Method and mobile device for selecting contention-free period (CFP) for uplink ultra-wide band (UWB) positioning of a mobile device, and, computer-readable memory

Description

1 / 75 METHOD AND MOBILE DEVICE FOR SELECTING CONTENT-FREE PERIOD (CFP) FOR UPLINK TIME-OF-ARRIVAL (UL-TDOA) ULTRA-WIDEBAND (UWB) POSITIONING FROM A MOBILE DEVICE, AND READABLE MEMORY BY COMPUTER DIVIDED FROM BR 11 2024 016250 8 OF 02 / 13 / 2023. RELATED DEPOSIT REQUESTS

[0001] This request claims the benefit of Application GR No. 20220100175, filed on February 25, 2022, entitled UPLINK-TDOA ENHANCEMENTS FOR UWB, which is assigned to the assignee of this document and incorporated herein in its entirety by reference. BACKGROUND 1. Field of dissemination

[0002] This disclosure relates generally to the field of radio frequency (RF)-based position determination of a wireless electronic device. More specifically, this disclosure relates to ultrawideband (UWB)-based positioning. 2. Description of the related technique

[0003] Device positioning can have a wide range of applications, including consumer, industrial, commercial, military, and others. UWB-based range determination (e.g., as defined in IEEE 802.15.4ab and / or other wireless specifications) offers a highly accurate low-power positioning solution for UWB-enabled devices (in the present invention, UWB devices) compared to other techniques. Petition 870260002955, dated 13 / 01 / 2026, page 10 / 191 2 / 75 of RF-based positioning for wireless electronic devices. Current techniques for UWB-based range determination may involve performing RF measurements using containment-based and / or containment-free signaling. The use of containment-based signaling may allow for the discovery of new devices, and the use of containment-free signaling may help reduce RF interference. UWB-based range determination can utilize both techniques in a single UWB positioning session, although this may result in a limitation on the number of devices that are able to participate in a session. BRIEF SUMMARY

[0004] An example method for coordinating the ultra-wideband (UWB) placement of a mobile device, according to this disclosure, may comprise receiving, on a UWB initiating anchor device, a first intermittent message from a mobile device, wherein the first intermittent message is sent during a slot of a contention access period (CAP) in a step of a UWB session, and the first intermittent message comprises a radio frequency (RF) message configured to enable uplink time difference of arrival (UL-TDoA) measurements by one or more responding UWB anchor devices.The method may also involve transmitting a control message from the UWB initiating anchor device indicating a reserved slot in a subsequent contention-free period (CFP) of the UWB session, where the slot reservation is responsive, at least in... Petition 870260002955, dated 13 / 01 / 2026, page 11 / 191 3 / 75 part, upon receiving the first intermittent message on the UWB initiating anchor device from the mobile device.

[0005] An example method of contention-free period (CFP) selection for ultra-wideband (UWB) uplink time-of-arrival (UL-TDoA) placement from a mobile device, according to this disclosure, may comprise receiving, on the mobile device from a UWB initiating anchor device, a message indicating a respective QoS level of each of a plurality of CFPs in a UWB placement session. The method may also comprise selecting, with the mobile device, a CFP in which to participate based, at least in part, on the respective QoS level of the selected CFP.The method may also comprise, in response to the selection of the CFP to participate in: transmitting, with the mobile device, a first intermittent message during a slot of a contention access period (CAP) corresponding to the selected CFP, wherein the first intermittent message comprises a radio frequency (RF) message configured to enable UL-TDoA measurements by one or more responding UWB anchor devices; transmitting, with the mobile device, an out-of-band (OOB) message to the initiating UWB anchor device indicative of the selected CFP; or both.

[0006] A sample ultra-wideband (UWB) initiating anchor device for coordinating the ultra-wideband (UWB) positioning of a mobile device, according to this disclosure, may comprise: a transceiver, a Petition 870260002955, dated 13 / 01 / 2026, p. 12 / 191 4 / 75 memory, one or more processors coupled communicatively with the transceiver and the memory, wherein the one or more processors are configured to receive, via the transceiver, a first intermittent message from a mobile device, wherein: the first intermittent message is sent during a slot of a contention access period (CAP) in a step of a UWB session, and the first intermittent message comprises a radio frequency (RF) message configured to enable uplink time-of-arrival (UL-TDoA) measurements by one or more responding anchor UWB devices.One or more processors may additionally be configured to transmit a control message via the transceiver indicating a reserved slot in a subsequent contention-free period (CFP) of the UWB session, with the slot reservation being responsive, at least in part, to the receipt of the first intermittent message on the UWB initiating anchor device from the mobile device.

[0007] An example mobile device for contention-free period (CFP) selection for ultra-wideband (UWB) uplink time-of-arrival (UL-TDoA) placement, according to this disclosure, may comprise: a transceiver, a memory, one or more processors communicatively coupled to the transceiver and the memory, wherein the one or more processors are configured to receive, via the transceiver from a UWB initiating anchor device, a message indicating a respective QoS level for each of the Petition 870260002955, dated 13 / 01 / 2026, p. 13 / 191 5 / 75 a plurality of CFPs in a UWB placement session. The one or more processors may additionally be configured to select a CFP in which to participate based, at least in part, on the respective QoS level of the selected CFP. The one or more processors may additionally be configured to, responsive to the selection of the CFP in which to participate: transmit, on the transceiver, a first intermittent message during a slot of a contention access period (CAP) corresponding to the selected CFP, the first intermittent message comprising a radio frequency (RF) message configured to enable UL-TDoA measurements by one or more responding anchor UWB devices; transmit, via the transceiver, an out-of-band (OOB) message to the initiating UWB anchor device indicative of the selected CFP; or both.

[0008] This summary is not intended to identify key or essential attributes of the claimed subject matter, nor is it intended to be used in isolation to determine the scope of the claimed subject matter. Subject matter should be understood by reference to the appropriate portions of the entire descriptive report of this disclosure, any or all of the drawings, and each claim. The foregoing, along with other attributes and examples, will be described in more detail later in this descriptive report, in the claims, and in the accompanying drawings. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0009] The attached drawings are provided to supplement the following description. It may be mentioned that the term background is included in the text of many of the Petition 870260002955, dated 13 / 01 / 2026, p. 14 / 191 6 / 75 attached drawings provide context for the embodiments described in the present invention. It does not necessarily follow, however, that such information should be considered prior art. Some information identified as prior art in the attached drawings may, in fact, comprise innovative attributes used by one or more embodiments described in the present invention.

[0010] Figure 1 is a diagram of a positioning system, according to one modality.

[0011] Figures 2A and 2B are simplified diagrams illustrating examples of how ultra-wideband (UWB) placement / range determination can be performed in a UWB device network.

[0012] Figures 3A and 3B are flow diagrams illustrating how different devices can assume different roles in relation to a UWB placement session.

[0013] Figure 4 is a timing diagram of time segmentation within a UWB range determination session in the MAC layer, according to some modalities.

[0014] Figures 5A and 5B are timing diagrams illustrating how contention-based reach determination using a contention access period (CAP) can be implemented, according to some embodiments.

[0015] Figure 6 is a timing diagram of a series of example range determination blocks used for UL-TDoA, according to one embodiment. Petition 870260002955, dated 13 / 01 / 2026, page 15 / 191 7 / 75

[0016] Figure 7 is a timing diagram of a hybrid base range determination step, according to one modality.

[0017] Figure 8 is an 800 message flow diagram illustrating a process for moving a tag from a CAP to a contention-free period (CFP), according to a modality.

[0018] Figure 9 is a flow diagram of a mobile device UWB positioning coordination method, according to one embodiment.

[0019] Figure 10 is a flow diagram of a CFP selection method for ultra-wideband (UWB) uplink time-of-arrival (UL-TDoA) positioning of a mobile device, according to a modality.

[0020] Figure 10 is an information slide describing how a UL-TDoA session can be selected.

[0021] Figure 11 is a block diagram of one embodiment of a mobile UWB device.

[0022] Figure 12 is a block diagram of an embodiment of a stationary UWB, which can be used in the embodiments described in the present invention.

[0023] Similar reference symbols in the various drawings indicate similar elements, according to certain example implementations. Furthermore, multiple instances of an element can be indicated by adding a letter or hyphen and a second number to the first number of the element. For example, multiple instances of an element 110 can be indicated as 110-1, 110-2, 110-3, etc., or as 110a, 110b, 110c, etc. When reference is made Petition 870260002955, dated 13 / 01 / 2026, p. 16 / 191 8 / 75 to that element using only the first number, any other instance of the element should be understood (for example, the element 110 in the previous example would refer to the elements 110-1, 110-2 and 110-3 or to the elements 110a, 110b and 110c). DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0024] The following description refers to certain implementations for the purpose of describing innovative aspects of various embodiments. However, a person skilled in the art will readily recognize that the teachings of the present invention can be applied in a variety of different ways. The implementations described can be implemented in any device, system, or network capable of transmitting and receiving radio frequency (RF) signals according to any communication standard, such as any of the IEEE 802.15.4 standards of the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) for ultra-wideband (UWB), IEEE 802 standards.11 (including those identified as Wi-Fi® technologies), the Bluetooth® standard, code division multiple access (CDMA), frequency division multiple access (FDMA), time division multiple access (TDMA), global system for mobile communications (GSM), GSM / general packet radio service (GPRS), enhanced data GSM environment (EDGE), terrestrial trunked radio (TETRA), wideband CDMA (W-CDMA). Petition 870260002955, dated 13 / 01 / 2026, page 17 / 191 9 / 75 wideband-CDMA), evolution of optimized data (EV-DO evolution data optimized), 1xEV-DO, EV-DO Rev A, EV-DO Rev B, high-rate packet data (HRPD), high-speed packet access (HSPA), high-speed downlink packet access (HSDPA), high-speed uplink packet access (HSUPA), evolved high-speed packet access (HSPA+), long-term evolution (LTE), advanced mobile phone system (AMPS), or other known signals that are used for communication within a wireless, cellular, or Internet of Things (IoT) network, such as a system using 3G, 4G, or other technologies. 5G, 6G, or further implementations thereof.

[0025] As used in the present invention, an RF signal comprises an electromagnetic wave that carries information through the space between a transmitter (or transmitting device) and a receiver (or receiving device). As used in the present invention, a transmitter may transmit a single RF signal or multiple RF signals to a receiver. However, the receiver may receive multiple RF signals corresponding to each transmitted RF signal, due to the propagation characteristics of RF signals through multiple channels or paths.

[0026] Furthermore, unless otherwise specified, the term positioning, determination of Petition 870260002955, dated 13 / 01 / 2026, page 18 / 191 10 / 75 position, location determination, location estimation and the like, as used in the present invention, may include absolute location determination, relative location determination, range determination or a combination thereof. Such positioning may include and / or be based on timing, angular, phase or power measurements, or a combination thereof (which may include RF detection measurements) for the purpose of location or detection services.

[0027] As mentioned earlier, UWB-based positioning offers a highly accurate and low-power positioning solution compared to other RF-based positioning techniques for wireless electronic devices. UWB-based positioning can be used in industrial applications, such as by robots and / or other Internet of Things (IoT) devices in a factory environment, indoor positioning of consumer electronic products, and more. While UWB-based positioning can be used in an ad hoc manner as a standalone positioning technique among UWB-capable electronic devices (also referred to in the present invention as UWB devices), in some embodiments, UWB-based positioning can be used as one of many techniques for positioning an electronic device in a positioning system.Figure 1, described below, provides an example of this positioning system.

[0028] Several aspects of this disclosure generally relate to the positioning or determination of Petition 870260002955, dated 13 / 01 / 2026, page 19 / 191 11 / 75 UWB reach. Some aspects relate more specifically to the determination of hybrid-based UWB reach that has a contention access period (CAP) and a contention-free period (CFP). In some examples, the uplink time difference (UL-TDoA) positioning of a target UWB mobile device, or tag, by one or more anchor UWB devices, including an initiator anchor (Inic-anchor) and one or more responder anchors (Resp-anchors), which receive an intermittent message from the target UWB mobile device to perform measurements (UL-TDoA) during a CAP. Based on receiving the intermittent message, the target UWB mobile device may receive a scheduled slot in a subsequent CFP. The Inic-anchor may provide the target UWB mobile device with the scheduled slot, and the schedule may be provided via a downlink message during a UWB session and / or using out-of-band (OOB) message exchange.Scheduling can be based on a variety of factors, and prioritization of certain UWB mobile devices may be considered.

