Device and method for improving horizontal and vertical positioning accuracy

Abstract

The present disclosure generally describes a UE, an enhanced NodeB (eNB), and a method that improves positioning accuracy and enables vertical domain positioning of a user equipment (UE). The UE may receive a prsInfo control signal including at least one PRS configuration and a subsequent plurality of reference signals (RS). The RS may include a first PRS pattern in a first group of positioning reference signal (PRS) subframes and a second PRS pattern in a second group of PRS subframes, wherein the second group of PRS subframes is received before the following first group of PRS subframes. The RS may include a vertical positioning RS and a horizontal positioning RS. The UE may measure PRS resource elements (REs) in the first and second PRS patterns, each PRS resource element including a PRS. The UE may send measurement results of the PRSs in the first and second PRS patterns. The PRS pattern may allow determination of horizontal and vertical positioning.

Description

[0001] This application is a divisional application of the invention patent application with the application date of November 24, 2015, application number 201580069485.2, and invention name "Apparatus and method for improving horizontal and vertical positioning accuracy".

[0002] Priority claim

[0003] This application claims priority to U.S. Provisional Patent Application No. 62 / 107,665, filed on January 26, 2015, entitled “RAN1 / RAN2: METHOD TO IMPROVE THE POSITIONING ACCURACY IN HORIZONTAL AND VERTICAL DOMAIN,” which is hereby incorporated by reference in its entirety. Technical Field

[0004] Embodiments relate to radio access networks. Some embodiments relate to determining position in cellular networks, including 3rd Generation Partnership Project Long Term Evolution (3GPP LTE) networks and LTE-Advanced (LTE-A) networks, as well as 4th Generation (4G) networks and 5th Generation (5G) networks. Background Art

[0005] Over the past two decades, the use of personal communication devices has shown tremendous growth. The penetration of mobile devices (user equipment or UE) in modern society continues to drive the demand for a wide variety of networked devices in many different environments. In all aspects of home and work life, the use of networked UEs using 3GPP systems has increased. The increasing number of mobile services involves accurately determining the location of the UE. One of the most common positioning methods is through the use of the Global Positioning System (GPS) or the Global Navigation Satellite System (GNSS). In addition to providing positioning for commercial and personal applications, as part of emergency call processing (E911 service), GPS / GNSS-enabled UEs may also be used by emergency services to obtain information about the location of the UE. Although location determination for E911 services is performed by the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) order, in many cases, location determination based on satellite (GPS / GNSS) signals does not work. Specifically, GPS or GNSS is unavailable in certain areas due to the obstruction of satellite signals, such as inside buildings or other areas where UEs cannot detect signals from a sufficient number of satellites. This problem is only likely to intensify as FCC guidelines become more stringent, with the FCC currently requiring location accuracy of 50m for 67% of outdoor E911 communications and 150m for 80% (rising to 90% by 2020) of calls. Furthermore, the FCC is proposing to extend E911 location determination to indoor locations and also require vertical location information within 3 meters of the caller for 67% (rising to 80% by 2020) of indoor E911 communications.

[0006] The latest version (Release 13) of the 3GPP standard for Long Term Evolution (LTE) networks contains updated requirements for position determination that are difficult to achieve given the current positioning capabilities of the networks.Therefore, there is a need to improve positioning accuracy and allow vertical domain positioning of UEs. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0007] In the accompanying drawings, like reference numerals may describe similar components in different views, where the drawings are not necessarily drawn to scale. Like reference numerals with different letter suffixes may represent different instances of similar components. Figure 1 The various embodiments discussed in this document are illustrated generally by way of example and not by way of limitation.

[0008] Figure 1 is a functional diagram of a 3GPP network according to some embodiments.

[0009] Figure 2 Components of a UE according to some embodiments are shown.

[0010] Figure 3A-D shows a downlink channel resource block containing a PRS according to some embodiments.

[0011] Figure 4 ASN.1 code for configuring multiple PRS configurations according to some embodiments is shown.

[0012] Figure 5 UE position determination in the horizontal and vertical domains according to some embodiments is shown.

[0013] Figure 6 Vertical UE position determination using multiple reference signal configurations according to some embodiments is shown.

[0014] Figure 7 A flow chart for determining a UE location according to some embodiments is shown.

[0015] Figure 8 is a block diagram of a communication device according to some embodiments.

[0016] Fig. 9 A block diagram of an example machine is shown in accordance with some embodiments. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0017] The following description and accompanying drawings fully illustrate specific embodiments to enable those skilled in the art to implement these embodiments. Other embodiments may include structural changes, logical changes, electrical related changes, process changes and other changes. The components and features of some embodiments may be included in the components and features of other embodiments or replace the components and features of other embodiments. The embodiments given in the claims include all available equivalents of those claims.

[0018] Figure 1 An example of a portion of an end-to-end network architecture of a Long Term Evolution (LTE) network with various components of a network according to some embodiments is shown. As used herein, LTE and LTE-A networks and devices (including 3G, 4G and 5G networks and devices) are referred to only as LTE networks and devices. Network 100 may include a radio access network (RAN) (e.g., E-UTRAN or Evolved Universal Terrestrial Radio Access Network as shown) 101 and a core network 120 (e.g., shown as an evolved packet core (EPC)) coupled together by an S1 interface 115. For convenience and brevity, only a portion of the core network 120 and RAN 101 are shown in the example.

[0019] The core network 120 may include a mobility management entity (MME) 122, a serving gateway (serving GW) 124, and a packet data network gateway (PDN GW) 126. The RAN includes an enhanced Node B (eNB) 104 (which may operate as a base station) for communicating with a user equipment (UE) 102. The eNB 104 may include a macro eNB and a low power (LP) eNB. The eNB 104 and the UE 102 may utilize positioning reference signals (PRS) as described herein to achieve position determination.

[0020] The MME 122 may be similar in functionality to the control plane of a legacy service GPRS support node (SGSN). The MME may manage mobility aspects of access, such as gateway selection and tracking area list management. The service GW 124 may terminate the interface toward the RAN 101 and route data packets between the RAN 101 and the core network 120. In addition, the service GW 124 may be a local mobility anchor for handover between eNBs and may also provide anchoring for inter-3GPP mobility. Other responsibilities may include legal interception, charging, and some policy enforcement. The service GW 124 and the MME 122 may be implemented in one physical node or in separate physical nodes. The PDN GW 126 may terminate the SGi interface toward the packet data network (PDN). The PDN GW 126 may route data packets between the EPC 120 and external PDNs and may be a key node for policy enforcement and charging data collection. The PDN GW 126 may also provide an anchor for mobility utilizing non-LTE access. The external PDN may be any type of IP network, as well as an IP Multimedia Subsystem (IMS) domain.PDN GW 126 and Serving Gateway 124 may be implemented in one physical node or in separate physical nodes.

[0021] The PDN GW 126 and the MME 122 may also be connected to a location server 130. The UE and the eNB may communicate with the location server 130 via a user plane (U-Plane) and / or a control plane (C-Plane), respectively. The location server 130 may be a physical or logical entity that collects measurement data and other location information from the UE 102 and the eNB 104 and helps the UE 102 estimate the location of the UE 102, providing for network-based location calculations, as will be noted in more detail below. Specifically, the UE 102 may be connected to the eNB 104. The eNB 104 may be connected to the MME 122 via a control plane, which in turn may be connected to an evolved serving mobile location center (E-SMLC) 134 of the location server 130. The eNB 104 may also be connected to a secure user plane (SUPL) location platform (SLP) 132 of the location server 130 via a user plane through the PDN GW 126. SLP 132 of location server 130 may provide information to UE 102 via PDN GW 126 .

[0022] The eNB 104 (macro eNB and micro eNB) may terminate the air interface protocol and may be the first point of contact for the UE 102. In some embodiments, the eNB 104 may implement various logical functions for the RAN 101, including but not limited to RNC (radio network controller functions), such as radio bearer management, uplink and downlink dynamic radio resource management and data packet scheduling, and mobility management. According to an embodiment, the UE 102 may be configured to transmit orthogonal frequency division multiplexing (OFDM) communication signals with the eNB 104 on a multi-carrier communication channel according to OFDMA communication technology. The OFDM signal may include multiple orthogonal subcarriers. Each eNB 104 may send a reconfiguration message to each UE 102 connected to the eNB 104. The reconfiguration message may include reconfiguration information, which includes one or more parameters indicating specific information about reconfiguring the UE 102 in a mobility scenario (e.g., handover) to reduce the delay involved in the handover. These parameters may include physical layer and layer 2 reconfiguration indicators, as well as security key update indicators. These parameters can be used to instruct UE 102 to avoid or skip one or more of the indicated processes to reduce message transmission between UE 102 and the network. The network can automatically route packet data between UE 102 and the new eNB 104 and can provide required information between the eNBs 104 involved in the move. However, the present application is not limited thereto, and additional embodiments will be described in more detail below.

[0023] The S1 interface 115 is an interface that separates the RAN 101 from the EPC 120. The S1 interface 115 may be divided into two parts: SI-U that carries traffic data between the eNB 104 and the serving GW 124, and S1-MME that is a signaling interface between the eNB 104 and the MME 122. The X2 interface is an interface between the eNBs 104. The X2 interface may include two parts: X2-C and X2-U. X2-C may be a control plane interface between the eNBs 104, and X2-U may be a user plane interface between the eNBs 104.

[0024] With a cellular network, LP cells can be used to extend coverage to indoor areas where outdoor signals cannot reach well, or to increase network capacity in areas where phone use is very dense (e.g., train stations). As used herein, the term low power (LP) eNB may refer to any suitable lower power eNB for implementing a narrower cell (narrower than a macro cell), such as a femtocell, a picocell, or a microcell. A femtocell eNB may be typically provided by a mobile network operator to its residential or enterprise users. A femtocell may typically have the size of a residential gateway or smaller, and is generally connected to a user's broadband line. Once plugged in, the femtocell can be connected to the mobile operator's mobile network and provide additional coverage for residential femtocells, typically with a range of 30 to 50 meters. Thus, an LP eNB may be a femto eNB because it is coupled through a PDN GW 126. Similarly, a picocell may be a wireless communication system that typically covers a small area, such as within a building (office, shopping mall, train station, etc.) or within an air vehicle that has recently appeared. A pico cell eNB can generally be connected to another eNB (e.g., a macro eNB) via an X2 link through its base station controller (BSC) functionality. Thus, an LP eNB can be implemented with a pico cell eNB because it is coupled to a macro eNB via an X2 interface. A pico cell eNB or other LP eNB can include some or all of the functionality of a macro eNB. In some cases, this can be referred to as an access point base station or an enterprise femto cell.

[0025] There may be other wireless communication devices in the same geographic area as the RAN 101. Figure 1As shown in FIG, the WLAN device includes one or more access points (APs) 103 and one or more stations (STAs) 105 communicating with the APs 103. The WLAN device may communicate using one or more IEEE 802.11 protocols such as IEEE 802.11a / b / n / ac protocols. Since the power of the WLAN devices 103 and 105 may be very limited, the WLAN devices 103 and 105 may be geographically localized compared to the eNB 104.

