third moment and a fourth moment;
• and
• determine the distance between the UE and the NTN service satellite based on the signal time of flight for the round trip signal, wherein the first moment is moment when the NTN service satellite sends a first positioning signal to the UE, the second moment is a moment when the NTN service satellite receives a second positioning signal sent by the UE, the third moment is a moment when the UE sends a third positioning signal to the NTN service satellite, and the fourth moment is a moment when the UE receives a fourth positioning signal sent by the NTN service satellite, and the first positioning signal, the second positioning signal, the third positioning signal and the fourth positioning signal are not signals dedicated to distance measurement.

A non-transitory computer-readable storage medium having stored thereon instructions that, when executed by a processor of a communication device, cause the communication device to perform a method for determining a location, the method comprising:

• determining distances between a user equipment (UE) and one or more Non-Terrestrial Network (NTN) service satellites of the UE at at least three different moments;
• determining circles corresponding to the at least three different moments by taking projections, on a ground, of the one or more NTN service satellites at the at least three different moments as centers and by taking distances between the UE and the projections as radii, wherein the distance between the UE and the projection is determined based on a distance between the UE and the NTN service satellite and a height of the NTN service satellite;
• determining location information of the UE based on intersections of the circles, wherein the NTN service satellites comprise at least two NTN service satellites of different locations at the at least three different moments, the at least two NTN service satellites are located on a plurality of satellite orbits, there is one or more NTN service satellites on each satellite orbit, orbital locations of the one or more NTN service satellites on one satellite orbit are different, and the NTN service satellite is a low orbiting satellite for mobile communication,
• wherein determining a distance between the UE and an NTN service satellite of the UE comprises:
• determining a signal time of flight for a round trip signal between the UE and the NTN service satellite based on a combination of a first moment and a second moment or based on a combination of a third moment and a fourth moment;
• and
• determining the distance between the UE and the NTN service satellite based on the signal time of flight for the round trip signal, wherein the first moment is moment when the NTN service satellite sends a first positioning signal to the UE, the second moment is a moment when the NTN service satellite receives a second positioning signal sent by the UE, the third moment is a moment when the UE sends a third positioning signal to the NTN service satellite, and the fourth moment is a moment when the UE receives a fourth positioning signal sent by the NTN service satellite, and the first positioning signal, the second positioning signal, the third positioning signal and the fourth positioning signal are not signals dedicated to distance measurement.