[0029] The specific aspects of the matter described in this disclosure can be implemented to realize one or more of the following potential advantages. In some examples, by moving the message exchange from the target UWB mobile device from a CAP to a CFP, the techniques described can be used to make more efficient use of bandwidth and power usage between the devices participating in a UWB positioning session. These and other advantages will be apparent to a person skilled in the art in view of the embodiments described in the present invention. Petition 870260002955, dated 13 / 01 / 2026, page 20 / 191 12 / 75 modalities are described below, following a review of the applicable technology.

[0030] Figure 1 is a simplified illustration of a positioning system 100 in which: a UE 105, a location server 160 and / or other components of the positioning system 100 can use the techniques provided in the present invention for UWB-based range determination for a mobile device 105, according to an embodiment. The techniques described in the present invention can be implemented by one or more components of the positioning system 100. The positioning system 100 may include: a mobile device 105; one or more satellites 110 (also called space vehicles (SVs)) for a global navigation satellite system (GNSS), such as the global positioning system (GPS), GLONASS, Galileo or Beidou; base stations 120; access points (APs) 130; location server 160; network 170; and external client 180.In general, the positioning system 100 can estimate the location of the mobile device 105 based on RF signals received by and / or sent by the mobile device 105 and known locations of other components (e.g., GNSS satellites 110, base stations 120, APs 130) transmitting and / or receiving RF signals.

[0031] It should be noted that Figure 1 provides only a generalized illustration of various components, any or all of which may be used as appropriate, and each of which may be duplicated as needed. Specifically, although only one mobile device 105 is Petition 870260002955, dated 13 / 01 / 2026, page 21 / 191 13 / 75 illustrated, it will be understood that many mobile devices (e.g., hundreds, thousands, millions, etc.) can utilize the positioning system 100. Similarly, the positioning system 100 may include a greater or lesser number of base stations 120 and / or APs 130 than illustrated in Figure 1. The illustrated connections linking the various components in the positioning system 100 comprise data and signaling connections that may include additional (intermediate) components, direct or indirect physical and / or wireless connections, and / or additional networks. Furthermore, components may be rearranged, combined, separated, replaced, and / or omitted depending on the desired functionality. In some embodiments, for example, the external client 180 may be directly connected to the location server 160. The person skilled in the art will recognize many modifications to the illustrated components.

[0032] Depending on the desired functionality, the 170 network may comprise any of several wired and / or wireless networks. The 170 network may, for example, comprise any combination of public and / or private networks, local area networks and / or wide area networks, and the like. Furthermore, the 170 network may utilize one or more wired and / or wireless communication technologies. In some embodiments, the 170 network may comprise a cellular or other mobile network, a wireless local area network (WLAN), a wireless wide-area network (WWAN), and / or the Internet, for example. Examples of 170 networks include a long-term evolving wireless network (LTE), a fifth-generation wireless network (5G). Petition 870260002955, dated 13 / 01 / 2026, page 22 / 191 14 / 75 (also called New Radio (NR) wireless network or 5G NR wireless network), a Wi-Fi WLAN, and the Internet. LTE, 5G, and NR are wireless technologies defined, or being defined, through the 3rd generation partnership project (3GPP). A 170 network may also include more than one network and / or more than one type of network. A mobile device on a cellular network (e.g., LTE and / or NR) can also be called user equipment (UE).

[0033] Base stations 120 and access points (APs) 130 can be communicatively coupled to the network 170. In some embodiments, the 120s base station may be owned, maintained and / or operated by a cellular network provider and may employ any of several wireless technologies, as described further in the present invention. Depending on the 170 network technology, a 120 base station may comprise a NodeB, an evolved NodeB (eNodeB or eNB), a base transceiver station (BTS), a radio base station (RBS), a gNB (gNB) NodeB, a next-generation eNB (ng-eNB) or similar. A 120 base station that is a gNB or ngeNB may be part of a next-generation radio access network (NG-RAN) that may connect to a 5G core network (5GC) if the 170 network is a 5G network.The functionality performed by a 120 base station in previous generation networks (e.g., 3G and 4G) can be separated into different functional components (e.g., radio units (RUs - radio units), distributed units (DUs - distributed units), and central units (CUs - central). Petition 870260002955, dated 13 / 01 / 2026, p. 23 / 191 15 / 75 units)) and layers (e.g., L1 / L2 / L3) in view of open radio access networks (O-RAN) and / or virtualized radio access networks (V-RAN or vRAN) in 5G or later networks, which can be run on different devices in different connected locations, for example, via fronthaul, midhaul, and backhaul connections. As referred to in the present invention, a base station (or ng-eNB, gNB, etc.) may include any or all of these functional components. An AP 130 may comprise a WiFi AP or a Bluetooth® AP or an AP with cellular capabilities (e.g., 4G LTE and / or 5G NR), for example. In this way, the mobile device 105 can send and receive information with devices connected to the network, such as the location server 160, when accessing the network 170 via a base station. 120 using a first communication link 133. Additionally or alternatively, as the APs 130 can also be communicatively coupled to the network 170, the mobile device 105 can communicate with devices connected to the network and connected to the Internet, including the location server 160, using a second communication link 135, or via one or more other mobile devices145.

[0034] As used in the present invention, the term base station may refer generically to a single physical transmission point, or multiple co-located physical transmission points, which may be situated within a base station 120. A transmission and reception point (TRP) (also known as a transmission / reception point) corresponds to this type of point. Petition 870260002955, dated 13 / 01 / 2026, p. 24 / 191 16 / 75 transmission, and the term TRP can be used interchangeably, in the present invention, with the terms gNB, ng-eNB and base station. In some cases, a 120 base station may comprise multiple TRPs – for example, with each TRP associated with a different antenna or a different antenna array for the 120 base station. As used in the present invention, the transmission functionality of a TRP can be realized with a transmission point (TP) and / or the reception functionality of a TRP can be realized by a reception point (RP), which may be physically separate or distinct from a TP. That said, a TRP can comprise either a TP or an RP. Physical transmission points may comprise an antenna array of a 120 base station (for example, as in a multiple input-multiple output (MIMO) system and / or where the base station employs beamforming).The term base station can additionally refer to multiple non-co-located physical transmission points, where the physical transmission points can be a distributed antenna system (DAS) (a network of spatially separated antennas connected to a common source via a transport medium) or a remote radio head (RRH) (a remote base station connected to a serving base station).

[0035] As used in the present invention, the term cell can generally refer to a logical communication entity used for communication with a base station 120, and may be associated with an identifier to distinguish neighboring cells (for example, an identifier Petition 870260002955, dated 13 / 01 / 2026, page 25 / 191 17 / 75 physical cell identifier (PCID), a virtual cell identifier (VCID) operating via the same carrier or a different carrier. In some examples, a carrier may support multiple cells, and different cells may be configured according to different protocol types (e.g., machine-type communication (MTC), narrowband IoT (NB-IoT), enhanced mobile broadband (eMBB), or others) that can provide access to different types of devices. In some cases, the term cell may refer to a portion of a geographic coverage area (e.g., a sector) over which the logical entity operates.

[0036] The location server 160 may comprise a server and / or other computing device configured to determine an estimated location of the mobile device 105 and / or provide data (e.g., assistance data) to the mobile device 105 to facilitate location measurement and / or location determination by the mobile device 105. According to some embodiments, the location server 160 may comprise a home location platform (H-SLP) for secure user plane location (SUPL), which may support the user plane location (UP) solution of the SUPL defined by the Open Mobile Alliance (OMA) and may support location services for the mobile device 105 based on subscription information for the mobile device 105. Petition 870260002955, dated 13 / 01 / 2026, page 26 / 191 18 / 75 stored on location server 160. In some embodiments, location server 160 may comprise a discovered SLP (D-SLP) or an emergency SLP (E-SLP). Location server 160 may also comprise an enhanced serving mobile location center (E-SMLC) that supports mobile device 105 location using a control plane (CP) location solution for LTE radio access by mobile device 105. Location server 160 may further comprise a location management function (LMF) that supports mobile device 105 location using a control plane (CP) location solution for NR or LTE radio access by mobile device 105.

[0037] In a CP location solution, there may be an exchange of signaling to control and manage the location of mobile device 105 between network elements 170 and mobile device 105 using existing network interfaces and protocols and as signaling from the perspective of network 170. In a UP location solution, there may be an exchange of signaling to control and manage the location of mobile device 105 between the location server 160 and mobile device 105 in the form of data (e.g., data transported using the Internet Protocol (IP) and / or the Transmission Control Protocol (TCP)) from the perspective of network 170.

[0038] As previously indicated (and discussed in more detail below), the estimated location Petition 870260002955, dated 13 / 01 / 2026, page 27 / 191 19 / 75 of mobile device 105 can be based on measurements of RF signals sent and / or received by mobile device 105. In particular, these measurements can provide information regarding the relative distance and / or angle of mobile device 105 in relation to one or more components in the positioning system 100 (e.g., GNSS satellites 110, APs 130, base stations 120). The estimated location of mobile device 105 can be estimated geometrically (e.g., using multi-angle and / or multi-lateration), based on distance and / or angle measurements, together with the known position of one or more components.

[0039] Although terrestrial components, such as APs 130 and base stations 120, may be fixed, the modes are not limited in this way. Mobile components may be used. For example, in some modes, a location of the mobile device 105 may be estimated, at least in part, based on measurements of RF signals 140 communicated between the mobile device 105 and one or more other mobile devices 145, which may be mobile or fixed. As illustrated, other mobile devices may include, for example, a mobile phone 145-1, vehicle 1452, static communication / positioning device 145-3, or other static and / or mobile device capable of providing wireless signals used to position the mobile device 105, or a combination thereof.The wireless signals from mobile devices 145 used for positioning mobile device 105 may comprise RF signals using, for example, Bluetooth® (including Bluetooth Low Energy (BLE)), IEEE 802.11x (e.g., Wi-Fi®), UWB, IEEE 802.15x, or a combination thereof. Petition 870260002955, dated 13 / 01 / 2026, page 28 / 191 20 / 75 same. Mobile devices 145 may additionally or alternatively use non-RF wireless signals for mobile device 105 positioning, such as infrared signals or other optical technologies.

[0040] Mobile devices 145 may comprise UEs communicatively coupled to a cellular network or other mobile network (e.g., network 170). When one or more other mobile devices 145 comprising UEs are used in determining the position of a particular mobile device 105, the mobile device 105 for which the position is to be determined may be called the target UE, and each of the one or more other mobile devices 145 used may be called an anchor UE. For determining the position of a target UE, the respective positions of the one or more anchor UEs may be known and / or determined jointly with the target UE. Direct communication between the one or more other mobile devices 145 and the mobile device 105 may comprise side-link communication technologies and / or similar device-to-device (D2D) communication.The side link, which is defined by 3GPP, is a form of D2D communication under the LTE and NR cellular-based standards. As described hereinafter, UWB can be such a technology by which the positioning of a target device (e.g., mobile device 105) can be facilitated using measurements from one or more anchor devices (e.g., mobile devices 145). The measurements of the distance between the target device and one or more anchor devices can be referred to in the present invention as range determination. Petition 870260002955, dated 13 / 01 / 2026, page 29 / 191 21 / 75

[0041] In some embodiments, such as when the mobile device 105 comprises and / or is incorporated into a vehicle, a form of D2D communication used by the mobile device 105 may comprise vehicle-to-everything (V2X) communication. V2X is a communication standard for vehicles and related entities to exchange information about a traffic environment. V2X may include vehicle-to-vehicle (V2V) communication between vehicles with V2X capability, vehicle-to-infrastructure (V2I) communication between the vehicle and infrastructure-based devices (commonly referred to as roadside units (RSUs)), vehicle-to-person (V2P) communication between vehicles and nearby people (pedestrians, cyclists, and other road users), and the like. Furthermore, V2X may utilize any of several wireless RF communication technologies.Cellular V2X (CV2X), for example, is a form of V2X that uses cellular-based communication, such as LTE (4G), NR (5G), and / or other cellular technologies in a direct communication mode, as defined by 3GPP. The mobile device 105 illustrated in Figure 1 may correspond to a component or device in a vehicle, RSU, or other V2X entity that is used to communicate V2X messages. In modes where V2X is used, the static communication / positioning device 145-3 (which may correspond to an RSU) and / or the vehicle 145-2 may therefore communicate with the mobile device 105 and may be used to determine the position of the mobile device 105 using techniques similar to those used by base stations 120. Petition 870260002955, dated 13 / 01 / 2026, page 30 / 191 22 / 75 and / or APs 130 (e.g., using multi-angle and / or multi-lateration). It can be further noted that mobile devices 145 (which may include V2X devices), base stations 120 and / or APs 130 can be used together (e.g., in a WWAN positioning solution) to determine the position of the mobile device 105, according to some embodiments.