[0026] Communications on the LTE network can be divided into 10ms frames, each containing ten 1ms subframes. Each subframe can contain two 0.5ms time slots. Depending on the system used, each time slot can contain 6-7 symbols. Resource blocks (RBs) (also known as physical resource blocks (PRBs)) can be the smallest resource unit that can be allocated to UE 102. Resource blocks can be 180kHz wide in frequency and 1 time slot long in time. In frequency, resource blocks can be as wide as 12×15kHz subcarriers or 24×7.5kHz subcarriers. For most channels and signals, 12 subcarriers can be used for each resource block. In frequency division duplex (FDD) mode, uplink and downlink frames can be 10ms and can be separated in frequency (full duplex) or time (half duplex). In time division duplex (TDD) structure, uplink and downlink subframes can be transmitted on the same frequency and can be multiplexed in the time domain. Downlink resource grids can be used for downlink transmission from eNB to UE. The grid can be a time-frequency grid, which is the physical resource in the downlink in each time slot. Each column and each row of the resource grid can correspond to an OFDM symbol and an OFDM subcarrier, respectively. The duration of the resource grid in the time domain can correspond to a time slot. The smallest time-frequency unit in the resource grid can be represented as a resource unit. Each resource grid may include multiple resource blocks described above, which describe the mapping relationship between specific network channels and resource units. Each resource block may include 12 (subcarriers) × 14 (symbols) = 168 resource units.

[0027] There may be several different physical downlink channels that are transmitted using such resource blocks. Two of these physical downlink channels may be the physical downlink control channel (PDCCH) and the physical downlink shared channel (PDSCH). Each subframe may be divided into PDCCH and PDSCH. PDCCH may normally occupy the first two symbols of each subframe and carry information about the transport format and resource allocation related to the PDSCH channel and H-ARQ information related to the uplink shared channel, etc. PDSCH may carry user data and higher layer signaling to UE 102 and occupy the rest of the subframe. Typically, downlink scheduling (allocation of control and shared channel resource blocks to UE 102 within a cell) may be performed at eNB 104 based on channel quality information provided from UE 102 to eNB, and then downlink resource allocation information may be sent to each UE 102 on the PDCCH used for (allocated to) the UE 102. Transmission time interval (TTI) may be the minimum time unit in which eNB 104 can schedule UE 102 for uplink or downlink transmission. The PDCCH may contain downlink control information (DCI) from a resource grid transmitted on the PDSCH in the same subframe in one of a number of formats that tell the UE 102 how to find and decode the data. The DCI format may provide many details, such as the number of resource blocks, resource allocation type, modulation scheme, transport block, redundancy version, coding rate, etc. Each DCI format may have a cyclic redundancy code (CRC) and may be scrambled with a radio network temporary identifier (RNTI) that identifies the target UE 102 to which the PDSCH is destined. Using a UE 102-specific RNTI may limit the decoding of the DCI format (and the corresponding PDSCH) to only the UE 102 to which it is destined.

[0028] Similarly, an uplink subframe may contain a physical uplink shared channel (PUSCH) and a physical uplink control channel (PUCCH) with a physical random access channel (PRACH). PUCCH may provide various control signals, including HARQ confirmation / non-confirmation, one or more channel quality indicators (CQI), MIMO feedback (rank indicator, RI; precoding matrix indicator, PMI), and scheduling requests for uplink transmissions. PUCCH may be transmitted in a frequency region at the edge of the system bandwidth, and may include one RB per transmission at one end of the system bandwidth, followed by an RB in the next slot at the opposite end of the channel spectrum, thereby utilizing frequency diversity. The PUCCH control region may include every two RBs. BPSK or QPSK may be used for modulation of the PUCCH information. PRACH may be used for random access functions and consists of two sequences: a cyclic prefix and a guard period. The preamble sequence may be repeated so that the eNB can decode the preamble sequence when the link condition is poor. PMI is used for precoding, where beams of several layers are formed to improve the reception quality of these layers taking into account the characteristics of the transmission channel. The eNB 104 can measure the channel and inform the UE 102 of the precoder to use the appropriate precoding mechanism, which allows the UE 102 to perform precoding based on this information. The precoder can be represented by a matrix (i.e., a precoding matrix), where the number of matrix rows is equal to the number of antennas and the number of matrix columns is equal to the number of layers.

[0029] The embodiments described herein may be implemented into a system using any suitably configured hardware and / or software. Figure 2 Components of a UE according to some embodiments are shown. At least some of the components shown may be used in an eNB or MME, for example Figure 1 UE 102 or eNB 104 shown in FIG. UE 200 and other components may be configured to determine UE location using positioning reference signals (PRS) as described herein. UE 200 may be Figure 1 1 and may be a stationary non-mobile device or may be a mobile device. In some embodiments, UE 200 may include application circuitry 202, baseband circuitry 204, radio frequency (RF) circuitry 206, front end module (FEM) circuitry 208, and one or more antennas 210 coupled together at least as shown. At least some of baseband circuitry 204, RF circuitry 206, and FEM circuitry 208 may form a transceiver. In some embodiments, other network elements such as an eNB may include Figure 2Other network elements such as the MME may include an interface (eg, an S1 interface) to communicate with the eNB through a wired connection with the UE.

[0030] The application or processing circuitry 202 may include one or more application processors. For example, the application circuitry 202 may include circuitry such as, but not limited to, one or more single-core or multi-core processors. The processor may include any combination of general-purpose processors and special-purpose processors (e.g., graphics processors, application processors, etc.). The processor may be coupled to and / or may include a memory / storage device, and may be configured to execute instructions stored in the memory / storage device to enable various applications and / or operating systems to run on the system.

[0031] The baseband circuit 204 may include circuits such as, but not limited to, one or more single-core or multi-core processors. The baseband circuit 204 may include one or more baseband processors and / or control logic to process baseband signals received from the receive signal path of the RF circuit 206 and generate baseband signals for the transmit signal path of the RF circuit. The baseband processing circuit 204 may interface with the application circuit 202 to generate and process baseband signals and control the operation of the RF circuit 206. For example, in some embodiments, the baseband circuit 204 may include a second generation (2G) baseband processor 204a, a third generation (3G) baseband processor 204b, a fourth generation (4G) baseband processor 204c and / or for other existing generations, generations in development, or generations to be developed in the future (e.g., the fifth generation (5G), 6G, etc.). The baseband circuit 204 (e.g., one or more of the baseband processors 204a-d) may process various radio control functions that allow communication with one or more radio networks via the RF circuit 206. The radio control functions may include, but are not limited to, signal modulation / demodulation, encoding / decoding, radio frequency offset, etc. In some embodiments, the modulation / demodulation circuitry of the baseband circuitry 204 may include fast Fourier transform (FFT), precoding, and / or constellation mapping / demapping functionality. In some embodiments, the encoding / decoding circuitry of the baseband circuitry 204 may include convolution, tail-truncation, turbo, Viterbi, and / or low-density parity check (LDPC) encoder / decoder functionality. The embodiments of the modulation / demodulation and encoder / decoder functionality are not limited to these examples and may include other suitable functionality in other embodiments.

[0032] In some embodiments, the baseband circuit 204 may include units of a protocol stack, such as units of an evolved universal terrestrial radio access network (EUTRAN) protocol, including, for example, physical (PHY), medium access control (MAC), radio link control (RLC), packet data convergence protocol (PDCP) and / or radio resource control (RRC) units. The central processing unit (CPU) 204e of the baseband circuit 204 may be configured to run the units of the protocol stack to implement signaling transmission of the PHY, MAC, RLC, PDCP and / or RRC layers. In some embodiments, the baseband circuit may include one or more audio digital signal processors (DSPs) 204f. In other embodiments, the audio DSP 204f may include elements for compression / decompression and echo cancellation and may include other suitable processing elements. In some embodiments, the components of the baseband circuit may be appropriately combined in a single chip, a single chipset or arranged on the same circuit board. In some embodiments, some or all of the constituent components of the baseband circuit 204 and the application circuit 202 may be implemented together, for example, on a system on a chip (SOC).

[0033] In some embodiments, the baseband circuit 204 may provide communications compatible with one or more radio technologies. For example, in some embodiments, the baseband circuit 204 may support communications with an Evolved Universal Terrestrial Radio Access Network (EUTRAN) and / or other Wireless Metropolitan Area Networks (WMANs), Wireless Local Area Networks (WLANs), Wireless Personal Area Networks (WPANs). Embodiments in which the baseband circuit 204 is configured to support radio communications of more than one wireless protocol may be referred to as multi-mode baseband circuits. In some embodiments, the device can be configured to operate according to communication standards or other protocols or standards, including Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) 802.16 wireless technology (WiMax), IEEE 802.11 wireless technology (WiFi) including IEEE 802ad operating on the 60 GHz millimeter wave spectrum, various other wireless technologies, such as Global System for Mobile Communications (GSM), Enhanced Data Rates for GSM Evolution (EDGE), GSM EDGE Radio Access Network (GERAN), Universal Mobile Telecommunications System (UMTS), UMTS Terrestrial Radio Access Network (UTRAN), or other 2G, 3G, 4G, 5G, etc. technologies that have been developed or will be developed.

[0034] The RF circuit 206 may allow for communication with a wireless network using modulated electromagnetic radiation through a non-solid medium. In various embodiments, the RF circuit 206 may include switches, filters, amplifiers, etc. to assist in enabling communication with a wireless network. The RF circuit 206 may include a receive signal path, which may include circuitry for down-converting an RF signal received from the FEM circuit 208 and providing a baseband signal to the baseband circuit 204. The RF circuit 206 may also include a transmit signal path, which may include circuitry for up-converting a baseband signal provided by the baseband circuit 204 and providing an RF output signal to the FEM circuit 208 for transmission.

[0035] In some embodiments, the RF circuit 206 may include a receive signal path and a transmit signal path. The receive signal path of the RF circuit 206 may include a mixer circuit 206a, an amplifier circuit 206b, and a filter circuit 206c. The transmit signal path of the RF circuit 206 may include a filter circuit 206c and a mixer circuit 206a. The RF circuit 206 may also include a synthesizer circuit 206d for synthesizing the frequency used by the mixer circuit 206a for the receive signal path and the transmit signal path. In some embodiments, the mixer circuit 206a of the receive signal path may be configured to down-convert the RF signal received from the FEM circuit 208 based on the synthesized frequency provided by the synthesizer circuit 206d. The amplifier circuit 206b may be configured to amplify the down-converted signal and the filter circuit 206c may be a low pass filter (LPF) or a band pass filter (BPF) configured to remove unwanted signals from the down-converted signal to generate an output baseband signal. The output baseband signal may be provided to the baseband circuit 204 for further processing. In some embodiments, the output baseband signal may be a zero frequency baseband signal, but this is not required. In some embodiments, the mixer circuit 206a of the receive signal path may include a passive mixer, but the scope of the embodiments is not limited in this regard.

[0036] In some embodiments, the mixer circuit 206a of the transmit signal path may be configured to up-convert the input baseband signal based on the synthesized frequency provided by the synthesizer circuit 206d to generate an RF output signal for the FEM circuit 208. The baseband signal may be provided by the baseband circuit 204 and may be filtered by the filter circuit 206c. The filter circuit 206c may include a low pass filter (LPF), but the scope of the embodiments is not limited in this regard.