[0042] An estimated location of mobile device 105 can be used in various applications – for example, to assist in orientation or navigation for a mobile device user 105 or to assist another user (e.g., associated with external client 180) in locating mobile device 105. A location is also referred to in the present invention as location estimation, estimated location, location, position, position estimation, position correction, estimated position, location correction, or correction. The process of determining a location may be referred to as positioning, position determination, location determination, or similar terms.A mobile device location 105 may comprise an absolute location of the mobile device 105 (for example, a latitude and longitude and possibly altitude) or a relative location of the mobile device 105 (for example, a location expressed as distances north or south, east or west and possibly above or below some other known fixed location (including, for example, the location of a base station 120 or AP 130) or some other location, such as a location for the mobile device 105 at some known earlier time, or a location of a device. Petition 870260002955, dated 13 / 01 / 2026, page 31 / 191 23 / 75 mobile 145 (e.g., another mobile device) at some known earlier time). A location may be specified as a geodetic location comprising coordinates that may be absolute (e.g., latitude, longitude, and optionally altitude), relative (e.g., relative to some known absolute location), or local (e.g., X, Y, and optionally Z coordinates according to a coordinate system defined relative to a local area such as a factory, warehouse, university campus, shopping center, sports stadium, or convention center). A location may instead be a civic location and may then comprise one or more of a street address (e.g., including names or markers for a country, state, county, city, highway and / or street and / or a highway or street number) and / or a marker or name for a place, building, portion of a building, floor of a building, and / or room within a building, etc.A location may additionally include an indication of uncertainty or error, such as a horizontal and possibly vertical distance by which the location is expected to be wrong, or an indication of an area or volume (e.g., a circle or ellipse) in which the mobile device 105 is expected to be located with some level of confidence (e.g., 95% confidence).

[0043] The external client 180 may be a web server or remote application that may have some association with mobile device 105 (for example, it may be accessed by a user of mobile device 105) or it may be a server, application or computer system that provides a location service to some other user or users, the Petition 870260002955, dated 13 / 01 / 2026, page 32 / 191 24 / 75 which may include obtaining and providing the location of the mobile device 105 (for example, to enable a service such as finding a friend or relative, or locating a child or pet). Additionally or alternatively, the external client 180 may obtain and provide the location of the mobile device 105 to an emergency service provider, government agency, etc.

[0044] As noted, mobile device positioning 105 can be facilitated by a location server 160, which can be part of a cellular network. Additionally or alternatively, the location server 160 may be able to facilitate other types of network-based positioning, including positioning using APs 130 (e.g., Wi-Fi positioning) and / or mobile devices 145 (e.g., Bluetooth positioning, UWB positioning, etc.).To do this, the 160 location server can communicate with one or more devices (for example, a target device, such as the 105 mobile device and / or one or more anchor devices), coordinate positioning sessions with the one or more devices, provide assistance data for measurements and / or calculations related to positioning, receive measurement data from the one or more devices to determine the position of a target device, provide data related to synchronization, or perform a combination of these tasks, for example. Depending on the modality, the 160 location server can support various procedures / methods, such as assisted GNSS (A-GNSS), time difference of arrival (TDoA) (which can also be called observed time difference). Petition 870260002955, dated 13 / 01 / 2026, p. 33 / 191 25 / 75 arrival (OTDoA - observed time difference of arrival)), Real-Time Kinematic (RTK), Precise Point Positioning (PPP), Differential GNSS (DGNSS), Enhanced Cell ID (ECID), Angle of Arrival (AoA), Angle of Departure (AoD), WLAN positioning, RTT, Multi-cell RTT, Two-Way Ranging (TWR) determination (e.g., including single-sided TWR (SS-TWR) and / or double-sided TWR (DS-TWR)) and / or other positioning procedures and methods. Location server 160 can process location service requests for mobile device 105 and / or third parties (e.g., a device communicatively coupled to location server 160 and authorized to receive a position from mobile device 105).

[0045] To support various positioning procedures / methods, the mobile device 105 and / or one or more anchor devices may be capable of performing any of several measurements and / or procedures. This may include, for example, received signal strength indicator (RSSI), RTT, reference signal received power (RSRP), reference signal received quality (RSRQ), reference signal time difference (RSTD), time of arrival (ToA), AoA, receive time-transmission time difference (Rx-Tx), AoA Petition 870260002955, dated 13 / 01 / 2026, p. 34 / 191 26 / 75 differential (DAoA - differential AoA), AoD or timing advance (TA - timing advance).

[0046] In some embodiments, TDoA assistance data may be provided to a mobile device 105 by the location server 160 for a reference signal and one or more response or neighbor signals, relative to the reference signal. For example, the assistance data may provide timing, frequency, and / or other parameters of the reference and response / neighbor signals to enable a device (e.g., a target and / or anchor) to perform ToA and / or RSTD measurements for TDoA positioning. Using the RSTD measurements, the known absolute or relative transmission timing of each cell, and the known position(s) of wireless node physical transmission antennas (e.g., anchors) for the reference and response / neighbor signals, the UE position may be calculated (e.g., by the mobile device 105 or the location server 160).More specifically, the RSTD for a neighboring cell k with respect to a reference signal Ref can be given as (ToA k — ToA Ref). The ToA measurements for different signals can then be converted into RSTD measurements and sent to the location server 160 by the mobile device 105. By using (i) the RSTD measurements, (ii) the known relative or absolute transmission timing of each cell, (iii) the known position(s) of the physical transmitting antennas that transmit the reference and response / neighboring signals and / or (iv) the directional attributes of the signals as a transmission direction, the position of the mobile device 105 can be determined. Petition 870260002955, dated 13 / 01 / 2026, page 35 / 191 27 / 75

[0047] With regard to UWB-based positioning, UWB devices can conduct sessions during which the devices engage in direct communications (e.g., D2D communications) to coordinate the exchange of range determination frames from which ToA can be determined. Furthermore, different types of measurements can be performed during these sessions to conduct UWB-based positioning. Figures 2A and 2B, discussed below, provide examples of the types of measurements that can be performed. And Figures 3A and 3B, also discussed below, provide further details about UWB positioning sessions.

[0048] UWB devices can vary in form and function. As indicated in Figure 1, a UWB device can comprise a mobile device, such as a mobile phone with UWB functionality. Similarly, UWB devices can comprise other personal electronic devices, such as laptop computers, tablets, personal media players, or the like. Furthermore, as noted, UWB devices can comprise vehicles, drones, robots, or other mobile devices that can move autonomously and can be used in consumer, industrial, military, and / or other applications. UWB devices can also comprise tracking devices used in logistics applications to track packages, shipping containers, or the like.Additionally or alternatively, UWB devices (such as UWB anchors, described hereinafter) may comprise proprietary and / or dedicated RF beacons deployed in known locations to monitor the location of tags or... Petition 870260002955, dated 13 / 01 / 2026, page 36 / 191 28 / 75 devices used in logistics and / or tracking applications (e.g., in a factory, warehouse, hospital, etc.). UWB devices can be used in proximity applications to, for example, unlock a door as a user (e.g., an authorized user) approaches. UWB devices can also be used in other applications and / or device types. Some UWB devices can also be deployed in a factory setting to monitor robots, assembled parts, or similar items. [004 9] Figures 2A and 2B are simplified diagrams illustrating how UWB positioning can be performed in a network of UWB anchors 210. As noted, the anchor devices (referred to in the present invention as anchors or UWB anchors) may comprise UWB devices with known locations that can be used to determine the position of a target 220, or tag, using UWB RF signals. UWB positioning can be performed using relevant standards (e.g., IEEE 802.15.4ab), which allow for high-accuracy, low-power positioning. One or more of the UWB anchors UWB 210 anchors and / or UWB 220 targets can be connected to a network, as illustrated in the positioning system 100 of Figure 1. In some embodiments, UWB 210 anchors and / or UWB 220 targets can form an ad-hoc network, which may or may not be connected to a network (for example, as shown in Figure 1). Furthermore, UWB 210 anchors and / or UWB 220 targets... 220 can encompass any of a variety of device types, as indicated previously. Petition 870260002955, dated 13 / 01 / 2026, page 37 / 191 29 / 75

[0050] If the position of one or more UWB 210 anchors is not yet known, as in an ad-hoc network, an initial provisioning of the UWB 210 anchors can be performed. During provisioning, the UWB 210 anchors can perform range determination to determine relative distances (11 to 16) between UWB 210 devices, as illustrated in Figure 2A. This can enable the UWB 210 anchors to determine relative locations to each other and, if the absolute location of any UWB 210 anchor is known, absolute locations (e.g., relative to a coordinate system). Once the positions of the UWB 210 anchors are known, the location of a target 220 can be determined by determining the distances (d1 to d6) between the UWB 210 anchors and the target 220. These distances can be determined using a variety of measurements and / or positioning-related procedures.This can include, for example, RSTD, ToA, two-way ranging (TWR) determination (e.g., including single-sided TWR (SS-TWR) and / or double-sided TWR (DS-TWR)), TDoA, and much more. Additionally or alternatively, angle-based measurements can be made for target positioning, including angle of arrival (AoA) and / or angle of departure (AoD).

[0051] As noted, the UWB 210 anchor group can conduct sessions in which the UWB 210 anchors perform a series of operations to determine the position of one or more of the devices and during which the UWB 210 anchors engage in direct communications (e.g., Petition 870260002955, dated 13 / 01 / 2026, p. 38 / 191 30 / 75 D2D communications) to coordinate data exchange, synchronize (e.g., for TDoA positioning). A group of UWB 210 anchors can be called a cluster, and a network of UWB devices can comprise multiple clusters. Each cluster can include any number of UWB 210 anchors, and different clusters can overlap, so that one or more UWB 210 anchors can be part of one or more different clusters.

[0052] Figure 3A is a flow diagram illustrating the roles that different devices can assume in relation to a UWB range determination session (or simply a UWB session), which can be conducted according to a relevant UWB placement standard (e.g., IEEE 802.15.4ab). Here, each UWB device can be called an enhanced ranging device (ERDEV). ERDEVs may refer to different terminologies (e.g., initiator / responder or controller / controlled) at different layers of the network stack. The terms initiator and responder (described below) would be used at lower layers (e.g., at the physical (PHY) and media access control (MAC) layers of UWB), while the terms controller and controlled (also described below) may be used at higher layers (e.g., an application layer of the ERDEVs).

[0053] As indicated, for a pair of ERDEVs communicating with each other, the controller 310 is an ERDEV that sends control information 325 to a receiving ERDEV, designated as the controlled 320. The control information 325 can Petition 870260002955, dated 13 / 01 / 2026, page 39 / 191 31 / 75 include parameters for the UWB range determination session, such as timing, channel, etc. Although not illustrated, the 320 controller can send confirmation to the 325 controller information, and can negotiate changes to the parameters and / or similar settings.

[0054] The exchange between controller 310 and controlled 320, including the sending of control information 325 and subsequent related exchanges between controller 310 and controlled 320 regarding control information, can be conducted out-of-band (OOB) using a different wireless communication technology (e.g., Bluetooth or WiFi), prior to a range determination phase. In other words, a UWB session can be associated with a control phase and a range determination phase, where the control phase (which can occur on an OOB link) comprises a preliminary exchange between controller 310 and controlled 320 of parameter values ​​for the range determination phase, and the subsequent range determination phase comprises the portion of the UWB session in which the devices exchange messages within the UWB band for range determination measurements.(It may be mentioned, however, that some control information may be exchanged within the UWB band (for example, a range determination control phase occurring in the first slot of a UWB stage. Consequently, some aspects of the control phase may be considered as occurring in-band, subsequent to the preliminary OOB exchange between controller 310 and controlled 320.)

[0055] The UWB session may occur later, according to the parameters provided in Petition 870260002955, dated 13 / 01 / 2026, page 40 / 191 32 / 75 control information. In the range determination phase of the UWB session, one ERDEV can assume the role of an initiator 330 and the other ERDEV can assume the role of a responder 340. As indicated in Figure 3A, the initiator 330 can initiate UWB range determination by sending a range determination initiation message 345 to the responder 340, to which the responder 340 can respond with a range determination response message 350, and timing measurements of these messages (by the devices receiving the messages) can be made to perform bidirectional range determination (TWR). Depending on the parameters of the control information 325, additional exchanges can be made in the range determination phase between the initiator 330 and the responder 340 to allow for additional range determination measurements.

[0056] The initiator 330 and responder 340 functions can be indicated in the control information 325. Furthermore, as indicated in Figure 3A, the controller 310 in the control phase can be the initiator 330 in the range determination phase of the UWB session. Alternatively, as indicated in Figure 3B, the controller 310 in the control phase can be the responder 340 in the range determination phase. The determination of which device is the initiator 330 and which is the responder 340 may depend on the parameters established in the control information 325, in which case the controlled 320 becomes correspondingly both the responder 340 and the initiator 330. According to some embodiments, a controller / initiator can conduct range determination with multiple controlled / responders. Petition 870260002955, dated 13 / 01 / 2026, page 41 / 191 33 / 75

[0057] Figure 4 is a 400 timing diagram illustrating how time can be segmented and used within a UWB range determination session at the MAC layer, which can be used for scheduled or contention-free range determination, according to some modalities. Similar to a time-division multiple access (TDMA) scheme, the UWB session defines the timing (again, between two UWB devices) during which range determination can occur. A UWB session can occur over a period of time divided into sub-portions according to a hierarchical structure. This timing comprises one or more consecutive 410 range determination blocks, which can have a configurable duration (e.g., 200 ms). For simplicity, only one 410 range determination block point is shown in Figure 4.However, a UWB session can utilize multiple range determination blocks, which can occur in succession. Each range determination block 410 can be divided into one or more successive steps 420 (e.g., N steps). The number and duration of the steps can be configurable. The steps 420 can further be divided into different slots 430, which can also have a configurable number and duration. Multiple steps can be used for interference handling. As indicated in Figure 4, a given responder can transmit a message within only a single step per range determination block, and the step index can be either statistically configured by the controller or selected by one. Petition 870260002955, dated 13 / 01 / 2026, page 42 / 191 34 / 75 hopping pattern. Multiple UWB sessions can be time-multiplexed to avoid interference with each other.

[0058] Slots within a 420 stage can be allocated for different purposes. For example, the initial slot can be dedicated as the 440 range determination control phase, in which an initiating UWB anchor for the cluster, or Inic-anchor, transmits control information (e.g., a range determination initiation message) to the other UWB anchors in the cluster. This information may include, for example, a slot allocation among the different UWB anchors in the cluster. During the subsequent 450 range determination phase, the different UWB anchors, or responders, can transmit according to the allocated slot. That is, each anchor can receive a corresponding slot in the 450 range determination phase to transmit one or more range determination signals. According to some embodiments, sequential slots can be used to perform SS-TWR or DS-TWR.The 450 range determination phase can be followed by a measurement reporting phase. 60 in which UWB anchors in a cluster can report measurements (e.g., of signals measured during the range determination phase 450).

[0059] Figures 5A and 5B are timing diagrams illustrating how contention-based range determination using a contention access period (CAP) 510 can be implemented, according to some embodiments. The CAP 510 can be preceded by a ranging initiation message (RIM) 520 (e.g., sent by Petition 870260002955, dated 13 / 01 / 2026, page 43 / 191 35 / 75 initiator). Contention-based range determination can be used, for example, when the controller does not know which devices will participate in the UWB session. In such cases, the controller can always assume the role of the initiator, and the controlled devices (e.g., one or more responding devices that will participate in the session) can always assume the role of the responders. To allow multiple controllers / responders to participate in the UWB session, the controller can advertise a CAP 510, which comprises a portion of slots within the range determination step. (The content of the message advertising the CAP 510 may include parameters that can be chosen by the controller / initiator.) Essentially, the CAP 510 indicates slots within the step where a controlled device / responder can communicate to participate in the UWB session.

[0060] Devices receiving the CAP 510 announcement message (e.g., potential controllers / responders) can respond based on, for example, rules implemented by the devices to participate in such range determination sessions. In particular, any controller / responder wishing to participate in the UWB session randomly selects a CAP slot (e.g., which may be designated as slots 1 to M at each stage, as shown in Figure 5A) and transmits a range determination message during the selected slot. Thus, the fewer controller / responder responses and / or the higher the value for M, the lower the probability of collisions occurring.

[0061] According to some modalities, each controller / responder can also transmit after a Petition 870260002955, dated 13 / 01 / 2026, page 44 / 191 36 / 75 Random time offset within a slot. Figure 5B illustrates example offsets for a slot. The allowed values ​​for such a time offset are also contained in the control message. Once the controller has determined the identity of the devices (e.g., using a responder management list (RML)) after a contention-based step, it can reserve some of the slots for devices that were able to send a message in the previous step. The remaining slots in the CAP 510 (up to M) can continue to serve as slots that can be randomly selected by other unknown devices. Thus, for a controlled / responder, access to the UWB session can be random access until the controlled / responder is recognized by the controller / initiator and included in the RML, after which the controlled / responder receives a dedicated slot for communication.

[0062] According to some embodiments, hybrid baseline range determination can be used in UWB, which is essentially a combination of the approaches described in relation to Figure 4 and Figures 5A / 5B. In hybrid baseline range determination, a step may comprise at least one CAP and at least one contention-free period (CFP) (e.g., corresponding to the time-scheduled or contention-free range determination described in Figure 4) to accommodate both known and unknown controls. Again, the controller may broadcast from the reserved CAP slots to allow unknown controlled / responders to respond (e.g., by selecting a random slot in the CAP to send to). Petition 870260002955, dated 13 / 01 / 2026, page 45 / 191 37 / 75 a response message). Furthermore, the controlled elements known to the controller can receive a dedicated slot (e.g., in the configuration parameters broadcast by the controller) within the CFP to respond to. A stage can have multiple CAPs and / or multiple CFPs (also called CAP and CFP phases), depending on the desired functionality. The first slot (slot 0) in each stage can be reserved for in-band control information from the controller / initiator. Additionally, the first slot of each of the CAP and CFP phases can be reserved for control messages that determine the scheduling of slots within the respective phase.

[0063] Downlink Time Difference (DL) TDoA measurements in UWB can be performed according to one or more of the UE techniques described above (e.g., regarding scheduling, contention, etc.) to perform the positioning of a UWB device in a configuration such as the configuration illustrated in Figure 2B. DL-TDoA measurements in UWB can conform to standards established by FiRa™, the standards organization comprising a consortium of several member entities that develop standards for UWB range and positioning determination. In DL-TDoA (DT) positioning, a DL-TDoA anchor (also referred to in the present invention simply as an anchor) can transmit a DL-TDoA message (DTM DL-TDoA message) that can be used by tags (e.g., a mobile device or target device for which positioning or range is to be performed) to perform DL-TDoA-based location.The tag can then measure the... Petition 870260002955, dated 13 / 01 / 2026, p. 46 / 191 38 / 75 reception times of each DTM received from a group of DL-TDoA anchors and use the reception timestamp along with the coordinates obtained from the DL-TDoA anchors to estimate their position. According to some modalities, DTM messages can also be used for synchronization between anchors. A final DTM message may be optional. Note that only DT anchors exchange messages, and tags listen and receive packets passively.

[0064] In this context, a cluster is a set of DT anchors that exchange DTMs with each other to provide a location service for tags. The cluster may consist of one initiator DT anchor (or Inic-anchor) and one or more responder DT anchors (or Resp-anchors). According to some embodiments, a Bluetooth (and / or other wireless) advertiser broadcasts OOB configuration messages and creates a cluster of anchors within the coverage area. To perform DLTDoA placement, the anchors in a cluster may transmit DTMs during different stages of a placement session, following the timing structure of a UWB placement session as described earlier in relation to Figure 4.In each step, the transmission of DTMs may comprise a probing DTM transmitted by the Initial Anchor (e.g., in an initial slot of the respective step), followed by response DTMs transmitted by different Response Anchors during different subsequent slots of the step. Optionally, there may be a final DTM message, again transmitted by the Initial Anchor. Again, using the differential timing in which these messages are. Petition 870260002955, dated 13 / 01 / 2026, page 47 / 191 39 / 75 received by the tag, the tag's location relative to the anchors can be determined.

[0065] Similarly, uplink (UL) TDoA (UL-TDoA) can be performed by UWB devices. In general, the process used for UL-TDoA can be similar to the previously described DL-TDoA process in many respects. However, in contrast to DL-TDoA where the tag can remain passive (without needing to transmit any message), the tag in UL-TDoA can transmit one or more UL messages, which are received by multiple anchors in a cluster. In particular, a tag transmits messages, called intermittent messages, in order to be located by the anchoring infrastructure.

[0066] Figure 6 is a timing diagram 600 of a series of examples of range determination blocks used for UWB UL-TDoA. In an ULTDoA scenario, a UL-TDoA anchor can be a UWB device (e.g., a FiRa device) that listens for intermittent messages from tags and / or synchronization messages from other anchors. The time interval, or range determination interval 610, between two consecutive intermittent messages from a given UL-TDoA tag defines the TDoA position update rate at which the tag can be located and is approximately correlated with the range determination interval 610. In Figure 6, the interval 620 represents a step at which an intermittent message transmission 630 is transmitted. To reduce the probability of collisions, UL-TDoA devices can randomly select a Petition 870260002955, dated 13 / 01 / 2026, p. 48 / 191 A 40 / 75 slot (for example, selecting a random offset of 640, which may be unique for each step of 620) is used to transmit an intermittent message. This is equivalent to all devices transmitting during a CAP.

[0067] UL and DL TDoA positioning techniques can be used in different applications. For example, since DL-TDoA allows the tag to remain passive, it can be useful in applications where a device may not want the network to know its location (for example, as a navigation or positioning application for consumers to use in a retail environment, preserving their privacy). On the other hand, UL-TDoA allows the network to know the location of the tags and can therefore be useful in package tracking and / or other logistics applications.

[0068] Furthermore, UWB UL-TDoA may be limited in the number of UL-TDoA tags it can support because UL-TDoA tags compete on a CAP to transmit intermittent messages. That is, because the slots on a CAP (e.g., as illustrated in Figure 5A) are limited, the greater the number of UL-TDoA tags competing for the slot on the CAP, the greater the likelihood of RF collisions. The embodiments provided in the present invention address these and other issues that arise in UWB UL-TDoA. In particular, the embodiments provide scalability in a hybrid base range determination comprising both CAP and CFP slots, making use of CFP slots for known devices, moving devices from CAP slots to CFP slots once they become known. Additionally, the embodiments can provide grouping and prioritization. Petition 870260002955, dated 13 / 01 / 2026, p. 49 / 191 41 / 75 tag (device side and network side). Furthermore, the modalities are not necessarily limited to UWB, but can additionally or alternatively be implemented in NR. In particular, the modalities provided in the present invention can be extended to out-of-coverage scenarios of 3GPP Rel-18 side link (SL).