[0037] In some embodiments, the mixer circuit 206a of the receive signal path and the mixer circuit 206a of the transmit signal path may include two or more mixers and may be arranged for quadrature down-conversion and up-conversion, respectively. In some embodiments, the mixer circuit 206a of the receive signal path and the mixer circuit 206a of the transmit signal path may include two or more mixers and may be arranged for image rejection (e.g., Hartley image rejection). In some embodiments, the mixer circuit 206a of the receive signal path and the mixer circuit 206a of the transmit signal path may be arranged for direct down-conversion and / or direct up-conversion, respectively. In some embodiments, the mixer circuit 206a of the receive signal path and the mixer circuit 206a of the transmit signal path may be configured for superheterodyne operation.

[0038] In some embodiments, the output baseband signal and the input baseband signal may be analog baseband signals, but the scope of the embodiments is not limited thereto. In some alternative embodiments, the output baseband signal and the input baseband signal may be digital baseband signals. In these alternative embodiments, the RF circuit 206 may include an analog-to-digital converter (ADC) and a digital-to-analog converter (DAC) circuit and the baseband circuit 204 may include a digital baseband interface to communicate with the RF circuit 206.

[0039] In some dual-mode embodiments, separate radio IC circuits may be provided for processing signals for each spectrum, although the scope of the embodiments is not limited in this regard.

[0040] In some embodiments, synthesizer circuit 206d may be a fractional-N synthesizer or a fractional-N / N+1 synthesizer, but the scope of the embodiments is not limited in this regard, as other types of frequency synthesizers may also be suitable. For example, synthesizer circuit 206d may be a delta-sigma synthesizer, a frequency multiplier, or a synthesizer including a phase-locked loop with a frequency divider.

[0041] Synthesizer circuit 206d may be configured to synthesize an output frequency based on the frequency input and the divider control input for use by mixer circuit 206a of RF circuit 206. In some embodiments, synthesizer circuit 206d may be a fractional-N / N+1 synthesizer.

[0042] In some embodiments, the frequency input may be provided by a voltage controlled oscillator (VCO), but this is not required. Depending on the desired output frequency, the divider control input may be provided by the baseband circuit 204 or the application processor 202. In some embodiments, the divider control input (e.g., N) may be determined from a lookup table based on the channel indicated by the application processor 202.

[0043] The synthesizer circuit 206d of the RF circuit 206 may include a frequency divider, a delay locked loop (DLL), a multiplexer, and a phase accumulator. In some embodiments, the frequency divider may be a dual-mode frequency divider (DMD) and the phase accumulator may be a digital phase accumulator (DPA). In some embodiments, the DMD may be configured to divide the input signal by N or N+1 (e.g., based on the implementation) to provide a fractional frequency division ratio. In some example embodiments, the DLL may include a set of cascaded tunable delay elements, a phase detector, a charge pump, and a D-type flip-flop. In these embodiments, the delay element may be configured to divide the VCO cycle into Nd equal phase packets, where Nd is the number of delay elements in the delay line. In this way, the DLL provides negative feedback to help ensure that the total delay through the delay line is one VCO cycle.

[0044] In some embodiments, the synthesizer circuit 206d may be configured to generate a carrier frequency as the output frequency, but in other embodiments, the output frequency may be a multiple of the carrier frequency (e.g., twice the carrier frequency, four times the carrier frequency) and combined with a quadrature generator and divider circuit to generate multiple signals at the carrier frequency with multiple different phases relative to each other. In some embodiments, the output frequency may be the LO frequency (f LO ). In some embodiments, RF circuit 206 may include an IQ / polarity converter.

[0045] FEM circuitry 208 may include a receive signal path that may include circuitry that operates on RF signals received from one or more antennas 210, amplifies the received signals, and provides the amplified versions of the received signals to RF circuitry 206 for further processing. FEM circuitry 208 may also include a transmit signal path that may include circuitry configured to amplify signals for transmission provided by RF circuitry 206 for transmission by one or more of the one or more antennas 210.

[0046] In some embodiments, the FEM circuit 208 may include a TX / RX switch to switch between transmit mode and receive mode operation. The FEM circuit may include a receive signal path and a transmit signal path. The receive signal path of the FEM circuit may include a low noise amplifier (LNA) to amplify the received RF signal and provide the amplified received RF signal as an output (e.g., to the RF circuit 206). The transmit signal path of the FEM circuit 208 may include a power amplifier (PA) to amplify the input RF signal (e.g., provided by the RF circuit 206), and one or more filters to generate an RF signal for subsequent transmission (e.g., by one or more of the one or more antennas 210).

[0047] In some embodiments, UE 200 may include additional elements, such as memory / storage device, display, camera, sensor and / or input / output (I / O) interface, which will be described in more detail below. In some embodiments, UE 200 described herein may be part of a portable wireless communication device, such as a personal digital assistant (PDA), a laptop or portable computer with wireless communication capability, a web tablet, a wireless phone, a smart phone, a wireless headset, a pager, an instant messaging device, a digital camera, an access point, a television, a medical device (such as a heart rate monitor, a blood pressure monitor, etc.), or other devices that can wirelessly receive and / or send information. In some embodiments, UE 200 may include one or more user interfaces designed to allow user interaction with the system, and / or a peripheral component interface designed to allow interaction with the peripheral components of the system. For example, UE 200 may include a keyboard, a keypad, a touchpad, a display, a sensor, a non-volatile memory port, a universal serial bus (USB) port, an audio jack, a power interface, one or more antennas, a graphics processor, an application processor, a speaker, a microphone and other I / O components. The display may be an LCD or LED screen including a touch screen. The sensors may include gyroscopic sensors, accelerometers, proximity sensors, ambient light sensors, and positioning units. The positioning units may communicate with components of a positioning network, such as global positioning system (GPS) satellites.

[0048] Antenna 210 may include one or more directional or omnidirectional antennas, including, for example, dipole antennas, monopole antennas, patch antennas, loop antennas, microstrip antennas, or other types of antennas suitable for transmitting RF signals. In some multiple-input multiple-output (MIMO) embodiments, antenna 210 may be effectively separated to take advantage of spatial diversity and the different channel characteristics that may result.

[0049] Although UE 200 is illustrated as having several separate functional elements, one or more of these functional elements may be combined and may be implemented with a combination of software-configured elements (e.g., processing elements including digital signal processors (DSPs) and / or other hardware elements). For example, some elements may include one or more microprocessors, DSPs, field programmable gate arrays (FPGAs), application specific integrated circuits (ASICs), radio frequency integrated circuits (RFICs), and combinations of various hardware and logic circuits for performing at least the functions described herein. In some embodiments, a functional element may refer to one or more processing processes operating on one or more processing elements.

[0050] Embodiments may be implemented in one or a combination of hardware, firmware, and software. Embodiments may also be implemented as instructions stored on a computer-readable storage device, which may be read and executed by at least one processor to implement the operations described herein. A computer-readable storage device may include any non-transient mechanism for storing information in a machine (e.g., computer) readable form. For example, a computer-readable storage device may include a read-only memory (ROM), a random access memory (RAM), a disk storage medium, an optical storage medium, a flash memory device, and other storage devices and media. Some embodiments may include one or more processors and may be configured with instructions stored on a computer-readable storage device.

[0051] As described above, although GPS / GNSS is a common method for obtaining the position of a UE, in some cases, such as when the satellite signal is weak (e.g., indoors), GPS / GNSS may not be able to provide position information. In these cases, other radio access technologies may be used to achieve position determination. These technologies may use signals with higher received power relative to GNSS signals, and may therefore be more suitable for use in situations where the only GNSS signal is weak (and thus the UE position may only be obtained after a very long time or may not be obtained at all), or where a more accurate position is required.

[0052] In general, to obtain UE location using radio access technology, MME 122 may receive a request for location services associated with a particular target UE 102 from another entity, or may initiate location services on behalf of a particular target UE 102. The other entity may be UE 102, eNB 104, or E-SMLC 134. MME 122 may initiate location determination when, for example, an E911 call is placed from UE 102. MME 122 may send a location service request to E-SMLC 134. In response, E-SMLC 134 may send assistance data to UE 102 to achieve UE-assisted positioning. E-SMLC 134 may receive corresponding measurement data from UE 102 or an eNB 104 serving UE 102, determine a location estimate for UE 102, and return the location estimate and / or an indication of the assistance data transmitted to UE 102 to MME 122. If location services are requested rather than initiated by MME 122, MME 122 may return location service results to the requesting entity as well as other network entities that may need the UE's location.

[0053] Different UE-assisted techniques can be used for UE position determination, including assisted global navigation satellite system (A-GNSS), observed time difference of arrival (OTDOA), and enhanced cell ID (ECID). In general, specific resource units can be used to send reference signals (also known as pilot signals), which are known to both the transmitter and the receiver and are used in UE-assisted techniques. These techniques can use various control signals that occupy different resource units, such as a common reference signal (CRS) or a synchronization / pilot signal (e.g., a primary synchronization signal (PSS) or a secondary synchronization signal (SSS)). For example, PRS can use resource units different from resource units allocated to physical broadcast channel (PBC), PSS, SSS, non-zero power channel state information (CSI)-RS, or CRS transmitted by eNB104 (which may be present in all subframes). PSS and SSS can be used by UE for cell search and acquisition. PSS and SSS can be sent by eNB 104 in a downlink subframe at the center 1.08MHz of the system bandwidth for each cell supported by eNB 104. In an active cell, PSS and SSS may be sent in symbol periods 6 and 5 in subframes 0 and 5 of each frame, respectively. Specifically, PSS may be sent in the first subframe for an LTE type 1 frame structure and in the second subframe for an LTE type 2 frame structure. SSS may be sent in the first subframe regardless of the frame structure.

[0054] When determining OTDOA, the location server 130 or the eNB 104 may send the OTDOA reference cell information to the UE 102. The OTDOA reference cell information may include a physical cell identifier (physCellId), an antenna port configuration (antennaPortConfig), a cyclic prefix length (cpLength), and PRS information (prsInfo). PhyCellId may include the physical cell ID of the reference cell. antennaPortConfig may indicate whether the reference cell uses 1, 2, or 4 antenna ports for a cell-specific reference signal. CpLength may indicate the length of the cyclic prefix of the PRS of the reference cell. psrInfo may indicate information about the PRS configuration of the reference cell, including a PRS configuration index (prs-ConfigurationIndex), a PRS bandwidth (prs-Bandwidth), the number of downlink frames (numDL-Frames) (hereinafter referred to as duration), and PRS muting information (prs-MutingInfo). The PRS bandwidth may take values ​​of 6, 15, 35, 50, 75, or 100 resource blocks. Muting parameters may indicate which PRS transmissions are masked (eg, to allow the UE to detect weaker signals from neighboring cells).