[0069] Figure 7 is a timing diagram of a hybrid base range determination step 700, provided to illustrate in detail how the modalities can implement a process to move a UWB tag from a CAP to a CFP. As mentioned earlier, a hybrid base range determination step 700 includes one or more CAP and CFP portions. Specifically, the hybrid base range determination step 700 may comprise a ranging control phase (RCP ranging control phase) 710 (in which a ranging management message (RMM) may be transmitted by the initiator), followed by a ranging phase (RP ranging phase) 720 comprising one or more CAPs and one or more CFPs. (The RP 720 in Figure 7 has two CAPs and two CFPs, but the numbers may vary.)According to the modalities, CAP can be used for unknown tags that potentially send intermittent messages (e.g., as described above in relation to Figures 5A / 5B and / or Figure 6), while CFP (comprising a series of slots with a slot duration of 730 in which transmissions can be made) is used for scheduled transmissions comprising synchronization between anchors for DL-TDoA and / or UL transmissions by known tags for UL-TDoA. Once a... Petition 870260002955, dated 13 / 01 / 2026, p. 50 / 191 If a 42 / 75 tag has correctly transmitted an intermittent message after contention in a CAP during the 700 hybrid base range determination step, it is known to the network and can therefore have a CFP slot assigned to it (e.g., by the initiator / controller), which can help reduce potential collisions and provide better priority to known devices. This movement of tag transmission from CAP to CFP can allow more space in the CAP for transmission by unknown devices.

[0070] To move a tag from a CAP to a CFP, the Anchor Inic can broadcast a 740 polling DTM message on a CFP that includes the slot index and MAC address of the tag in the RML. This can effectively indicate to the tag (and other devices) that the tag is moving from a contention-based process to a CFP slot. Under some embodiments, the decision to move a tag may be based on a threshold, such as the average number of devices in the CAP. Under some embodiments, the Anchor Inic of a cluster may coordinate scheduling for its own cluster (i.e., not centralized across the network), which may apply to the UL-TDoA placement of a tag.

[0071] Depending on the desired functionality, the anchors used for a UL-TDoA session can be selected based on several factors. As noted earlier, each hybrid baseline range determination step can have one or more CFPs and / or one or more CAPs. Furthermore, CAPs can be followed by CFPs, forming a CAP / CFP pair or subset (e.g., CAP / CFP subset 750 in Figure 7). According to some modalities, each Petition 870260002955, dated 13 / 01 / 2026, p. 51 / 191 43 / 75 A CAP / CFP subset can be associated with a subgroup of anchors, where each anchor subgroup can comprise a different combination of anchors within the anchor grouping. Thus, each CAP / CFP subset (i.e., each anchor subgroup) can have different performance capabilities. For example, each subset / subgroup can provide a specific level of quality of service (QoS) in terms of delivery position accuracy (e.g., higher QoS provides higher position accuracy). QoS-related parameter information can be provided in a message sent on the downlink (e.g., by the anchor initiator) along with other UWB session information, such as timing.

[0072] A tag receiving the message can use QoS parameter information to select which CAP / CFP subsets to use. For example, a tag can choose between these subsets based on QoS parameter information, which may include position accuracy, latency, position update rate, power consumption (e.g., sending fewer intermittent messages may allow for reduced power consumption by the tag), interference pattern (e.g., with a potential NR position reference signal (PRS) on the same channel), or a combination thereof.

[0073] Under some modalities, the tag may choose which part of a round to participate in, including whether to participate in a CAP and / or a CFP. If you choose to participate in a CAP, the tag may engage in the contention-based process for CAP as described above. If you choose to participate in a CFP, the tag may Petition 870260002955, dated 13 / 01 / 2026, p. 52 / 191 44 / 75 having a specific slot assigned to it in multiple CFPs (e.g., by an Inic-anchor), and the tag can decide which of the multiple CFPs to participate in. This decision can be indicated by a flashing message that the tag transmits. As an example, a tag might receive QoS information and timing information in a first step for several CAP / CFP subsets in the UWB placement session in which the tag can participate. The tag can select one or more CFPs (e.g., from the several CAP / CFP subsets) to participate in based on this information period. To indicate its selection, the tag can then transmit an intermittent message in the first stage, in one or more CAPs of the first stage corresponding to the selected CFPs. In response, the Anchor Initiate can then assign a slot in each of the one or more selected CFPs in which the tag can transmit future intermittent messages. This assignment can be communicated to the tag in a downlink message (e.g., in the control information) sent by the Anchor Initiate in the second stage. Additionally or alternatively, the tag can indicate its selection to the Anchor Initiate by transmitting an OOB message to the Anchor Initiate indicating the selected CFP.

[0074] The downlink message including the information used by the tag to determine which CAP / CFC to use can be provided in different ways. For example, the anchor tag may transmit a message before the burst / transmission interval (e.g., in an RMM and / or RIM preceding the CAP) along with the corresponding QoS attributes. Depending on the mode, this information may be included: in a Petition 870260002955, dated 13 / 01 / 2026, page 53 / 191 45 / 75 message transmitted during the range determination control (RCP) phase (first slot of the stage), in the probing DTM, in the OOB broadcast setup message, or in a combination thereof. The downlink message information may include timing information (e.g., start times of available CAP phases) and corresponding QoS parameters (e.g., in terms of clock stability and factual situation accuracy of anchor nodes).

[0075] According to some embodiments, the network (e.g., an anchor init) may prioritize tags from which intermittent messages are received for slot assignment in CFPs. For example, there may be insufficient available slots in a CFP to accommodate all the tags from which intermittent messages were received in a corresponding CAP. High-priority tags may be assigned as a slot in the CFP, while low-priority tags may need to continue transmitting in the CAP.

[0076] According to some modalities, priority information can be communicated via OOB message exchange (e.g., from a tag to an anchor Inic). A tag's priority may be based, for example, on whether the tag has a subscription to a premium placement service and / or whether a tag is using placement for a particular priority use case / application. Such high-priority use cases / applications may include, for example, critical services such as medical services or other emergency services.

[0077] In addition, or as an alternative to being prioritized over lower priority tags to Petition 870260002955, dated 13 / 01 / 2026, page 54 / 191 46 / 75 being assigned a slot in a CFP, high-priority tags may receive other advantages from the network. For example, high-priority tags may have more opportunities allocated to compete across the network, such as a shorter range determination interval (e.g., as depicted in Figure 6) that occurs more frequently. According to some embodiments, high-priority tags may be grouped into a single CAP with a larger number of slots (e.g., a longer random burst interval, as depicted in Figure 6), as opposed to low-priority tags (which may be grouped separately but with fewer slots). In other words, high-priority tags may be able to use slots in a CAP that are not available to low-priority tags. [007 8] Figure 8 is a message flow diagram 800 illustrating a process for moving a tag from a CAP to a CFP, according to one embodiment. In this example, the UWB Inic-anchor 810 is the controller of (i) one or more UWB Resp-anchors 820 and (ii) one or more UWB tags (e.g., UWB-enabled mobile devices) 830. As with other figures provided in the present invention, Figure 8 illustrates a non-limiting example and alternative embodiments may vary with respect to the process illustrated by diagram 800 (e.g., rearranging, adding, omitting, or otherwise altering the operations).

[0079] As illustrated by arrow 840, the Anchor Initial 810 can send one or more messages that define one or more thresholds for moving a known tag from a CAP to Petition 870260002955, dated 13 / 01 / 2026, page 55 / 191 47 / 75 a CFP. According to some modalities, different thresholds can be defined by the Anchor Initiator and can be specific to a particular CAP. (Different thresholds can be defined for different CAPs). For example, thresholds can be defined based on: traffic pattern (e.g., communication patterns of the Anchor Response(s) 820, tag(s) 830, other detected wireless communication, or any combination thereof), mobility pattern (e.g., speed and / or direction of movement of the tag(s) 830), number of devices (e.g., in a CAP and / or corresponding CFP in a CAP / CFP subset), etc., or any combination thereof.

[0080] Furthermore, according to some modes, the Anchor Initiator 810 can periodically send one or more messages shown by arrow 840. This can allow a specific Anchor Response to provide bidirectional range determination service to some other device, over the same CAP, if desired. That is, if the Anchor Response is aware of its CAP threshold, it can consequently modify / configure session parameters for its bidirectional range determination session with that device. Overall, the Anchor Response can use this knowledge of the CAP threshold to adjust any other service it provides (independently of the Anchor Initiator).

[0081] The threshold information provided in arrow 840 can help provide useful functionality. For example, in a configuration where a low-mobility tag may be transmitting on the CAP of multiple clusters, the threshold information can reduce the number of CAP slots for other tags across all those UWB clusters. With Petition 870260002955, dated 13 / 01 / 2026, page 56 / 191 48 / 75 based on this, the 810 initialization anchor may decide to move this low-mobility tag to a CFP for some of the groupings. Additionally or alternatively, some devices may transmit during the CAP of each step, while some devices may skip steps to save power. In such configurations, the 810 initialization anchor may move such high-traffic 830 tags to the CFP.

[0082] It may be mentioned that, according to some modalities, the threshold may not be communicated to the Anchor-Resp(s) 820, as indicated by arrow 840. Instead, the Anchor-Initial may define this / these threshold(s) internally.

[0083] If the Initial Anchor 810 detects that a threshold has been exceeded for a given CAP, it may then move tags from the CAP to the corresponding CFP. According to some embodiments, this may involve creating a list of tags to move to the corresponding CFP (as indicated by block 850) and moving one or more tags by notifying the tag(s) 830 and / or Response Anchor(s) 820 in one or more messages, as indicated by arrows 860. As noted above, the change from CAP to CFP may be in accordance with an applicable prioritization. The one or more messages, which may be broadcast to all devices, may include the respective slot indices and MAC addresses of CFP corresponding to the moved tag(s) 830. As noted earlier, these one or more messages may include an: OOB message, control message, DTM probe message, etc., or any combination thereof. According to some embodiments, the creation of the tag list(s) 830 shown in block 850 and / or the sending of one or more messages in arrow 860 may occur during the determination of Petition 870260002955, dated 13 / 01 / 2026, page 57 / 191 49 / 75 hybrid base range, as indicated in block 870. As noted earlier, in such cases, the tag list(s) may be included in a search DTM message sent by the 810 Anchor Initiate in a CFP.

[0084] Figure 9 is a flow diagram of a 900 method for coordinating UWB positioning of a mobile device, according to one embodiment. Aspects of the 900 method may reflect the functionality of a UWB Inic-anchor device, as described in the embodiments above. The means / structure for realizing the functionality illustrated in one or more of the blocks shown in Figure 9 may be implemented by hardware and / or software components of a UWB device. Example components of such a UWB device are illustrated in Figures 11 and 12, which are described in more detail below.

[0085] In block 910, the functionality comprises receiving, on a UWB initiating anchor device, a first intermittent message from a mobile device, wherein the first intermittent message is sent during a CAP slot in a step of a UWB session and the first intermittent message comprises an RF message configured to enable UL-TDoA measurements by one or more responding UWB anchor devices. The UWB session step may be a hybrid baseline range determination, as described in the present invention (e.g., with respect to Figure 7). As such, the CAP may precede a CFP, in some embodiments.

[0086] The means / structure for implementing functionality in block 910 may comprise a bus 1105, one or more processors 1110, a signal processor Petition 870260002955, dated 13 / 01 / 2026, page 58 / 191 50 / 75 digital (DSP - digital signal processor) 1120, a wireless communication interface 1130 (which may include a UWB transceiver 1135), a memory 1160 and / or other components of a mobile UWB device 1100, as illustrated in Figure 11. The means / structure for realizing the functionality in block 910 may additionally or alternatively comprise: a bus 1205, one or more processors 1210, a DSP 1220, a wireless communication interface 1230 (which may include a UWB transceiver 1235), a memory 1260 and / or other components of a stationary UWB device 1200, as illustrated in Figure 12.

[0087] In block 920, the functionality comprises transmitting a control message from the UWB initiating anchor device indicating a reserved slot in a subsequent CFP of the UWB session, the slot reservation being responsive, at least in part, to the receipt of the first intermittent message on the UWB initiating device from the mobile device. As noted above, the CFP may be located in the same step as the CAP, according to some embodiments. In fact, in some embodiments, the CFP may immediately follow the CAP in the UWB session step. In some cases, the CAP and CFP may comprise a CAP / CFP subset (e.g., as illustrated in Figure 7).

[0088] The means / structure for realizing the functionality in block 920 may comprise a bus 1105, one or more processors 1110, a DSP 1120, a wireless communications interface 1130 (which may include a UWB transceiver 1135), a memory 1160 and / or other components of a mobile UWB device 1100, as per Petition 870260002955, dated 13 / 01 / 2026, page 59 / 191 51 / 75 illustrated in Figure 11. The means / structure for realizing the functionality in block 920 may additionally or alternatively comprise: a bus 1205, one or more processors 1210, a DSP 1220, a wireless communication interface 1230 (which may include a UWB transceiver 1235), a memory 1260 and / or other components of a stationary UWB device 1200, as illustrated in Figure 12.

[0089] As observed in the embodiments of the present invention, several additional attributes can be implemented, depending on the desired functionality. For example, according to some embodiments, the control message comprises a probing DTM, or an OOB message, or a combination thereof. In some embodiments, the control message may comprise a slot index of the reserved slot and a MAC address of the mobile device. As described in relation to Figure 7, the slot reservation may additionally be responsive to a determination that a UWB session-related threshold has been reached. In such cases, the threshold may comprise: a threshold average number of devices in the CAP, a threshold related to a mobility pattern, or a threshold related to a traffic pattern, or a combination thereof.In such modalities, the method may additionally or alternatively comprise, before receiving the first intermittent message, sending a message indicating the threshold related to the UWB session from the initiating UWB anchor device to the one or more responding UWB anchor devices participating in the UWB session.

[0090] As noted above, a QoS level can affect how method 900 is implemented. For example, Petition 870260002955, dated 13 / 01 / 2026, p. 60 / 191 52 / 75 In some modes, the CAP may be associated with a QoS level, and the method may additionally include transmitting a message from the UWB initiating anchor device indicating the QoS level. In such modes, the QoS level indication message may comprise an OOB message sent before receiving the first intermittent message or an in-band message sent before the CAP (e.g., in an RMM and / or RIM message). Additionally or alternatively, the QoS level may be based on an achievable position accuracy, latency, position update rate, power consumption, interference pattern, or a combination thereof.

[0091] As noted above, a priority level can affect how method 900 is performed. For example, according to some embodiments, slot reservation may be responsive in addition to a determination of a priority level associated with the mobile device. In such embodiments, the determination of the priority level associated with the mobile device may comprise a determination that the priority level is a high priority, relative to a standard priority. In such cases, the method may in addition comprise assigning the mobile device a subsequent CAP designated for high-priority mobile devices, based at least in part on the determination that the priority level associated with the mobile device is a high priority.Alternatively, the method may include enabling the mobile device to send intermittent messages in subsequent CAPs more frequently than mobile devices that have a default priority. Petition 870260002955, dated 13 / 01 / 2026, p. 61 / 191 53 / 75 based, at least in part, on the determination that the priority level associated with the mobile device is a high priority. [00 92] Figure 10 is a flow diagram of a 1000 method for CFP selection for UWB UL positioning of a mobile device, according to an embodiment. Aspects of the 1000 method may reflect the functionality of a tag or responder device, as described in the embodiments above. The means / structure for realizing the functionality illustrated in one or more of the blocks shown in Figure 10 may be realized by hardware and / or software components of a mobile UWB device. Examples of components of such a UWB device are illustrated in Figure 11, which is described in more detail below.

[0093] In block 1010, the functionality comprises receiving, on the mobile device from a UWB initiating anchor device, a message indicating a respective QoS level of each of a plurality of CFPs in a UWB positioning session. According to some embodiments, the respective QoS level of each respective CFP of the plurality of CFPs may be indicative of: an achievable position accuracy associated with the respective CFP, a latency associated with the respective CFP, a position update rate associated with the respective CFP, a power consumption associated with the respective CFP, an interference pattern associated with the respective CFP, or a combination thereof.

[0094] The means / structure for achieving functionality in block 1010 may comprise a bus Petition 870260002955, dated 13 / 01 / 2026, p. 62 / 191 54 / 75 1105, one or more processors 1110, a DSP 1120, a wireless communications interface 1130 (which may include a UWB transceiver 1135), a memory 1160 and / or other components of a mobile UWB device 1100, as illustrated in Figure 11.

[0095] In block 1020, the functionality comprises selecting, with the mobile device, a CFP in which to participate based, at least in part, on the respective QoS level of the selected CFP. For example, as noted elsewhere in the present invention, a device may choose a subset of CAP / CFP to use based on QoS parameter information such as: position accuracy, latency, position update rate, etc.

[0096] The means / structure for realizing the functionality in block 1020 may comprise a bus 1105, one or more processors 1110, a DSP 1120, a wireless communications interface 1130 (which may include a UWB transceiver 1135), a memory 1160 and / or other components of a mobile UWB device 1100, as illustrated in Figure 11.

[0097] In block 1030, the functionality comprises, responsive to the selection of the CFP in which to participate, (i) transmitting, with the mobile device, a first intermittent message during a slot of a CAP corresponding to the selected CFP, the first intermittent message comprising an RF message configured to enable UL-TDoA measurements by one or more responding anchor UWB devices, or (ii) transmitting, with the mobile device, an out-of-band (OOB) message to the initiating anchor UWB device indicating the selected CFP, or Petition 870260002955, dated 13 / 01 / 2026, page 63 / 191 55 / 75 (iii) both (i) and (ii). In some embodiments, the mobile device transmits the first intermittent message during the CAP slot corresponding to the selected CFP. In such embodiments, the method may additionally comprise, after the transmission of the first intermittent message, receiving a control message from the UWB initiating anchor device indicating a reserved slot of the selected CFP for the mobile device and transmitting a second intermittent message during the reserved slot of the selected CFP. The control message may comprise a probing DTM, an OOB message, or a combination thereof. The control message may comprise a slot index of the reserved slot and a MAC address of the mobile device.

[0098] The means / structure for realizing the functionality in block 1030 may comprise a bus 1105, one or more processors 1110, a DSP 1120, a wireless communications interface 1130 (which may include a UWB transceiver 1135), a memory 1160 and / or other components of a mobile UWB device 1100, as illustrated in Figure 11.

[0099] Figure 11 is a block diagram of an embodiment of a mobile UWB device 1100, which can be used as described in the present invention. For example, the mobile UWB device 1100 can be used as: a UWB device, a mobile device, a tag, a UWB anchor, etc., as described in the present invention. It should be mentioned that Figure 11 is intended only to provide a generalized illustration of various components, any or all of which can be used as appropriate. For example, more basic / simple types of Petition 870260002955, dated 13 / 01 / 2026, p. 64 / 191 56 / 75 UWB devices may omit several components that can be included in more advanced / complex UWB devices. Furthermore, as previously mentioned, the UE functionality discussed in the previously described embodiments can be performed by one or more of the hardware and / or software components illustrated in Figure 11.

[0100] The mobile UWB device 1100 is shown to comprise hardware elements that can be electrically coupled via a bus 1105 (or may otherwise communicate, as appropriate). The hardware elements may include one or more processors 1110, which may include, without limitation: one or more general-purpose processors (e.g., an application processor), one or more special-purpose processors (such as digital signal processor (DSP) chips, graphics acceleration processors, application-specific integrated circuits (ASICs), and / or the like), and / or other processing structures or means. The processors 1110 may comprise one or more processing units, which may be housed in a single integrated circuit (IC) or in multiple ICs.As shown in Figure 11, some models may have a separate DSP 1120, depending on the desired functionality. Location determination and / or other determinations based on wireless communication may be provided in the processor(s) 1110 and / or the wireless communication interface 1130 (as discussed below). The mobile UWB device 1100 may also include one or more. Petition 870260002955, dated 13 / 01 / 2026, page 65 / 191 57 / 75 input devices 1170, which may include, without limitation, one or more keyboards, touch screens, touch pads, microphones, buttons, dials, switches and / or the like; and one or more output devices 1115, which may include, without limitation, one or more displays (e.g., touch screens), light-emitting diodes (LEDs) - light emitting diodes), loudspeakers and / or similar devices.

[0101] The mobile UWB device 1100 may also include a wireless communication interface 1130 which may comprise, without limitation, a modem, a network card, an infrared communication device, a wireless communication device and / or a chipset (such as a device Bluetooth®, an IEEE 802.11 device, an IEEE device 802.15.4, a Wi-Fi device, a WiMAX device, a WAN device and / or multiple cellular devices, etc.) and / or similar devices, which may enable the mobile UWB device 1100 to communicate with other devices, as described in the embodiments above. The wireless communication interface 1130 may allow data and signaling to be communicated (e.g., transmitted and received) with access points, multiple base stations and / or other types of access nodes and / or other network components, computer systems and / or any other electronic devices communicatively coupled with it. Communication may be carried out via one or more wireless communication antennas 1132, which send and / or receive signals via wireless communication 1134. According to some embodiments, the wireless communication antenna(s) 1132 may comprise a plurality of discrete antennas, antenna arrays, or any combination thereof. The one or more antennas 1132 may be Petition 870260002955, dated 13 / 01 / 2026, p. 66 / 191 58 / 75 capable of transmitting and receiving signals via wireless communication using beamforming (e.g., transmit beams, Tx, and receive beams, Rx). Beamforming can be achieved using digital and / or analog beamforming techniques, with the respective set of digital and / or analog circuits. The 1130 wireless communication interface may include such a set of circuits.

[0102] As illustrated, the wireless indication interface 1130 may additionally comprise a UWB transceiver 1135. The UWB transceiver 1135 may be operated to perform the UWB operations described in the present invention. Furthermore, the wireless communications interface 1130 may comprise one or more additional communication technologies with which the OOB functionalities described in the present invention may be realized. According to some embodiments, the UWB transceiver 1135 may be one of a plurality of UWB transceivers of the stationary UWB device 1100. Additionally, the UWB transceiver may be used for functionality in addition to the UWB positioning functionality described in the present invention. Although illustrated as part of the wireless communication interface 1130, the UWB transceiver 1135 may be separated from the wireless communication interface 1130 in some embodiments.

[0103] Depending on the desired functionality, the 1130 wireless communication interface may comprise a separate receiver and transmitter, or any combination of transceivers, transmitters and / or receivers for communication with base stations (e.g., ng-eNBs and gNBs) Petition 870260002955, dated 13 / 01 / 2026, page 67 / 191 59 / 75 and other terrestrial transceivers, such as wireless devices and access points. The 1100 mobile UWB device can communicate with different data networks that may comprise various network types. For example, a wireless wide area network (WWAN) can be a CDMA network, a time-division multiple access network (TDMA), a frequency-division multiple access network (FDMA), an orthogonal frequency division multiple access network (OFDMA), a single-carrier frequency division multiple access network (SC-FDMA), a WiMAX network (IEEE 802.16), etc. A CDMA network can implement one or more RATs such as CDMA2000®, WCDMA, and others. CDMA2000® includes IS-95 standards, IS-2000 and / or IS-856. A TDMA network can implement GSM, second-generation mobile telephony system (D-AMPS - digital advanced mobile phone system), or some other RAT. An OFDMA network can employ LTE, long-term evolution-advanced (LTE-A), 5G NR, etc. 5G NR, LTE, LTE advanced, GSM, and WCDMA networks are described in documents provided by the 3rd generation partnership project (3GPP). CDMA2000 technology is described in documents from the 3rd generation partnership project 2 (3GPP2). The 3GPP and 3GPP2 documents are publicly available. A wireless local area network (WLAN) can also be an IEEE 802.11x network, and a wireless personal area network (WPAN) can be a Bluetooth network, an IEEE 802.15x network, or some other type of network. The techniques described in this document Petition 870260002955, dated 13 / 01 / 2026, page 68 / 191 The 60 / 75 invention can also be used for any combination of WWAN, WLAN and / or WPAN.