[0055] UE-assisted position determination is performed using PRS, which may be sent to UE 102 on antenna port 6 of eNB 104. PRS may be sent from eNB 104 in a predetermined number of consecutive subframes (e.g., 1-5 subframes). The number of subframes used to send PRS may be configured by eNB 104. PRS bandwidth (e.g., number of RBs) and PRS periodicity (e.g., number of subframes between PRS occasions) may also be configured by eNB 104. Within a subframe containing PRS, PRS may be sent on more subcarriers and more OFDM symbols than a conventional cell-specific reference signal (CSI-RS) sent by eNB 104. A pseudo-random sequence may be sent on PRS. The pseudo-random sequence may be a function of factors such as PCI (physical layer cell identity), number of slots, number of OFDM symbols, and value of cyclic prefix. UE 102 can detect PRSs from different neighboring eNBs 104, make measurements based on each PRS, and send the measurements to eNB 104. Examples of such measurements include observed time difference of arrival (OTDOA) measurements, such as reference signal time difference (RSTD). RSTD is the relative time difference between a reference eNB and a neighboring eNB. eNB 104 can process the OTDOA measurements from UE 102 to estimate the UE position.

[0056] UE 102 may be provided with the above-mentioned PRS parameters, which may enable UE 102 to process PRS via higher layer signaling. Specifically, the information may include the carrier index or frequency band where PRS is transmitted, the bandwidth of PRS, the duration (the number of consecutive subframes used for PRS transmission), the transmission period, the subframe offset, and the muting sequence. UE 102 may then report the estimated time offset at the estimated measurement result quality to eNB 104, and eNB 104 may report this information to E-SMLC 134. E-SMLC 134 may estimate the position of UE 102 using the time difference estimate measured by UE 102, the location of the cell (which may be fixed and known), and the transmission time offset. UE 102 may, for example, report the estimated time offset to SLP 132.

[0057] Figure 3A -D shows a downlink channel resource block containing a PRS according to some embodiments. Figure 3A -D respectively show a downlink channel resource block 300 in which a PRS 314 may be transmitted in a downlink channel. The downlink channel resource block 300 may be transmitted by one of the eNBs 104. The PRS 314 may be mapped to antenna port 6. Figure 3A and 3CAs shown in the downlink channel resource blocks 300, 340 of FIG. 1 , the PRS 314 may be sent on one or both PBCH antenna ports, or as shown in FIG. Figure 3B and 3D As shown in the downlink channel resource blocks 320, 360 of FIG. 3 , the PRS 314 may be sent on four PBCH antenna ports.

[0058] Figure 3A The subframe 302 of each diagram in -D contains two time slots 304a, 304b (time slot 0 / even time slot 304a and time slot 1 / odd time slot 304b). Figure 3A The downlink channel resource blocks 300, 320, 340, 360 of each of Figures 3-D may include a plurality of resource elements 312. Each resource element 312 may correspond to an OFDM symbol 310 and a subcarrier frequency 306.

[0059] In a subframe where a normal cyclic prefix is ​​used, such as Figure 3A and 3B As shown in , the resource units in the downlink channel resource blocks 300, 320 cover fourteen OFDM symbols (l = 0 to l = 6) and twelve frequency subcarriers. In a subframe in which an extended cyclic prefix is ​​used, as shown in Figure 3C and 3D As shown in , the resource units in the downlink channel resource blocks 340, 360 cover twelve OFDM symbols (l=0 to l=5) and twelve frequency subcarriers. Figure 3A - The PRS 314 is transmitted in one or more resource elements 312 of the downlink channel resource blocks 300, 320, 340, 360 labeled R6 in FIG.

[0060] As described above, the parameters defining the PRS 314 may be configurable and may be provided in prsInfo. These parameters may include a configuration index (prs-ConfigurationIndex). PRS , the configuration index has a value of 0-2399 and is mapped to the PRS period (T PRS ) and PRS offset (Δ PRS ) parameter. PRS is the PRS period (there is a PRS subframe every 160, 320, 640, or 1280 subframes) and Δ PRS is the subframe offset (depending on I prs The configuration index may be I prs ,I prs -160, I prs -480 or I prs -1120, and thus from 0 to 1120). The PRS 314 parameters may also include a duration Nprs , the duration may be the number of consecutive downlink subframes with PRS that define the measurement period (e.g., 1, 2, 4, or 6). Table 1 lists the cell-specific subframe configuration period T for sending positioning reference signals. PRS and cell-specific subframe offset Δ PRS . Can be used only in the configured N prs Instead of sending PRS in special subframes, N consecutive downlink subframes are used to send PRS. prs For the first subframe in a downlink subframe, the PRS instance may satisfy the following equation:

[0061]

[0062]

[0063] Table 1 Positioning parameter signal subframe configuration

[0064] However, similar to GPS location determination, in some cases, determining UE location using PRS may not be sufficient to provide the required level of location accuracy, including vertical positioning. To improve location accuracy, in some embodiments, multiple PRS configurations and / or multiple antenna ports may be configured to allow UE 102 to receive a larger amount of PRS energy. To allow vertical domain positioning, in some embodiments, dedicated antenna ports (APs) may be defined. These features may be used by UEs implementing LTE Release 13 (or later), but may not be backward compatible with UEs implementing earlier LTE releases, as these UEs may not be able to interpret and utilize the adjusted configurations.

[0065] To improve location accuracy, in some embodiments, a new PRS pattern may be used. Figures 3A-3D The PRS resource unit shown in is copied from the first subframe to the second subframe and a repeated set of PRS subframes is sent to generate a new PRS pattern. This can provide more reference signal energy to UE 102, thereby improving measurement performance. Whether to use the new PRS pattern can be determined by the eNB or the location server via SIB signaling. For example, a single bit can be used to indicate whether repeated PRS subframes are to be sent by eNB 104. In one embodiment, this bit can be 0 to indicate that no additional PRS subframes are to be sent, which corresponds to the legacy PRS transmission situation, and can be 1 to indicate that repeated PRS subframes are to be sent.

[0066] In embodiments where the second (repeated) subframe(s) are consecutive to the first subframe(s), the number of PRS subframes is effectively doubled. For example, when initially four subframes are configured for PRS (i.e., the number of consecutive subframes in the standard configuration is 4), four consecutive subframes containing PRS may be repeated after the last initial subframe containing PRS, ultimately providing eight consecutive subframes for PRS. In other embodiments, the eNB may consider subframes carrying PSS and SSS. For example, for a TDD frame structure or for an FDD / TDD / HD-FDD frame structure, the second subframe may be the next available downlink subframe after the first subframe to avoid PRS mapping in subframes carrying PSS / SSS (subframes 0 and 5). In a TDD frame structure, the next available downlink subframe may be separated from the last PRS subframe by one or more (uplink) subframes.

[0067] In some embodiments, the antenna port used to send the additional PRS pattern can be the same as the existing port used to send the initial pattern (i.e., antenna port 6). In other embodiments, the antenna port can be different from the existing antenna port (i.e., antenna port X, where X is an integer value). In some embodiments, the PRS mapping pattern on the resource elements between different subframes can be the same to reduce the complexity of implementation. In some embodiments, the PRS mapping pattern on the resource elements between different subframes can be different, which can provide additional randomness to resist interference.

[0068] In some embodiments, the repetition factor may be greater than 2. In some embodiments, the repetition factor n may be an integer multiple. That is, instead of just being copied (or not copied), the PRS subframe may be repeated n times. In one example, if n=3 and the initial PRS subframe includes 2 consecutive PRS subframes, 6 additional PRS subframes (which may be consecutive, for example if there is no PSS or SSS signal to be sent in the middle) may be sent so that a total of 8 PRS subframes may be sent between consecutive initial PRS subframe occasions. The bits used to indicate the presence of repeated PRS subframes may also be used to indicate a specific pattern, such as the presence of discontinuous PRS subframes that replicate consecutive PRS subframes. Discontinuous PRS repeated subframes may be separated by a predetermined number of subframes, as long as they are within the configured PRS period. The number of repetitions and the repetition pattern may be indicated by other bits in the control information. In some embodiments, some or all of the repeated PRS subframes may precede the initial PRS subframe.

[0069] Instead of or in addition to repeating PRS subframes, PRS subframes may be sent more frequently. That is, the PRS period may be configured to be shorter than the minimum value of 160 ms for legacy Release 13 (as shown in Table 1). Examples of new periods may be 40 ms or 80 ms and gap modes may be considered, providing a measurement gap for the UE where no uplink or downlink data communication is scheduled to enable the UE to perform measurements in different frequency bands and / or with different radio access technologies. Gap mode ID 0 with a length of 6 ms and a repetition rate of 40 ms may only be used for inter-frequency RSTD measurements.

[0070] As described above, the new PRS period may be an integer multiple of the period of Release 13. Thus, one or more additional bits may be used to indicate the increased period factor. For example, a bit may be 0 to indicate that the additional legacy PRS period is not in use, and may be 1 to indicate that an additional (repeated) PRS subframe is to be sent. Similarly, multiple bits may be used to indicate the factor for the increased period.

[0071] Instead of adjusting the repetition and period of the PRS subframe or in addition, one or more other reference signal (RS) configurations for the cell can be configured and sent to the UE 102 (e.g., in prs-ConfigurationIndex) to improve RS density. The RS can be any type of RS and can be used for position measurement, such as PRS, CRS, or CSI-RS. Note that the above discussion is based on PRS because PRS can provide the best link budget and thereby improve the best results. In some embodiments, multiple PRS-Info configurations can be sent to the UE 102. In some embodiments, one or more parameters in the PRS configuration (PRS-Info) can be configured.

[0072] In the case where multiple PRS configurations are sent to the UE 102, different PRSs in different configurations may be quasi co-located. If the large-scale channel properties of the channel on which the symbols on one antenna port are transmitted can be inferred from the channel on which the symbols on the other antenna port are transmitted, then the two antenna ports (and thus the PRS transmissions from these ports) may be quasi co-located. Large-scale channel properties may include delay spread, Doppler spread, Doppler shift, average gain, average delay, power received by each port, received timing and / or frequency offset. In some embodiments, the location server may configure information indicating whether the PRSs in different configurations are quasi co-located for the UE. Such quasi co-located information may be exchanged between the eNB and the eSMLC. Quasi co-location may be ensured to utilize multiple PRS instances resulting from multiple PRS configurations. Alternatively, the location server may simply configure the UE to use quasi co-located PRS instances and non-quasi co-located PRS instances.

[0073] Using quasi-co-located antenna ports can allow UE 102 to accumulate PRS from different configurations in a coherent or non-coherent manner. Coherent accumulation can be used when PRS is sent from the same antenna port in the same precoding manner and the PRS experiences the same fading conditions. The antenna ports for PRS in different PRS configurations can be the same or different. When using the same antenna port, when the PRS subframes of different configurations are close enough in the time domain, UE 102 can perform coherent accumulation to improve RSTD measurement performance.

[0074] Figure 4 414. The ASN.1 code for configuring multiple PRS configurations in accordance with some embodiments is shown. The ASN.1 code shows multiple PRS configurations in a cell. As described above, prsInfo 410 may include the following parameters, including prs-Bandwidth 412, prs-ConfigurationIndex 414, numDL-Frames 418, and prs-MutingInfo 422. In addition, prsInfo 410 may include a new parameter: enhanced-prs-ConfigurationIndexList 416. prs-ConfigurationIndexList 416 may be defined using ASN.1 code definition 422. prs-ConfigurationIndexList 416 may be defined using the notation SEQUENCE(SIZE(1..X))OF prs-ConfigurationIndex, where X may be an integer value (so X different prs-ConfigurationIndexs may be used).