[0104] The mobile UWB device 1100 may additionally include sensor(s) 1140. The sensor(s) 1140 may comprise, without limitation, one or more inertial sensors and / or other sensors (e.g., accelerometer(s), gyroscope(s), camera(s), magnetometer(s), altimeter(s), microphone(s), proximity sensor(s), light sensor(s), barometer(s) and the like), some of which may be used to obtain position-related measurements and / or other information.

[0105] The embodiments of the mobile UWB device 1100 may also include a global navigation satellite system (GNSS) receiver 1180 capable of receiving signals 1184 from one or more GNSS satellites using an antenna 1182 (which could be antenna 1132). Positioning based on GNSS signal measurement may be used to complement and / or incorporate the techniques described in the present invention. The GNSS receiver 1180 may extract the position of the mobile UWB device 1100, using conventional techniques, from GNSS satellites of a GNSS system, such as a global positioning system (GPS), Galileo, GLONASS, System of Quasi-Zenith satellite (QZSS - quasi-zenith satellite system) in Japan, IRNSS in India, BeiDou Navigation Satellite System (BDS - BeiDou navigation satellite system) in China and / or similar. In addition, the GNSS 1180 receiver can be used with various storage devices + a solid-state storage device, such as random access memory (RAM) and / or a memory-only device. Petition 870260002955, dated 13 / 01 / 2026, page 69 / 191 61 / 75 read (ROM), which may be programmable, flash-upgradeable and / or similar. Such storage devices may be configured to implement any suitable data storage, including, without limitation, various file systems, database structures and / or similar.

[0106] The memory 1160 of the mobile UWB device 1100 may also comprise software elements (not shown in Figure 11), including an operating system, device drivers, executable libraries and / or other code, such as one or more application programs, which may comprise computer programs provided in various embodiments and / or may be designed to implement methods and / or configure systems provided in other embodiments, as described in the present invention. By way of example only, one or more procedures described in relation to the method(s) discussed above may be implemented as code and / or instructions in memory 1160 that are executable by the mobile UWB device 1100 (and / or processor(s) 1110 or DSP 1120 within the mobile UWB device 1100).In some embodiments, then, such code and / or instructions may be used to configure and / or adapt a general-purpose computer (or other device) to perform one or more operations in accordance with the methods described.

[0107] Figure 12 is a block diagram of an embodiment of a stationary UWB device 1200, which can be used as described above in the present invention (e.g., as a UWB device, UWB anchor, etc.). It should be mentioned that Figure 12 is intended Petition 870260002955, dated 13 / 01 / 2026, p. 70 / 191 62 / 75 is only to provide a generalized illustration of various components, any or all of which may be used as appropriate. In some embodiments, the UWB 1200 anchor may correspond to a UWB anchor with a known location, which may be used to determine the location of other UWB devices, including mobile UWB devices. According to some embodiments, the stationary UWB 1200 device may be permanently stationary or temporarily stationary.

[0108] The stationary UWB device 1200 is shown comprising hardware elements that can be electrically coupled via a bus 1205 (or may otherwise be in communication, as appropriate). The hardware elements may include one or more processors 1210, which may include, without limitation, one or more general-purpose processors, one or more special-purpose processors (such as DSP chips, hardware acceleration processors, ASICs and / or the like), and / or other processing structures or means. As shown in Figure 12, some embodiments may have a DSP. 1220 separate, depending on the desired functionality. Location determination and / or other determinations based on wireless communication may be provided in processor(s) 1210 and / or wireless communication interface 1230 (as discussed below). The stationary UWB device 1200 may also include one or more input devices, which may include, without limitation, a keyboard, display, mouse, microphone, button(s), dial(s), switch(es) and / or the like; and one or more output devices, Petition 870260002955, dated 13 / 01 / 2026, page 71 / 191 63 / 75 which may include, without limitation, a display, light-emitting diodes (LEDs), speakers and / or similar items.

[0109] The stationary UWB device 1200 may also include a wireless communication interface 1230 which may comprise, without limitation, a modem, a network card, an infrared communication device, a wireless communication device and / or a chipset (such as a Bluetooth® device, an IEEE 802.11 device, an IEEE 802.15.4 device, a Wi-Fi device, a WiMAX device, cellular communication apparatus, etc.), and / or the like, which may enable the stationary UWB device 1200 to communicate as described in the present invention. The wireless communication interface 1230 may allow data and signaling to be communicated (e.g., transmitted and received) by UEs, other base stations / TRPs (e.g., eNBs, gNBs and ng-eNBs) and / or other network components, computer systems and / or any other electronic devices described in the present invention.Communication can be carried out via one or more 1232 wireless communication antennas, which send and / or receive signals via 1234 wireless communication.

[0110] As illustrated, the 1230 wireless indication interface may additionally comprise a 1235 UWB transceiver. The 1235 UWB transceiver may be operated to perform the UWB operations described in the present invention. Furthermore, the 1230 wireless communications interface may comprise one or more additional communication technologies with which the OOB functionalities described in the present invention may be realized. According to some embodiments, the 1235 UWB transceiver Petition 870260002955, dated 13 / 01 / 2026, page 72 / 191 64 / 75 can be one of a plurality of UWB transceivers of the stationary UWB device 1200. Furthermore, the UWB transceiver can be used for functionality in addition to the UWB positioning functionality described in the present invention. Although illustrated as part of the wireless communication interface 1230, the UWB transceiver 1235 can be separated from the wireless communication interface 1230 in some embodiments.

[0111] The stationary UWB device 1200 may also include a network interface 1280, which may include support for wired communication technologies. The network interface 1280 may include a modem, a network card, a chipset, and / or the like. The network interface 1280 may include one or more input and / or output communication interfaces to allow data to be exchanged with a network, network communication servers, computer systems, and / or any other electronic devices described in the present invention. In some embodiments, the device of The stationary UWB 1200 can be communicatively coupled to one or more servers and / or other stationary UWB devices via the 1280 network interface.

[0112] In many embodiments, the stationary UWB device 1200 may additionally comprise a memory 1260. The memory 1260 may include, without limitation, local and / or network-accessible storage, a disk drive, a hard disk array, an optical storage device, a solid-state storage device such as RAM and / or ROM, which may be programmable, flash-upgradeable and / or similar. Such storage devices may be configured to Petition 870260002955, dated 13 / 01 / 2026, page 73 / 191 65 / 75 implement any suitable data storage, including, without limitation, various file systems, database structures and / or the like.

[0113] The memory 1260 of the stationary UWB device 1200 may also comprise software elements (not shown in Figure 12), including an operating system, device drivers, executable libraries and / or other code, such as one or more application programs, which may comprise computer programs provided in various embodiments and / or may be designed to implement methods and / or configure systems provided in other embodiments, as described in the present invention. By way of example only, one or more procedures described in relation to the method(s) discussed above may be implemented as code and / or instructions in memory 1260 that are executable by the stationary UWB device 1200 (and / or processor(s) 1210 or DSP 1220 within the stationary UWB device 1200).In some embodiments, then, such code and / or instructions may be used to configure and / or adapt a general-purpose computer (or other device) to perform one or more operations in accordance with the methods described.

[0114] The methods, systems, and devices discussed in the present invention are examples. Various embodiments may omit, replace, or add various procedures or components as appropriate. For example, the attributes described in relation to certain embodiments may be combined in various other embodiments. Different aspects and elements of the embodiments Petition 870260002955, dated 13 / 01 / 2026, p. 74 / 191 66 / 75 can be combined in a similar manner. The various components of the figures provided in the present invention can be incorporated into hardware and / or software. Furthermore, technology evolves and therefore many of the elements are examples that do not limit the scope of the disclosure to the specific examples.

[0115] Sometimes, referring to such signals as bits, information, values, elements, symbols, characters, variables, terms, numbers, numerals, or the like has proven convenient, mainly for reasons of common usage. It should be understood, however, that all these terms or similar terms must be associated with appropriate physical quantities and that they are merely convenient identifiers. Unless specifically stated otherwise, as is evident from the discussion above, it will be recognized that throughout the discussion of this descriptive report terms such as process, compute, calculate, determine, ascertain, identify, associate, measure, perform, or the like, refer to actions or processes of a specific apparatus, such as a special-purpose computer or a similar special-purpose electronic computing device.In the context of this descriptive report, therefore, a special-purpose computer or a similar special-purpose electronic computing device is capable of manipulating or transforming signals, typically represented as electronic, electrical, or magnetic physical quantities within memories, registers, or other information storage devices, transmission devices, or display devices of the special-purpose computer. Petition 870260002955, dated 13 / 01 / 2026, page 75 / 191 67 / 75 or similar special-purpose electronic computing device.

[0116] The terms "and" or, as used in the present invention, may include a variety of meanings which shall also depend, at least in part, on the context in which such terms are used. Typically, "or" if used to associate a list, such as A, B, or C, is intended to mean A, B, and C, used herein in an inclusive sense, as well as A, B, or C, used herein in an exclusive sense. Furthermore, the term "one or more," as used in the present invention, may be used to describe any attribute, structure, or feature in the singular or may be used to describe some combination of attributes, structures, or features. However, it should be noted that this is merely an illustrative example and the claimed matter is not limited to this example. Additionally, the term "at least one of" if used to associate a list, such as A, B, or C, may be interpreted as meaning any combination of A, B, and / or C, such as A, AB, AA, AAB, AABBCCC, etc.

[0117] Although several modalities have been described, various modifications, alternative constructions, and equivalents may be used without departing from the scope of the description. For example, the above elements may be merely a component of a larger system, with other rules taking precedence or otherwise modifying the application of the various modalities. Furthermore, various steps may be performed before, during, or after the above elements are considered. Consequently, the above description does not limit the scope of the disclosure. Petition 870260002955, dated 13 / 01 / 2026, page 76 / 191 68 / 75