[0075] In some embodiments, instead of providing multiple PRS configurations, each with its own independent I_PRS with independent subframe offset and period, a limited number of parameters may be provided. For example, in some embodiments, only different subframe offsets may be provided for signaling optimization. In some embodiments, the different subframe offsets may be associated with a subframe of an existing prs-ConfigurationIndex. Thus, the repeated PRS subframes may have the same period as the initial PRS subframe and may only have a different offset. For example, the initial PRS subframe may have an I_PRS. PRS =100, TPRS = 160ms and Δ PRS =100, and the repeated PRS subframe may have I PRS =101, TPRS=160ms and Δ PRS =101.

[0076] Steering to vertical positioning, Figure 5 UE position determination in the horizontal domain and the vertical domain according to some embodiments is shown. During OTDOA positioning, the eNB 504 and / or the location server 130 can generally use at least two pieces of information to determine the UE position: the distance d 514 between the UE 502 and the antenna port of the eNB 504 and the height h 512 of the antenna port of the eNB 504. The distance d 514 can be obtained by the location server 130 (e.g., e-SMLC 134) according to the measured RSTD in the LTE Positioning Protocol (LPP) or LTE Positioning Protocol A (LPPa). The height h 512 can be fixed and cannot be changed, and can be sent to the location server 130. The location server 130 can obtain the horizontal distance d'516 between the UE 502 and the eNB 504 based on the distance d 514 and the height h 512. Thus, the UE position can be calculated using each RSTD measurement result (in practice, the relative distance difference obtained from the arrival time difference can be used for positioning, but for convenience, the relative distance difference is described as absolute distance in this document).

[0077] When making this calculation, the UE height can generally be assumed to be on the ground, or the calculation can be ignored. However, in some embodiments, instead of assuming that the UE 502 is on the ground, the location server 130 can use another piece of information θ (Zenith Angle of Arrival (ZoA)) determined by the UE 502 to determine the UE height. ZoA can be used to represent the angle of arrival in the vertical domain. Similar to the angle of arrival (AoA) used to represent the angle of arrival in the horizontal domain, ZoA can be measured based on uplink transmissions from the UE 502 and the known configuration of the eNB antenna array. The received UE signals between consecutive antenna elements can be phase offset, and the degree of phase offset can depend on the ZoA, the antenna element spacing and the carrier frequency. By measuring the phase offset and utilizing known eNodeB characteristics, the ZoA can be determined. Typical uplink signals used in this measurement are sound reference signals (SRS) or demodulation reference signals (DM-RS), which can also be used to determine uplink channel quality or timing advance.

[0078] The horizontal domain UE position can be calculated based on the OTDOA procedure according to d'516 from different cells, where And as described above, d 514 is the distance between the UE 502 and the antenna port of the eNB 504. The vertical domain UE position h' 518 can be calculated based on the height h 512 and the ZOAθ of the OTDOA signal from the eNB 504, where h' = h-cosθ. The vertical domain positioning can be performed using measurements from multiple eNBs 504 to improve accuracy.

[0079] In some embodiments, to obtain θ, the UE 502 may determine the ZoA or precoding matrix by measuring downlink signals and / or channels (e.g., control signals in the PDCCH) from the eNB 504. Alternatively, the ZoA or precoding matrix may be determined by the eNB 504 by measuring uplink signals such as aperiodic SRS or DM-RS or PRACH transmissions based on the PDCCH order, etc. In this case, antenna ports for the horizontal domain and for the vertical domain may be shared. When the UE 502 determines a value for θ (or ZoA / precoding matrix index), related parameters may be defined for LPP so that the location server 130 can utilize the information. When the eNB 504 determines a value for θ, related parameters may be defined for LPPa so that the location server 130 can utilize the information.

[0080] In some embodiments, multiple RS configurations of the eNB 504 may be utilized for vertical domain positioning of the UE 502. For example, any one or both of a PRS configuration (e.g., a PRS configuration as described above) and / or a CSI-RS process may be utilized. A first RS configuration may be used for horizontal domain positioning, and a second RS configuration may be used for vertical domain positioning. The RS configurations may be the same or different, and may depend, for example, on signal strength or other factors. The configurations of the first RS and the second RS may be, for example, {PRS,PRS}, {PRS,CSI-RS}, {CSI-RS,PRS}, {PRS,CRS}, {CRS,CRS}, {CRS,CSI-RS}.

[0081] Regardless of which available RS is used, the horizontal domain positioning can be calculated using RS transmission from the first antenna port of the eNB 504. The transmission can use, for example, a standard RS configuration or a modified RS configuration, as described above in conjunction with FIG. Figure 4 as described. Figure 6 Vertical UE position determination using multiple reference signal configurations according to some embodiments is shown. RS transmissions (e.g., CSI-RS or PRS) from the second antenna port of the eNB 604 to the UE 602 may be beamformed and associated with a predetermined structure. For example, four fixed vertical beams 612, 614, 616, 618 may be sent via four different RS configurations (e.g., CSI processes, PRS configurations, CSI-RS configurations, etc.) to enable the UE 102 to determine a preferred beam. Using different RS configurations corresponding to different angles, respectively, allows the UE 602 to distinguish between different transmissions and provide angle information to the eNB 604. The UE may measure signals of one or more of the different configurations and determine which configuration is being measured. The measured parameter may be, for example, a signal-to-interference-plus-noise ratio (SINR), a reference signal received power (RSRP) (the average power of REs carrying RSs over the entire bandwidth), or a received reference signal quality (RSRQ) (indicating the quality of the received RS). The specific configuration having the highest value of the measured parameter (or angle-related parameter) may be reported to the location server 130 via LLP signaling to determine the vertical position of the UE 602 .

[0082] Different antenna ports or configurations for horizontal and vertical positioning may be quasi-co-located. In this case, the second RS configuration may be used not only to determine the angle, but also for RSTD measurement. In this case, the reporting order of the measurement results for different PRS configurations may be the same as the order of the PRS configurations provided by the location server 130, so that the location server 130 can distinguish the different information when it is received by the eNB 604.

[0083] Figure 7 A flowchart of determining a UE location according to some embodiments is shown. The method represented by the flowchart may be Figure 1-2 and 5-6, the elements including the UE, eNB and / or location server shown. At operation 702, the eNB may send multiple RS configurations to the UE. The RS configuration may be, for example, a PRS configuration that indicates to the UE that different PRS patterns are sent by the eNB. The PRS pattern formed by the PRS configuration may be quasi-co-located. PRSs of different PRS configurations may be sent using the same or different antenna ports of the eNB. The resource units in the non-legacy PRS subframe may simply copy the PRS resource units from the legacy PRS subframe or may not rely on the resource units of the legacy PRS subframe. The non-legacy PRS subframe may be continuous or discontinuous with the legacy PRS subframe so that the non-legacy PRS subframe appears after the legacy PRS subframe. The eNB may consider the subframe carrying the PSS and SSS and utilize the next available downlink subframe (which may be separated from the last legacy PRS subframe due to the uplink subframe). Each PRS configuration may have its own independent configuration index with independent subframe offset and periodicity.

[0084] In some embodiments, rather than providing a new PRS configuration, the PRS configuration may be adjusted in one or more non-legacy ways. Different parameters in the PRS configuration may be changed to adopt non-legacy values. For example, the period may be extended so that the PRS is sent more frequently. The repetition may take into account an interval pattern.

[0085] In addition, the UE may receive one or more other RS ​​configurations from the eNB or other eNBs. The RS configuration may be for PRS, CRS, CSI-RS, SRS or DM-RS control signals to be measured by the UE for vertical positioning, and for determining channel quality. The same or dedicated antenna ports may be defined for the eNB for vertical positioning signal transmission and horizontal positioning signal transmission. Different vertical beams using different RS (or RS with different characteristics) may be sent by the eNB at different angles.

[0086] As described above, the UE may be a legacy UE configured to operate with the LTE pre-Release 13 standard, or a non-legacy UE. Whether to use a new PRS pattern may be determined by the UE at operation 704. A PRS configuration including a new PRS pattern may be sent by the eNB via the SIB (regardless of whether a new PRS configuration is added or a legacy PRS configuration is changed).

[0087] If the UE is not a legacy UE, the UE can read and understand the PRS configuration. Thus, in addition to the legacy PRS configuration, the non-legacy UE can also accept the new PRS configuration, or can accept the non-legacy value used in the PRS configuration. The non-legacy UE can measure the entire PRS set (including legacy PRS and non-legacy PRS) at operation 706. The non-legacy UE can also obtain and measure the RS signal from the eNB. The non-legacy UE can determine the ZOA or precoding matrix using the RS signal.

[0088] If the UE is a legacy UE, in some embodiments, the UE may not be able to read and understand the separate new non-legacy PRS configuration or the PRS configuration with non-legacy values. In the former case, the legacy UE may ignore the separate non-legacy PRS configuration. In the latter case, the legacy UE may not understand the values ​​provided in the modified legacy PRS configuration and send an error message to the eNB, or may utilize a set of default values ​​provided by the eNB through control signaling. The legacy UE may measure only the legacy PRS at operation 708. The legacy UE may utilize the RS signal to determine the ZOA or precoding matrix.

[0089] Regardless of whether the UE measures both legacy and non-legacy PRS or only legacy PRS, the UE may report the estimated time offset and the estimated value of the measurement quality to the eNB at operation 710. The eNB may in turn report the information from the UE to a location server. The location server may estimate the lateral position of the UE relative to the eNB using the time difference estimate, the known cell locations, and the measured transmit time offset.

[0090] The location server may also receive RS measurement results from the UE. Alternatively or additionally, the location server may receive at least one of ZOA and precoding matrix information. The UE may distinguish between different transmissions and provide angle information to the eNB. Specifically, whether it is appropriate to perform in operation 706 or in operation 708, the UE may measure the signal of one or more configurations with the best characteristics in different configurations, and determine which configuration is being measured before reporting to the eNB / location server. Using this information and the distance between the UE and the eNB, the location server may also calculate the vertical position of the UE.

[0091] Figure 8 is a block diagram of a communication device according to some embodiments. The device may be a UE or an eNB, for example, which may be configured to track the UE as described herein, Figure 1UE 102 or eNB 104 shown in . The communication device 800 may include a physical layer circuit 802 for sending and receiving signals using one or more antennas 801. The communication device 800 may also include a medium access control layer (MAC) circuit 804 for controlling access to the wireless medium. The communication device 800 may also include a processing circuit 806 and a memory 808 arranged to perform the operations described herein, such as one or more single-core or multi-core processors. The physical layer circuit 802, the MAC circuit 804, and the processing circuit 806 can handle various radio control functions that enable communication with one or more radio networks compatible with one or more radio technologies. The radio control functions may include signal modulation, encoding, decoding, radio frequency deviation, etc. For example, similar to Figure 2 In some embodiments, the communication device 800 may be configured to operate according to the 8GPP standard or other protocols or standards, including WiMax, WiFi, GSM, EDGE, GERAN, UMTS, UTRAN, or other 8G, 8G, 4G, 5G, etc. technologies that have been developed or will be developed.

[0092] Antenna 801 may include one or more directional or omnidirectional antennas, including, for example, dipole antennas, monopole antennas, patch antennas, loop antennas, microstrip antennas, or other types of antennas suitable for transmitting RF signals. In some MIMO embodiments, antennas 801 may be effectively separated to exploit spatial diversity and the different channel characteristics that may result.

[0093] Although communication equipment 800 is illustrated as having several separated functional elements, one or more of these functional elements can be combined and can be implemented with a combination of elements configured by software, which for example include the processing element and / or other hardware elements of a DSP. For example, some elements may include one or more microprocessors, DSPs, FPGAs, ASICs, RFICs and a combination of various hardware and logic circuits for performing at least the functions described herein. In some embodiments, functional elements may refer to one or more processing processes operated on one or more processing elements. Embodiments may be implemented in one or a combination of hardware, firmware and software. Embodiments may also be implemented as instructions stored on a computer-readable storage device, which may be read and executed by at least one processor to implement the operations described herein.

[0094] Fig. 9A block diagram of an example machine according to some embodiments is shown. Any one or more of the techniques (e.g., methods) discussed herein may be performed by an example machine 900. In an alternative embodiment, the machine 900 may be operated as a stand-alone device or may be connected (e.g., networked) to other machines. In a networked deployment, the machine 900 may be operated as a server machine, a client machine, or both in a server-client network environment. In an example, the machine 900 may be used as a peer machine in a peer-to-peer (P2P) (or other distributed) network environment. The machine 900 may be a UE, eNB, AP, STA, personal computer (PC), tablet PC, STB, PDA, mobile phone, smart phone, web device, network router, switch or bridge, or any machine capable of executing instructions (sequential or in other forms) specifying the actions to be taken by the machine. In addition, although only a single machine is shown, the term "machine" should also be considered to include a collection of any machines that individually or jointly execute a set (or multiple sets) of instructions to implement any one or more of the methods discussed herein, such as cloud computing, software as a service (SaaS), and other computer cluster configurations.

[0095] Examples as described herein may include logic or multiple components, modules or mechanisms, or may operate on logic or multiple components, modules or mechanisms. A module is a tangible entity (e.g., hardware) that can perform a specified operation and may be configured or arranged in a particular manner. In an example, a circuit may be arranged in a specified manner as a module (e.g., arranged internally or for an external entity such as other circuits). In an example, the entirety or part of one or more computer systems (e.g., stand-alone, client, or server computer systems) or one or more hardware processors may be configured to operate as a module that performs a specified operation by firmware or software. In an example, software may be located on a machine-readable medium. In an example, software causes the hardware to perform a specified operation when executed by the lower hardware of the module.

[0096] Accordingly, the term "module" is understood to include a tangible entity, i.e., an entity that is physically constructed, specifically configured (e.g., hardwired) or temporarily (e.g., transiently) configured to operate in a specified manner or to perform part or all of any operation described herein. Considering an example in which a module is temporarily configured, each module need not be instantiated at any one time. For example, in the case where a module includes a general-purpose hardware processor configured using software, the general-purpose hardware processor can be configured as corresponding different modules at different times. The software can configure the hardware processor accordingly, for example, to construct a specific module at one time and to construct different modules at different times.

[0097] The machine (e.g., computer system) 900 may include a hardware processor 902 (e.g., a central processing unit (CPU), a graphics processing unit (GPU), a hardware processor core, or any combination thereof), a main memory 904, and a static memory 906, some or all of which may communicate with each other via an interconnection (e.g., a bus) 908. The machine 900 may also include a display unit 910, an alphanumeric input device 912 (e.g., a keyboard), and a user interface (UI) navigation device 914 (e.g., a mouse). In an example, the display unit 910, the input device 912, and the UI navigation device 914 may be a touch screen display. The machine 900 may also include a storage device (e.g., a drive unit) 916, a signal generating device 918 (e.g., a speaker), a network interface device 920, and one or more sensors 921, such as a global positioning system (GPS) sensor, a compass, an accelerometer, or other sensors. The machine 900 may include an output controller 928, such as a serial (e.g., Universal Serial Bus (USB)), parallel, or other wired or wireless (e.g., infrared (IR), near field communication (NFC), etc.) connection to communicate with or control one or more peripheral devices (e.g., printer, card reader, etc.).

[0098] The storage device 916 may include a machine-readable medium 922 having stored thereon one or more sets of data structures or instructions 924 (e.g., software) that embody or are utilized by any one or more of the techniques or functions described herein. The instructions 924 may also be located, completely or at least partially, within the main memory 904, within the static memory 906, or within the hardware processor 902 during execution thereof by the machine 900. In an example, one or any combination of the hardware processor 902, the main memory 904, the static memory 906, or the storage device 916 may constitute a machine-readable medium.

[0099] Although machine-readable medium 922 is shown as a single medium, the term “machine-readable medium” may include a single medium or multiple media (eg, a centralized or distributed database, and / or associated caches and servers) configured to store one or more instructions 924 .

[0100] The term "machine-readable medium" may include any medium capable of storing, encoding or carrying instructions or capable of storing, encoding or carrying data structures used or associated with these instructions, which are executed by the machine 900 and cause the machine 900 to perform any one or more of the techniques disclosed herein. Non-limiting machine-readable medium examples may include solid-state memory, and optical and magnetic media. Specific examples of machine-readable media may include: non-volatile memory, such as semiconductor memory devices (e.g., electrically programmable read-only memory (EPROM), electrically erasable programmable read-only memory (EEPROM)) and flash memory devices; disks, such as internal hard disks and removable disks; magneto-optical disks; random access memory (RAM); and CD-ROM and DVD-ROM disks. In some examples, the machine-readable medium may include non-transitory machine-readable media. In some examples, the machine-readable medium may include machine-readable media that are not transient propagation signals.

[0101] The instructions 924 may also be sent or received over a communication network 926 using a transmission medium via a network interface device 920 that utilizes any of a number of transport protocols (e.g., frame relay, Internet Protocol (IP), transmission control protocol (TCP), user datagram protocol (UDP), hypertext transfer protocol (HTTP), etc.). Example communication networks may include a local area network (LAN), a wide area network (WAN), a packet data network (e.g., the Internet), a mobile telephone network (e.g., a cellular network), a plain old telephone (POTS) network, and a wireless data network (e.g., a wireless network known as a wireless network). The Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) 802.11 series of standards, known as The IEEE 802.16 series of standards), IEEE 802.15.4 series of standards, Long Term Evolution (LTE) series of standards, Universal Mobile Telecommunications System (UMTS) series of standards, peer-to-peer (P2P) networks, and the like. In an example, the network interface device 920 may include one or more physical jacks (e.g., Ethernet, coaxial, or telephone jacks) or one or more antennas to connect to the communication network 926. In an example, the network interface device 920 may include multiple antennas to facilitate wireless communication using at least one of single-input multiple-output (SIMO), multiple-input multiple-output (MIMO), or multiple-input single-output (MISO) technologies. In some examples, the network interface device 920 may utilize multi-user MIMO technology for wireless communication. The term "transmission medium" should be deemed to include any intangible medium capable of storing, encoding, or carrying instructions for execution by the machine 900, and includes digital or analog communication signals or other intangible media to facilitate communication of such software.

[0102] Example 1 is a device of a user equipment (UE), comprising: a transceiver arranged to communicate with an enhanced NodeB (eNB); and a processing circuit arranged to: configure the transceiver to receive multiple reference signals (RS), the RSs including a first PRS pattern received in a first group of positioning reference signal (PRS) subframes and a second PRS pattern received in a second group of PRS subframes, wherein the second group of PRS subframes is received by the transceiver before the following first group of PRS subframes; measure PRS resource elements (REs) in the first and second PRS patterns, each PRS RE including a PRS; and configure the transceiver to send measurement results of the PRS in each of the first and second PRS patterns to allow determination of the horizontal and vertical positioning of the UE based on the measurement results.

[0103] In Example 2, the subject matter of Example 1 optionally includes the processing circuit being further arranged to configure the transceiver to receive a prsInfo control signal including first and second PRS configurations, the first and second PRS configurations indicating first and second PRS modes, respectively.

[0104] In Example 3, the subject matter of Example 2 optionally includes that the first and second PRS configurations include a legacy PRS configuration and a non-legacy PRS configuration, the legacy PRS configuration indicating a PRS that can be received by legacy and non-legacy UEs, the non-legacy PRS configuration indicating a PRS that can be received by the non-legacy UE, the legacy UE being configured to communicate using a standard prior to Release 13 of the 3rd Generation Partnership Project Long Term Evolution (3GPP LTE) standard.

[0105] In Example 4, the subject matter of any one or more of Examples 2-3 may optionally include each of the first and second PRS configurations including parameters independent of parameters in another of the first and second PRS configurations, the parameters including a configuration index having a subframe offset and a period.

[0106] In Example 5, the subject matter of any one or more of Examples 1-4 may optionally include PRS REs in a non-legacy PRS subframe of a non-legacy PRS pattern repeating PRS REs in a legacy PRS subframe of a legacy PRS pattern.

[0107] In Example 6, the subject matter of any one or more of Examples 1-5 may optionally include that the first and second PRS patterns are quasi-colocated.

[0108] In Example 7, the subject matter of any one or more of Examples 1-6 optionally includes that the first and second groups of PRS subframes are consecutive downlink subframes excluding one or more subframes, wherein each of the excluded one or more subframes includes at least one of a primary synchronization signal (PSS) and a secondary synchronization signal (SSS) and is placed after the first group of PRS subframes and before the second group of PRS subframes.

[0109] In Example 8, the subject matter of any one or more of Examples 1-7 optionally includes, wherein the processing circuit is further arranged to: configure the transceiver to receive a prsInfo control signal including a PRS configuration, the PRS configuration indicating PRS subframes having a period less than 160 ms that form the first and second PRS patterns.

[0110] In Example 9, the subject matter of any one or more of Examples 1-8 may optionally include that the PRSs of the first and second PRS patterns are received from different antenna ports of the eNB.

[0111] In Example 10, the subject matter of any one or more of Examples 1-9 may optionally include the RS further comprising a vertically positioned RS received from a different antenna port than the horizontally positioned RS.

[0112] In Example 11, the subject matter of Example 10 optionally includes the processing circuit being further arranged to measure a reference signal time difference (RSTD) using at least one RS among the RSs, and determine a zone of arrival (ZOA) and at least one of the precoding matrices of at least one RS among the RSs, wherein at least one of the ZOA and the precoding matrix and the RSTD provide information to determine the vertical position of the UE.

[0113] In Example 12, the subject matter of Example 11 optionally includes that the laterally positioned RS and the vertically positioned RS include different RS configurations, at least one of the different antenna ports and configurations is quasi-co-located, and the processing circuit is also arranged to configure the transceiver to send measurement results for the laterally positioned RS and the vertically positioned RS in the same order as the order in which the RS configurations are received by the transceiver.

[0114] In Example 13, the subject matter of any one or more of Examples 1-12 optionally includes that the processing circuit is also arranged to configure the transceiver to receive RS at different angles, the RS received at different angles including different RS configurations; measure the RS; determine a specific RS configuration among the RS configurations of the RS that has the highest value of the measured parameter; and configure the transceiver to report the specific RS configuration to the location server.