[0118] In view of this description, the modalities may include different combinations of attributes. Implementation examples are described in the following numbered clauses: Clause 1.A method for coordinating the ultra-wideband (UWB) placement of a mobile device, wherein the method comprises: receiving, on a UWB initiating anchor device, a first intermittent message from a mobile device, wherein: the first intermittent message is sent during a slot of a contention access period (CAP) in a round of a UWB session and the first intermittent message comprises a radio frequency (RF) message configured to enable uplink time-of-arrival (UL-TDoA) measurements by one or more responding UWB anchor devices; and transmitting a control message from the UWB initiating anchor device indicating a reserved slot in a subsequent contention-free period (CFP) of the UWB session, wherein the slot reservation is responsive, at least in part, to the receipt of the first intermittent message on the UWB initiating anchor device from the mobile device. Clause 2. The method of clause 1, with the CFP immediately following the CAP in the UWB session step. Clause 3. The method of either clause 1 or 2, wherein the control message comprises: a downlink probe time difference arrival (DL-TDoA) (DTM) message, an out-of-band (OOB) message, or a combination thereof. Petition 870260002955, dated 13 / 01 / 2026, p. 77 / 191 69 / 75 Clause 4. The method of any of clauses 1 to 3, the control message comprising a slot index of the reserved slot and a media access control (MAC) address of the mobile device. Clause 5. The method of any of clauses 1 to 4, provided that the slot reservation is additionally responsive to a determination that a UWB session-related limit has been reached. Clause 6. The method of clause 5, wherein the threshold comprises: an average threshold number of devices in the CAP, a threshold related to: a mobility pattern or a threshold related to the traffic pattern or a combination thereof. Clause 7. The method of any of clauses 5 to 6 which additionally comprises, before receiving the first intermittent message, sending a message indicating the threshold related to the UWB session from the initiating UWB anchor device to the one or more responding UWB anchor devices participating in the UWB session. Clause 8. The method of any of clauses 1 to 7, where CAP is associated with a Quality of Service (QoS) level and the method additionally comprises transmitting a message from the UWB initiating anchor device indicating the QoS level. Clause 9. The method of clause 8, with the QoS level indication message comprising an OOB message sent before receiving the first blinking message, or an in-band message sent before CAP. Petition 870260002955, dated 13 / 01 / 2026, p. 78 / 191 70 / 75 Clause 10. The method of any of clauses 8 to 9, wherein the QoS level is based on: an achievable position accuracy, a latency, a position update rate, a power consumption, an interference pattern, or a combination thereof. Clause 11. The method of any of clauses 1 to 10, wherein the slot reservation is additionally responsive to a determination of a priority level associated with the mobile device. Clause 12. The method of clause 11, wherein the determination of the priority level associated with the mobile device comprises a determination that the priority level is a high priority, relative to a standard priority. Clause 13. The method in clause 12 further comprises assigning to the mobile device a subsequent CAP designated for high-priority mobile devices, based at least in part on the determination that the priority level associated with the mobile device is a high priority. Clause 14. The method of any of clauses 12 to 13 which further comprises enabling the mobile device to send intermittent messages in subsequent CAPs more frequently than mobile devices that have a standard priority, based at least in part on the determination that the priority level associated with the mobile device is a high priority. Clause 15. A contention-free period (CFP) selection method for ultra-wideband (UWB) placement with uplink arrival time difference. Petition 870260002955, dated 13 / 01 / 2026, p. 79 / 191 71 / 75 (UL-TDoA) from a mobile device, wherein the method comprises: receiving, on the mobile device from a UWB initiating anchor device, a message indicating a respective QoS level of each of a plurality of CFPs in a UWB placement session; selecting, with the mobile device, a CFP in which to participate based, at least in part, on the respective QoS level of the selected CFP; and, in response to the selection of the CFP in which to participate: transmitting, with the mobile device, a first intermittent message during a slot of a contention access period (CAP) corresponding to the selected CFP, wherein the first intermittent message comprises a radio frequency (RF) message configured to enable UL-TDoA measurements by one or more responding UWB anchor devices, transmitting, with the mobile device, an out-of-band (OOB) message to the UWB initiating anchor device indicating the selected CFP, or both. Clause 16. The method of clause 15, wherein the mobile device transmits the first intermittent message during the CAP slot corresponding to the selected CFP, wherein the method further comprises: after the transmission of the first intermittent message: receiving a control message from the UWB initiating anchor device indicating a reserved slot of the selected CFP for the mobile device; and transmitting a second intermittent message during the reserved slot of the selected CFP. Clause 17. The method of clause 16, wherein the control message comprises: a difference message. Petition 870260002955, dated 13 / 01 / 2026, pp. 80 / 191 72 / 75 downlink probe arrival time (DLTDoA) (DTM), an OOB message or a combination thereof. Clause 18. The method of any of clauses 16 to 17, wherein the control message comprises a slot index of the reserved slot and a medium access control (MAC) address of the mobile device. Clause 19. The method of any of clauses 15-18, wherein the respective QoS level of each respective CFP of the plurality of CFPs is indicative of: an achievable position accuracy associated with the respective CFP, a latency associated with the respective CFP, a position update rate associated with the respective CFP, a power consumption associated with the respective CFP, an interference pattern associated with the respective CFP, or a combination thereof. Clause 20. An ultra-wideband (UWB) initiating anchor device for coordinating the ultra-wideband (UWB) placement of a mobile device, the UWB initiating anchor device comprising: a transceiver; a memory; and one or more processors communicatively coupled with the transceiver and the memory, wherein the one or more processors are configured to: receive, via the transceiver, a first intermittent message from a mobile device, wherein: the first intermittent message is sent during a slot of a contention access period (CAP) in a step of a UWB session, and the first intermittent message comprises a radio frequency (RF) message configured to enable uplink time-of-arrival (UL-TDoA) measurements by one or more UWB devices. Petition 870260002955, dated 13 / 01 / 2026, p. 81 / 191 73 / 75 responding anchors; and transmit a control message via the transceiver indicating a reserved slot in a subsequent contention-free period (CFP) of the UWB session, wherein the slot reservation is responsive, at least in part, to the receipt of the first intermittent message on the UWB initiating anchor device from the mobile device. Clause 21. The UWB initiating anchor device of clause 20, wherein the slot reservation is additionally responsive to a determination that a threshold related to the UWB session has been reached. Clause 22. The UWB initiating anchor device of clause 21, wherein the threshold comprises: an average threshold number of devices in the CAP, a threshold related to a mobility pattern or a threshold related to a traffic pattern or a combination thereof. Clause 23. The UWB initiating anchor device of any of clauses 21 to 22, with one or more processors additionally configured to, before receiving the first intermittent message, send a message indicating the threshold related to the UWB session via the transceiver to the one or more responding anchor UWB devices participating in the UWB session. Clause 24. The UWB initiating anchor device of any of clauses 20 to 23, wherein the CAP is associated with a quality of service (QoS) level and the method additionally comprises transmitting a message, via the transceiver, indicating the QoS level. Petition 870260002955, dated 13 / 01 / 2026, p. 82 / 191 74 / 75 Clause 25. The UWB initiating anchor device of clause 24, the QoS level indication message comprising an OOB message sent before receiving the first flashing message or an in-band message sent before CAP. Clause 26. The UWB initiating anchor device of any of clauses 20 to 25, and the slot reservation is additionally responsive to a determination of a priority level associated with the mobile device. Clause 27. Mobile device for contention-free period (CFP) selection for ultra-wideband (UWB) uplink time-of-arrival (UL-TDoA) placement from a mobile device, the mobile device comprising: a transceiver; a memory; and one or more processors communicatively coupled to the transceiver and the memory, wherein the one or more processors are configured to: receive, via the transceiver from a UWB initiating anchor device, a message indicating a respective QoS level from each of a plurality of CFPs in a UWB placement session; select a CFP in which to participate based, at least in part, on the respective QoS level of the selected CFP;and, in response to the selection of the CFP to participate in: transmit, on the transceiver, a first intermittent message during a slot of a contention access period (CAP) corresponding to the selected CFP, wherein the first intermittent message comprises a radio frequency (RF) message configured to enable UL-TDoA measurements by one or more UWB anchor responder devices, transmit, via the transceiver, a; Petition 870260002955, dated 13 / 01 / 2026, p. 83 / 191 75 / 75 out-of-band (OOB) message to the selected CFP indicative UWB initiating anchor device, or both. Clause 28. The mobile device of clause 27, wherein one or more processors are additionally configured to, upon transmitting the first intermittent message during the CAP slot corresponding to the selected CFP: subsequent to the transmission of the first intermittent message, receive a control message from the UWB initiating anchor device indicating a reserved slot of the selected CFP for the mobile device; and transmit a second intermittent message during the reserved slot of the selected CFP. Clause 29. The mobile device of clause 28, wherein the control message comprises: a downlink probe time difference of arrival (DLTDoA) (DTM), an OOB message or a combination thereof. Clause 30. The mobile device of any of clauses 28 to 29, wherein the control message comprises a slot index of the reserved slot and a medium access control (MAC) address of the mobile device. Clause 31. An apparatus that has the means to perform the method of any of clauses 1 to 19. Clause 32. A non-transient, computer-readable medium that stores instructions, wherein the instructions comprise code for carrying out the method of any of clauses 1 to 19. Petition 870260002955, dated 13 / 01 / 2026, page 84 / 191

Claims

1 / 5 CLAIMS 1. A method for selecting a contention-free period, CFP, for ultra-wideband, UWB, uplink time-of-arrival, UL-TDoA, placement from a mobile device, the method being characterized in that it comprises: receiving, on the mobile device from a UWB initiating anchor device, a message indicating a respective QoS level for each of a plurality of CFPs in a UWB placement session; selecting, with the mobile device, a CFP in which to participate based, at least in part, on the respective QoS level of the selected CFP;and in response to the selection of the CFP to participate in: transmit, with the mobile device, a first intermittent message during a slot of a contention access period, CAP, corresponding to the selected CFP, wherein the first intermittent message comprises a radio frequency, RF, message configured to enable UL-TDoA measurements by one or more responding UWB anchor devices; transmit, with the mobile device, an out-of-band, OOB, message to the UWB initiating anchor device indicative of the selected CFP, or both.

2. Method, according to claim 1, characterized in that the mobile device transmits the first intermittent message during the CAP slot corresponding to the selected CFP, the method further comprising: Petition 870260002955, dated 13 / 01 / 2026, pp. 161 / 191 2 / 5 after the transmission of the first intermittent message, receiving a control message from the UWB initiating anchor device indicating a reserved slot of the selected CFP for the mobile device; and transmitting a second intermittent message during the reserved slot of the selected CFP.

3. A method according to claim 2, characterized in that the control message comprises: a downlink time difference arrival (DL-TDoA) message, a polling (DTM) message; an OOB message, or a combination thereof.

4. Method according to claim 2, characterized in that the control message comprises a slot index of the reserved slot and a medium access control address, MAC, of ​​the mobile device.

5. Method according to claim 1, characterized in that the respective QoS level of each respective CFP among the plurality of CFPs is indicative of: an achievable position accuracy associated with the respective CFP, a latency associated with the respective CFP, a position update rate associated with the respective CFP, a power consumption associated with the respective CFP, an interference pattern associated with the respective CFP, or a combination thereof. Petition 870260002955, dated 13 / 01 / 2026, pp. 162 / 191 3 / 5 6. Mobile device for selecting contention-free period, CFP, for ultra-wideband, UWB, uplink time-of-arrival difference, UL-TDoA, placement of a mobile device, the mobile device being characterized in that it comprises: a transceiver; a memory; and one or more processors communicatively coupled to the transceiver and the memory, wherein the one or more processors are configured to: receive, through the transceiver from a UWB initiating anchor device, a message indicating a respective QoS level from each of a plurality of CFPs in a UWB placement session; select a CFP in which to participate based, at least in part, on the respective QoS level of the selected CFP;and in response to the selection of the CFP in which to participate: transmit, on the transceiver, a first intermittent message during a slot of a contention access period, CAP, corresponding to the selected CFP, wherein the first intermittent message comprises a radio frequency, RF, message configured to enable UL-TDoA measurements by one or more responding UWB anchor devices, transmit, via the transceiver, an out-of-band, OOB, message to the UWB initiating anchor device indicative of the selected CFP, or Petition 870260002955, dated 13 / 01 / 2026, p. 163 / 191 4 / 5 both.; 7. Mobile device, according to claim 6, characterized in that one or more processors are additionally configured to, when transmitting the first intermittent message during the CAP slot corresponding to the selected CFP: receive, after the transmission of the first intermittent message, a control message from the UWB initiating anchor device indicating a reserved slot of the selected CFP for the mobile device; and transmit a second intermittent message during the reserved slot of the selected CFP.

8. Mobile device, according to claim 7, characterized in that the control message comprises: a downlink time difference arrival (DL-TDoA) polling message; an OOB message, or a combination thereof.

9. Mobile device, according to claim 7, characterized in that the control message comprises a slot index of the reserved slot and a medium access control address, MAC, of ​​the mobile device.

10. Mobile device, according to claim 6, characterized in that the respective QoS level of each respective CFP among the plurality of CFPs is indicative of: an achievable position accuracy associated with the respective CFP, Petition 870260002955, dated 13 / 01 / 2026, page 164 / 191 5 / 5 a latency associated with the respective CFP, a position update rate associated with the respective CFP, a power consumption associated with the respective CFP, an interference pattern associated with the respective CFP, or a combination thereof.

11. Computer-readable memory characterized in that it comprises instructions stored therein which, when executed, cause a computer to perform the method as defined in any one of claims 1 to 5. Petition 870260002955, dated 13 / 01 / 2026, pp. 165 / 191

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