[0115] In Example 14, the subject matter of any one or more of Examples 1-13 may optionally further include an antenna configured to transmit and receive communications between the transceiver and at least one of the source and target eNBs.

[0116] Example 15 is an apparatus of an enhanced NodeB (eNB), comprising: a transceiver arranged to communicate with a user equipment (UE); and a processing circuit arranged to configure the transceiver to send a prsInfo control signal including at least one PRS configuration to the UE; configure the transceiver to send a plurality of reference signals (RS) to the UE after sending the prsInfo control signal, the RS including a first PRS pattern in a first group of positioning reference signal (PRS) subframes and a second PRS pattern in a second group of PRS subframes, wherein the second group of PRS subframes is sent before the following first group of PRS subframes; configure the transceiver to receive measurement results of the PRS in each of the first and second PRS patterns from the UE; and determine the horizontal and vertical positioning of the UE based on the measurement results.

[0117] In Example 16, the subject matter of Example 15 optionally includes the prsInfo control signal including first and second PRS configurations, the first and second PRS configurations indicating first and second PRS modes, respectively, and there is at least one of the following configurations: the first and second PRS configurations include a legacy PRS configuration and a non-legacy PRS configuration, the legacy PRS configuration indicating a PRS that can be received by legacy and non-legacy UEs, the non-legacy PRS configuration indicating a PRS that can be received by non-legacy UEs, the legacy UEs being configured to communicate using a standard prior to Release 13 of the Third Generation Partnership Project Long Term Evolution (3GPP LTE) standard; and each of the first and second PRS configurations includes parameters independent of parameters in another PRS configuration in the first and second PRS configurations, the parameters including a configuration index having a subframe offset and a period.

[0118] In Example 17, the subject matter of any one or more of Examples 15-16 may optionally include PRS resource elements (REs) in a non-legacy PRS subframe of the non-legacy PRS pattern repeating PRS REs in a legacy PRS subframe of the legacy PRS pattern.

[0119] In Example 18, the subject matter of any one or more of Examples 15-17 optionally includes, wherein the processing circuit is further arranged to determine whether to send an intermediate subframe between the first group of PRS subframes and the second group of PRS subframes, wherein the intermediate subframe includes at least one of a primary synchronization signal (PSS) and a secondary synchronization signal (SSS); configure the transceiver to send the first and second groups of PRS subframes in non-contiguous downlink subframes in response to determining that the intermediate subframe is to be sent; and configure the transceiver to send the first and second groups of PRS subframes in contiguous downlink subframes in response to determining that the intermediate subframe is not to be sent.

[0120] In Example 19, the subject matter of any one or more of Examples 15-18 may optionally include the PRSs of the first and second PRS patterns being transmitted from different antenna ports of the eNB.

[0121] In Example 20, the subject matter of any one or more of Examples 15-19 may optionally include the RS further comprising a vertically positioned RS transmitted from a different antenna port than the horizontally positioned RS.

[0122] In Example 21, the subject matter of any one or more of Examples 15-20 optionally includes the processing circuit being further arranged to configure the transceiver to receive measured values ​​related to a peak of arrival (ZOA) of at least one of the RSs and at least one of the precoding matrices from the UE; and configure the transceiver to send information related to the measured values ​​for determining the vertical position of the UE to an evolved serving mobile location center (E-SMLC) via a Long Term Evolution (LTE) Positioning Protocol Annex (LPPa).

[0123] In Example 22, the subject matter of Example 21 optionally includes that the RS also includes a vertically positioned RS and a horizontally positioned RS having different RS configurations, and the processing circuit is also arranged to configure the transceiver to receive measurement results for the horizontally positioned RS and the vertically positioned RS from the UE in the same order as the order in which the RS configurations are sent by the transceiver.

[0124] In Example 23, the subject matter of any one or more of Examples 15-22 may optionally include the processing circuit being further arranged to configure the transceiver to transmit the RS at different angles, the RS transmitted at different angles comprising different RS configurations.

[0125] Example 24 is a non-transitory computer-readable storage medium storing instructions, wherein the instructions are executed by one or more processors of a user equipment (UE) to configure the UE to communicate with an enhanced NodeB (eNB), so that the one or more processors configure the UE to receive a prsInfo control signal including at least one PRS configuration and subsequent multiple reference signals (RS), the RS including a first PRS pattern received in a first group of positioning reference signal (PRS) subframes and a second PRS pattern received in a second group of PRS subframes, the second group of PRS subframes being received by the transceiver before the following first group of PRS subframes, the RS including a vertically positioned RS and a horizontally positioned RS; measure PRS resource elements (REs) in the first and second PRS patterns, each PRS resource element including a PRS; and send measurement results of the PRS in each of the first and second PRS patterns.

[0126] In Example 25, the subject matter of Example 24 optionally includes the prsInfo control signal including first and second PRS configurations, the first and second PRS configurations indicating first and second PRS modes, respectively, the first and second PRS configurations including a legacy PRS configuration and a non-legacy PRS configuration, the legacy PRS configuration indicating a PRS that can be received by legacy and non-legacy UEs, the non-legacy PRS configuration indicating a PRS that can be received by the non-legacy UE, the legacy UE being configured to communicate using a standard prior to Release 13 of the Third Generation Partnership Project Long Term Evolution (3GPP LTE) standard, and each of the first and second PRS configurations including parameters independent of parameters in another PRS configuration in the first and second PRS configurations, the parameters including a configuration index having a subframe offset and a periodicity.

[0127] In Example 26, the subject matter of any one or more of Examples 24-25 optionally includes that the horizontally positioned RS and the vertically positioned RS include different RS configurations, and the one or more processors further configure the UE to measure a reference signal time difference (RSTD) using at least one of the RSs, and determine a zone of arrival (ZOA) and at least one of the precoding matrices of at least one of the RSs, and at least one of the ZOA and the precoding matrix and the RSTD provide information to determine the vertical position of the UE.

[0128] In Example 27, the subject matter of any one or more of Examples 24-26 optionally includes one or more processors further configuring the UE to receive RS at different angles, the RS received at different angles including different RS configurations; measuring the RS; determining a specific RS configuration among the RS configurations of the RS having the highest value of the measured parameter; and reporting the specific RS configuration to a location server.

[0129] Although the embodiments have been described with reference to specific example embodiments, it should be understood that various modifications and changes can be made to these embodiments without departing from the broader spirit and scope of the present disclosure. Therefore, the description and the drawings are considered to be illustrative and not restrictive. The drawings constituting a part of the description show by way of illustration and not limitation specific embodiments in which the subject matter of the present application can be implemented. The illustrated embodiments are described in sufficient detail to enable those skilled in the art to implement the teachings disclosed herein. Other embodiments can be utilized and obtained so that structural and logical replacements and changes can be made without departing from the scope of the present disclosure. Therefore, this detailed description is not considered to be restrictive, and the scope of the various embodiments is limited only by the scope of the appended claims and the equivalents of these claims.

[0130] These embodiments of the subject matter of the present invention may be referred to herein individually and / or collectively by the term "invention", which term is merely for convenience and is not intended to actively limit the scope of the present application to any single invention or inventive concept (where more than one embodiment is actually disclosed). Thus, although specific embodiments have been illustrated and described herein, it should be understood that any arrangement designed to achieve the same purpose can be replaced with the specific embodiments shown. The present disclosure is intended to cover any and all adaptations or variations of the various embodiments. Combinations of the above embodiments and other embodiments not specifically described herein will be understood by those skilled in the art after viewing the above description.

[0131] In this document, as commonly used in patent literature, the words "a" and "an" are used to include one or more, regardless of any other instance or use of "at least one" or "one or more". In this document, the word "or" is used to refer to a non-exclusive or, for example, "A or B" includes "A but not B", "B but not A", and "A and B", unless otherwise indicated. In this document, the words "including" and "wherein" are used as the plain English equivalents of the corresponding terms "comprising" and "wherein". In addition, in the appended claims, the words "including" and "comprising" are open-ended, that is, systems, UEs, articles, compositions, formulas, or processes that include elements other than those listed after such words in the claims are still considered to fall within the scope of the claim. In addition, in the appended claims, the words "first", "second", and "third" are used merely as labels and are not intended to impose numerical requirements on their objects.

[0132] The abstract of the present disclosure is provided to comply with 37 CFR § 1.72 (b), which requires an abstract that enables the reader to quickly ascertain the essence of the technical disclosure. The submitted abstract should be understood to not be used to interpret or limit the scope and meaning of the claims. In addition, in the previous detailed description, it can be seen that various features are combined together in a single embodiment in order to organize the contents of the present disclosure. The method of the present disclosure will not be interpreted as reflecting the following purpose: the claimed embodiments require more features than the features explicitly cited in each claim. On the contrary, as reflected in the attached claims, the inventive subject matter depends on features that are less than all the features of a single disclosed embodiment. Therefore, the attached claims are incorporated into the detailed description, and each claim itself exists as a separate embodiment.

Claims

1. A user equipment UE, comprising: Transceiver; as well as a processing circuit coupled to the transceiver, wherein the processing circuit is configured to: A positioning protocol message from a location server is decoded, the positioning protocol message comprising positioning reference signal (PRS) information for a cell to perform a measurement of a time difference of arrival (TDOA), wherein the PRS information comprises a first PRS information element, wherein the first PRS information element comprises a first PRS configuration and a second PRS configuration for the cell, wherein the first PRS configuration and the second PRS configuration have corresponding periodicity and corresponding offset.

2. The user equipment according to claim 1, wherein the processing circuit is further configured to: A first PRS is decoded based on the first PRS configuration, and a second PRS is decoded based on the second PRS configuration.

3. The user equipment of claim 2, wherein the first PRS and the second PRS are decoded in consecutive downlink subframes, wherein the consecutive downlink subframes exclude one or more subframes, wherein each of the one or more subframes includes at least one of: a primary synchronization signal (PSS) and a secondary synchronization signal (SSS). 4 . The user equipment of claim 2 , wherein the first PRS and the second PRS are associated with different antenna ports of a base station.

5. The user equipment of claim 2, wherein the processing circuit is further configured to: A measurement based on the first PRS and the second PRS is encoded for transmission to a base station. The user equipment of claim 2 , wherein the first PRS and the second PRS are quasi co-located.

7. The user equipment of claim 1, wherein the first PRS configuration comprises a legacy PRS configuration, wherein the second PRS configuration comprises a non-legacy PRS configuration.

8. An apparatus comprising a processing circuit, the processing circuit being configured to cause a user equipment UE device to: A positioning protocol message from a location server is decoded, the positioning protocol message comprising positioning reference signal (PRS) information for a cell to perform a measurement of a time difference of arrival (TDOA), wherein the PRS information comprises a first PRS information element, wherein the first PRS information element comprises a first PRS configuration and a second PRS configuration for the cell, wherein the first PRS configuration and the second PRS configuration have corresponding periodicity and corresponding offset.

9. The apparatus according to claim 8, wherein the processing circuit is further configured to cause the UE device to: A first PRS is decoded based on the first PRS configuration, and a second PRS is decoded based on the second PRS configuration.

10. The apparatus of claim 9, wherein the first PRS and the second PRS are decoded in consecutive downlink subframes, wherein the consecutive downlink subframes exclude one or more subframes, wherein each of the one or more subframes includes at least one of: a primary synchronization signal (PSS) and a secondary synchronization signal (SSS).

11. The apparatus of claim 9, wherein the first PRS and the second PRS are associated with different antenna ports of a base station.

12. The apparatus according to claim 9, wherein the processing circuit is further configured to cause the UE device to: A measurement based on the first PRS and the second PRS is encoded for transmission to a base station.

13. The apparatus of claim 9, wherein the first PRS and the second PRS are quasi co-located.

14. The apparatus of claim 8, wherein the first PRS configuration comprises a legacy PRS configuration, wherein the second PRS configuration comprises a non-legacy PRS configuration.

15. A method for operating a user equipment (UE) device, the method comprising: A positioning protocol message from a location server is decoded, the positioning protocol message comprising positioning reference signal (PRS) information for a cell to perform a measurement of a time difference of arrival (TDOA), wherein the PRS information comprises a first PRS information element, wherein the first PRS information element comprises a first PRS configuration and a second PRS configuration for the cell, wherein the first PRS configuration and the second PRS configuration have corresponding periodicity and corresponding offset.

16. The method according to claim 15, further comprising: A first PRS is decoded based on the first PRS configuration, and a second PRS is decoded based on the second PRS configuration.

17. The method of claim 16, wherein the first PRS and the second PRS are decoded in consecutive downlink subframes, wherein the consecutive downlink subframes exclude one or more subframes, wherein each of the one or more subframes includes at least one of: a primary synchronization signal (PSS) and a secondary synchronization signal (SSS).

18. The method of claim 16, wherein the first PRS and the second PRS are associated with different antenna ports of a base station.

19. The method according to claim 16, further comprising: A measurement based on the first PRS and the second PRS is encoded for transmission to a base station.

20. The method of claim 16, wherein the first PRS and the second PRS are quasi co-located.

21. The method of claim 15, wherein the first PRS configuration comprises a legacy PRS configuration, wherein the second PRS configuration comprises a non-legacy PRS configuration.

22. A non-transitory memory medium storing program instructions, wherein the program instructions, when executed by a processing circuit, cause a user equipment device to perform the method according to any one of claims 15 to 21.

23. An apparatus comprising a processing circuit, the processing circuit being configured to cause a user equipment UE device to: A positioning protocol message from a location server is decoded, the positioning protocol message comprising positioning reference signal (PRS) information for a cell to perform an observed time difference of arrival (OTDOA) measurement, wherein the PRS information comprises at least a first PRS information element and a second PRS information element, wherein the first PRS information element comprises a first PRS configuration index for the cell, and wherein the second PRS information element comprises a second PRS configuration index for the cell.

24. The apparatus of claim 23, wherein the processing circuit is further configured to cause the UE device to: decoding a first PRS based on a first PRS configuration, the first PRS configuration being indicated by the first PRS configuration index; and A second PRS is decoded based on a second PRS configuration, the second PRS configuration being indicated by the second PRS configuration index.

25. The apparatus of claim 24, wherein the first PRS and the second PRS are decoded in consecutive downlink subframes, wherein the consecutive downlink subframes exclude one or more subframes, wherein each of the one or more subframes includes at least one of: a primary synchronization signal (PSS) and a secondary synchronization signal (SSS).

26. The apparatus of claim 24, wherein the first PRS and the second PRS are associated with different antenna ports of a base station.

27. The apparatus of claim 24, wherein the processing circuit is further configured to cause the UE device to: A measurement based on the first PRS and the second PRS is encoded for transmission to a base station.

28. The apparatus of claim 24, wherein the first PRS configuration and the second PRS configuration have corresponding periodicities and corresponding offsets.

29. A method for operating a user equipment (UE) device, the method comprising: A positioning protocol message from a location server is decoded, the positioning protocol message comprising positioning reference signal (PRS) information for a cell to perform an observed time difference of arrival (OTDOA) measurement, wherein the PRS information comprises at least a first PRS information element and a second PRS information element, wherein the first PRS information element comprises a first PRS configuration index for the cell, and wherein the second PRS information element comprises a second PRS configuration index for the cell.

30. The method of claim 29, further comprising: decoding a first PRS based on a first PRS configuration, the first PRS configuration being indicated by the first PRS configuration index; as well as A second PRS is decoded based on a second PRS configuration, the second PRS configuration being indicated by the second PRS configuration index.

31. The method of claim 30, wherein the first PRS and the second PRS are decoded in consecutive downlink subframes, wherein the consecutive downlink subframes exclude one or more subframes, wherein each of the one or more subframes includes at least one of: a primary synchronization signal (PSS) and a secondary synchronization signal (SSS).

32. The method of claim 30, wherein the first PRS and the second PRS are associated with different antenna ports of a base station.

33. The method of claim 30, further comprising: A measurement based on the first PRS and the second PRS is encoded for transmission to a base station.

34. The method of claim 30, wherein the first PRS configuration and the second PRS configuration have corresponding periodicities and corresponding offsets.

35. A non-transitory memory medium storing program instructions, wherein the program instructions, when executed by a processing circuit, cause a user equipment device to perform the method according to any one of claims 29 to 34.

36. An apparatus comprising a processing circuit, wherein the processing circuit is configured to cause a base station to: A positioning protocol message for transmission to a user equipment (UE) is encoded, the positioning protocol message comprising positioning reference signal (PRS) information for a cell, wherein the PRS information enables the UE to perform a time difference of arrival (TDOA) measurement, and comprises a first PRS information element, wherein the first PRS information element comprises a first PRS configuration and a second PRS configuration for the cell, wherein the first PRS configuration and the second PRS configuration have a corresponding periodicity and a corresponding offset.

37. The apparatus of claim 36, wherein the processing circuit is further configured to cause the base station to: A first PRS is encoded based on the first PRS configuration, and a second PRS is encoded based on the second PRS configuration.

38. The apparatus of claim 37, wherein the first PRS and the second PRS are encoded in consecutive downlink subframes, wherein the consecutive downlink subframes exclude one or more subframes, wherein each of the one or more subframes comprises at least one of: a primary synchronization signal (PSS) and a secondary synchronization signal (SSS).

39. The apparatus of claim 37, wherein the first PRS and the second PRS are associated with different antenna ports of a base station.

40. The apparatus of claim 37, wherein the processing circuit is further configured to cause the base station to: A measurement received from the UE is decoded, wherein the measurement is based on the first PRS and the second PRS.

41. The apparatus of claim 37, wherein the first PRS and the second PRS are quasi co-located.

42. The apparatus of claim 36, wherein the first PRS configuration comprises a legacy PRS configuration, wherein the second PRS configuration comprises a non-legacy PRS configuration.

43. The apparatus of claim 36, further comprising: A transceiver is coupled to the processing circuit.

44. A method for operating a base station, the method comprising: A positioning protocol message is encoded for transmission to a user equipment (UE), wherein the positioning protocol message comprises positioning reference signal (PRS) information for a cell, wherein the PRS information enables the UE to perform a measurement of a time difference of arrival (TDOA), and comprises a first PRS information element, wherein the first PRS information element comprises a first PRS configuration and a second PRS configuration for the cell, wherein the first PRS configuration and the second PRS configuration have a corresponding periodicity and a corresponding offset.

45. The method of claim 44, further comprising: A first PRS is encoded based on the first PRS configuration, and a second PRS is encoded based on the second PRS configuration.

46. ​​The method of claim 45, wherein the first PRS and the second PRS are encoded in consecutive downlink subframes, wherein the consecutive downlink subframes exclude one or more subframes, wherein each of the one or more subframes includes at least one of: a primary synchronization signal (PSS) and a secondary synchronization signal (SSS).

47. The method of claim 45, wherein the first PRS and the second PRS are associated with different antenna ports of a base station.

48. The method of claim 45, further comprising: A measurement received from the UE is decoded, wherein the measurement is based on the first PRS and the second PRS.

49. The method of claim 45, wherein the first PRS and the second PRS are quasi co-located.

50. A non-transitory memory medium storing program instructions, wherein the program instructions, when executed by a processing circuit, cause a base station to perform the method according to any one of claims 44 to 49.

51. An apparatus comprising a processing circuit configured to cause a base station to: A positioning protocol message for transmission to a user equipment (UE) is encoded, wherein the positioning protocol message includes positioning reference signal (PRS) information for a cell, wherein the PRS information enables the UE to perform an observed time difference of arrival (OTDOA) measurement and includes at least a first PRS information element and a second PRS information element, wherein the first PRS information element includes a first PRS configuration index for the cell, and wherein the second PRS information element includes a second PRS configuration index for the cell.

52. The apparatus of claim 51 , wherein the processing circuit is further configured to cause the base station to: encoding a first PRS based on a first PRS configuration, the first PRS configuration being indicated by the first PRS configuration index; and A second PRS is encoded based on a second PRS configuration, the second PRS configuration being indicated by the second PRS configuration index.

53. The apparatus of claim 52, wherein the first PRS and the second PRS are encoded in consecutive downlink subframes, wherein the consecutive downlink subframes exclude one or more subframes, wherein each of the one or more subframes comprises at least one of: a primary synchronization signal (PSS) and a secondary synchronization signal (SSS).

54. The apparatus of claim 52, wherein the first PRS and the second PRS are associated with different antenna ports of a base station.

55. The apparatus of claim 52, wherein the processing circuit is further configured to cause the base station to: A measurement received from the UE is decoded, wherein the measurement is based on the first PRS and the second PRS.

56. The apparatus of claim 52, wherein the first PRS configuration and the second PRS configuration have corresponding periodicities and corresponding offsets.

57. A method for operating a base station, the method comprising: A positioning protocol message for transmission to a user equipment (UE) is encoded, wherein the positioning protocol message includes positioning reference signal (PRS) information for a cell, wherein the PRS information enables the UE to perform an observed time difference of arrival (OTDOA) measurement and includes at least a first PRS information element and a second PRS information element, wherein the first PRS information element includes a first PRS configuration index for the cell, and wherein the second PRS information element includes a second PRS configuration index for the cell.

58. The method of claim 57, further comprising: encoding a first PRS based on a first PRS configuration, the first PRS configuration being indicated by the first PRS configuration index; as well as A second PRS is encoded based on a second PRS configuration, the second PRS configuration being indicated by the second PRS configuration index.

59. The method of claim 58, wherein the first PRS and the second PRS are encoded in consecutive downlink subframes, wherein the consecutive downlink subframes exclude one or more subframes, wherein each of the one or more subframes includes at least one of: a primary synchronization signal (PSS) and a secondary synchronization signal (SSS).

60. The method of claim 58, wherein the first PRS and the second PRS are associated with different antenna ports of a base station.

61. The method of claim 58, further comprising: A measurement received from the UE is decoded, wherein the measurement is based on the first PRS and the second PRS.

62. The method of claim 58, wherein the first PRS configuration and the second PRS configuration have corresponding periodicities and corresponding offsets.

63. A non-transitory memory medium storing program instructions, wherein the program instructions, when executed by a processing circuit, cause a base station to perform the method according to any one of claims 57 to 62.

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